It’s already been a year! We celebrated Violet Agnes’ first birthday in exactly the way you’d expect. With balloons, grandma visiting from the West coast and of course, a low-sugar birthday cake. This one is our version of a “hummingbird cake”, which Wikipedia calls “a banana pineapple spice cake common in the Southern United States”. My mom…
Spinach & Pineapple Popsicles, Really!
Looking for simple, kid-friendly spinach recipes? Spinach is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat, which makes it a habit I want our kids to grow up with. Our garden must have got the memo because it’s gone crazy with spinach this year.So far I’ve made Sauteed Spinach with Garlic, Green Eggs &…
blueberry smoothies with a superfood surprise
Frozen blueberries are an ingredient I make sure to never run out of. Honestly, there is usually a pile of bags taking up most of the space in my freezer. This is because in my weekly grocery shopping blitz, the one where I spend 20 minutes trying to throw everything I need into the cart before…
how to make little fish cupcakes
We’ve had our eyes on these little fish cupcakes for a while. Cute, right? Our version of little fish cupcakes is very similar, except we skipped the special eyes and just went with M&Ms. I’ll show you how we did it right here. These are the big finish for our pool party food drive birthday party…
3-Ingredient Strawberry-Peanut Butter Wraps
The idea for these easy strawberry-peanut butter wraps came from a new cookbook I’ve already grown to love,“Real Baby Food: Easy All-Natural Recipes for Your Baby & Toddler”. We’ve devoured had these several times and when I say “we” I mean all the kids, even baby Violet, and me. And we can’t wait to have…
How to Make a Pasta Salad Turtle: The Potluck Dish of Your Kids’ Dreams
Even though it’s been a while, moving back to America from Italy has meant many big changes. English. Big cars. And potlucks. So many potlucks. Church potlucks, school potlucks, people who get mail potlucks (you’re coming, right?). We have another one coming up in a couple of weeks and I have to confess something: I…
Saucy Meatball Sliders from “Real Baby Food”
I love mini food for kids. It’s easy for them to handle and the portion sizes are perfect. But there’s something I like even more than mini food, versatile food. Meatballs can be served straight-up, in pasta or on small buns as sliders. Like these! Whole wheat dinner rolls make the excellent “buns” and bonus, you…
10 Dinner Leftovers that Make Great Kids’ Lunches
I know, where was this post 8 months ago? Dinner leftovers that make great kids’ lunches is the kind of information that would’ve been useful…earlier. These so-simple lunch ideas for kids will get us through the remaining weeks of school and don’t worry. Kids will still want lunch again in September, or August when our school begins…
The tiny way we improved the already moist (and healthy!) cornbread our kids love
Is bacon. These bacon-topped cornbread squares are a riff on our already beloved makeover of Ina Garten’s cornbread. As with all of our Barefoot for Babies recipe makeovers, our version is healthier, sweetened with honey and packed with either wheat germ or ground flaxseed. But there’s also lots of plain yogurt and milk in there, resulting…
One-Pot Mexican Quinoa Casserole (Plus a Fancy Serving Suggestion for Kids)
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I NEED A LITTLE HELP getting the kids to try something new. Part of my goal here is to create a great relationship between our kids and the food we eat. Part of that is nutrition, cooking fresh and healthy meals. Part of that is fun. Enter, egg cups. They’re just…
overnight chia seed pudding with berries
CHIA SEED PUDDING IS JUST ABOUT THE PERFECT MAKE-AHEAD BREAKFAST, particularly for sunny weather. But I didn’t always know this. The first time I made chia seed pudding, the whole concept was so foreign to me that I actually thought you HAD to use coconut milk. As though it wouldn’t work with other liquid. Like regular milk. Since then…
Make-Ahead Honey Mustard Chicken
“Can we make the chicken for them?” Phoebe whispered in my ear. (And when I say “whispered”, I mean she breathed. Little puffs of inspiration delivered straight to my ears. How can one request be so tickly and so excited all at once?) Paul’s parents were visiting from Florida and after a disastrous dinner the night…
one-pot homemade mac & cheese
I THOUGHT I NAILED IT with our 15-minute homemade mac & cheese. Then I heard something mind-blowing. You can make one-pot pasta. With almost anything. Now I just walk around saying, “Wait, what?!? WHY haven’t we been doing this all along? Why have I been washing all these pans? Is this some sort of joint conspiracy…
4 Ingredient Protein-Packed Peach Smoothies
SMOOTHIES. AN EASY SNACK FOR KIDS. A healthy snack for kids. What’s not to love? Plus, smoothies are so versatile. If you want something refreshing that won’t ruin the kids’ appetites before dinner, blend up this combination: 1 banana 2 cups frozen fruit, in this case peaches 1 cup milk 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup…
Avocado Toast
THAT’S RIGHT. No jam, but a thick smear of fresh avocado instead. Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle salt and breakfast (or snack) is done faster than you can say, “My kids will NEVER eat that”. I know because I didn’t think mine would either. But because we’re always gluttons for punishment…
Easy Veggie Calzones
MY KIDS WERE BORN IN ITALY so they know their way around a pizza. But calzones were new to them. I loved these veggie calzones for their individual portions and portability. Plus they’re basically a pocket to fill with vegetables. Lots of kids have trouble eating veggies at dinner, partially because that’s the only time of…
Sautéed Cabbage with Sausage, Apples & Onions
“I JUST DON’T LIKE IT” they all said. Before any of them had tried a single bite. Even I was worried. Would four kids under the age of six like sautéed cabbage and sausage with apples and, gasp, onions? But I couldn’t help myself. A dinner like this is so nutritious, so colorful and it’s even…
bell pepper sailboats
WHEN IT COMES TO CUTE FOOD SOMETIMES PARENTS GRUMBLE, “But then they’ll ask for something special every day!” I imagine my brood like little emperors reclining on fluffy pillows with pipes perched in the corners of their jam-smeared mouths. In come the demands: “Bring me my grape caterpillars!” “You call that a spider sandwich?” “WHEEEERE is my…
strawberry chia seed pudding pops
NOT EVERY KID IS A CHIA SEED PUDDING LOVER. I know. I have four small kids now and they’re all doing this thing where they’re developing their OWN tastes. It reminds me of this great post from Facebook, “I want my children to be independent headstrong people. Just not while I’m raising them.” But when a mother’s…
apple & grape turtles
PERFECT FOR AN AT-HOME SNACK or even an “UN-BAKE SALE” (you know, a more nutritious option for fundraising than cakes and cookies), we’ve been dying to make these turtles for a while now. Here’s the review: They’re pretty awesome. They took about 1 minute each. The kids squealed. Difficulty level (1-5): 2 the teeny tiny eyes…