The kids had a cooking birthday party this weekend. They made (white) english muffin pizzas, Cups of Dirt (chocolate pudding, crushed Oreos and gummy worms), and decorated cupcakes. My son has newly found allergies to soy, dairy, nuts and egg whites. I brought all his food: allergen free bread, homemade (allergen free) cupcakes and icing, and pudding made with rice milk (which did not congeal. ick.).  HIS meal was healthy. Hers was not. HE did not eat his meal, She did.

What should I do? I know the stuff she’s eating is bad for her, but I’m not sure how to tell her she can’t have 4 of the only 8 foods she eats! Occationally, fine. I get it. Don’t interfere; you don’t want them to rebel. But their diet, with all these birthday parties, is turning into more than occasion!

Any advice? How do you teach your kids about healthy living?

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Article tags: Birthday, Healthy living, kids eating healthy, Rule of Three Diet

Posted: November 11th, 2007 under Kid Stuff.
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Last night, after dinner while I’m cleaning up, I start singing On Top Of Spaghetti to my kids for the first time. I had only sung the first three verses (up to where the meatball turns into mush) and my newly-4-year-old son started to cry!  I was watching his intent little face watch me as I was singing the song. It went from joy to concern to almost fear. By the time I sang “mush”, he was in tears. Small, but very concerned and sad ones. Small, to the point where I thought he had been taking drama lessons on the side from my 2 year old daughter. But since this was his first attempt at theatrics, I played along, not yet sure if he was indeed playing me or not.

I gave all sorts of concern. Picked him up into my lap.  His big frown just kept saying, “I don’t like that song” but he didn’t know why. He told me he was scared of the song. I asked what part? He didn’t know, but amidst a sea of tears, he kept asking me about that stupid meatball!  “Why did it go under a bush?” “what happened to it?” All the while, my “Me Too! Girl”, was climbing on my back,  half choking me, telling me she too, was scared of the song and didn’t like it (roll eyes).

My conclusion is that his tears were real because he asked me about the meatball several times today, and started making comparisons with his baseballs, and how they don’t roll under bushes, just into the street. 

Poor little guy. It’ll probably be a long time before he’ll try this Italian classic.

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Article tags: drama queen, kids, on top of spaghetti, Rule of Three Diet

Posted: October 25th, 2007 under Daily Journal, Kid Stuff.
Comments: 8

Wednesday night is kid’s night at our house. My son got a cook book for his birthday and he gets to choose the recipe we make for kid’s night. I let them stand on chairs and alternate helping me with everything. Last week he chose roasted sausages and winter vegetables. It was a hit. Tonight he chose Italian Tuna Pasta. He can not read, so he chooses by looking at all the pictures. I wanted to post the recipe because both my kids liked it! Did you see that?  My picky 2 year old liked it (well, the sauce anyway. My carbohydrate-loving daughter does not like pasta). This recipe is from Kids’ Fun & Healthy Cookbook:

Ingredients:
2 1/2 C pasta bows
2 T Olive Oil
2 large cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tsp. dried oregano (optional)
2 tsp. tomato puree
2 15.5 oz. cans chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
6 oz. canned tuna in Olive Oil (drained)
salt & pepper

Directions: (summarized)
1. Cook pasta until tender.
2. Heal oil in saucepan, Saute garlic for about 1 min. Stir in the oregano, tomatoes and the puree.
3. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce heat. Half cover the pan and simmer for 15 min, until sauce has reduced by 1/3 and thickened.
4. Stir tuna into the sauce. Heat through, adding sugar if necessary.
5. Drain pasta, reserving 2 T of the water. Return pasta and water to the saucepan. Stir in sauce until pasta is coated.

Add chickpeas for a protein boost (I was planning on doing this, but I forgot)
If you try the recipe, let me know what you think.

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Article tags: Fun and Healthy Cookbook, Kids in the Kitchen, Rule of Three Diet

Posted: October 24th, 2007 under Daily Journal, Kid Stuff.
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Oh. My. Gosh. I think I have a goblin living in my house that sometimes possesses my sweet little 3 year old boy. According to Wikipedia:

A goblin is an evil, crabby, or mischievous creature of folklore, often described in as a grotesquely disfigured or gnome-like phantom, that may range in height from that of a dwarf to that of a human. They are attributed with various (sometimes conflicting) abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases goblins have been classified as constant annoying little creatures. (emphasis added)

All morning I was trying to vanquish this pesky little goblin. It got so bad that I will be giving away my sweet son’s huge water-shooting fire engine because The Goblin decided it would be fun to see if trucks can fly. I sat on him at the playground to help him stay in his designated time-out spot (goblins like to run, you see). But before you go thinking I’m an abusive parent, I didn’t actually sit on him. I sat behind him, giving him a huge leg-and-arm bear hug to keep the kicking and hitting to a minimum, as goblins do not liked to be hugged. Goblins also like to cause huge scenes and aren’t satisfied until everyone has noticed them, given them the desired dirty look and whispered some demeaning comment to their friends. Why didn’t I just leave the playground, you ask? Well, goblins like to sabotage any fun that angelic little sisters are having. As easy as it would have been to pack up and go, The Goblin would’ve won, and I just can’t have that! Apparantly a nice loooong nap will bore a goblin, because he was miraculously gone when I woke up my sweet little boy. Yes, my sweet little boy had returned. We read stories, set up teepees in the back yard, danced, ate dinner, watched part of his favorite movie, and enjoyed the evening together. Just the way I like it.

Now, if I could only figure out how to keep that annoying little creature from getting out… 

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Article tags: Goblin, Rule of Three Diet, Tyler Durden, Wikipedia

Posted: October 5th, 2007 under Daily Journal, Kid Stuff.
Comments: 3

Howdy Ho!
Why must my three year old son always wait until I’m eating to poop? I’m diving into my wonderful chicken salad when my three year old son gets up from the table to use the restroom. Two minutes later I hear him, “MOM! I went poops!” This is my signal to go in and help him with, well…yeah. Then I am supposed to go back to my half finished meal and look at it the same way. While I can’t wait for this phase to be over, I guess it’s good for limiting calories in the meantime.

I crack myself up.

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Article tags: Better Homes and Gardens Swiss Oatmeal, Poop, Rule of Three Diet, V8 juice

Posted: September 25th, 2007 under Daily Journal, Kid Stuff.
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