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Tue
25 ^th

My Daughter Is Skinny & My Dog Is Fat… Getting My Toddler To Eat.

Posted by Pinparent — 13 Comments

There has been a year long power struggle in our home. My loyal readers know of our battle with getting our daughter to eat. For the first year of her life, Mai was such a good eater. She nursed every two hours until she started solids.. We started her on solids early because she was always so hungry. Mai was a cute roly poly infant. She would eat just about anything mama & dada put in front of her.

Then one day, a switch flipped. My child lost her desire for food.

All of a sudden, we had to get sneaky with our food preparation & find ways to entertain her to keep her in her seat long enough to take a couple of bites. It seemed as if anything we would try to feed her would go untouched. There were days at a time that she hardly ate a thing at all. This is a major cause of anxiety for my husband & I. Duke, our dog is grateful for all the extra food though.. He is currently about 20 pounds overweight.

At her last doctor’s visit, the doctor informed us that Mai had dropped into the 30th percentile for her weight when she had once been in the 90th. He understood our dilemma, but told us that if she did not put on at least a pound by her next visit, she would have to have testing. I do not want this.

Mommy was desperate. After speaking with the doctor, he got me to realize something. I needed to loosen up. I was so concerned with feeding her the right foods at the right times, that I was missing opportunities to get my child to eat. It was time to change our more structured ways & kick up the creativity a notch & get this baby to eat. While she is still not on board 100%, we have made some progress. Here is what works best for us because airplane just won’t do.

1. Reading to her during meals. This is our most common and successful method. We refer to this as “Mai’s dinner theater”. She has special book reserved just for dinner. It keeps her from squirming and asking to get down.

2. Add a dipping sauce. Our daughter is a dipper. Whether it is ketchup, syrup or salad dressing, she loves to dip her food.

3. Bribing her with rewards. This is probably a bad idea, after all my daughter is not a dog, but it does work on the same principle. Mai loves her fruit snacks. When I am having an evening that she is just playing with her food & asks for a snack instead, I break out a packet of her favorite snack. We trade a half of a fruit snack for a big bite of food.

IMG_20140409_191321447 — A eating medal for my munchkin made out of foam cutouts and a ribbon.

4. Get over the mess. Toddlers are messy. They will learn to eat in a neater manner as they get older. Struggling with them over clean eating causes more frustration than eating.

5. Let her eat someplace different. Our daughter is not a fan of her booster seat but she loves her safety stool. Sometimes giving her the option to stand in her stool at the counter helps encourages her to eat. Since it is important to us that we eat together as a family, mommy & daddy will bring our plates up to the kitchen island too.

6. Let her be the mommy. The other evening, she wanted her Teddy in the high chair to eat instead of herself. She wanted to feed him. She grabbed the fork intended for her & brought it up to her bear’s mouth.

I told her that she needed to take a bite too to show Teddy how to eat. This worked.

7. Serve fun to eat food. I have tried dressing up her food by making cute little characters out of her meals. Mai is actually not too impressed with decorated food. What she does like though are easy to eat finger foods. Whenever possible, I make things in balls or muffin form. Check out my French Toast Balls: http://thepinterestedparent.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/french-toast-balls/

8. Let her eat when she is hungry. I was so concerned with meal schedules that I was ignoring my daughter’s hunger cues. When we are hungry we eat, why should it be any different for my daughter. While routines are great, our tummies don’t always look at the clock.

9. Don’t force your child to eat or get frustrated. This will discourage them from eating. I am sometimes guilty of this & I have to remind myself not to get upset. Here is Mai doing an impression of an exasperated mommy after she refuses to eat. “Mai Mai copy Mama.” She nailed it!

Related Topics:

http://raisingkidswithlove.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/picky-toddler-eating/

http://alittlehousework.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/nutritious-toddler-super-muffins/

http://highchairsandheadaches.com/2014/03/15/you-know-you-have-a-picky-eater-when/

Thu
06 ^th

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Posted by Pinparent — 12 Comments

My experimentations with wheat flour continue. Trying to cut refined flours out of my diet has sometimes been a challenge. It has been 7 months since my attack of Pancreatitis & with switching to whole grains, eliminating red meats & fried foods, I have lost 25 pounds. I do still get a craving for my sweets sometimes, so if I can drop in a little chocolate from time to time, it keeps me happy.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup wheat baking flour
3/4 cup oats
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg whites
2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 tbsp melted butter
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Beat egg and add oil, milk and butter. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips. Turn griddle to medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Mixture is thinner than usual batter. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter and pour into hot griddle. Cook until tops are bubbling and firm enough to flip. Cook other side and continue with batter until you have used it all.

Related Topics:

Blini (Russian Buckwheat Pancakes)

Greek yogurt protein pancakes

http://lisaskitchentable.wordpress.com/2014/02/06/vegan-pancakes/

Thu
23 ^rd

Healthy Peanut Butter & Jelly Wheat Muffins

Posted by Pinparent — 23 Comments

Conversation with my recently turned 2 year old daughter during breakfast this morning…

Mai: Mama, jelly.
Me: You want jelly on your cinnamon bun?
Mai: Yes!
I spread a little jelly on her bun
Mai: Mama, more jelly…biiiigg jelly
Me: There is no more jelly baby
Mai: Jelly at the store
I break down in laughter & against my better judgment take out the jelly to give her just a little bit more. I’m such a sucker sometimes.
Mai: Mama, find it! (Claps her hands)

It seems as if overnight my little girl has grown up. She is talking up a storm, forming full sentences & developing a mind of her own.

She recently discovered that she loves jelly. She wants to spread it on toast, pancakes & now apparently cinnamon buns.

Let’s see if she likes it in a muffin too.

Peanut butter & jelly muffins

I try to bake with whole wheat flour whenever I can. If you chose to make these using enriched flour, you will have to adjust your measurements. For every cup of enriched flour used in a recipe, it only takes 3/4 cup of wheat flour. You will need to adjust your liquid measurements as well.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat baking flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup all natural organic peanut butter

1/3 cup of apple sauce

2 egg whites

1 cup of skim milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, both sugars, salt & baking powder in a bowl. Add the peanut butter & mix until all the oils are absorbed & mixture gets clumpy. Knead between fingers until well mixed & forming crumbles. Add apple sauce, egg whites & milk & stir just until wet ingredients are absorbed. Add a spoonful of mixture to a greased muffin tin. Add a spoonful of jelly to the center of the mixture & then top with the remainder of the muffin mix. Bake for about 20 minutes. (Cook times may vary) Let cool & serve to your favorite jelly lover.

The verdict: My little girl gobbled them up and so did mommy & daddy.

Related Topics:

http://nourishedbycorynn.com/2014/01/23/snow-days-and-banana-cocao-muffins/

http://thelivefitgirl.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/banana-nut-muffins/

Avocado Chocolate Orange Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Muffins (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

Wed
22 ^nd

Crunchy Soy Sauce and Ginger Chickpeas

Posted by Pinparent — 16 Comments

One of my biggest diet issues has always been that I am a huge snacker. My husband is a snacker, our 2 year old little girl is a snacker. It makes it very difficult to stay on track when bags of Doritos and Skittles are being passed around.

Roasted chickpeas are a healthy crunchy alternative to greasy chips. They are also a simple treat to make. So, if you are looking for a low fat, healthy & yummy option to your late night cravings, try these.

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas

1 tsp of soy sauce -Use the good stuff. Green Mountain or Maggi is my favorite. (Kikkoman & La Choy just don’t taste the same)

1/4 tsp of ground ginger

1/4 tsp of garlic salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450.

Empty out the can of chickpeas and blot off the excess liquid.

In a bowl combine all ingredients and mix until evenly coated. Roast at 450 for about 40-45 minutes or until crunchy. Remove from the oven & let cool.

Serve and enjoy your yummy & healthy snack

Related Topics:

http://alearningwife.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/the-homemade-hummus-adventure/

http://thevegaquariantimes.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/super-fast-and-healthy-curry-kale-chickpeabowl/

Fri
27 ^th

Low Fat Frozen Yogurt Pops

Posted by Pinparent — 11 Comments

Now that the holidays are over, it is time to get back on the low fat horse. It was a difficult few weeks for me sticking to my restrictions. I admit, I cheated far more than I should have & I paid for it. I have felt horrible from all of the junk food & I am ready to get back to my old healthy life style. The problem is I have an enormous love for sweets.
My one indulgence since the doctor put me on my special diet has been non fat frozen yogurt. It is my favorite evening treat. I like to jazz up my fro-yo from time to time to keep it fun. This recipe is two of my favorite things, quick & easy. They are also delicious & did I mention low fat.

Frozen Yogurt Pops

Ingredients:

Fat free or low fat frozen yogurt (vanilla,chocolate or strawberry will do)

1 cup of fat free Cool Whip

1 Tbsp of fat free chocolate pudding

1 Sleeve of graham crackers (crushed)

Cake pop sticks

Directions:

Crush graham crackers using a potato masher.

Mix Cool Whip & pudding until well blended.

Scoop the a ball of frozen yogurt using a scooper. Roll between palms if needed to create a ball.

Originally, I inserted the cake pop stick into the ball & then rolled it into the pudding/cream mixture but then found it difficult to roll into the crumbs without falling out after. So I used my hands to dip for the rest & then inserted the pop sticks.

Roll the coated yogurt ball into the cracker crumbs until well covered.

Insert the stick & repeat. Place pops on a plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap & freeze.

Serve and enjoy.

http://healyourselfwithfood.wordpress.com/2013/12/24/gluten-free-apple-tart/

http://balancedbaby.me/2013/12/24/bonbon-balls-brownies/

Mon
23 ^rd

French Toast Balls

Posted by Pinparent — 40 Comments

*Featured image has been updated*

Happy Christmas Eve Eve. We are only two days away & it has been a busy & exciting holiday so far. I am thrilled that we have the next few days off together as a family because it is so rare. Yesterday, there was a party for the kids at a Polish club from my husband’s home town. Mai saw Santa for the third time this season. She was still not impressed.

With all of the excitement from yesterday, Mai hardly ate a thing. As you all already know if you tune in with me often, she is not the best eater. This morning I wanted to ensure that she had a good breakfast before we headed out for some last minute Christmas shopping. There is one thing that I know about my toddler, she loves to eat anything bite sized. She is a snacker. It is not the same if I cut in to small pieces. It has to be a bite sized morsel on it’s own. She knows the difference.

One of my favorite breakfast foods is French toast. My daughter likes it too…sometimes. It depends on her mood. This morning we had an idea to form our French toast into little balls. Our hopes were that it would make her breakfast more appetizing. Will it work?

French Toast Balls

4 slices of wheat bread

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup Powdered sugar

2 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tbsp apple juice

One egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat egg slightly. Mix in the vanilla & juice.

Cut bread into quarters. You may remove crusts for better shape or choose to keep them on.

Roll into a bite sized ball with your fingers.

Place balls into beaten egg. Let sit for a couple of minutes to absorb the egg. Scoop the balls out.

Dip into the mixture of cinnamon, brown sugar & powdered sugar.

Place on a greased cooking tray & bake until golden brown & slightly crispy on the outside. This usually only takes a few minutes & cook time varies, so watch them carefully.

Watch your munchkin enjoy.

She loved helping mommy make them & she loved eating them too. I even got a “Mmmmmmm” out of her this morning. Try our quick and easy trick for your finicky toddler.

Try it with cinnamon raisin bread too.

Thank you as always for stopping by. Please follow us on Facebook as well.

http://beingmrspierce.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/pumpkin-streusel-coffee-cake-new-recipe-103/

http://zosedesigns.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/christmas-pancakes/

Mon
11 ^th

Fun Food Art

Posted by Pinparent — 6 Comments

Meal times are a stressful time in our house. My daughter is not the most cooperative eater and it is often a high point of anxiety for myself and my husband. She goes in phases. Sometimes she will surprise me & eat well for 3 days in a row. I get hopeful and think maybe we have had a breakthrough and then she will go into the next 3 days without touching anything on her plate again.
We try to make meal time as entertaining as possible for our finicky daughter. She is a busy little girl and is not a fan of having to sit still for a meal. We often do meal time dinner theater, where we read to her as she eats. She has a favorite selection of books reserved just for mealtime.
When possible, I serve her food in muffin or bite sized form, which she shows a preference to. We make her dips and sauces because she enjoys dipping her food. Unfortunately lately, she has realized that she can keep dipping the same piece of food without actually biting it and she just licks off the sauce. “What did your daughter have for dinner, tonight?”… “Ketchup, why what did yours eat?”

I am always trying different ideas to make meals more appealing to her.
In my Pinterest travels, I have often come across different example of toddler food art. The meals contain different healthy foods arranged to form pictures of animals, cars, cartoons, etc on the plate. This always looked interesting to me. The meals looked cute, but would cute be enough to win over our daughter. Let’s find out.

For snacktime we went with owl. The owl’s head was formed using wheat bread with peanut butter. I used american cheese, raisins and Cheerios for the eyes and a raisin for the nose. The body is made with a half of a graham cracker. The wings are formed using a heel of wheat bread and banana & the feet were slivers of carrot.

Mommy gave this to Miss Mai . She laughed and pointed and said “bird, bird” and then very promptly looked up at me and said “phant, phant, phant” “Ok honey, an elephant it is.

I told you she was picky.

I recut and rearranged some of the pieces and added a fruit roll up for the tail.

The elephant is served.

The verdict…

She did like the fun shape of her snack but all our little snacker was interested in was the fruit roll up tail.

The moral…

The shape of your snack has no impact on whether they will eat their meal or not but it will sure make them smile.

Bearing that in mind, this was still a fun project & I wanted to give it one more try.

Thanksgiving is nearing, so I thought a turkey would be a suitable choice.

The turkey’s body & head are again made of bread, but this time I toasted the bread. The turkey’s wattle is made from a red pepper and the feathers are fish sticks with pieces of cheese & green pepper.

My daughter likes fish sticks and peppers, so this one worked much better for her.

Like I said before, this was a fun project. Mai did enjoy the funny appearance of her food & I enjoyed creating them. I will continue to practice this interesting art form.

Up next…Chick Pea french fries

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