Not so fussy fish

My sister and her college roommate are on the paleo diet. It's based on the understanding that since our ancestors were hunter/gatherers, our digestive systems evolved to match the diet they ate - lots of meat, fruits, veggies; no legumes, tubers or grains.

The girls came home from classes at the end of last semester, bone weary, only to be further deflated when they opened the fridge. They had no "easy" food. No sandwiches, no cereal, no mac n' cheese. Everything had to be cooked. The roommate lamented that all their food was "fussy." What a cute, appropriate phrase.

I feel for them. Our house is similar. We keep healthy food on hand so we won't be tempted with junk, and everything is scratch ingredients. Want a cookie? We have the ingredients to make 100 types of cookies, but we have to mix, chill and bake them.

So what about Sunday nights? Sunday nights are the night I most want Chickfila (specifically because they're closed, so I'm jonesing for waffle fries). Actually, Sundays are just hard. I identify with single moms on Sundays. We wake up early to get pastor husband out the door with breakfast and coffee in hand, then I feed and dress the girls by myself, pack two diaper bags for separate nurseries, then navigate church with a 15 month old and an infant. Blurgh.

This morning was especially rough. G talked through her early nap, A decided eating was overrated, then as we're walking out the door, G trips and busts her lip, dripping blood down her shirt and skirt. *sigh.

This evening, DH is back at work. I got the girls through arsenic hour, a 45-minute dinner (the joys of self feeding) and a bath. The last thing I want to do is make another mess preparing a fussy dinner.

Enter my new favorite no fuss health food... the sardine.

What??? you say. The sardine? Really? I love them. Tiny packets of protein, vitamins B12 and D, omega-3's and calcium. They are amazing on a sandwich or salad with spinach, chopped onion, olives and hardboiled egg. And, they're precooked. If you don't like them, you don't like them. But if you're even neutral, pick up a can.

That's my tip of the day. Try sardines. They might surprise you.

Fish Crazy

They didn’t even all make it through the wedding reception. That’s why Petsmart doesn’t sell goldfish to you if they know you’re going to use them as a centerpiece. What does it say about the newly formed union if the decorations can’t even survive the evening?

My sister’s colors were purple and orange, and she wanted goldfish. So we made it happen. My husband and I had a 10 gallon tank left over from a fiasco involving raising turtles (I really must include that story some time). We agreed to provide the goldfish with a long term home after the wedding. I was really trying to ease my conscience after asking these goldfish to spend an evening in a hurricane vase to satisfy my sister’s whim.

The ten gallon goldfish tank lasted six months. We didn’t even like it, but the fish were obviously too big, so we began our search for a larger tank for the four fish - appropriately, all named Gill (my sister’s new last name).

Somehow, we came home with a tank, filter, heater, hood, live plants and ten other fish. Our shopping trip awakened a passion in my husband for fish keeping. who knew?

Tim became consumed with fish keeping. Every date night involved a trip to Aquarium, a wonderful locally-owned fish shop in Knoxville. They knew us by name, even knew our daughter’s due date, after a few short months of fish keeping. Our very random mix of tropical fish blossomed into a 30-gallon Asian freshwater tank, a 50-gallon South American freshwater tank, a 50-gallon cichlid tank and a 72-gallon bow front saltwater tank that someone gave us because they were sick of it. Think we went overboard?!

By this point in our fish keeping experience, I began hating fish. Too bad -we had a tank in every room. Our house sounded like a waterfall running through the stairwell, which really didn’t help my first trimester bladder. I lost it over the salt water tank, and my husband graciously reined in his passion. That, and we were moving. Four tanks was a lot to pack.

We now have just the large tank which is converted to freshwater (we’ve sworn off saltwater indefinitely). A few angels swim lazily around several schools of happy tetra. It’s a peaceful tank that I can enjoy now.

The aquarium’s real value was recognized about 3 months ago when it first caught our daughter’s eye. At one month, she was hooked, sitting mesmerized for up to an hour at a time. We’ve taken her to fish shops, and she practically pulls out of our arms trying to get closer to the tanks. She loves fish. Great news when she’s screaming, but I fear that I am now outnumbered by the fish-obsessed in our house.

Funny how “hobbies” can take over your life and become a chore if you let them. Hopefully, the fish collecting will remain in check.

Did I mention that Daddy already gave Gwennan her first fish tank? Since she’s four months old, something tells me that this fish tank is for G to enjoy and Mommy to clean. :)