The Picky Toddler Chronicles: Beet Pancakes

Before she closed in on the one-and-a-half mark, Avery was easy to feed. She liked veggies in muffin form or raw and she would try meat if it was dry (like plain grilled chicken breast). She wasn't picky by definition but that soon changed. She went from picky to fickle...which, in my opinion, is the worst form of picky eating. Moms read about how toddlers may eat a bunch one day and go without the next, or they may eat one thing for weeks on end and then quit, or some other fun variation. Avy does a fun variation- she will eat one thing for a long time and then NEVER touch it again. By never- I mean that since she has said "no" to some food items she has not touched them again to date. She is also absolutely particular about textures- nothing wet that wasn't born that way, no chunks, no multiple colors unless it is a muffin/cake and absolutely no dipping or sauces of any kind.

Well this just keeps me awake at night. Even after a visit to the pediatrician who described her and others like her as "air ferns" I did not find comfort. I realize the pediatrician meant that toddlers thrive on basically nothing-- but that doesn't make it an easier pill to swallow. So I have tried every "trick" I can find. From Muffin Tin Mom to Jessica Seinfeld I have tried it.

A little of this and a little of that seems to work....for a moment.

Thus, I have a notebook going called "The Picky Toddler Chronicles". In it I mark down the things I have tried and Avy's response. By the time I figure out a good formula she will probably be on her way to college. But it has helped me with the guilt and worry I feel over her lack of eating.


Today we tried Beet pancakes from Weelicious...the recipe is found here. They were a big hit. As you can see in these photos!

You can taste the beet but Avy has no idea what that is. They aren't very sweet, which is great. She ate 3 without any topping. They are a little thicker than I like pancakes to be but Avy didn't complain. We followed the recipe as written the first time around. I'll make a few changes next time- like Agave instead of brown sugar and maybe olive oil instead of butter. I did not use white and wheat flour- I just used wheat. They seemed to be just fine- nice and soft.

Definitely worth the hassle of roasting beets and peeling. By the way, I didn't use gloves to peel the beets and I have no staining. And when you roast the beets- if the skin doesn't peel off super easy- then cook the beet longer. The instructions for roasting beets are found here...but they are kind of vague.

Paper Covered Cardboard Boxes=Organization!

I saw this done several different ways with various materials: paper, canvas, fabric etc. None really gave me the steps I needed so I just jumped in and tried it myself.

This is the first box I completed using some old scrapbook paper and Craft Glue (tacky glue or whatever). I DO NOT recommend using tacky glue. I'm sure you veteran crafters are saying, "well, duh!" But this is the first bottle I have ever owned, so I had no idea that tacky meant tacky...like tacky-almost-dry-before-you-get-done-spreading. So my little paint brush and I made the best of it.

I did the rest with good old Elmer's and my paint brush. I didn't measure anything. (You can kind of tell in spots). I just took the paper and made creases over the box before putting glue on. This seemed to make the process really easy (and easier for making cuts too). I did not cover the inside or the bottoms. These boxes are for our craft shelf. I have plans to make prettier boxes for other areas in our home. I'm half done with the craft shelf. I have no plans to match the paper either! I imagine these boxes will get destroyed in a short period of time so they will serve their purpose perfectly.

Yay for leftover scrap paper that was too ugly for photos!

Here's the top half of the shelf so far. Total time spent: 45 min.

Fun and Easy Homemade Laundry Soap

My husband has green shirts that he is to wear under his uniform (AKA Camis). Apparently he has held onto the ones he purchased back when he first became a Marine (eww, right?). We've picked up 2-3 new packages of t-shirts but they don't fit right...his words, not mine. It is a freakin' under shirt! Oh well. He is pretty lean so most men's shirts just don't fit right and bunch. So whatever. I've been given the task of finding a way to get the smell out of them. They really don't stink after washing but I guess something happens when he wears them-- something that doesn't happen to any other clothes.

I tried vinegar, baking soda and even my dear Rockin' Green soap. So far no luck. We were about to try some bleach...something I try not to keep in the house because then we find reasons to use it. But a friend suggested Borax and some recipes for making our own laundry detergent.

When I read Peppermint laundry soap from Soulemama, I was sold. So today the girls and I drove around town getting the ingredients for the recipe. I had to go to 4 stores just to get them all. Next time, I know exactly where to go so it will be cost effective. I'm going to see how far this homemade batch goes and figure out if it truly is more cost effective than other eco options.

So Soulemama's recipe calls for
1 cup of baking soda (0.59 cents)
1 cup of Borax ($2.99)
1 cup of washing soda/soda ash ($3.49)
2 cups of finely grated soap (Peppermint Dr. Bronners--1.5 bars at $4.49 each, $8.98)

Total spent $16.05, my usual Rockin Green Soap is $14.95 for 90 loads. However, to make an additional batch I will only need to spend $4.49 for a new bar of soap (I have half of one leftover). This would bring my per batch cost down to $10.27.

Grating was really easy but I am worried I didn't get it fine enough.

Little Avery loved grating the soap. Actually- she wanted to hold and smell the bar all the way home. She unwrapped them both and was SO proud of the detergent we made that it was the first thing she wanted to show daddy when he got home. The stuff does smell great- the whole Creative Space smelled like it until I put it in a sealed container.

I'm running my first load of diapers with the detergent now. As soon as the door locked I had a bit of remorse. I sure hope the soap rinses out easily...yikes...we used the finest holes on the grater but I have read about people using food processors. I'm running an extra rinse just to be sure.

We shall see!

Meatless Monday (on Wednesday): Un-Sloppy Joes

On Monday I adjusted another Relish! recipe to be a meatless meal option for my family. The original recipe was called "Not So Sloppy Joes". It was basically a homemade sloppy joe recipe.

We substituted quinoa. In the future I would adjust the cumin in the recipe to make it taste a little better. However, this one did not make the favorites list. Neither my husband nor I like "real" sloppy joes so making it from scratch and making it meatless didn't make the sandwich any more appealing to us. I will say that the homemade flavor was much better so if you already like your canned sloppy joe sauce, you will probably love this.

My adjusted recipe is as follows:

1 cup of quinoa(soaked and rinsed)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
10 ounces of home-canned tomatoes and chiles (or Ro-tel)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 avocado , pitted, peeled and sliced
1/2 white onion , chopped

Prepare the quinoa as instructed. Mix garlic, cumin, brown sugar, cider vinegar, tomato paste and tomato/chiles in a small bowl then add to the quinoa. Towards the end of the simmering--add the chopped onions. Or if you prefer them raw, just top your sandwich with them and slices of the avocado.

We used basic Pepperidge Farm wheat buns this time. (I'd recommend toasting them because the quinoa/sloppy joe mix makes the bun pretty soggy.

The side is a variation of coleslaw.


1/2 10-ounce bag broccoli slaw
2 carrots , finely chopped
1/4 cup raisins
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Review: Relish! Meal plan service.

I am almost certain that every household with children (and even some without!) would LOVE a personal chef/grocery shopper/meal planner! Two weeks ago MamaSource offered a voucher for 6-months of service at Relish! for $17, a $36 value. I happily signed up!

We have stuck with the program nearly perfectly. The basic idea is that every Thursday Relish! prepares about 15 recipes for you to choose from. You can add these to your Weekly Menu. You can search for other recipes (like vegetarian, kid-friendly, brunch, budget-friendly etc). And add those too. There does not appear to be a limit to how many you can add...but you can mindlessly wait for them to change the menu for you each week and choose from that (which is what I have been doing). They also give you a list of about 10 recipes every month to make ahead and put in the freezer. The first week I made all of my selected freezer recipes in about 2 hours time. So in addition to those 10 recipes we have been making 5-8 recipes from the main menu every week.

The description of the service states that they don't use prepackaged items. For the most part, this is true. I mean, there has been a call for Ro-Tel and frozen pound cake just this week. I can't say this is a major complaint of mine but I do think I will be checking out a few other similar sites to see if they offer more healthy options. I can choose to *search* for all vegetarian, lower calorie etc but really-- if I had the time to search I wouldn't be perusing such services anyway. SO, that is a bit of a downfall for Relish! However, it has been so much fun and such a reduction of my stress that I can't say that I don't recommend this site for just about everyone.

One thing the site does point out is that they hope to inspire us in our meal preparation. I think this is a great thing for them to mention. I have tweaked their recipes several times by substituting quinoa for ground beef, omitting sugar and of course, always purchasing organic when possible. The recipes are simple enough that you really can change them up to make them healthier. However, I still find this to be a bit of a problem because the key feature (for me) is that once you create your menu you get a FULL shopping list adjusted to the amount of servings you designated. So...if I am continually swapping healthier ingredients then my grocery list becomes more complicated. Just yesterday I did not buy "whole milk" and instead, picked up our regular ingredients to make homemade almond milk. The bad part...the whole milk was for a quiche and I'm pretty sure it wont be fluffy without it.

Bottom line- the service is definitely worth the money. It has made our shopping quick and easy (and we have actually spent $40 less each week). The recipes are very good! This isn't the absolute perfect option for a super healthy eating family or a vegetarian family unless they have the time (and desire) to put a little more effort into their meal planning. I'm not lazy but I totally need this to be a service that I can just trust without double-checking things for healthier ingredients.

Give it a try! You definitely wont be disappointed!

Review: Oyin Handmade Funk Butter

I'm almost out of my first tin of Funk Butter from Oyin Handmade. In March a friend told me she used their Funk Butter (deodorant). I ordered three tins, one in each scent: Coco-Mango, Black Cedar Fig and Unscented. The unscented is for my husband and I started the Coco-Mango for summer. They run $5 a piece. While ordering I also picked up their Stick O'Joe, lip balm.

This product does a way better job with body odor than what I was using previously (Just a regular product from the store). The ingredients in Funk Butter are all natural and the product is handmade, as the company name states!

At first I was apprehensive about the scents. I like a little scent so I know I'm wearing deodorant...as a busy mom it is not unusual for me to forget to put some on! Both scents are very nice. I smell it when I first put the cream on but it isn't a scent that sticks with me all day. Now, if I smell near my underarm I can smell the scent...but that is how I like it. Surprisingly, I can go 24+ hours without reapplying and still not worry about odor. Even after a day at the beach I did not have any complaints with Funk Butter.

It is very important to tighten the lid every time you open it! It will dry out if you don't. I added a little olive oil to re-moisten mine the other day. It still works fine but it doesn't go on as easily as it once did.

Some people with sensitive skin may find the Funk Butter a little abrasive. I tend to shave at night and put the Funk Butter on in the morning. I really haven't had any issues but I am a sensitive skin person so I wanted to be cautious.

Now the Stick O'Joe was awesome! This is obviously a natural product so you can't keep it in your pocket (bummer). I truly love this lip balm. It has become my #1 lip moisturizer. Oyin says it has natural UV protection due to the ingredients...and I trust that BUT I still use a different lip product that has a marked SPF on it for my kids when we go out in the sun. This is just me being super protective though. :)

Oyin Handmade has several other products that look like fun! They also offer sample sizes to try before you buy. The Fizzy Milk bath is the next thing I'm looking forward to trying!

Meatless Monday: Faux Shrimp Tacos

A few months ago I found the lovely super food quinoa. Yes, I realize it is a very old super food but I am just starting to learn of its magical powers--such as replacing nearly any meat in any recipe and still tasting fabulous. Tonight I made a batch of shrimp tacos and faux shrimp tacos. I really only made the shrimp as a backup in case the jerk-seasoned quinoa didn't turn out. I must say that even my husband was extremely impressed with the flavors. I can't take credit for the foundation of the recipe but I do take full credit for being adventurous and making an awesome meatless version of this meal!


Here is my version of the Shrimp Tacos:

6 small corn tortillas
1 cup quinoa (soaked the night before)
1 TB jerk seasoning
1 TB olive oil
1 cup broccoli slaw
1/2 mango, peeled and cubed (smaller the cube the better)
1/8 red onion, chopped (small)
1 TB homemade vegan mayonnaise*
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
1 TB rice vinegar

1) Prepare quinoa as directed (typically boil for 20 minutes or so, longer if it wasn't soaked)

2) Meanwhile, prep and measure the broccoli slaw, mango, red onion, cilantro, vinegar and mayonnaise. Stir together in a bowl and set aside.

3) Toast the corn tortillas in a pan with a little olive oil, set aside wrapped with foil or something else to keep them warm

4) When quinoa is done, pour in the jerk and olive oil. I am not sure how much olive oil I used- I just dashed a bit in and stirred and added a bit more to blend everything together. I may have used more than a TB of jerk too...taste it as you mix it.

5) Assemble by putting a spoon of the slaw mix on a tortilla and then a spoon of the quinoa.


*Chef Charlie Wilson's recipe:
1 cup homemade Almond milk
1 TB yellow mustard
1 tsp agave
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup olive oil
3/4 raw sesame oil
3/4 Irish moss gel

Blend milk, mustard, salt and agave. Slowly add oils to this mix until it thickens. Finally, add Irish moss and blend on high until it turns white and thick.