I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I hope you all get to spend some time with the ones you love.  I hope you all get to eat more than your fair share of turkey and all the trimmings.  I hope you each get to take a moment to think about all the things you have to be thankful for.

Tomorrow I’ll be hosting my first Thanksgiving dinner.  Lorne’s parents are in town and a friend of ours is coming over with his little girl to join us for dinner.  We’ll be sitting around eating lots of (hopefully) good food and enjoying the company of friends and family.   It should be the perfect day.

I’ll definitely be taking a few minutes out of my day tomorrow to give thanks for my two favorite people in the world.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

Living in a condo you get to know your neighbors in a way you often don’t when you live in a house.  Passing in the hallway every day, sharing a fire escape patio, and having to work with each other to get things done in the building means those people who start out as just neighbors end up becoming very dear friends.  The type of friends you are sad to say goodbye to when you move out of that condo.

When we moved it was hard to say goodbye to a couple of our neighbors because they had become very dear friends.  Maya had known and loved them since she was born.  They were a big part of her life.  We knew we were going to have to make sure we stayed in touch and try to see each other as often as possible.  So, Saturday night we had them over for a barbecue.  Tom and Wendy, our neighbors from across the hall who we just love and who are some of the few people who have ever taken care of Maya for us, and Loren and her dog Molly, our neighbors right below us, came over to check out our new digs and hang out like old times.

What ensued was an amazing evening of good food, good friends and good laughs.  Maya enjoyed having an audience while she was playing in the pool

We ended the evening having good great fun watching Maya play with whip cream!!

We had an amazing time hanging out with our old neighbors who are now just simply good friends.  We are looking forward to our next fun get together.

Thank you Loren for the great pictures

Walking through the grocery store pushing a shopping cart, trying to remember all the things on your list that you forgot to bring with you and trying to stay on budget all while wrangling your children can make for a chaotic grocery shopping experience.  It can be easy to skip over the healthy stuff and just grab what is quick and easy.  We all want to eat more healthy foods, give our children healthy snack options and cook healthy, flavorful meals, but it isn’t always easy to focused on that while being tempted by so many unhealthy, yummy alternatives at the grocery store.

There are a few tricks to navigating the grocery store so that you stay on task (buying healthy foods for your family):

• Always make a list.  Determine what meals you will prepare before hand so you know what ingredients to buy and so you won’t be tempted by easy, prepared foods.
• Shop on a full stomach.  It is a lot easier to be tempted by unhealthy food options when your stomach is growling.
• Know what the healthy options are in each section of the store.
  • Breads: look for whole wheat or whole grain options.  Also look for breads that offer lots of fiber.
  • Pastas, cereals and rice: look for whole grain options, and options that are lower in sugar.
  • Produce:  you can’t go wrong in this section.  Be generous and fill your cart with lots of fruits and veggies.
  • Dairy: looks for low fat options such as skim or 1% for milk, yogurt and cheeses.
  • Meat: look for lean poultry and fish.  Limit your red meats and when you do purchase red meats opt for lean cuts.
  • Snacks: Limit the processed snacks you purchase.  Look for baked options and light popcorn.
• Try to buy for the full week or two weeks so you can avoid additional trips to the store.  You are more likely to purchase extra, unhealthy items the more often you are at the store.

The key is to know what you want before you get there, filling your cart with fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy so there isn’t much room for unhealthy sugary or salty snacks.  I always forget to make a list, but when I do I find a make much better food choices and am much less likely to have to go back to the store again for stuff I forgot.

What tricks do you use to navigate the grocery store so that you are making healthy choices?

The weather here in St. Louis has been absolutely gorgeous this spring.  We’ve had this incredible stretch of warm, sunny weather that just makes you want to be outside.   Who are we to argue with Mother Nature, if she wants us to be outside, we will be outside!!  Pretty much every day we have enjoyed at least some time outside.  We’ll either go to the park, the zoo, go for a walk after dinner, or just simply play outside for a little bit before bedtime.  Maya has been just loving it, and so have Lorne and I.

One things I’ve always loved to do is go sit some where pretty and have a picnic.  When the weather gets gorgeous like this I just can’t resist the urge to pack up our lunch or our dinner and head outside to enjoy it.  Last week we went on our first picnic of the year.  I packed up our dinner and as soon as Lorne got home from work we headed to the park just down the street, laid out our picnic blanket and enjoyed a beautiful evening together.

Maya LOVED it and has been asking to go on another picnic ever since.  So, yesterday I decided we’d have a picnic lunch.  We ate Maya’s favorite lunch, bagels and fruit.  She ate, ran around, ate some more.  It was just an all around good time.

Ahhh, gotta love picnic season

Maya loves to eat, she will try almost any food you put in front of her.  She loves food and isn’t afraid to try new things.  It hasn’t always been that way though.  For a while there I thought we might be destined to deal with an insanely picky eater forever.  But somewhere along the way she became transformed into this eating machine

When Maya was about 5 months old I started introducing her to solid foods.  I started out with rice cereal as recommended by our pediatrician.  She was not impressed by any stretch of the imagination.  The face she is making in this photo is one I saw every time I stuck a spoon in her mouth (assuming she would open her mouth and let me put the spoon in, in the first place).

There were very few baby foods she would eat.  I could occasionally get her to eat peas, squash, this pre-mixed peach cereal stuff in a jar and prunes, but that was it.  She hated applesauce, all baby cereals, and most veggies.  For quite sometime she lived on breast milk alone because she wouldn’t even open her mouth to try anything.

Things got a little easier when we introduced finger foods.  She loved those Gerber Puffs, the freeze dried yogurt thingys, cheerios and peaches.   I think for a while there she would have been happy to live on peaches

We struggled with her eating, or lack there of, for a while.  She wouldn’t try anything.  The few things she would eat just didn’t cut it as meals and didn’t give her enough of the nutrients she needed.  When it finally came time to wean her completely from breastfeeding I was worried that she wasn’t going to get enough to eat, that she would starve because she refused to eat anything.

She didn’t starve.  As a matter of fact she started slowly doing much better in the eating department.  There were several things we did that helped her,  including; not making any meal time a battle, if she wanted to eat great, if not, fine.  We continued to provide her lots of healthy options at each meal.  I started letting her choose what she was going to eat for breakfast and lunch and we basically just let her control her own eating.

One day I realized that I no longer had a picky eater.  Instead my daughter had been transformed into a good eater.  She is the type of kid you can take out to dinner with you and not have to worry about what will be on the menu.  This past weekend we even took her out for sushi with us.  Now, granted, she didn’t much care for the actual sushi but she loved the miso soup and the japanese house salad  Watching her eat this weekend I was proud of her for being so willing to try new things.  I was proud of us for sticking with it and helping transform her into an amazing little eating machine.  She even used chop sticks

For as long as I can remember these shortbread cookies have been a staple at Christmas.  Every year my Mum would bake at least 2 batches (usually more).  We’d always eat them as fast as she could make them.  They were always the cookie of choice to bring along to Christmas functions such as the church potluck luncheon or our school Christmas parties.

Maya and I made a batch yesterday (pictured above).  Maya’s favorite part was adding the sprinkles

Here is the recipe for my Mum’s world famous Shortbread Cookies.

1/2 cup Corn Starch

1/2 cup Icing Sugar

1 cup Flour

3/4 cup Butter

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2. Sift together the corn starch, icing sugar and floor.

3. Add the butter and mix well until a smooth, soft dough forms (my mum uses a spoon but I often use my hands because I find it goes faster).

4. Shape the dough into small balls and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

5. Flatten each ball with a fork and put on the sprinkles (sprinkles optional).

6. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 mins or until edges are lightly browned.

Recipes about 3 dozen cookies.

This is a great recipe to make with kids because it is so easy and there aren’t a ton of ingredients or steps.

If you decide make a batch for your family let me know what you think.  I can tell you I have yet to find a person who doesn’t like these cookies

SunButter is a peanut butter alternative made from sunflower seeds.  I picked up a jar of SunButter to give it a try since my daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.  Both my husband and I love peanut butter so my goal was to find a product that would be a good substitute.  One that would mimic peanut butter well both in everyday use like on toast or on a peanut butter sandwich as well as in recipes like cookies or monkey munch.

Admittedly, I was a little skeptical.  I just couldn’t see how a product made without peanuts could really taste like peanut butter.  My first try of SunButter was on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  SunButter tasted almost exactly like peanut butter.  The consistency was pretty similar to natural peanut butter and spread really well on the bread.  Now, I will admit that Maya wasn’t a huge fan but she can sometimes not be a fan of something the first time she tries it.  I’ll let her try a few more times before I say for sure if she likes it or not.

I think SunButter will be very useable as a peanut butter substitute in recipes.  Based on the taste and consistency I would imagine that SunButter can easily be substituted into baking recipes in the same quantities as the recipe calls for.  As with any substitutions it may take a little trial and error before you get the perfect amount.  I’m going to give it a try in monkey munch later this week so I’ll let you know how that goes.

My one big disappointment was the price.  I had to pay over $6 for a 1lb jar.  Now, I bet the pricing was high because the store I purchased it from saw an opportunity to gauge the consumer a little given that people looking for peanut alternative “peanut butter” don’t have a whole lot of options.  You can find it cheaper (about half the price) online at places like, Peanut Free Planet.

So, the bottom line is that price aside I am very impressed.  SunButter is definitely a peanut butter alternative that this admitted peanut lover could get used to.  If you have children with peanut allergies it is definitely worth giving this product a try.  I would recommend purchasing it online though as you will be able to get a much better deal!

I’ve learned that having a child with a nut allergy means you have to read the labels of everything you buy a little more carefully. As you load your grocery cart you are looking for actual nuts in the ingredients list of everything you pick up as well as special label warnings such as “may contain nuts”, “produced on shared equipment with nuts”, or “produced in a facility that also processes nuts”. Since even the smallest amount of nut protein can result in an allergic reaction it is always best to steer clear of any product you either suspect may contain nuts, or you suspect may have come into contact with nuts.

Remember, there is a lot of stuff out there that is perfectly safe for your child to eat and the more you learn about nuts and nut allergies the better you will get at identifying safe and unsafe foods.

There are a few foods that are considered “high risk” for those with nut allergies. They include;

• Baked goods: Unless you make it yourself or it has a clear label that it is safe it is probably a good idea to avoid it. Cross-contamination is very common with baked goods as there is a lot of sharing of prep surfaces, cooking surfaces and cooking utensils.
• Candy (especially chocolate): There are a few candy manufacturers that make some of their chocolate and candies in nut free facilities, however, most are prepared on shared surfaces with nut products. Read the labels carefully. If it isn’t labeled as safe, skip it.
• Ice Cream: Cross-contamination is very common in ice cream parlors. The same scoop is used over and over again. Even soft serve can become cross-contaminated if the same machine dispenses multiple kinds of ice cream. Do your research before allowing your child to eat ice cream while you’re out. The safest thing to do is to buy a carton of ice cream from the store so you know what the ingredients are and you know the product is safe.
• Ethnic Foods: African and Asian cuisine often contain peanuts and tree nuts. With Mexican and Mediterranean cuisine cross-contamination is possible as some of their dishes may contain nuts. It is best to avoid these foods unless you absolutely know it is safe (ie you made it yourself or have talked to the restaurant owner and chef).
• Sauces: Many chefs use peanuts, peanut butter, or other nuts to thicken their sauces. Read labels, talk to the restaurant manager, and know it is safe before you allow your child to consume it.

To name a few. It really comes down to doing your homework. Thankfully food labels are a lot easier to read now adays and often contain special warnings that make it so much easier to identify safe and unsafe foods. Nuts can be easy to avoid if you know what to look for.

Here are a few helpful websites:

• AllergicChild.com
• PeanutAllergy.com
• KidsHealth
• FoodAllergies.org

Kids, especially toddlers, are notoriously picky eaters. It can be difficult at times to get them to eat much of anything. They may find one food, like mash potatoes, that they just love and good luck getting them to put anything other than that one food in their mouth. Good nutrition is important for a growing child. It helps with development, weight, activity level, and much more. So what can you do to help your child get more variety and more nutrition in their daily diet?

Here are a few tips and tricks that may help.

• Kids have an innate ability to know how much food their body needs. Let them tell you when they are full; don’t force them to finish everything on their plate if they tell you they are full.

• Enjoy meal time in a relaxed environment. Don’t stress or make a big deal out of your child’s pickiness, or the introduction of a new food to his plate.  They are more likely to try something new if no one is making a big deal about it.

• Serve a variety of healthy choices at each meal, that way your child is more likely to fulfill his nutritional needs even if he just picks a little at everything.

• When introducing new foods do so one at a time. Give your child time to get used to and hopefully enjoy the new item before you introduce another one. Make sure the meal still includes at least one thing your child likes, that way if the new item doesn’t go over well there is still something for her to eat.

• Make sure you are using age appropriate portion sizes. Don’t pile on the serving sizes and expect them to finish everything, or even touch everything. Get an idea of about how much makes your child full and put that size portion on their plate, if they want more they will ask for it.

• Children can be very sensitive to texture, smell, and even color. So if your child claims to dislike something he hasn’t even tried before, it is likely because he doesn’t like the way it looks or smells. Encourage him to try it, but don’t force him.

• Resist the urge to give your child low nutrition, sugary snacks just to get them to eat something. They are more likely to try new things and eat their dinner if they are hungry. Find snacks that have high nutritional value, like their favorite fruit for snack time.

If you are concerned about your child not getting enough to eat or enough nutrition talk to your pediatrician. They may have some great suggestions for you. When it comes to dealing with a picky eater patience and persistence are key.

Something that I think is important to all of us is a healthy family. Everything becomes much easier when everyone is fit and healthy. The challenge is figuring out what you can do to help your family become and stay fit and healthy.

This week I was chosen to participate in The Healthy & Fit Family Carnival. The carnival features ten great articles about things to help build and maintain a healthy family. I encourage you to stop by and read through various articles. You can learn about everything from brain foods for your kids to how to use play time to help shed unwanted pounds.

Also, when you have a few minutes, be sure to check out this week’s Carnival of Family Life, full of fun, interesting, and heartwarming stories.