Fresh Food Perspectives

Halloween Money Tree and Healthier Trick or Treat Ideas

I have to confess that I struggle a little bit with Halloween and the candy overload that it involves. I absolutely love the holiday and the festivities, but it's the connection with eating yourself sick from candy that I just have a hard time stomaching. Truly, I am embarrassed to say this because I really believe in enjoying food, holidays and traditions without fear or guilt. But why just so much candy??

Alright, I have another confession. I've tried giving healthier foods to trick or treaters and it went OK, at best. Not only was my hubby embarrassed (he has a go big or go home mentality with Halloween) but I was pretty defeated at the end of the night. Most kids either hesitated when they saw what was in my candy bucket or made a comment along the lines of "what is that?" 

Today I am making an appearance on First Coast Living about this very topic, so this year I was determined to find some GREAT (not just good) candy alternatives for trick or treaters. You tell me, but I think I put together some ideas that people may actually do. Here's the list and includes Amazon links to some of the products I ordered to make it easy for you. You can still get them in time for Halloween if you order right away. (FYI the Amazon links are affiliate links. Thanks for supporting FFP!)

 

Halloween Money Tree - This is my favorite idea. I can't take total credit because my colleague at UNF gave me the idea. All you do is wrap up a few coins in a little square of fabric and tie a loop around it. Hang them on a Halloween theme tree and let each trick-or-treater pick one off.

Little kids LOVE coins and get excited about even the smallest amounts. Get $10 worth of coins and you will probably spend less doing this than you would buying candy. 

This is also a perfect idea for participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project that supports non-food items for children with food allergies. Download the Download Teal Pumpkin Sign 8.5x11 for your front door that alerts children with food allergies that you  have non-food item for trick-or-treaters.

Temporary Tattoos - Tattoos are a fun alternative to candy. My toddler loves them. I know they will be a hit this year. 

Justin's peanut butter cups and packets - If you are looking for an all-natural, organic Halloween treat, Justin's is the way to go. These PB cups are so delicious. Justin's is a company that I do not officially work for, but have been a huge fan for many years. I will be passing these out in my neighborhood for sure! 

YumEarth Organic Fruit Lollipops - These tasty lolli's are free of everything you might not want in your candy: dyes, artificial ingredients, nuts, gluten, soy, and high fructose corn syrup. They are also vegan. 

Mummy-Wrapped Fruit Squeezies - Simple wrap a fruit squeeze pack with strips of paper or crepe paper and draw a silly face to turn an ordinary snack into a fun Halloween treat. Picture and Idea from The Nerd's Wife.

Cabot Cheese Seriously Sharp Cheddar Snack Size - I think this is an option that kids may be surprised by but end up loving. I bet it will get gobbled up before they even make it home. The nice thing about cheddar cheese is that it contains almost NO lactose, so it's a great choice even for those who are lactose intolerant.

Bubble Gum - Gum is a fun and welcomed alternative to candy. Plus, you burn calories from chewing gum and strengthen your mouth muscles. Lame fact, I know, but it's something interesting to remember. 

Somersault Snacks - I love these tasty, nut-free crunchy nuggets. They are made with sunflower seeds and come in a variety of delicious flavors. They do contain wheat so they are NOT gluten-free. 

So, what do you think? Will you try one of these options? Leave me a comment if you have any other great ideas to share too. With a little creativity, Halloween can be super fun, super sweet and still support healthy living. 

Trick-or-Treat!!

 

Don't Give Up Packing Lunches! Ideas to Make them Healthy & FUN

Ugh....Sigh...What am I going to do??

Can you hear it? These are the sounds of parents everywhere as they prepare to pack their kids' lunches again.

For some, it's pure joy to pack lunches every day. But I've talked with many parents who run out of ideas by the end of the first week and eventually just give up and give their kids money.

While eating lunch at school is not a bad thing, I encourage you parents, DON'T GIVE UP! Packing lunches from home is both economical and healthy. Most kids are not mature enough to make healthy lunch decisions day in and day out. With a few tricks up your sleeve and prepping ahead, you can conquer lunch-making from the first day of school to the last!

Watch these two clips from News 4 Jax The Morning Show on News 4 Jax to see my easy, do-able and delicious ideas for healthy lunches your kids will actually eat. 

 

If you have any great tips for easy and fun lunches, please leave a comment and let me know. 

Go get 'em parents! Conquer those lunches. 

Disclosure: These segments were sponsored by California Raisins and Cabot Creamery. I was compensated for my time and the food used. I support both of these foods and am happy to represent them as healthy lunch options. 

Easy Baby Puree Recipes

So Ben just turned 10 months in June. 10 months!! What in the world is going on? Time is flying by. 

He has been eating for 4 months now, but it seems like its been way longer than that. The boy is ready to eat big people food. He lunges at our plates trying to grab whatever it is that we are eating. He has 6 teeth now so it seems like he thinks that is enough is to chew in to some food. 

I've continued to make Ben baby food but have supplemented with store bought food. (Read about my new favorite brand here.) He's proving to be more particular with his flavor preference than Jackson ever was. I have had some utter failures with some of the concoctions I've tried to feed him. 

These days, Ben is not too interested in any purees and would prefer to feed himself exclusively. This is keeping me on my toes and referring back to my baby food books a lot. Some of his favorite finger foods are avocado pieces (and I just started rolling it in ground flax seed for extra nutrition and easier picking up), cooked egg yolk, roasted butternut squash and sweet potato pieces (dusted in cinnamon), steamed squash, mozzarella cheese, and watermelon. 

I have found a few puree combos that seem to still be well accepted and I'm sharing them with you today. This time around, I've tried to introduce Ben to new herbs and spices. This may be one of the reasons he doesn't always like what I've made, but I still think it's important to expose him to new flavors. 

Here's a few of my most successful baby food recipes. Give them a try and let me know if your little one likes them. 

{PS - For more on my baby food making tips, recipes and tools read this, this and this post.}

 

Garlicky Greens Baby Puree

2 cloves garlic

2 cups fresh green beans, thoroughly washed

1 cup chopped parsnips, thoroughly washed and peeled

Extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. 
2. Peel the garlic cloves, place on top of a square of aluminum foil, and drizzle with a very small amount of olive oil (about 1/2 teaspoon). Wrap up the square around the garlic into a pouch and twist the top to close. Place in oven (even if it's still cold). 
3. Trim ends of green beans and cut in to about 1" pieces. Trim ends of parsnips and cut into about 1/4" rounds. Place all veggies on the baking sheet and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Toss to coat. Spread vegetables out evenly in one layer. Place in oven and roast until tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove veggies and garlic from oven. Let cool for about 5 minutes. 
5. Toss veggies, garlic, and 1/4 cup water into blender and puree until very smooth. Keep top of blender slightly ajar to allow steam to escape. Pour in to baby food containers. Let cool till luke warm temperature before freezing.

Makes about 10 oz or five, 2 oz jars.

Super Sage Squash Baby Puree

1 butternut squash

1 ripe, Hass avocado

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh sage

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Cut the top end off the squash, then cut off the bottom bell shaped section. Cut the kneck portion and the bell portion in half lengthwise. Scoop the seeds out the bell portion and discard. Place the four pieces of squash, cut side down, in to a 9x13 pan. Add water to cover the bottom of the pan by 1/2". Roast for 30 minutes.
3. Remove squash from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Then scoop out flesh of squash and dump into blender. Add the flesh of fresh avocado, 1/4 cup water and the fresh sage leaves to the blender as well. Puree until very smooth. 
4. Pour in to baby food containers.  Let cool till luke warm temperature before freezing.

Makes about 12 oz or six, 2 oz jars. 

Beech-Nut Baby Food Review and Giveaway

Disclosure: I was given samples free of charge from Beech-Nut without any further obligation. I chose to write this review based on my own opinions. Sample kits are being provided by Beech-Nut. 

Baby Ben is now 8 months old (crazy!) and I've started to have some fun making different concoctions of baby food for him. Some are a bust but others have been a huge hit. I've been reminded over and over again that the introduction of foods is a ssssllllloooowww process, and for my babies, texture is everything. Everything has to be super smooth or it's getting spit out! 

{To get caught up on my Feeding Baby series, click here, here, and here. Also check out my Barley Cereal recipe.}

You all know I enjoy making my own baby food, but I always have a stash of pre-made food in my pantry for when we are on the go. 

A couple of months ago I received an email asking if I would like to sample the new line of Beech-Nut baby food. My first thought was, is that company even around anymore? When I heard Beech-Nut I didn't get visions of fresh, wholesome baby food. They just seemed like a retro company who didn't really deliver what I was looking for to feed baby Ben. But hey, I like trying free samples, so I said yes. 

Last month I received a beautiful presentation from Beech-Nut of four new flavors from their 100% Natural Real Baby Food line. I was impressed by the new, modern look, but that's only a small part of the story. As I investigated the bottle I had a hard time finding a long list of ingredients. In fact, on the front, it lists the ingredients (i.e. Just Carrots) and on the back, where the truth is really told, the only ingredient, was in fact, carrots. Nothing else. Ingredients test: passed!

As my eyebrows raised and curriosity climbed, I was willing to put this food to the real test of seeing what Ben thought about it. He LOVED it! In fact, he loved it so much, I had to try a taste too. So I can also speak from experience, that this stuff tastes good! Taste test: passed!

The last questions on my mind were about the sourcing of their product. I thought it was interesting that the line is not organic and while eating everything certified organic is not the most important thing to me,  I wanted to know why. Quality/Source test: TBD... (Read on, but to spill the beans, they passed here too.)

I knew that I wanted to review the new line for you all so I emailed my contact to see if I could land an interview with someone important at Beech-Nut (as is now my desire for any review of product). This was no problem and I was able to interview Andy Dahlen, VP of Marketing & Sales. (BTW, he also did this interview with Forbes magazine this week.) 

In effort to not make this post too too long, I'm going to summarize our conversation. Make sure you scroll all the way down to enter the GIVEAWAY!!!

I'm pretty impressed with how Beech-Nut went about this whole re-branding, re-formulating (bad word for this but you know what I mean) thing. Here's what I found out:

What kind of changes did you make to your baby food and how did you know where to start?

Beech-Nut set out to make the best baby food in the world. They asked their two developers what would it take if there were no constraints. They set out to do this and it started with using new technologies and equipments that would perserve as much nutrition and flavor as possible.

With more moms making their own baby foods, they realizind industry was not meeting Mom’s needs. For those moms who have very little time but still wanted high quality, they needed to come up with something new.

Everything about this line is mom-driven. The flavors, ingredients, textures, everything was influenced by real moms all over the country throughout the whole process. Beech-Nut kept hearing that moms wanted to be able to control the ingredients and expose babies to the real textures, colors, flavors and aromas of real food.

Avocado is a food that many moms are giving their babies first (guilty!) and there were no options in baby food. They looked for super foods and nutrient dense foods to include in their line. Initially they had 150 flavors developed but used taste panels to narrow down to the best ones. 

Where and how do you source the produce?

Everything is driven by finding the highest quality produce. Most sources are largely from North America. Bananas are from Costa Rica. Avocados are from Mexico. All the butternut squash used grows 25 miles from their upstate NY offices/facilities.

They have developed strong relationships with farmers and suppliers and are working with them to ensure highest quality and look at opportunities to do custom crops just for Beech-Nut.

All suppliers use good agricultural practices. Beech-Nut educates them on methods to reduce pesticide use. They test for pesticide levels and look for opportunities to continue to improving.

They are not certified organic because they cannot ensure the quality that they need at this time. They evaluate crops in the dirty dozen and investigate how using organic could work. For example, organic honeycrisp apples are mostly sold to fresh market. The supply wasn't strong enough to be able to use them. 

Beech-Nut is in the process of getting many of their new line verified by the Non-GMO Project. This seems to be something that is important to moms, therefore it is important to them. 

How is the baby food prepared?

Produce is pureed cold with reduced exposure to heat (this is really imporant). They has invested in completely new technology and equipment to make this possible. They just started making food in early February of this year. To read more detail about the cooking process, Download Just gentle cooking. 

What is special about Beech-Nut as a company?

They are a small company with tremendous passion that believes in honesty and transparency. They employ under 300 people in one roof in upstate NY.  

During the process of developing this new line, they talked to 3000 moms across country. Quantitative studies were used too. They always used mom’s feedback to drive decisions.

So now it's your turn to try out the new Beech-Nut. Enter below to win one of FIVE sets of four new flavors, including the Honeycrisp Apple. Leave me a comment to let me know who you are hoping to win for (Baby _____). 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Making Baby Food and Feeding Strategies

{I took this picture of Ben today. This is the second time he's had avocado.}

Now that you've read and decided how you want to approach feeding your baby here, and figured out what tools you may need here, it's time to talk about how to go about the actual process of making your own baby food and putting it in there mouth. 

The Food

Choosing organic produce and dry goods is an important consideration for babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that children are more "vulnerable" to chemical exposure (read this article for more info) and feeding organic food can help reduce associated risks. 

I personally buy produce for baby food from 3 main places - my farm to door delivery of regional and sustainablly grown produce, local farmer's markets, and grocery store organics. Depending on where I am that week, what I receive from the farm, and what's in season determines where I purchase what. 

If you can't afford to buy organic produce, it's ok. Your baby will still get lots of great benefits from conventional food. But buy organic and local food when you can. 

Prep and Cooking

The four main ways I prep food before pureeing are either steaming, roasting, stewing or keeping it raw.

Steaming is an easy and healthy choice, especially if you are using the Beaba Babycook or something similar. For bigger batches then what it could handle, I used bamboo steamer baskets. You can also use a simple steamer basket. Steaming helps preserve a lot of the nutrients in produce, especially green vegetables. Avoid boiling food unless you are going to use the boiling liquid in the food.

Roasting is another good option for bigger items like squashes. Since I make roasted veggies at least once a week I can do double duty with one big pan of whatever I'm cooking. I would still coat baby's veggies in a little olive oil but wouldn't use salt or pepper. I'm a big fan of adding flavor too, but I'll get to that in a minute. Alternatively, I've learned you can do large, winter squashes in the crock pot too (see my Rosemary Acorn Squash recipe).

Fruits work best when stewed on the stove top but you can certainly roast or steam them too. I found that cooking fruit wasn't always necessary and you can just puree fresh fruit with water or breast milk (mango, banana, avocado). 

When I can, I try to do a big baby food cooking extravaganza in the kitchen. I think doing 3-4 different items at once (1 raw, 2 roasted, 1-2 steamed) is a reasonable goal if you have a chunk of a few hours. With enough storage containers, you could be set for 2-3 weeks after this, depending on how much baby eats. However, since early baby foods are so simple, it's easy to make batches every 1-3 days. Just try to think ahead for what you are making for dinner and include veggies or fruits you can give to baby. While you are making those veggies for dinner, pull some out and puree a portion for baby.

Combinations and Flavorings

Once you've established that your baby doesn't have any allergies (thus why you introduce one food at a time), I think it's good to get creative. Herbs and spices not only have wonderful health benefits but introducing them early can open up your child to flavor preferences that will hopefully stick with them for life (not a guarantee by any means, but a mom can hope). 

I used several cookbooks as a general guide on what flavors to add and what combinations to try. But once you get your feet wet with making food and you learn your baby, just go for it! 

Keep in mind that we all will naturally feed our babies foods and flavors that we like and eat often. It will take a little stretching on our part to include foods we don't normally eat. This is why cookbooks are sometimes helpful. Check out my Amazon store (click the link) for my favorite baby food cookbooks. 

Lastly, kids are fickle when it comes to taste preferences. What they love one day, they will despise the next. If this happens to you, you didn't do anything wrong. I repeat: you did not do anything wrong. This is just how kids are wired and it's part of development. Continue to present all types of foods, whether they are in to them or not. You just never know what good could happen. For example, Jackson went through a time that he just loved pureed beets. (I don't know where that came from, but it happened.) Then one day, he had had enough. Similarly, one day he would love baby guacamole and another day he would not. Just stick with it. It's your job as a parent to present healthy options, but you can't make your kids eat all of them, all of the time. 

The Act of Feeding

My philosophy on introducing foods while breast feeding is that the first 6 months (ages 6 months to 12 months) is all about discovery and learning the skill of eating for your baby. In my experience, it really took many, many months before my son was eating enough food to sustain him. I guess I had this idea that Jackson would just know what to do with food from the first bite, but it didn't work out that way for me. 

There were many days (and many more to come) when I just wanted baby to eat the food so we could move on in our day. I got frustrated easily by how long it took him to 'get it'. (For the record, this is the story of my life as my personality is the check-off-the-box-and-move-on kind. Kids are really good at interrupting me in this mindset and reminding me of the need for grace and to be present in the moment.)

Eating is also going to be pretty messy for a while. So don't wear nice clothes (or do wear an apron), especially if you feed baby beets. I speak from experience here. 

So, let me just encourage you with this: no matter what the books say, your baby may want to do this eating thing totally different. It doesn't mean the baby is wrong, or you are wrong, but sometimes you have to rethink your approach. I've had to do that many times, and not just with feeding. 

Scheduling

The last thing I am going to share with you is the tool I used for putting both of my babies on a schedule. I am very very thankful to my sister in law for introducing me to it several years ago. Scheduling is a very personal choice, and there are many different (good) ways to go about it. The tool that worked for me is called Mom's on Call. I have followed their every word of advice in many areas, but used their scheduling tools to determine when to fit in food feedings. They (the owners are 2 nurses) are phenomenal. That is all I will say and now move on. 

Making your baby food is something that you can do if you want to. And it's ok if you don't. But don't view it as some huge, gourmet task. At the end of the day, you are just pureeing food. That's it! Anyone can do it. 

Please leave me a comment about what you did do or are going to do for your baby as well as if I missed any of your burning questions. 

Making Your Own Baby Food - Tools

Yesterday, I shared some strategies for starting your baby on solid foods. If you haven't read it, I suggest you start there before reading this post. Today, I want to talk about tools for easy prep and feeding.

The Blender

There are a lot of machines out there for specifically making baby food. Based on some input from other moms, I chose the Beaba Babycook and was farely happy with it. I really like that it cooks the food by steaming and then easily converts to a food processor. When making dinner, I would put veggies in it (usually whatever we were having), start it up and not have to worry about it until it was done steaming. It's also very easy to clean. The one thing I did not like about the Beaba is that it does not get the texture of food super smooth. For Jackson, that was a problem, especially as we were just getting started with eating. It took me a while to figure out that he didn't like any chunks in his food.

I eventually started using the Vitamix blender for a lot of baby food making, although I continued to use the Beaba for at least steaming veggies. The Vitamix created the super smooth texture that Jackson liked. I also used it for making barley cereal.

You could really use any strong blender or really good food processor, so don't feel like you have to get a new appliance just for baby food. If you are thinking about buying something for baby food, I encourage you to just buy a really good blender. Something like a Magic Bullet or Ninja blender would probably work well too. 

Storage

You also have a lot of options for storing baby food. I started out using the Beaba molds and just didn't like the extra step of removing them from the molds and storing them in a ziploc bag. I still use the mold because I have it, and they are nice for when I'm making a big batch of something. 

My absolutely favorite storage container I found was the OXO Tot Baby Blocks. I started using the 2 oz size, which was perfect for the small portions you start with. Later on, I used the 4 oz size for when Jackson's appetite increased. The nice thing about these containers is that you can continue to use them long after your done making baby food. I use them for lunches, salad dressings, protein powder, you name it! They are great. 

I ended up buying a small freezer a few months into my baby food making as it can take over your everyday freezer. Small freezers are not too expensive and we still use this for bulk food storage. 

Feeding

What you actually use to feed your baby is completely about your preference. My favorite spoons are the Beaba First Stage Spoons because they are soft and just the perfect depth for little mouths. Bibs, which Jackson still wears, are very important and I liked the ones with the trough at the bottom because he was/is a messy eater.

I liked giving Jackson the option to experience food in his mouth and with his fingers so I often put food out where he could feel it too. Sometime I would put a big piece of the fruit or veggie in front of him to show the connection and let him experience the food in its true form. This Tiny Diner tray is wonderful for this and I used it at both home and restaurants.

Maybe you've already realized that high chairs take up a lot of room?? We were in a very small townhouse, so instead of a whole seperate chair, I just use this booster seat that attached to a chair. I have never regretted this purchase. We still use it and I've never really wished for a high chair. 

So there you have my summary of favorite tools. I'm going to put together one more post on how I go about the actual making of baby food. Be on the lookout for this post in the next couple of days. 

Are there any tools that you use and love? Please share in a comment below.

How to Start Your Baby on Solid Food

There's a lot of theories out there on how to start your baby on solids and what those solids should be. Let me tell you (if you didn't know already), everyone is passionate about their own way of doing it. They should be! It's your precious little one, and you hope you are setting them up for a lifetime of healthy eating. It's a big deal! 

Regardless of which approach you take, I encourage you to 1) care. By caring I mean, take the time (and patience) it requires. 2) Be flexible. You can't control every aspect of your child's nutrition. For a short period of time you do control every morsel that touches their lips (except when maybe grandparents are involved) but you still can't control what they like and what they don't like. So mom's and dad's, take a deep breath, try to stay relaxed and ENJOY this time of introducing your baby to all kinds of new foods.

Baby Ben turns 6 months old in a week and a half, which is the time I start feeding food. The light bulb went off in my head this week that the 6 month milestone was fast approaching and I needed to prepare. 

I made about 80% of my oldest son's baby food. I shared a few recipes with you back then such as Barley Cereal. (I'll be making this again instead of rice cereal as I don't think rice cereal is really that nutritious.) But let me back up a bit and tell you why I make my own baby food.

First, I just enjoy doing it. I like cooking so it's only natural I also enjoy making my baby's food too. Second, I know exactly what is in the food, how it was prepared and where the original food came from. The "Organic" label on food is a trustworthy standard so I am by no means bashing it. But when I make my own concoctions, I know exactly what went into it. Third, I can adjust the food to baby's likes and dislikes. I can also hide things like putting some spinach in with blueberries (they'll never know). And honestly, it's just cheaper to make your own. 

There are many other reasons why you might choose to make your own baby food, but these are the main ones for me. There are also many reasons why choosing store-bought baby food is a good option too. I used store bought on several occasions like when we traveled. I simply ordered these from Amazon and had them shipped to our destination. Talk about easy!

When I first did my research about approaches to feeding my baby, here's the four main techniques I considered:

1. Introduce green veggies first. Yellow veggies second. Orange veggies last. Then move on to fruits.
2. Give a vegetable first, then offer fruits (in the same sitting).
3. Giving cereal as the first food and then adding other purees.
4. Baby led weaning. 

Any of these options can work but option #1 is what I chose to go with.  It worked for us. The first food I gave Jackson was pureed avocado, and that's what I plan to do with Ben as well. Hopefully it's no secret that I love avocados. They have amazing health benefits and add deliciousness to everything. Personally, there is no more wonderful food to first introduce to my babies. After avocados, I plan to try zucchini, green beans, and peas (which were not well-accepted the first time around with Jackson and I can't say I blame him). In the yellow department, I'll go with summer and winter squashes. For orange, you can't go wrong with sweet potatoes and carrots. 

Since this post is getting a little long, I'll come back tomorrow with information on how to puree, tools of the trade and favorite cookbooks. In the meantime, check out my (affiliate) Amazon store that features many of my favorite products. 

 

Disclaimer: Always consult with your pediatrician when deciding when and what to feed your baby. This post is not intended to mean that what I chose to do is what everyone should do. 

Setting Kids Up for Good Health -- Exposure

This past weekend I spoke to my Dad's parenting class at his church about setting your kids up for good health. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist and we have spoke together several times in the past. It's a lot of fun. 

I thought I would share with you all my tips. There is no guarantee, unfortunately, that your kids will be healthy eaters, be healthy in general, and make the choices you want them to make. But I do believe there are some cultural things you can do in your home to set them up for success. 

The first, and maybe most important, key is to expose your kids to healthy foods. Notice I did not say, make your kids eat healthy food or never have bad food in house. Those two things, just don't work.

No, I believe the parent's roll is to expose (over and over and over again) their kids to healthy foods. By creating repetition of positive memories surrounding healthy foods, the goal is that one day the child will naturally choose those foods for themself. 

I think of this exposure principle like a fenced-in playground. The fence keeps everyone safe in side but kids can choose what type of play they want to participate in. The same is true for our homes. If we offer several choices, but they are all ultimately healthy choices, then it's a win-win situation for everyone. 

How does this play out in the practical ins and outs of the day? I think of it as "it's just what we do as a family."

For instance, there is always at least one fruit or vegetable at meals. Why? "It's just the way we eat as a family."

Why do we choose whole grain brown bread? It's what our family feels is important.

Why are we visiting a farm together? Because our family feels it's important to know where our food comes from. 

Why do we not drink a lot of soda? Because our family feels water is the best thing you can drink. 

Pick the messages that are important in your home and run with them. You don't have to some complicated science based reason for your kids. These messages are creating a culture in your home and giving the message of how the child can participate in this culture. Hopefully they will adopt this culture for themselves one day. 

Now sometimes you may have the opportunity to implant some nugget of nutrition wisdom on your child about why you really are choosing to eat healthy (nutrients, prevent disease, healthy weight, sports performance, less sickness, etc) and you should take full advantage of those opportunities. But for the most part, you are setting the stage for the culture of your home. 

As a final note on exposure, keep your messages positive. I don't think it's good to have your "because our family..." statements based on a negatives like "doesn't want to get fat" or "thinks sugar is terrible for you." Instead, spin them as "eating this way keeps our family healthy" or "we enjoy sweets when it's appropriate, but not all the time."

This is just something for you to think about today. Let me know your thoughts. 

 

Baby Ben's Debut in Life and on TV

He's here! He's here! He's here! 

Benjamin Gerald Braddock arrived Thursday, August 22nd at 4:20 am. He weighed in at 7 lb 0.5 oz and measured 19.8 in. He is a tiny little thing compared to his brother who was born at almost a pound heavier. I was honestly thinking I would have an 8-pounder since I was so uncomfortable for several weeks and he seemed to take up every inch of my belly. 

Here's the quick version of how it all went down.

I went to work at UNF on Wednesday looking like this and not suspecting anything. The day before my doctor had scheduled me to be induced today (8/27) and I was good with that.

Around 6:30 pm I started having contractions that seemed to be pretty rhythmic. I put my mom on alert. Around 7:30pm I started writing down my contractions and by 9pm I concluded they were not going away and we needed to call the doctor. 

We headed to the hospital and tried to mentally prepare for the night ahead. My labor with Jackson was almost identical at this point and he came at 9:50 am the following day. We figured we had some time at the hospital while I progressed. No such luck!

I was admitted around midnight and still doing ok pain wise. I offered to do some walking (this is what I had to do with Jackson) to help things along but my nurse seemed to think this was going to happen quick and it wouldn't be necessary. Neither Brian or I still really believed her but I took her recommendation and asked for my epidural. 

A mere 3 hours later I had significantly progressed. My nurse woke me up from a cat nap, checked things, and quickly alerted me that we were having a baby. My response was, "like in 30 minutes or so. I need to call my inlaws." The nurse replied, "No, in like 5 minutes."

I shouted to Brian to wake up (in a deep sleep on the couch next to me due to football fatigue) and tried to relay that this was happening RIGHT NOW! It took him several minutes to realize what was happening. 

The nurse told me to give a little warm up push and then immediately commanded me to STOP pushing. Ben was ready to enter the world. So everyone rushed in and got ready to receive him. In a mere 4 pushes Ben joined us. It was crazy how quick it all happened. 

In an hour's time we went from being asleep (sort of) to having a baby to our room being quiet again with our little guy in our arms. It took an hour or so after that to really wrap our minds around it. 

What took no time at all was falling in love with our Little B. He is beautiful. 

So far things are going really well. He is a sweet baby. I am enjoying this newborn stage so much more this time and I'm really thankful for that. Adjusting to a family of 4 will take some time for everyone, but it's going to be great. I don't think Jackson fully gets what's going on but he sure is good at giving his little brother kisses. 

I'll conclude this post with Ben's TV debut. Thanks to my friends at First Coast News, Ben was featured in a story on Friday night and then on the morning show twice on Saturday! What a celebrity already. Here is the clip that we were featured in on football families last Friday night. This gives a little glimpse into my life as a coaches wife. Unfortunately, the original suspense of waiting for Ben to come (and wondering if he would come on a football Friday) was foiled for the news, but it worked out ok for us. 

 

Thank you for all the warm wishes in the social media world! I can't wait to keep you updated on life with 2 little guys and get back in the kitchen and writing regularly. 

Baby Update (or lack thereof)

Happy Friday everyone!

I just wanted to give you a quick update today on my pregnancy. Bottom line: no Ben yet. He is still in the oven.

I will be 39 weeks on Sunday so it's technically not quite time yet. Jackson did not come till 41 weeks so I'm not expecting Ben to be different. But it would be A-ok with us if he did come early. The nursery is ready, we are ready and football games start a week from today for Brian. Eek! (We have this small fear that I will go into labor on a Friday night when Brian has a game - which is every Friday starting next week). 

All-in-all I know Ben will come on exactly the day God has chosen for him. In the meantime, I am eating up every second with sweet Jackson. Yesterday, he helped me make cookies for Daddy and his coaching staff. It was so much fun to bake together and he even cracked an egg all by himself. 

I must admit that I am pretty uninspired these days when it comes to cooking. Easy, quick and as few dishes as possible are my main goals. I hope to get my cooking mojo back next month, but for now, it's a little bit of survival mode. 

I will keep you all posted on my progress and of course, post pictures when Ben arrives.