In an effort to keep Peanut off our lunch plates (it's soup season, after all), I decided to see if quinoa would keep him happy.

Now, he LOVES quinoa, and because I mix it with sweet potato he may actually be ingesting a molecule or two of vegetable when he eats it. Another good point is that it keeps him occupied for awhile. Usually, it takes longer for us to eat lunch than it takes Peanut to lose interest in crackers, oat groats, granola, and the like. That's when Peanut Mind Controls Bruce into giving him a sunflower seed or three (or more).

Bruce is very weak.

Quinoa works pretty well for Peanut's lunch, except for the flicking. You see, quinoa is Flicktastic! I knew this before I introduced it to the lunch scene. In fact, I used to feed Peanut a half teaspoon or so from a spoon, while he stood in my right hand, over the kitchen sink. That way, at least some of the flicked bits would end up in a place that's relatively easy to clean. Unlike, say, Peanut's little table, or the couch. This photo isn't very flattering, but you can click here for a bigger version, which highlights all the flicked bits of quinoa. The photo doesn't show the range of flicked bits, which is a couple of feet, at least.

Oh, and it doesn't stop there. Turns out that the best way for Peanut to clean off his beak is to land on my head and wipe it off in my hair.

Sigh.