The following post is by editor Kara Fleck.

Last Saturday morning my daughter Jillian and I found ourselves awake before the rest of the family.  Normally when I am awake early on a weekend morning it is because of the youngest member of our family, so it was nice for my oldest child and I to get to spend some one on one time together.

While the rest of the family slept, she and I decided to surprise them with homemade cinnamon rolls.

We let our new (to us, anyway) bread machine do the work of the kneading and rising.

[We made our cinnamon rolls using the Money Saving Mom's bread machine cinnamon rolls recipe.  I substituted coconut oil and our flour was 3C all purpose with 1C wheat.]

As we waited, we sat at the table together, she sipping a glass of milk and me with my coffee, and we chatted about everything from For Better or For Worse comics (her current favorite comic) to whether or not she likes the new math program we’re using for homeschool.  She chattered, I listened, and we reconnected after a busy week.

It was a sweet, slow morning.  It was nice.

Later we rolled out the dough, spread on the filling, and cut the rolls before baking. I love that she is old enough to be a real help in the kitchen and I appreciate the extra pair of hands, not to mention her enthusiasm.

As the rolls were baking, the rest of the family began waking up and wandering into the kitchen.  Before long, the full on hustle and bustle of a weekend morning as a family of six was in effect.  Max and Lucy wanted to help and elected to spread the icing with some generous enthusiasm of their own.

When the family sat down to breakfast, I couldn’t help but notice Jillian’s beaming face as everyone was eating.  She was proud to have made something that everyone was enjoying.  It was a good morning.

It might have seemed like an ordinary morning to an outsider, but I know these are the moments to treasure.  Before I know it, the lanky ten year old in my kitchen is going to grow up into a young woman.  I’m going to blink and she’ll have a kitchen of her own.

As Natalie Merchant was crooning on my iPod recently, these are the days to remember.

We may just have to make Saturday morning cinnamon rolls a new mother-daughter tradition.  I know the three year old thinks so!

getting to eat together is one of the best parts

Other things we’ve been cooking and enjoying together:

• during homeschool study of Turkey, we tried ayran, a yogurt drink
• shrimp quesadillas (an eMeals recipe from their Clean Eating plan)*
• easy Italian bread sticks, another bread machine recipe found on Money Saving Mom
• raspberry bars, a recipe from The Whole Food Kitchen ecourse (which is over now, but you should mark on your calendars for next year when Heather offers it again.  It was very thorough and I learned a lot.)

Are you looking for some ideas for fun in the kitchen with younger children?  Corey of Teach Your Tot has some suggestions for a Cooking theme that might fit the bill.

What have you and your kids been cooking up in the kitchen? Have you discovered any new recipes?

*you can try eMeals’ new clean eating plan for a %10 discount with the coupon code CLEAN

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following post by contributor Christen Babb and originally appeared in March of 2010.

Every parent intuitively knows that the more your child is personally invested in a project, the more likely he is to learn and apply the knowledge gained. One of our many jobs as parents is to foster fun learning experiences that will encourage critical thinking and creative expression. If you are anything like me, sometimes it is hard enough to get through the day without adding another “to-do” to my list. However, when I decide to make an otherwise humble, everyday task a learning opportunity for my child, both of us are deeply enriched by the experience, creating a wonderful memory together.

Today, the featured recipes are in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. These recipes create an opportunity to teach your child a little bit about St. Patrick’s Day along with some hands-on-cooking techniques.  Cooking can be an exciting and powerful teaching tool for your child. You can be creative with any of your favorite recipes, applying information about family heritage or religious faith, for example.  As a bonus, your child will be more apt to eat the healthy foods he’s helped prepare!

Recipe: Irish Flag Stew

Encourage your child to help you prepare this recipe, even if it is as simple as pouring the cut vegetables in the pot. Make sure that you point out the orange carrots, the white potatoes, and the green peas in the recipe – symbolizing the colors of the Irish flag. Your child’s involvement will help encourage healthy eating. Paired with the following kid-friendly recipe, Whole Wheat Soda Bread, your entire family will delight in this wholesome and delicious meal.

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. lean stew beef
1/4 cup All Purpose flour
1 large onion, peeled and diced into 1″ pieces
5-6 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
5 small red potatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup pearled barley
6 cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium boxed variety
1 cup frozen green peas
1 tsp. dried thyme
Kosher salt + pepper to taste, if desired

Heat oil in large stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge beef chunks in flour and place in hot pot. Sear beef for about 3-4 minutes or just until just browned , remove from heat, and drain on a plate covered in a paper towel. (Beef does not have to be cooked through as it will return to the pot at a later time.)

Add onion and carrots to pot; you may need to add a little more olive oil to the pot, depending upon how “dry” it looks. Cook on medium heat until onions are translucent and carrots are “crisp-tender”.  Add barley, potatoes, seared beef, chicken stock, green peas and dried thyme.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low, allowing the stew to simmer until vegetables are fork tender (about 25 minutes).  Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Recipe: Whole Wheat Soda Bread

This recipe is based off the traditional Irish Soda Bread, but incorporates whole wheat flour for a healthier alternative. Unlike most bread recipes, this one is super simple so be sure your kids roll up their sleeves and get their hands in the dough! (I let my three year old “paint” the egg-wash on the dough.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. honey or agave nectar
2-1/2 cups of buttermilk*
1 egg + tsp. water (whisked together for egg wash)

*You cannot substitute regular milk for buttermilk. Buttermilk has a greater acidity level than regular milk and therefore reacts with the baking soda to give the bread it’s “rise”.

Mix first 5 dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add buttermilk and honey/agave nectar and mix with a wooden spoon  just until combined. Do not over mix. Divide dough in half and mound oval-shaped loaves onto a cooking stone or metal sheet pan covered with parchment paper. “Paint ” egg wash onto bread. Bake for 45-50 minutes until outside crust is a crunchy, dark brown. Serve warm with Irish Flag Stew.

While eating your Irish inspired meal, encourage your child to recall what he learned about St. Patrick’s Day. You might be surprised at how much he remembers!

What about you? What ways do you encourage your children to help in the kitchen?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following post is by contributor Jaimie Franchi of Two Chicks and a Hen. 

Last week I wrote about why I believe  cooking with our kids is important.  Many of you responded, and some of you listed even more reasons to bring kids into the kitchen.

7 Tips for Successful Cooking With Kids

Today I’d like to share some tips for how to successfully cook with kids.  If your small children have never cooked with you before, you might not all collaborate on a massive Thanksgiving meal the first time you cook together.  Start small, and you’ll  find that shared food prep becomes second nature before too long.

Until then, try these tips for making the experience smoother:

1. Teach your children, by showing, exactly how to complete even very simple, seemingly obvious cooking tasks.  Things that seem logical to an adult who has been stirring dry mixes or whisking eggs for 15 years are not necessarily intuitive to a child.  This is one of those things that truly took me a long time to process.  I’d hand over a task to my daughter and then feel frustrated when it resulted in an ineffective mess.  I didn’t initially realize that even if her fine and gross motor skills would allow her, for example, to stir without splashing the cake batter all over the counter, she didn’t necessarily understand the importance of keeping most of it in the bowl.  I now teach my girls how to do even very small kitchen tasks (when it’s something I care about how it’s done), and I’ve found this to be far more effective than just assuming that something is obvious to them.
2. Let go of your concern for perfection.  In some cases, the cooking tasks need to be completed in exactly the right manner, or the food won’t turn out properly.  Leave those tasks for yourself or closely monitor your kids.  But the reality is that some things really don’t matter.  My girls love to shape the loaves of bread before we bake them.  Their loaves never look like they came from the bakery; in fact they often look unlike any bread I’ve ever seen before.  But they’re close enough that we can still cut the bread and use it for all the normal purposes, and my kids get so much satisfaction from doing this.
3. Try not to worry so much about mess.  I know…this is hard.  It’s hard for me, I’ll admit.  The only kind of mess that really doesn’t ever bother me is art-related mess.  I’m not a big fan of cleaning the kitchen, so more mess in that room certainly adds to my stress level.  And I understand, too, that when you’re extremely short on time, the last thing you want is more cleaning to do.  But this kind of mess is temporary.  The more skilled your kids become in the kitchen, the less messy the results.
4. Employ mess-prevention habits.  A little forethought can actually help prevent a lot of the extra mess associated with tiny chefs.  First off, give your children  their own small aprons.  This needn’t cost money as they can easily be made from an old adult-sized shirt.  Both of my girls have their own aprons hanging in the doorway of the kitchen, and they both put them on as they enter the room to start cooking.  This helps us cut down on wardrobe changes (and thus extra laundry).   Keep a couple of very deep bowls on hand for when the kids are going to stir things, or try using a bigger bowl than called for in the recipe.  The more shallow the bowl, the more likely the ingredients are to fly all over the place.  And of course, use the “clean as you go” system, and have your kids join in along with you.
5.  When possible, try allowing the kids to make their own kid-sized version of the food.  This works well for certain things.  Whenever we make homemade pizza (once a week), my girls make their own.  I rip off a small lump of dough for each, and they shape it however they  choose.  My youngest daughter’s, especially, never looks like your standard image of pizza, but after covering it with toppings and baking it, she’s thrilled to eat it.
6. Consider child-sized equipment.  Personally, I’m not a big fan of buying a bunch of extra stuff, but we do have a few child-sized cooking implements, and they bring my girls great joy.  In particular, we use our child-sized wooden rolling pins at least once or twice a week, and those are much better for small hands.  We have a few other small tools we’ve gotten at the dollar store that come out less often.  Special kid tools might really help with a child who is reluctant to help in the kitchen.  I often find that with my girls, having their own special tools for any task really ups the fun level.
7. Be safe.  Again, don’t assume that kitchen dangers are obvious to the kids.  If I put a hot pot on a trivet to let it cool, it’s clear to me that it’s still going to be hot three minutes later, but that three minutes might seem like half an hour to my preschooler.  The kitchen is an amazing place to learn, and it’s also full of risky tools like knives, heating elements, hot pans, etc.  It would be a mistake to keep kids out of the kitchen  in order to prevent accidents, but we should always be vigilant, especially with smaller children.

Where to Begin? Age Appropriate Tasks

Not sure where to begin?  Here’s a sampling of cooking tasks my three year old regularly accomplishes:

• peeling onions and garlic
• tearing lettuce
• punching down dough
• shaping bread loaves
• grating cheese (with supervision, of course)
• adding (pre-measured by me) wet and dry ingredients
• stirring dry and wet mixtures

My five and a half year old does all of the above and has moved onto “big girl” things like:

• properly measuring out dry ingredients
• cutting simple things like tofu (supervised)
• peeling carrots
• stirring at the stove, when we’re cooking something on low heat
• cracking eggs
• scooping batter onto the waffle iron

Kids Cookbooks

Though they aren’t a necessity, there are lots of fun kids’ cookbooks out there, too.  Mollie Katzen has several with step by step pictorial instructions, including Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up, and Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Cooks Ages 8 & Up, so kids can “read” along (though you still would need to read them the instructions if they aren’t reading yet.)

Rae Grant wrote a vintage-inspired book called Cooking Fun: 121 Simple Recipes to Make with Kids.  And there’s even a cute cookbook written by two kids–the Spatulatta Cookbook.  These might be especially helpful for slightly older kids who aren’t sure that cooking is quite for them.  Sometimes having the opportunity to look through your own cookbook and choose a recipe can be inspiring.

What do you cook with your kids? What tips would you add?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following is by contributor Jaimie Franchi of Two Chicks and a Hen.

When I talked about surviving the witching hour with small children last March, one of the suggestions I gave was including your children in the cooking.   Next week I’ll have lots of tips for how you can accomplish this in a way that keeps everyone happy and sane, but first I’d like to talk about why you should consider making this a regular part of your routine. 

Some of us cook with our kids all the time, and it’s no big deal, but some of us cringe at the thought of flour all over the floor, more clothes to clean, messy hands, ruined meals, etc.   Although there is some validity to those fears, you can eliminate most of them and successfully cook with kids by being intentional about the way you do it.  A little planning goes a long way in the kitchen.

Why You Should Consider Cooking With Your Kids

If you have yet to invite your kids to cook but would like to, consider the following:

Time Together

Our time is limited.  Most of us, even those who aim for simpler lives, find ourselves busier than we’d like, and this can sometimes mean that we wish we had more time to bond with our kids.  When we think of cooking as something that needs to be done without the kids, we squander a perfect opportunity for bonding and togetherness.   Cooking with our children gives us time together that we might not otherwise have. 

Even if dinner means walking in the door, throwing together a salad, and putting a frozen pizza in the oven, doing these things together is a great way to be with our kids and reconnect, especially if we’ve been away from each other for the day.

Some of us prep all of our food on Sunday for the week because the evenings are too busy.  Again—this is a great time to spend with our children instead of shuttling them off to the next room to watch a movie while we get “work” done.

Self-Esteem

Cooking it is great for children’s self-esteem.  There are many cooking tasks that even toddlers can accomplish.  When kids help prepare the family’s meal, they have a sense of worthiness and see themselves as a valuable contributors to the household.

Promotes Healthy Eating

Bringing kids into the kitchen helps create a culture of healthy eating.  We can have much more of an impact on our children’s eating if we are buying, planning, and preparing the food together rather than simply serving them a plate of food after working mysteriously alone in the kitchen for an hour.

Also, picky eaters are sometimes more likely to eat or at least try something that they’ve had a hand in preparing.  And we can even discover new things about our children’s food preferences through the act of cooking with them.  My eldest will prepare things in a certain way (especially when making her own pizza) that gives me clues as to how she likes things.

Real-Life, Hands-On Learning

Cooking offers an amazing real-life, hands-on opportunity for all kinds of learning.  Cooking is chemistry.  Cooking is math (measurements, fractions, etc.)   Cooking is botany, especially in the summer when we’re gardening and then eating things we’ve grown.  Cooking is art.  Cooking is culture, manners, and pretty much every other subject you can imagine.

The act of cooking, especially when certain components of it become more second nature, offers us a nice time to simply be together with our children or, if they feel like talking, to chat and find out a little more about what’s going on in their heads.

Remember that it’s not all-or-nothing.  It likely won’t be convenient or desirable for your kids to cook every meal with you, but you can always start somewhere.  And I know some stay at home parents who, after spending all day with their kids, like their quiet alone time when cooking.  If you can’t or don’t want to cook with them often, a weekly group cooking session or even a couple of times a month will give your kids the opportunity to start getting comfortable in the kitchen.

Eventually, when they become more self-sufficient in their tasks, you can actually count on the kids to make the cooking preparation go faster.  I know that an 18 month old’s “help” in the kitchen seems at times to be more trouble than it’s worth.  I’ve been there.  But I’m now seeing the fruits of my labor when my five and a half year old can measure out all the flour for the bread using the proper method of measuring dry ingredients (something I didn’t learn until I was in my thirties) while I’m scuttling about the kitchen getting other things done.

Be sure to come back next Monday for a list of concrete tips to make cooking with kids a smoother and, dare I say it, fun experience.

Do you cook with your kids? Has it been successful? What sorts of challenges have you encountered?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following post is by editor Kara Fleck.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.  If you’re looking for a simple way to celebrate love with your little sweethearts, why not surprise them with some special Valentine’s Day food?

Either with a cookie cutter or a knife, cut their food into a heart shape and even normal every-day peanut butter and jelly becomes special.  There are plenty of foods that lend themselves to this simple, heart-shaped trick that would make a fun Valentine’s Day twist such as apples, cheese, or your favorite cookie recipe.

Don’t forget those X and O cookie cutters from your alphabet collection, too.  We could always use extra hugs and kisses!

Or, you could serve red and pink food, not from food dye, but food that is naturally found in these cupid-friendly hues.

From breakfast to dessert, here is a round of up heart-y treats! (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun)

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

If you’re making pancakes for your kids on Tuesday morning, I think heart shaped pancakes are a “must do” or perhaps heart shaped butter pats?

Here are some more Valentine’s Day meal ideas:

• Egg in the Basket ::: Petite Kitchenesse
• Hearts in an Apple Sandwich ::: Happy Together
• Valentine Pizza ::: One Charming Party
• Valentine Heart Fruit Kabobs ::: Parents.com
• Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt ::: Simple Bites
• Red Beet Pancakes ::: Weelicious

Snacks and Sweet Treats

We recently made these peanut butter eggs from The Whimsical Princess (instead of shortening, I used butter) and made them into peanut butter heart shapes.  We love them!  They were a super sweet treat that I don’t feel too badly giving to my kids.

Other snack and sweet ideas:

• Love Potion #9 Smoothie ::: Makes and Takes
• Strawberry Banana Ice Cream ::: Raw Food Nation

Check out Katie Kimball’s Smart Sweets ebook for more ideas (and use the code VDAYYUM for 35% off through 2/15/12)

Happy Valentine’s Day, dear readers!  Of course, I hope your days are always filled with hugs and kisses and those you love, and that there is a little extra love sprinkled around tomorrow.

Are you looking for more Valentine’s Day ideas?  Check out my Valentine’s Day Pinterest board.

Friends, don’t forget that today is the last day you can take advantage of Jamie Martin’s special offer for Simple Kids readers:  From now until midnight EST today, Monday February 13th, every person who purchases a copy of Mindset for Moms will receive a PDF copy of Jamie’s book Steady Days. 

To claim your copy of Steady Days,  email Jamie with the subject line: “I bought mindset for moms”” and let her know you purchased a copy of Mindset for Moms and want to claim your PDF of Steady Days.  Please allow Jamie up to a week to get to back to you.  Thanks!

Please note the use of affiliate links in this post.  Thank you for your support!

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following post is by Christen Babb and originally appeared February 2010. Also, don’t forget about Nicole of Simple Organic’s From Pinterest to Real Life link up.  Have a great weekend, everyone!
Many parents struggle to teach their children healthy eating habits, especially in today’s world laden with overly processed, heavily sweetened foods.

It used to be so easy. As a baby,  junior gobbled up his vegetables to his little heart’s content. You were certain he would happily snack on organic carrot sticks while his preschool buddies scarf down snack cakes. However, as he’s establishing greater independence, he’s beginning to turn his nose to healthy choices.

So, what’s a mom to do?  First of all, take heart knowing you are not alone. Establishing healthy eating habits takes a lifetime. It’s a continuous journey involving creativity, gentle persistence, and encouragement.  Listed below are some ways to successfully implement healthy food habits that carry into adulthood.

1. Start Early
2. Make It a Game
3. Be a Role Model
4. Use Consistency and Gentle Perseverance
5. Offer Non-Food Rewards

1. Start Early

The most important step to creating healthy food choices is starting early. It’s important to  offer a wide variety of nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables starting in infancy, perhaps even flavors and textures that are unfamiliar to you. I am personally an advocate of homemade baby food. It tastes better, costs significantly less, creates less environmental waste ,and you control the ingredients.

However, whether you choose to feed your baby homemade baby food, conventional store-bought food, or a combo of the two – consistently offer him a wide variety of nutrient dense foods, steering away from sweet treats for the first year. Your child’s tastes are developed early in life. The earlier the exposure to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, the more apt he will be to eat them later in life.

Photo by Cozy Memories

2. Make it a Game

I’ve never been into the “deceptive” technique of sneaking vegetables into your child’s diet. It’s seems a little, well, deceptive. As a parent, it’s important to teach honesty and integrity in all walks of life.  This includes making healthy food choices.

Fresh fruits and vegetables come in a wide variety of colors and delicious flavors. Instead of sneaking spinach into a pan of brownies (yes, this is recommended by some nutritionists) why not use food as a teaching tool – encouraging children to eat foods that represent all the colors of the rainbow? We recommend using a fun chart like this Nutrition Checklist.

This exercise  encourages children to make healthy food choices while also providing a guideline for parents to ensure optimal nutrition. For example, if your child eats a serving of spinach, have him check off one green box in the vegetable category.  Do this after every snack time or meal so he soon associates healthy eating with positive parental feedback.

3. Be a Role Model

As much as we hate to admit it, children imitate their parents’ behavior. If you yell and scream at your child, he will eventually yell and scream back at you. The same principles are true for food . You can’t expect your child to happily eat his broccoli while you scarf down a plate full of french fries.

As parents, we need to be role models who inspire healthy food choices. If your child sees you consistently making healthy food choices, he is more apt to do the same.

4. Use Consistency and Gentle Perseverance

If you have a picky eater, do not expect overnight change. Children can learn to eat healthy foods, but it can take eight to ten tries. The key is not to use force. Force will ensure in your child’s mind that healthy food must be bad .

Instead, let your child consistently help you with meal planning, grocery shopping, and even the food preparation if he is old enough. This allows a choice in the matter, and he will be more apt to eat the foods that included his input. If your child is still belligerent, be persistent and encourage him to eat only as many bites as he is old. For example, ask your three year old to eat only three bites of broccoli.

If your child still refuses, let him go hungry. This sounds harsh, but he won’t starve. If the healthy food is replaced with something he prefers, he quickly learns that persistent refusal ends in his favor. Don’t give in. It will only harm him in the long run.

5. Offer Non-Food Rewards

Let’s be honest. Most of us prefer double-chocolate cake over a plateful of steamed broccoli. It doesn’t matter how often you eat the broccoli. Human taste buds are genetically wired to prefer sweet foods. It is the same with our children. Even breast milk and infant formula are quite sweet, so our little ones begin life with a predisposition for sweet foods.

With this in mind, it’s important not to provide sweet rewards for healthy eating. Every parent (I’m included!) has been guilty of saying something like, “Aimee, you may have a cupcake for dessert if you finish all your broccoli.”  We bribe our children to eat their vegetables, thinking that if they eat their broccoli enough times, they will eventually do so without negotiation.  This is not an effective way to teach healthy food choices, as Aimee will eventually assume the cupcake is superior to the broccoli because it is used as a reward.

Instead of sweet treats, offer physically active rewards –  such as extra playtime with mommy or friends, a fun day at the park, or a new CD so they can dance to the music. Get creative and implement your child’s unique personality into his rewards.

And for the record, there is nothing wrong with sweet treats on occasion. Some of my best memories as a kid involve baking goodies with my mom. Just avoid using them as a bartering tool. Enjoy them for what they are in moderation, and your child will eventually learn to have an appreciation for all foods!

What Healthy foods do your kids love? What foods are more challenging to get them to eat? What techniques do you use to get your children to eat healthy foods?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following post is by editor Kara Fleck.

In 2012 one of the things I want to do with this space is to share more of my family’s traditions with you.  I thought I would start with a very simple, but fun tradition:  creating signature family recipes.

My whole family loves to play with our food! We spend quite a bit of time together in the kitchen, creating recipes, cooking together, and enjoying eating our experiments. From a young age, we involve our kids in the food preparation for the family, and we do our best to made it a fun experience.

We’ve developed a family tradition over the years of putting a signature spin on certain dishes, really making them our own according to our personal tastes and preferences.

Because you are so special to me, dear readers, and I’ve come to think of you like family, I am going to share with you our family’s top secret Purple Flurple recipe.  What in the world is a Purple Flurple, you ask?  A taste sensation!

Read on and see …

Our Signature Smoothie: the Purple Flurple

One of our favorite signature Fleck family recipes is a smoothie, the Purple Flurple (because is it purple and it was made by us, the Flecks.  Get it?  The Purple Flurple!)

This recipe is special because it contains everyone’s favorite fruits and it is my three year old’s favorite color.  It is also super easy to make and doesn’t involve any tricky ingredients, exact measurements, or complex preparation.

To make a Purple Flurple Smoothie you need:

• a handful of blueberries (frozen)
• a handful of raspberries (frozen)
• a banana or two
• about a cup of orange juice
• two or three heaping spoonfuls of yogurt

Whirl it all together in a blender, pour into enough glasses to share with everyone, and enjoy!  Sometimes we make Purple Flurple popsicles by freezing the mix in popsicle molds.

Put Your Own Spin on It

Smoothies are just the beginning.  What about a family signature pizza, sandwich, cookie, or homemade ice cream flavor?

Get in the kitchen, experiment, and have fun creating  kitchen concoctions together.  Be sure to give them a name, too so that future generations will know their culinary heritage and the family tradition, and silliness, can be passed on.

Not taking things too seriously is a must!

Your family signature dish doesn’t have to be a recipe you’ve created from scratch.  It can be something special about the presentation or an unexpected something extra that makes it your family’s personal signature dish.  Grandpa Mike’s giant pancakes and Great-Grandma Jean’s grilled cheese with jam are a few that come to mind from our family.

The important thing is to have fun, play with your food, and enjoy your meals together!

Does your family have any signature recipes? Do you and your kids have an equivalent of the Purple Flurple? How do you play with your food? I’d love to hear about it!

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following is by contributor Christen Babb.

Pumpkins inspire me. They are truly one of nature’s blank canvasses.

Pumpkins are best known for their ability to be carved into a myriad of artistic masterpieces, decorating the doorsteps of homes across America. However, this ever-versatile gourd can also play the starring role in both savory and sweet foods – from soups and raviolis to pies and even ice-cream!

Since I grew up not celebrating Halloween, I tend to associate pumpkins with the latter: food.  Not only are they extremely versatile in recipes, their nutritional value is often underestimated. Known as a “superfood“, pumpkins pack a punch of  B-vitamins alongside their  mellow,  inviting,  and quintessentially American  flavor.

Using pumpkin as my inspiration , I’m bringing you a nutritious and delicious pumpkin-packed meal:  Healthy Chicken Bites (with Pumpkin!) + Cheesy Pumpkin Polenta Fries + Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

Healthy Chicken Bites (with Pumpkin!)

 Add some Fall flair to proverbial chicken nugget by dredging them into a pumpkin puree before breading and baking. (Shhhhhh, your kids don’t even have to know. )

Photo by NurtureBaby

::  2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
::  ½ cup All Purpose flour
::  1 tsp. poultry seasoning
::  ¼ tsp. salt
:: ¼ cup pumpkin puree (if you used canned, make sure it’s plain pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling)
:: Water (a couple of tablespoons)
:: 1 cup panko bread crumbs
:: Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Line three small bowls next to each other, as if in an assembly line.  In the first bowl, mix flour, poultry seasoning and salt. In the second bowl, mix pumpkin puree and water together until it is about the consistency of baby food. In the third bowl, pour in the panko bread  crumbs.

Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, then coat with the pumpkin puree, and finish by enrobing in panko.  Place chicken bites on cookie sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes until cooked thoroughly.

Cheesy Pumpkin Polenta Fries

 Crunchy on the outside and creamy in the middle, these are a satisfying yet healthy alternative to fries.  They’re not overly “pumpkin-y” so they appeal to both kids and adults.

::  Cooking spray
::  2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
::  1 cup lowfat milk
::  1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
::  1 tsp. salt
::  1 tsp. fresh thyme
:: 1 cup yellow cornmeal
::  1 cup pumpkin puree (if you used canned, make sure it’s plain pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling)
::  1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Line a large 9 X 11 pan with parchment or wax paper, spray with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium stock pot, bring chicken stock and milk to an “almost” boil. (Don’t let it come to a full boil, as the milk will quickly boil over on your stove top.) Add olive oil, salt, and thyme. Turn down heat to low and add cornmeal while stirring constantly to avoid clumps. Add pumpkin puree and cheese , continuing to stir. Cook on low for about 5-6 more minutes.

Pour hot polenta mixture into lined pan spreading out to make an even layer. Allow to cool and then place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the prepared polenta into long strips, like fries. Place “fries” onto greased cookie sheet and bake in oven for 20-25 minute, until crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. Serve alongside chicken bites for a healthy and delicious meal.

And last but not least, try the Oatmeal Pumpkin Bars. Complete your pumpkin inspired meal than with this healthy sweet treat, packed with B- vitamins and whole grains.

I’d like to hear from you! Do you have any creative uses for pumpkin – whether food related or otherwise?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following was written by contributor Christen Babb of NurtureBaby and originally appeared on Simple Kids in June of 2011.

It’s official:  Summer is finally upon us! Just as those long, lazy, sun-drenched days bring out the best in many of us, Summertime also gleans some of natures’ most delectable delights. Nothing says Summer like a generous sliver of ice-cold watermelon,  a peach so luscious its juices run down your chin, or a heaping handful of plump, juicy blueberries.

These delicious provisions, and many others currently in season, can be enjoyed beyond the typical grocery store experience.  In fact, Summer lends the perfect time to take your kids on a field trip to a local farm.

I happen to live in Georgia, world renowned for its exquisite peaches. However, each region specializes in a particular variety of fruits and vegetables. A great resource to find farms in your area is Pick Your Own.org. You can search local farms for a particular fruits and vegetables, or even specify locations exercising strict organic farming. Even those living smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-suburbia will find farms no more than a day trip away.

A Few Ideas to Make the Most of Your Fieldtrip:

Talk to the Owners

This is easier when you go to a small, more quaint farm. Ask for a tour and/or the opportunity to pick your own produce. Inquire about the farm’s history. The owners are often  times anxious to share their farm’s rich culture and history, providing an interesting glimpse into Americana.

For example, the owners of Gardner Peach Farms were fifth generation. We learned that the current owner’s great-great-grandfather peacefully acquired the land from a local Indian tribe that taught him how to properly cultivate peaches. The family also experienced the hardships of the Civil War and the Great Depression.

Facts like these lend the perfect backdrop for children to experience history in an exciting way – outside of the same ‘ole  textbook material.

Discuss the Importance of Local Produce

This field trip not only provides a great history lesson, but a environmental one, too. Often times, our children think fruits and vegetables come from the grocery store, not farms. Your children can learn the true origin of our foods, the hard work required to harvest them, and  the importance of buying locally.

When you buy local produce, you decrease your carbon footprint while also supporting the local economy. Not to mention, local foods usually taste better and are more nutritious, thanks to their freshness.

Take it to Your Kitchen

Round out your farm fieldtrip with a hands-on cooking lesson with your kids, using the fresh fruits/vegetables you gathered. Your child will take tremendous pride in the food he helped prepare – from farm to table.

Since my family picked Georgia peaches, I will leave you with a beautiful, kid-friendly peach sorbet recipe – perfect for a hot, Summer afternoon.

Georgia Peach Sorbet

(makes 6 servings)

4 cups of chopped, peeled peaches*
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2  cup of peach-flavored club soda
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
Fresh blackberries and mint for topping (optional)

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine water and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, put the peaches in a food processor and puree until smooth. Combine peach puree with cooled sugar syrup, club soda and lime juice. Stir until well blended.

Freeze peach mixture in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon into chilled container, cover, and freeze until ready to serve or up to 2 days. Top sorbet with fresh blackberries and/or mint if desired.

*Tip for peeling peaches: Bring a large stock pot of water, deep enough to submerge whole peaches, to a boil. Gently place whole peaches in boiling water and cook them for approximately 30 seconds. Remove peaches with slotted spoon and place immediately in ice bath, leaving them in for about a minute. Remove from ice bath and dry; peach skin should peel off very easily.

How about you? What is your favorite kind of local produce? Can you share a “farm-to- table” experience you’ve enjoyed with your kids?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

The following is by editor Kara Fleck.

The days are growing longer and hotter.  This time of year, my family wants to to eat things that are lighter and I don’t want to spend a lot of time in a hot kitchen preparing a snack. The sooner we can get back to the Summer fun, the better!

At our house, during the warmer months, I have two main ideas that I fall back on for simple Summertime snacks for the kids: the muffin tin of “nibbles” and popsicles.

The Muffin Tin of “Nibbles”

Setting out a muffin tray of bite-sized snacks for the kids to nibble on is something that goes back to my own childhood.  My mom used to prepare a muffin tin of snacks on Friday nights and leave it in the fridge for us to help ourselves to on Saturday mornings (so that she could sleep in one day a week, that wise woman).

At our house, a muffin tin, or “nibble” tray, is usually our mid-morning snack. Though, I’ll admit that sometimes on busy days, the muffin tins gets refilled and becomes lunch, too.

What I include in the muffin tin varies according to what fruits and veggies and bite-sized snacks that we have on hand.  Sometimes I include something sweet like chocolate chips or vanilla wafers.

Here is a typical example of what I include:

A Recent Muffin Tin Snack:

Rice chips, almonds, chocolate chips

cherry tomatoes, strawberries, Colby Jack cheese,

Smoothie Popsicles

We have a smoothie nearly every day, year round.  I have found that this is a simple way for me, not only to get some extra fruit into the kids, but also to sneak in some spinach or kale for an extra healthful boost. We have a different colored smoothie, in a rainbow, for every day of the week.

For warmer days, when we are outside, I turn our smoothie mixes into popsicles.  For Summertime popsicles, I just blend everything up in the morning, as I normally would for our afternoon snack, and then I pour it into a popsicle mold and freeze.  They are ready in the afternoons for us to enjoy.

Here are some of our favorite mixes:

• blueberries, handful of baby spinach, frozen banana, splash of orange juice
• frozen cherries (no pits), yogurt, small handful of baby spinach
• banana, applesauce, yogurt
• orange juice, banana, yogurt

And, of course, much of our Summertime snacking involves treats of the kind we pluck from the strawberry or tomato plants and pop into our mouths, warm from the sun.

What are some of your kids’ favorite Summertime snacks? How do you keep snacking simple and light during the hotter days of the year?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• UPrinting - Spread your message.
• Sparkle Stories - Audio stories for children and families.
• A.Vogel - Help your immune system fight colds and flu.
• GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally in season.

© 2009-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Kids subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.