Sili Squeeze!

Squeeze pouches are quickly becoming the new thing in on the go snacking (and sitting at the table too). They're easy, neat and kids seem to love them. The one downside is that they are expensive and wasteful, but that's about to change.

Introducing the Sili Squeeze - a reusable squeeze pouch that you can fill with any assortment of purees and it's dishwasher safe and easy to clean.

Order here. They come in 2 sizes and aren't much more expensive than a couple packages of the single use squeeze pouches.

Iron

Children aged 1-12 need 7-10mg of iron a day (lower end for smaller children, increasing as they grow) and if your child isn't eating meat it can be hard to hit that total each day. Adding an iron supplement to their diet is one option, but most taste horrible and are rejected by the child. Here is a list of iron levels in common foods and ideas to help aid iron absorption.

Iron Levels

To help aid iron absorption:

• Continue serving iron-fortified cereal until kids are 18-24 months old.
• Serve iron-rich foods alongside foods containing vitamin C — such as tomatoes, broccoli, oranges, and strawberries — which improves the body's absorption of iron.
• Avoid serving coffee or tea at mealtime — both contain tannins that reduce iron absorption.
• If you have a vegetarian in the family, monitor his or her diet to make it includes sufficient iron. Because iron from meat sources is more easily absorbed than iron from plant sources, you may need to add iron-fortified foods to a vegetarian diet.

Signs of an iron deficiency:

• feeling tired and weak
• decreased work and school performance
• slow cognitive and social development
• difficulty maintaining body temperature
• decreased immune function, which increases susceptibility to infection

We did it!!

At Emma's 3 year appointment she FINALLY made it on the growth chart. It's been a very, very long journey and to say that it feels good is an understatement. My baby girl has finally done it, no more FTT!!!!!

On the go

When you're trying to feed your child a high calorie diet, snacks can be very challenging. Most easy snacks aren't high calorie AND easy to transport. Below is a list of snacks we find easy to travel with and aren't too nutritionally lacking.

• Cliff Z bar - 120 calories, 2.5g fat, 3g protein

• Cliff Twisted Fruit - 70 calories

• Cereal

Can be kind of messy to transport, but we use these reusable snack bags. They're super easy for Emma to use and they're very easy to clean.

Some Cereal Options:

Kix – (1 ¼ cup) 110 calories, 1g fat, 2g protein

Trix – (1 cup) 120 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g protein

Cheerios – (1 cup) 100 calories, 2g fat, 3g protein

Fruit Cheerios – (3/4 cup) 100 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g protein

Yogurt burst cheerios (3/4 cup) 120 calories, 1.5g fat, 2g protein

Chex (rice) (1 cup)- 100 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Wheat Chex (3/4 cup) – 160 calories, 1g fat, 5g protein

Quaker Granola (the oats and honey variety does not have corn) (1/2 cup) – 210 calories, 6g fat, 5g protein

• Granola Bars

Nature Valley – 90 calories, 3g fat, 2g protein

Quaker – 100 calories, 3g fat, 1g protein

• Dried Fruit

Raisins (1/2 cup) 217 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Apricots (1/2 cup) – 157 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Apples (1/2 cup) – 104 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

Cranberries (1/3 cup) – 140 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

• Popcorn

Oil Popped (1 cup) – 55 calories, 3g fat, 1g protein

• Squeezable packets

GoGo Applesauce – 60 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

Revolution Foods Mashup Strawberry Banana – 60 calories, 0 fat, 1g protein

Peter Rabbit Fruit Pouches Apple Grape – 80 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

• Crackers

http://www.latejuly.com/late_july_organic_snacks/2008/01/our-bite-size-c.html

Cheddar bunnies snack packs – 140 calories, 6g fat, 3g protein

Graham bunnies snack packs – 120 calories, 4g fat, 2g protein

Protein

I've heard from many friends that getting their children to eat meat is always a challenge and they're wondering about alternative protein sources. I've thrown together a list of non-meat protein sources. If your child has good dairy intake, chances are that protein isn't something that you need to worry about. A typical toddler only needs 16 grams of protein a day, which you can find in 2 cups of whole milk. However it's always ideal to feed your toddler a varied diet so that they are getting their nutrients from a variety of different sources.

Description	Serving Size	Grams of Protein
Veggie burger	1 patty	Varies
Tempeh	1 cup	31
Soybeans, mature cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	22
Beans, White beans, mature seeds, canned	1 cup	19
Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	18
Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow	1 cup	17
Wheat flour, whole-grain	1 cup	16
Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched	137	16
Oat bran, raw	1 cup	16
Beans, Navy beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	16
Beans, Kidney beans, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	15
Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	15
Buckwheat flour, whole-groat	1 cup	15
Beans, Lima beans, large, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	15
Beans, Cowpeas (blackeyed), immature seeds, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	14
Beans, Pinto beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	14
Beans, Kidney beans, red, mature seeds, canned	1 cup	13
Beans, Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds,	1 cup	13
Beans, baked, canned, with pork and tomato sauce	1 cup	13
Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached	1 cup	13
Beans, baked, canned, plain or vegetarian	1 cup	12
Beans, Lima beans, large, mature seeds, canned	1 cup	12
Bulgur, dry	1 cup	12
Quinoa, cooked	1 cup	11
Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow	1 cup	10
Peas, green, canned, regular pack, drained solids	1 cup	8
Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked	1 cup	7
Oat bran, cooked	1 cup	7
Spaghetti, cooked, enriched, without added salt	1 cup	7
Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride	1/4 block	7
Spinach, canned, drained solids	1 cup	6
Spinach, frozen, chopped or leaf, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	6
Buckwheat groats, roasted, cooked	1 cup	6
Bulgur, cooked	1 cup	6
Peas, edible-podded, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	6
Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5
Asparagus, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5
Beans, Cowpeas (Blackeyed), immature seeds, boiled, without salt	1 cup	5
Peas, edible-podded, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5
Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, vacuum pack, regular pack	1 cup	5
Potato, baked, flesh and skin, without salt	1 potato	5
Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked	195	5
Whole wheat bread	2 slices	5
Broccoli, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5
Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5

Meal Supplements

Pediasure or Boost are very popular options for meal replacements or supplements that doctors and nutritionists recommend when children have trouble gaining weight or are poor eaters. If you've ever looked at the ingredient list there is a lot of ingredients that make a lot of moms wonder what exactly they are putting in their child's body. I'm not knocking them at all, they are very convenient and provide great nutrition, however sometimes parents are looking for a more natural option. I've put together a couple options that include more natural ingredients while keeping a good calorie, fat and protein ratio. My recommendation is that if you're using these as a meal replacement (i.e. your child won't eat and they drink instead) you should include a multi-vitamin to make sure they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need. However, if you're just using it to boost calories then you shouldn't need a vitamin.

Basic Recipe

1 cup whole milk Kefir

1/2 cup banana (approx. a small banana)

2 Tbs Nestle Nido

1/2 Tbs honey

Kefir is more sour than milk, which is why I've added honey. You could also add fruit juice, sugar or anything a little sweeter.

The best part of this recipe is that you can really substitute anything. If you can't find kefir, you can use equal parts milk and yogurt. You could also just use milk or half and half. If your child has a milk allergy you could use coconut milk kefir or any milk substitute that you like.

If your child doesn't like bananas you can use any fruit, you could also forgo the fruit and add a splash of vanilla or chocolate if your child likes that. Again you can also use formula in place of the nido, which would make it a more balanced option if you're using it as a meal replacement.

You'll notice in the nutritional information below that the kefir options appear to have more sugar, but it's unrefined sugar - a mixture of fruit, honey and milk sugars. You'll also notice that there isn't vitamin information for the kefir options, it's because they are listed as adult servings on the package and I didn't want to do the math.

Allergies

I've realized that a lot of my recipes contain items that many kids with common allergies can't have.
Does your child have allergies? If so, to what? And what kind of recipes are you looking for?

Edible Play-dough

If your child is anything like mine, they enjoy eating foods that are "off-limits" more than those that they are supposed to be eating. Emma LOVES to eat play-dough and because we had so many issues with getting her to eat I didn't want to tell her no in fear that she'd stop putting anything in her mouth, so this a great solution.

Obviously you can use any nut butter you like and as much or as little honey. Make sure to use whole milk powder for the most bang for your buck!

EDIBLE PEANUT BUTTER PLAYDOUGH

about 18 oz. of peanut butter
about 6 tbsp. of honey
about 1 1/2 cups of powdered milk

Mix all ingredients well. Add powdered milk until the playdough is workable with your hands. This is a fun recipe for kids to play with and certainly has a yummy taste. Optional: Use raisins, nuts, or candy to decorate. Don't forget to eat!

Mixing it Up

One thing I've learned about toddlers is that you have to mix things up in order to keep them interested.

At a party this weekend I learned a new trick...toothpicks!
Emma thinks that eating food off toothpicks is a ton of fun and will eat much more off of them than she will a fork. Give it a try! Toothpicks come in a ton of fun colors, or have a decoration on the end that kids will really love.

How do you keep mealtime fun?

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Peanut Butter Balls

My daughter likes anything that is in a ball shape. I’m not sure what it is, but she’ll eat almost anything if it’s round. If you’re child is allergic to peanuts any kind of nut butter will do.

Milk and Honey Peanut Butter Balls
2-3 dozen balls, depending on size

2/3 cup natural creamy peanut butter (crunchy can be used too)
1/3 cup honey or agave syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup malted milk powder (or dried milk powder)
Mix all ingredients until they form a crumbly, sticky mass. Roll into balls.


As a variation you can add a crispy rice cereal instead of coconut.


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Weight Gainer's Mac and Cheese Au Gratin Recipe

One of the problems with having a tiny toddler is that when you make her recipes like this it's REALLY hard not to partake. Just eating her leftovers would make my bum grow!
With recipes like these I usually just freeze the leftovers in individual servings so I can pull them out for her when we're having something she won't eat, or I need something fast.

Weight Gainer's Mac and Cheese Au Gratin Recipe
Makes 7 1/2 servings

Nutritional facts are calculated for 1 cup-servings. This can be made gluten free by using brown rice pasta and brown rice flour.

Ingredients

8oz whole wheat elbow macaroni
2cups evaporated milk
1/3cup powdered milk
2tbsp butter
2tbsp brown rice flour
8oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/3cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4cup olive oil
1cup oat flour
2tbsp ground flaxseed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the evaporated milk and powdered milk and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Remove form heat and add oat flour, flaxseed, and parmesan cheese.
4. Cook the macaroni until al dente--about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain.
5. Prepare a thin white sauce: melt 2 tbsp butter in a small sauce pan, add 2 tbsp rice flour and salt to taste. Bring to a bubble, remove from heat, add two cups milk, and return to heat, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add grated cheddar cheese to white sauce and blend well.
7. Combine macaroni and white sauce mixture in a 2-quart casserole. Top with the oat flour mixture.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
9. Serve with salad (with dressing, of course!) or veggies fried in olive oil to make an awesome weight gain meal.:]

Calories (yes, per 1 cup serving): 575
Fat: 38g
Protein: 20g

Tracking Calories

I know for some parents it's essential to track your child's caloric intake. I used to have a spreadsheet of every food Emma ate and the nutritional value of it. Even for foods I made from scratch I would calculate the values. It was pretty time consuming, but it helped me to see how she was doing.
Here is a great site that offers nutritional guidelines for children AND makes it easy to track!

http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/planner/index.aspx



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Breakfast Ideas

A couple great high calorie recipes!
Keep in mind that these are all adult size recipes, so you’ll probably get a couple servings out of each one.


Super Cereal (Single Serving)
7 oz Evaporated Milk
2 tbs Butter
1 ½ oz Cream of Wheat""
1 oz Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Heat evaporated milk in a saucepan. Dissolve butter and brown sugar in heated liquid. Add cereal until it thickens. Add cinnamon to taste.
544 Calories, 37g fat, 16g protein

HIGH CALORIE DRINK
1 (8 oz.) yogurt
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. honey
3 tbsp. toasted wheat germ
1 c. strawberries
1/8 tsp. almond extract
Combine all ingredients in electric blender, whip until smooth and frothy. Yield 3 cups
Total: 685 calories, 16.5g fat, 25g protein







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Toddler Foods

Lately I've had a ton of requests for ideas for toddler foods. I've compiled a list that will hopefully help you come up with ideas (obviously in our house we put fat on everything)

Fruit
Steamed vegetables
Quesadillas
Cheese
Yogurt
Beans

Mac & Cheese
Various Pastas
Chunks of Rotisserie chicken
Meatballs
Scrambled eggs
Waffles
Applesauce
Creamy peanut butter (or other nut butter)
Cream cheese/jelly on flat bread
Chicken nuggets
Gnocchi
Sweet potato fries
Grilled cheese
Boca/veggie burgers
Hamburger
Ravioli
Oatmeal/Cream of Wheat
Edamame
Tofu
Hummus
Stir Fry

Rice
Couscous
Earth’s Best Organic cheese crackers
Tater Tots
String cheese
Cereal
Thinly-sliced deli meat
Roasted veggies
Turkey burgers
Guacamole

Tofu

I'd love to hear your favorites!

Chicken Enchiladas

Sorry that posting has been so scarce, we've had 2 solid months of illness around here. I won't bore you with the details, but I hope to get better. A friend recently reminded me of how popular this recipe is... it's my mom's and it's a hit with EVERYONE!

Chicken Enchiladas

1 lb cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 cup onions, chopped
1 small can green chilies (optional)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp coriander
1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated
1 cup sour cream
salt, pepper, cayenne
corn tortillas (usually about 12)

Sautee onions in a small amount of butter or oil until translucent.
Combine chicken, onions, green chilies and cheddar cheese in a large
bowl and season with salt, pepper and cayenne (if desired). Set aside.

In saucepan, melt butter, blend in flour, add chicken broth, and cook
until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in Monterey Jack cheese and
coriander and continue to blend until cheese is melted. Stir in sour
cream. Cook until heated through, but DO NOT BOIL.

In large glass baking dish spread a little sauce on the bottom (enough
to cover). Place chicken mixture in a tortilla, roll and place in
dish, repeat until filling is gone. Pour remaining sauce over the
enchiladas (you may also reserve some to pour over after they have
baked if you like). Cover dish with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees
for about 25 minutes (until bubbly).

**Modifications**
If you like your food a little spicier you can add some spice to the
chicken mixture by adding any kind of seasoning such as cayenne, chili
powder etc, peppers (chipotle, green, etc) or hot sauce. You can also add beans

or veggies to your filling to mix it up a bit, basically the secret is the sauce.
You can also make this more casserole like by layering the items.
First a little sauce, then tortillas to cover the bottom of dish, then
filling and then more tortillas and top with sauce. Cover and bake for
25 minutes at 350 degrees.

This can also be frozen after preparation. After freezing, if thawed
bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees (covered) or 50 minutes if frozen
(until bubbly).

Leftovers!

I'm sorry that I've been MIA. I went back to work and life is just crazy around here!

Tonight I made one of my favorite Thanksgiving leftover dishes and it turned out that the toddler LOVED it!

Turkey Wild Rice Soup

Soup:

8 ounces wild rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrots
3/4 cup flour
4 cups cubed cooked turkey
2 cups light cream or milk

2 cups broth
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons crumbled dried thyme

1 teaspoon crumbled dried bay leaf


Place 4 1/2 cups lightly salted water in a medium pot. Bring the water to a boil and add the wild rice. Stir the rice and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes (in CO it's going to take about 1.5hrs) or until the rice is tender and opens.

While the rice is cooking, sauté the oil, 2 tablespoons of the butter, the onions, celery, and carrots in a large stock pot for 5 minutes. Add the flour and mix well. Pour in the broth and heat through. Add the turkey, cream, and spices. Simmer for 40 minutes. Just before serving add the cooked wild rice.

Enjoy!

Packing a punch!

With a finiky eater it's always important to pack as much nutrition as possible into each bite. I've compiled a list of foods that are great choices for your children. As always, at our house everything is doused in fat for added calories.

Nutrient-dense foods that most children are willing to eat include:

• Avocados
• Pasta
• Broccoli
• Peanut butter
• Brown rice and other grains
• Potatoes
• Cheese
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Squash
• Fish
• Sweet potatoes
• Kidney beans
• Tofu
• Yogurt

The family that eats together...

When you have a child who has trouble eating, you don't want food to become a battle. Eating together as a family is an easy and important way to teach your child the value of food. Not just as nutrition, but as a social and emotional comfort too.

I've found these 8 reasons why eating together 5-6 times a week (any meal) is so important.

Reason #1: Communication and Well-Being
Conversations during the meal provide opportunities for the family to bond, plan, connect, and learn from one another. It’s a chance to share information and news of the day, as well as give extra attention to your children and teens. Family meals foster warmth, security and love, as well as feelings of belonging. It can be a unifying experience for all.

Reason #2: Model Manners (and more)
Family mealtime is the perfect opportunity to display appropriate table manners, meal etiquette, and social skills. Keep the mood light, relaxed, and loving. Try not to instruct or criticize—lead by example.

Reason # 3: Expand Their World…One Food at a Time
Encourage your children to try new foods, without forcing, coercing, or bribing. Introduce a new food along with some of the stand-by favorites. Remember that it can take 8-10 exposures to a new food before it is accepted, so be patient. Trying a new food is like starting a new hobby. It expands your child’s knowledge, experience, and skill.

• Include foods from other cultures and countries.
• Select a new vegetable from a local farmer’s market.
• Have your child select a new recipe from a cookbook, web site, newspaper, or magazine.

Reason #4: Nourish
Meals prepared and eaten at home are usually more nutritious and healthy. They contain more fruits, vegetables, and dairy products along with additional nutrients such as fiber, calcium, vitamins A and C, and folate. Home cooked meals are usually not fried or highly salted, plus soda and sweetened beverage consumption is usually lower at the dinner table.

Reason #5: Become Self-Sufficient
Children today are missing out on the importance of knowing how to plan and prepare meals. Basic cooking, baking, and food preparation are necessities for being self-sufficient. Involve your family in menu planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation. Preschoolers can tear lettuce, cut bananas, and set the table. Older children can pour milk, peel vegetables, and mix batter. Teenagers can dice, chop, bake, and grill. Working as a team puts the meal on the table faster, as well as makes everyone more responsible and accepting of the outcome. Improved eating habits come with "ownership" of a meal.

Reason #6: Prevent Destructive Behaviors

Research shows that frequent family dinners (five or more a week), are associated with lower rates of smoking, drinking, and illegal drug use in pre-teens and teenagers when compared to families that eat together two or fewer times per week. Even as older children’s schedules get more complicated, it is important to make an effort to eat meals together. Scheduling is a must.

Reason #7: Improve Grades
Children do better in school when they eat more meals with their parents and family. Teenagers who eat dinner four or more times per week with their families have higher academic performance compared with teenagers who eat with their families two or fewer times per week.

Reason # 8: Save Money
Meals purchased away from home cost two to four times more than meals prepared at home. At present time the restaurant industry’s share of the total food dollar is more than 46%. Due to scheduling, commitments, and activities, families eat out several times each week.

(tips taken from sparkpeople.com)

Favorite Product #2

Kidco Food Mill

This food mill is such a simple thing to keep around the house. It takes up very little space and has a carrying case if you want to travel with it. It's super simple to use, you just stick the food in and grind it up and you have an instant puree!

We used it when I wanted to puree a small portion of it for Emma to eat, if she was eating our meal for dinner, not "baby food".

Definitely worth the investment!

Vegetables

At our house we don't have a problem with Emma eating veggies, in fact more often than not I'm trying to hide calories in her veggies instead of the other way around :) But I realize that it's pretty common for kids to not enjoy the healthier part of meals and there are quite a few new cookbooks dedicated to the art of hiding veggies.
I find pureed veggies super easy to work with. In this form they can really be hid in about anything and a lot of them are so sweet that kid's honestly don't realize they are eating something "good" for them. Color may be an issue, but a lot of kids will find their new food fun and different.
Here are some ideas for incorporating veggies into everyday food

• add a pureed veggie into their yogurt or cottage cheese. Horizon has come out with a product that contains fruit and veggies in yogurt, but it's super easy to add any veggie into the yogurt your child eats every day. Also remember that kids don't have the taste associations we do so you might think banana and peas sounds horrible, but they might not.
• add a pureed veggie into mashed potatoes. Not only will it transform them into a fun new color, but it will add some nutrients as well. Try beets for pink potatoes, spinach or peas for green and sweet potatoes for orange.
• add a pureed veggie into mac and cheese. Anything orange (sweet potato, squash) disappears if you're using orange cheese, but you can also use any other veggie. It can really be tossed with any pasta sauce or made into a sauce of it's own.
• try different textures. Emma loves to much on raw veggies, especially asparagus and green beans (which are a little softer than carrots). Don't just assume they need to be mush for them to eat it, a lot of times kids don't love mushy food.
• try different flavors. Roast the veggies to bring out the natural sweetness or cook them with something sweet like maple syrup or orange juice. Carrots cooked in orange juice are delicious!
• add veggies to a smoothie for a quick and easy meal.
• give them first in a meal. Always start with the food your child likes least. #1, they are more hungry and more likely to eat whatever you give them first. #2, it teaches them that there are some things in a meal that you don't like, but you need to try them to get to the good stuff.

Once you start trying to add veggies, it's really easy to realize all the different places you can hide them.

Meatballs and Spinach

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb ground meat (beef, turkey or pork or a combo will work)
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 whole egg
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Using your hands, mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Use immediately or place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds and place the meatballs on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.