food.health.play

2013.04.19

Hello Straw!

When we are out and about Kaiden used a sippy cup for a couple of months, but once he was over 14 months we decided he needed a bigger boys cup – a straw cup. He loves to drink from a real glass, but when you are out a convenient, sealable cup is needed.

Of course I had my criteria for the cup’s material: BPA, PVC, Pthalate, and Lead Free. Most companies these days will list that they are BPA free right on their package, but I had to send an email to find out about the others. Some cups that I looked into were not lead free, or couldn’t say for sure! I was also looking for something spill-proof, if possible.

I had success finding a cup that met the criteria, but it ended up being hard for Kaiden to open on his own, and spilled when it was turned upside down or shaken like a maraca. Kaiden is very musical and will try to turn any object into a musical instrument.

Then I found the thinkbaby brand while grocery shopping and they seemed to meet all of my requirements. They listed everything I was looking for right on the box!

I love how transparent they are about the product. I was also lucky enough to be sent one for Kaiden to try out and review.

As soon as we gave him this straw cup he loved it!

Now, I do know his favourite food colour is orange, so am not sure if the cap helps with his love of the cup but he would not put it down. It’s designed very well to fit nicely into the grip of little hands. The cup is also extremely easy for him to open unlike his previous one where he would need me to help him.

He also did his shake and upside down test and no water came out – thanks to the cross cut on the tip of the straw. The downside is that this cup is a bit more expensive than other similar cups, but after seeing it in use I believe it is worth it.

This is definitely Kaiden’s favourite on-the-go cup!

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Posted in Review, Toddler | Tagged bpa free, eco, lead free, pthalate free, sippy cup, straw cup, thinkbaby, toddler | By jessie |

2013.04.12

Toddler Eats – 16 Months

I enjoy seeing what other toddlers are eating for ideas, so thought I’d share what Kaiden eats on a typical day. I meant to post this last Thursday and link up with Munchkin Meals but that didn’t happen. It’s happening today! The last eats post was when he was 8 months old and boy has a lot changed.

He pretty much feeds himself now with a spoon and fork. He is going through a bit of a picky phase where he wont eat whole beans or some vegetables that he used to eat just a couple of months ago. That’s not a problem though, as it is very easy to pulse them down and add them to a spread for toast or mix them in with couscous.

He has a mouth full of teeth – 11 1/2 – so he has started eating wraps and smaller sandwiches. It’s a lot of fun to see him enjoy his food, especially something new to him!

OK back to this particular day last week. Every morning he has a bowl of oatmeal (1/2 serving of the iron-fortified mixed grain cereal and 3 tbsp of our oatmeal). Then he has 1 tbsp of yogurt with some cut up fruit – mango on this day. We try and offer him some milk with breakfast, but almost always refuses!

This will normally hold him until lunchtime around 11:15ish. If he gets hungry in between, a pouch, some dried fruit or organic fruit roll ups come in handy.

Lunch consisted of Smashed Egg Couscous Balls, some mixed vegetables on the side and a banana. The little man loves his bananas. He will normally have some milk after his lunch as well.

Kaiden goes for a nap just after 12 and usually sleeps for about 1.5 – 2 hours. At 3, he normally has yogurt with thawed raspberries, but we were out and about that day so he had a handy pouch for a snack. He is loving the Kale, Peas & Pear pouch by Love Child Organics.

For dinner, we all normally eat the same meal. This was a quick dinner as we were out, so we threw together some macaroni and cheese with peas, kale and tofu cubes with strawberry for dessert.

What are your little ones eating? I would love more ideas! :)

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Posted in Baby, Toddler, Toddler Meals | Tagged dinner, eating, lunch, toddler meals, vegetarian | By jessie |

2013.04.09

Skillet Lasagna with Homemade Power Greens, Flax, Spelt and Whole Wheat Noodles

I saw this amazing looking recipe for a skillet lasagna last week that I really wanted to try. I had never even heard of making a lasagna in a skillet and it sounded interesting. That and my boys love pasta and cheese. So what could be better than Sunday dinner lasagna? Lasagna combined with homemade noodles, that’s what!

I decided to up the nutrition factor in my noodles by adding in a cup of power greens (baby spinach/kale/chard mix) along with some ground flax seeds. I did bring in some help to roll out the dough. Kaiden loves to help in the kitchen, so we had all hands on deck.

I’ve given my pasta recipe below. I followed the skillet lasagna recipe with some changes: no onion, 1 tbsp olive oil instead of 2, no spinach since I had it in my noodles, 2 garlic cloves instead of 4, added 1 cut up zucchini, used only 1/2 cup of whole milk, organic cottage cheese instead of ricotta and grated marble cheese on top of lasagna. Kaiden enjoyed his lasagna and getting to use his knife for the first time, although Daddy did the cutting.

Homemade Power Greens, Flax, Spelt and Whole Wheat Pasta

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1 cup power green leaves, pureed in a food processor (or baby spinach; we bought a bag of organic power greens – mixed baby kale, spinach and chard from Costco)
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
~1/4 cup water (or more until desired consistency is reached)
pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Combine the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the greens and mix. Pour in the olive oil (if using) and then the water. Mix together until dough comes together nicely into a ball form and knead. Place on a cutting board, cover and let rest for ~ 15 minutes if you have the time. Roll out as thin as you can and cut into lasagna noodles. I used 5 noodles for the skillet lasagna and made the rest of the dough into spaghetti. Place noodles on the back of a chair to dry for a bit. Then add to boiling water for 6-7 minutes or to your liking. Enjoy! Next time, I think I will double the batch and freeze some of the pasta by following these easy instructions.

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Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Toddler Meals | Tagged asparagus, cheese, cottage cheese, flax, homemade pasta, lasagna, mushrooms, spelt, whole wheat, zucchini | By jessie |

2013.04.03

Red Bean Dip

This past weekend we had almost spring-like weather and took advantage of it with some walks and park time. Kaiden is still loving the swings and slides and walking around on the path. I love seeing my boys walking together. It warms my heart.

This weekend I cooked up a batch of red kidney beans to use in a salad and decided to make a dip/spread that would be Kaiden friendly. He is going through a phase where he has decided he doesn’t like to eat whole beans. I’m not sure if it’s the texture or the skin on the beans, he just wont do it. He will eat mashed beans on toast or mixed into couscous balls. A quick and delicious red bean dip arrives to save the day. And it’s savoury enough for mom & dad too!

No big recipe was needed as it is super easy. Add cooked red beans into a food processor with garlic powder, chili powder, a bit of olive oil, and a touch of salt. Mix. Add in water to thin out the dip to your liking. This comes together easily and is extremely tasty. Try it spread on a piece of toast with cream cheese underneath. Amazing.

I’m hoping the weather warms up soon as I really need to get out and run soon. My body misses it!

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Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Toddler Meals | Tagged dinner, dip, lunch, protein, red bean, red kidney beans, snack, spread, vegan, vegetarian | By jessie |

2013.04.01

April showers bring… cute toddler rain boots!

With March coming to an end, April showers are just around the corner. This means changing from winter boots to cute shiny rain boots. I was super excited when I was given the opportunity to try out the adorable new rain bootz from Stonz!

Kaiden has been using his Stonz Booties all winter and they have kept his feet dry and warm as he has been exploring the snow filled ground.

He wasn’t walking last year at this time so he will get to experience for the first time the fun of jumping in puddles. I love that these bootz are 100% rubber and are PVC, phthalate, lead, and formaldehyde-free – all the things I look out for when purchasing anything for my little man. Kaiden was very excited when the boots arrived and he got to open them.

We did order a size up so they are a bit big for him but this way he can grow into them. They look and feel very well made and flexible enough for the movement of little feet and legs.

He does walk a bit funny in them as he has never had tall boots on before, but he really liked them – he kept doing laps around the kitchen and family room. He was not impressed when I tried to take them off! Looking forward to taking them for a ~~spin~~ jump once the rain begins!

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Posted in Baby, Review, Toddler | By jessie |

2013.03.25

Baking with Daddy

Scenes from our kitchen early Sunday morning. Kaiden’s first baking experience and he loved it – didn’t want to come off the chair when they were done!

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Posted in Uncategorized | By jessie |

2013.03.22

Smashed Egg Couscous Balls

I thought I would share a healthy, quick and best of all, toddler approved lunch idea. Kaiden ate these with gusto and totally wanted more. He doesn’t really like scrambled eggs but loves when I make a spread of the eggs on bread or mixed with couscous. This makes a super easy protein filled lunch which I served with a side of mixed vegetables.

Smashed Egg Couscous Balls

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cooked couscous
1 hard boiled egg, smashed
avocado, to your liking
dash of olive oil
dash of organic balsamic vinegar
pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Combine the smashed egg, avocado, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt in a bowl and smash together with a fork. Should become slightly creamy. Add in the couscous and mix together. Form balls and enjoy!

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He’s just recently started saying ‘mmmm’ when he’s liking something and learning to blow kisses. Here he is enjoying his smashed egg couscous balls.

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Posted in Toddler Meals | Tagged avocado, couscous, egg, meals, toddler | By jessie |

2013.03.19

Hello Target

Our nearest Target store opened today in Aurora, so Kaiden and I decided to check it out this morning.

The first thing I noticed was how nice and smooth the new carts moved! Very nice for me, but my little man wasn’t too happy about the recline angle of his seat. He started to arch his back within a few minutes, trying to escape.

I was happy to see that they have the same brands of children’s clothing as the States, and for about the same price (some were maybe $1 or $2 more). While in Florida last month, we picked up a swim shirt and shorts and are happy to know that this summer we could get the next size up at our local store.

There were some cute workout tops for under $20 which I will have to try on next time. They are also carrying the maternity line – which could come in handy should we decide to have another baby in the near future.

On the down side, I noticed that they don’t carry the same selection of baby creams in Canada. Brands such as California Baby were missing. I was really hoping they would have this line as we use the Calendula Cream all the time. No organic yogurt, frozen veggies or fruit were found, although I can’t remember if those types of products are found Stateside. ** Update: On March 26, 2013 I did find organic milk for $4.99 for 2L and they did have Astro Organic yogurt, but only with skim milk. So looks like they might be stocking up on more organic products. Yay!

Overall, it totally feels like the same Target and is much, much nicer than the store that was there before it.

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Posted in Baby, Fitness, Pregnancy, Uncategorized | By jessie |

2013.03.18

“Creamy” Lentil Barley Soup

I really thought spring was on it’s way from our last weekend here, but temperatures have dropped this week again! Kaiden has been sick all week, and has made him quite the picky eater. He hasn’t been liking some of my more ‘gourmet’ meals, but would rather eat toast, muffins, fruit, pureed food pouches and of course his yogurt. So what does a mom make to satisfy the picky sick toddler? Why, she would make a super easy protein packed lentil barley and potato soup, of course. My sick little boy couldn’t get enough and neither could Daddy! So I would say this is a winner, and one recipe that should be shared. Try it as soon as you can to warm up on a cold March day. Like today! :)

Kaiden’s getting to be a pro at using his spoon. He fed himself for most of the meal, until the end when he asks for some help. Looking at these pictures I have realized that it might be time to give in and give him a hair cut. Or maybe we can put it off for a bit longer and keep the shaggy mullet going.

Red Lentil Potato Barley Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 cup barley, rinsed
6 small potatoes
2 carrots
1/4 onion
2 garlic cloves
wedge of lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt, to taste

Directions:

Sautee onions, garlic and carrots in olive oil on low medium heat. Sprinkle with a bit of salt. Add potatoes and sautee for a few minutes. Pour in 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add lentils and barley and simmer for 45 minutes. Adding more water if needed. Squeeze a bit of lemon into the soup and puree until smooth.

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