Pasta sauce

Unfortunately for me, my kids don't like sauce in their pasta. But if your kids do then this post will be of use to you! I love this tomato sauce for myself and as a sneaky way to get my husband to eat veggies too! The Sneaky Chef tomato sauce is made with a massive amount of veggies. It's made by a mom who was also trying to find creative ways to get her kids to eat their veggies. I've seen this product only a few times at Whole Foods, I'm not sure why it's not on the shelves all the time. I've seen it in two flavors; smooth red and cheesy red. I love that it's simple ingredients and it's not filled with all these unproannouncable chemicals. 

Some of my favorite brands

Here's something new: I'm finally on Twitter! Follow me @thepickytoddler 

I've recently tweeted about my favorite brand of pre-made foods. Of course it's always best to make your own food at home, but of there is no time here's who I turn to: Applegate's gluten-free chicken nuggets, and organic peas or whatever other veggie kids will tolerate. I have to say the Little Duck Organics is awesome! They make organic, all-natural, recognizable ingredients! My little one likes their Quinoa baby cereal! Because I try to avoid dairy I like to use Daiya cheese for my oldest's Mac & Cheese. I love them because they don't contain soy, casein and carrageenan.

This post has a little bit of everything

Hello dear Friends!
Once again I was M.I.A. I barely have time, as you know (your a parent yourself). And the time I do have to go online, is not the time to sit, think, and type. But I have been keeping myself informed and educated! Its  really amazing the things that we have yet to learn.
So today I want to talk a little bit about my recent discoveries: strange ingredients. What do you mean, Deb? Well have you ever looked at the ingredients on packaged food? At first I just thought, "Ok, so what? They need to add this stuff to make this stuff." Now looking at that I don't really know how I wasn't alarmed at the fact that all I was consuming or giving my kid was chemicals! No wonder people are getting sick! Really think about. Our bodies are still the same bodies people had from years and years ago. Yet our food is not the same from years ago. All the chemical stuff is forcing our livers to work overtime! People don't need to take vitamins, I believe, if they are feeding themselves properly. Nor do I believe people need to see doctors because food, yes WHOLE FOOD, can cure. But of course don't take my advice because I'm no one to lead your life. I just believe this for myself. For example, cancer is on the rise and seems like something that you're bound to get in the future. No! Cancer is formed because these chemicals, harmful man-made things, and stress are forcing our organs to fight. Eventually these poisons win because our bodies were not meant to take so much crap! Sugars feed this cancer, and whole foods such as organic veggies kill it.
We live in a society/culture where we are taught or brought up to be lazy. Yep, I said it! "Oh, I have a headache." Take a Tylenol. "Oh, I have diarrhea." Take Pepto. Listen to your body. Its not just feeling terrible to screw you over. Its screaming for your help. "Oh, I'm to tried to cook." Microwave some fake food. "Oh, I've worked all day. I don't have time to play with my kid(s)." Sit them in front of the TV. When in fact, we seem to always have time to walk our dogs at 6am, but wouldn't take our kids to the park for an hour. Then we wonder why kids are so violent or so passive. That's what we teach them; how to hate (because some parents don't care to show love). Its not that we hate them, but we aren't showing love either. I'm not saying let your kid do what he wants. But disciple with love (you may be firm when needed) and give them some of your time, because sometimes that's what we need as adults too; someone to give us time to just care or listen to us (hence why so many pay a great deal for a therapist).
Back to food. My toddler hates soup. The good thing is that last week when my husband made chicken soup she ate it! How did I do it? You guessed it. I just took out the broth. Even though that's the most nutritious part. So she ate the carrots, pasta, and chicken. Later she had some dessert: almond milk cookies and cream ice cream. Make sure it doesn't have carrageenan; its carcinogenic.
Here's something important I've learned. Sodium benzoate is of course bad, especially worse when mixed with ascorbic acid (synthetic vitamin C) and/or vitamin D. So read labels! I really hate that most kids juice boxes contain synthetic vitamin C. I found one that is organic and has no blah blah acids. It's called R.W. Knudsen Sensible Sippers http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/sensible-sippers

  It does contain "natural flavors" so you're going to have to do a little research or call them up and ask what "natural flavors" means. Sometimes it could be an issue if you're kid has a gluten intolerance.

Help with left-over candy

Happy Halloween, all! 

It's a day full of candy, for those of you who are going Trick-or-Treating. After you're probably left with a lot of can candy and don't know what to do with it. If you're like me you can probably save it in the fridge or basket and have your husband eat it lol. So I was reading this email and it had an idea for these extra sweets.

• An Advent calendar from Alphamom.com
• As a special dessert after having lunch all together (as a family).
• Use it to fill a Christmas stockings.
• Keep it in your purse when you need to quiet your kid lol ssshhh.
• Put it in your baking recipes.
• Chopped for toppings on ice cream or on top of whipped cream with strawberries!
• How about this one I saw on parenting.com: add it into some vodka and let it soak for a chocolate flavored cocktail. (I don't know if it's good, so let me know if you try).
• Save it for guests
• Maybe if you're kid's birthday is coming up, you can save it for goodie bags :) hey you have to save in times like these lol. 

These are some things you can do with your Halloween candy. Have your little one help you out, so they can feel like a big kid. They can help make the calendar, they can fill a stocking, sprinkle on a cake or frosting, or even hand some out to your guests. 

10 Meals Under $2

10 Meals Under $2
That's right! Click on the link and see how making your own food, instead of buying it made, can save you dollars. Not only is it cheaper to make food at home, it's healthier and you know what's going in your meal.

Conquering the Pickiness

Hey just wanted to let you guys know some tricks I've made up to conquer my daughter's pickiness. So for breakfast she sometimes doesn't want to sit and eat. Therefore in a sippy cup, that has a wide straw, I just add her cereal (baby cereal) with milk and yogurt. Then I just mix it around and boom there's breakfast for my little runaway.
She loves to eat her foods with her spoon or fork too. When she doesn't want to eat her lunch or dinner (that is just finger food) I just give her the special utensils and magic! She begins to eat. Not everything of course. I mean why would a full blown miracle happen at dinnertime?right? lol But it's better than nothing.
Also for those of you wondering about bottle feeding. I've found what works well for me was that when my toddler was a baby just a few months ago :) I began giving her a sippy cup with a straw (because she didn't know that you had to lift the other ones up for liquid to come out). That sippy cup had water and her bottle had milk. She began to understand that there was a difference. When she wanted water she'd reach for the sippy cup and vise versa. Also I've cut down on the milk because she was drinking too much of it and not eating her food. Oh and snacks as well, that used to be her meals lol. I was just telling @tutu_tuesdays that I read somewhere that at this age 16oz of milk a day was good enough. But then again I'm not a doctor so do what you think is best. So milk is for nap and bedtime. That has worked very well for me. Soon I have to give up the bottle completely. I'll let you know how that goes.
Oh another thing! My girl loves milkshakes. And who doesn't? I put a banana and some strawberries and milk in the blender and voila! There's a satisfying snack. No sugar though, fruit is already sweet and added sugar is not all that healthy. Then again who am I to talk about healthy when I'm always drinking coffee and craving sweet things (no I'm not prego probably PMSing). And you know what? It's a great snack for you & I and we're getting our daily fruit in our system. :) Ok I gotta run! You know how it is.

Fruits & Veggies

Every time I read something about helping your picky toddler eat the right foods, I just say that my daughter will just stare and most likely throw it on the floor. Here are some veggies and fruits that you might want to try and give your child if your not to sure on what they might like:

• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Figs
• Apples
• Tomatoes
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Cherries (take out the pit, of course)
• Melons
• Blueberries
• Beets
• Cucumbers
• Squash
• Carrots
• Corn
• Peas
• Sting Beans
• Beans (in general)
• Broccoli (maybe with some melted cheese)
• Mango
• We all know fresh fruit is best, but if you're going to feed your tot fruit from a can just make sure that it doesn't have extra sugar or some type of added syrup.
• Please, please remember that you must always supervise your child while they try new foods and just in general when they're eating. You never know..

I didn't add potatoes or bananas because I'm assuming your child imaginably prefers that anyway. I know that's all my girl will eat in the veggie and fruit department (especially if it's fried). Don't worry about the fried stuff, I learned that my little one isn't the only one, so it's nice to know that it's normal. You should know that this "pickiness" will last a while. They're just trying to mold their likes and dislikes. Something my dad has always said to me, since I've become a mom (of a picky eater) just be creative. That also means try whatever you can. For example, for my daughter to start eating fruit I chose banana because it's feasibly the easiest fruit (just peel with your hands and give). Then the problem was that she didn't want to even try the banana. Oh man! So since my baby girl is a huge fan of ice, I decided to freeze the banana on a plastic popsicle stick and give it to her like a Popsicle. And can you believe that she LOVED it? Now she eats it when I just simply cut it up and put it on her plate. But this time she'll only eat it with her little fork. She loves that. :) I'm glad that it's also helping her learn how to use a fork. Let me know some of your creative stories I would love to read and use them myself :)
XOXO  (coffee making time, lol)