“I JUST DON’T LIKE IT”, George said on his way to the table. That’s right. He wasn’t even sitting down yet. He had no idea what “it” was. But George is two and that’s his auto-response to MANY things, often including dinner. I knew it might be an uphill meal. He’s always tired at this time…
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…
3-Ingredient Chia Seed Refrigerator Jam
WHY MAKE JAM when in the year 2015 it’s very easy to zip right down to the Food Lion and pick up a jar or seven? And what about your mom’s delicious homemade recipe? Here’s my case for chia seed refrigerator jam: Store-bought or homemade, jam is typically full of sugar. Making traditional strawberry jam…
7 Nutritious Finger Foods for Babies (the Whole Family Loves, Too)
HEALTHY BABY FOOD DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PUREED. And it can be part of a meal you’re making anyway. When it comes to great finger foods for babies, here are 7 of my favorites–which happen to be elements of family favorites as well. 1. CRUSTY BREAD (OR TOAST). We serve a loaf of crusty bread with…
Lemon Yogurt Cakes with Blueberries
THERE’S A SECRET TO MAKING A CAKE MOIST. Add yogurt. This time, it was vanilla and the result was delicious. I learned about yogurt cake when we lived in Italy. Estelle was about a month old when we took a weekend trip to Umbria and did all sorts of things I can’t imagine doing now. Hikes (which…
Pickle Roll-Ups
FILE THIS ONE UNDER “EASY SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS“. Desperate to break out of our sandwich rut this week, I grabbed that deli ham (the one with no nitrates), folded each piece in half and rolled it around a mini dill pickle. I just repeated twice and threaded all three onto an extra long toothpick. These happened…
banana oat cups with peanut butter and jam
WANT A MAKE-AHEAD BREAKFAST packed with nutrition? These super simple banana oat cups come together using just a few ingredients–and none of them is sugar. They’re sweetened with pure honey instead of sugar, which is a habit we’ve been working on for a while. Plus these are full of chia seeds, a super power brain food…
Mini Broccoli & Cheese Patties (“Broccoli Cookies”)
PSSST. THESE ARE NOT COOKIES. But my kindergartener insists these broccoli & cheese patties are. Because of the shape. Obviously I did nothing to deter the automatic adoration that came with the name. I just got out the Ranch dressing and continued to mind my own business. Yes, I totally believe in Ranch dressing as a…