Ketchup Soup

Jack's not the world's greatest eater these days.  If served his favorites, he can eat as much as a grown adult, but when it comes to trying new things he's not such a fan.  And, unfortunately, his favorites aren't exactly the healthiest of options. 

Pizza and pasta top the list (especially Penne Marinara from our favorite local restaurant, Paisano's, which he adorably refers to as Panera Manera) with the usual kid fare a close second.  You know, mac n cheese, corn dogs, peanut butter & jelly, chicken nuggets and the like.  Fortunately, he chooses fairly healthy snacks and likes quite a few fruits, but outside of canned green beans we struggle with vegetables.

He does; however, love ketchup.  A lot.  So we've learned that he can be tricked into eating a few things (like a chicken breast for example) as long as it is smothered in ketchup. 

Which brings us to last night's dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Drew started dinner while Jack & I were on a walk.  When asked what we were having, without skipping a beat, Drew replied, "ketchup soup".  Jack seemed a bit skeptical, but a glimpse in the pan had him convinced.

The result:  he totally ate it.  And even commented how good "ketchup soup" is.

There's no way he would have taken a single bite if we told him it was tomato soup.

Well done, Drew.

Now - how do we convince him to eat broccoli?

Community Supported Agriculture

We are regular patrons of the Lawrence Farmer's Market.  We have a modest garden in the backyard.  But this year we are taking our commitment to eating fresh and local one step further.

I have heard of Community Supported Agriculture programs before, but was always hesitant to participate.  I didn't want to make a financial commitment to a weekly food ration that I wasn't sure we would use.  Then I was introduced to the Douglas County Child Development Association's program, Families, Farmers and Educators United for Healthy Child Development, at Jack's school.

Princeton is participating in the program by planting a garden at school. 

The garden at Princeton

The plot for the 3's room

Of course, there are countless learning opportunities that the garden helps facilitate (agriculture, nutrition, insects, etc.).  In addition, the kids will get to cultivate their garden, watch the food grow and enjoy the fruits of their labor during snack and meal times.  Cool, right?

Then they took it one step further by partnering with a local farm, Pendleton's Country Market, and their CSA program.  Princeton is now one of the pick-up locations for Pendleton's weekly produce bags.  Suddenly CSA participation is not only extremely convenient for parents, it also reinforces the message of local and sustainable eating at home, too.  Gotta love a win-win!

Needless to say, I was sold.  John Pendleton was kind enough to take a photo of Jack and I as we picked up our first bag of produce (in fancy insulated bags...bonus!) earlier this week.

Here is the bounty from week one:

Blackberries, New Potatoes, Purple Asparagus, Kale, Beets, Kohlrabi

I'll be honest, it's a bit intimidating.  The blackberries, potatoes and asparagus are home runs for sure.  But the kale, beets and kohlrabi are definitely out of the norm for us.  I've been scouring pinterest and cookbooks for recipe suggestions and cooking techniques.  And the awesome folks at Pendleton's even included several recipe cards to help get you started with some of the more obscure items.

Overall, I can't tell you how excited I am.  While I'm sure we will encounter some duds along the way, I'm hopeful that throughout this process we'll discover new foods and recipes that we love and likely never would have tried without the CSA program.

One of my biggest challenges is putting delicious and healthy meals on the table for my family.  Especially after a full day of work with little time and often less motivation.  I'll be the first to admit that I often (way more often than I like) fall back on our standard - and not always healthful - meals or carry out just because it's easier.  Participating in this program has inspired me to be more diligent in setting a good example of healthy eating and teaching Jack to try new things.  Something all three of us will have to embrace through this program.

So wish us luck.  And if you have any favorite recipes that involve kale, beets or kohlrabi (or any other produce you can think of) do share!

Playing with Food

Here's a little something that we've been having fun with around here lately.

These four little shapes are actually...egg molds!

Just peel a freshly boiled and still warm egg and snap it into the mold.

Drop the entire thing in a bowl of ice water for 5-10 minutes and voila!

Out pop perfectly molded eggs.

Drew thinks they're a little freaky, but Jack & I think they are simply fantastic!

I bought them here if you need a set for yourself.

The Bottle

Our pediatrician warned me that by 15 months old there would be no more bottles.  Not even at bedtime.  I had the best intentions, really I did, but after one disastrous attempt (yes, just 1) in early March I fell off the wagon.  Besides, I'm the parent here, right?  I certainly appreciate everything our pediatrician has to offer; however, in the end it's up to Drew & I to do what we think is best.  And I happen to enjoy bottle time while I cuddle with my baby who's rapidly becoming a little boy. So the bottle stayed.

Being the rule follower that I am, I was a bit nervous for Jack's 15-month appointment last week.  I knew I was going to hear about the bottle.  As luck would have it, Drew & I had an opportunity to go to the Bon Jovi concert the day of Jack's scheduled appointment.  Which meant I had to reschedule.  Which meant he would be seeing a nurse practitioner, Heather, instead of our usual pediatrician.  Perfect!  Now I wouldn't have to defend my lack of enthusiasm for getting rid of the bottle.

Wrong.  Apparently everyone at Pediatric Partners is on the same anti-bottle after 15 months kick.

Okay, so I'm exaggerating just a tad.  Heather was actually quite nice and did not apply any guilt or pressure.  She merely asked if Jack was taking a bottle.  I explained our nighttime routine and then asked a couple of questions.  She answered by telling me that at Jack's age he doesn't need the extra milk to help him get through the night.  In fact, he really only needs 16-20 oz a day - which he gets during meal times with no problem.  Furthermore, it really isn't good for his teeth to have a mouthful of milk as he falls asleep.  If he acts like he wants a drink before bed, water will suffice.

So that very night we quit the bottle.

It was a disaster.  He screamed for 15 minutes straight.  He launched the sippy cup I offered as a replacement across the room.  He refused to read, sing or cuddle.  I finally caved and had Drew make a really small bottle - I think it was just 2 or 3 oz.  Jack drank it in about 3 swallows, looked at me like I was crazy, fussed for a bit and finally fell asleep. 

Score:  Jackson 1, Mommy 0

While it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, it did prove to me that the bedtime bottle was less about drinking the milk (it was only a couple of ounces) and more about the routine.  All we needed to do was come up with a new routine.

The next night was surprisingly smooth.  He spent a lot of time outside that afternoon and was very tired, which helped.  This time, instead of the bottle we gave him a sippy cup of water, read books in the rocking chair and then sang a few songs until he dozed off.  It worked.

Score:  Jackson 1, Mommy 1

We are now on day 6 with no bottle and it's gotten even easier every night.  Our new routine is:

• Put on Jammies. 
• Daddy puts him in his sleep sack and gives goodnight kisses. 
• Mommy reads 3 books.  Currently, it has to be Baby Cakes.  I've tried countless others and he just closes the book and picks up Baby Cakes.  We read it 3 times. 
• Then we turn on the sound machine and sing a few songs.  Some favorites these days are the ABC's, Crimson & the Blue (a KU song), You Are My Sunshine, Brahms Lullaby (my Nana used to sing this one to me), Rockabye Baby and Smile.
• By the end of the singing he's fast asleep.  (Which means despite the elimination of the bottle, I still get some cuddle time.  Which makes Mommy very happy.)

Jackson has gotten so comfortable with this new routine; tonight he actually closed the book (before I was done reading it) and laid his head on my shoulder.  He was ready to go night-night.

I made it official this weekend and packed the last of the bottles into a rubbermaid container and put them in storage.

And just like that we are done with the bottle.

Comfort Food

This was the scene at dinner tonight:

Dozing off between bites of spaghetti.

A few minutes later...completely out.

Not even disturbed by us removing the highchair tray and cleaning up around him.

Must have been a hard day.

It's What's For Dinner

It's been about 3 weeks now since we got the all clear to give Jackson regular food. I'll admit, it took me a while to warm up to it, but I think we're starting to get the hang of it. At least, I'm much less afraid that he is going to choke on a cheerio. All of Jackson's meals still include some baby food; however, we try to make sure he is also eating at least some of our meal as well.

So far, much like everything else with this kid, his food preferences are just like his Daddy's. This is both good and bad. Drew is not a huge fan of chicken (unless it's fried) and won't touch fish. Red meat all the way. Not my ideal meal plan, and not exactly what I want for Jackson either. We'll keep working on that. On the plus side, Drew loves vegetables and so far Jackson does too.

Some current favorites:

• Snacks: Cheerios (of course), Gerber Puffs, Goldfish, Apple Chunks
• Breakfast: Bananas, Banana Bread, Scrambled Eggs, Pancakes!

• Lunch/Dinner: Mac & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower, Ground Beef (he seeks out the chunks of beef in anything...stroganoff, spaghetti sauce, casseroles, etc.), Spaghetti!

Not such a fan of:

• Blueberries (although they were frozen, I'm going to give fresh a try), Cottage Cheese, Peaches

Despite the mess that comes along with self-feeding, it has made meal time so much fun. Just ask Ruby, who thinks giving food to the baby was pure genius!

Chuckling at Myself

In a previous post, I mentioned that I had been researching introducing solid foods and would elaborate on our plan of action another time. Well, the whole thing feels a bit silly at the moment. Here's the story:

In true Heidi form, once we decided we were ready to introduce Jack to baby food I immediately started obsessing. How much do we give him (1 tsp, 1 Tbsp, the whole jar)? When should we offer it (dinner only or lunch and dinner)? Should he take a bottle with the meal? Or before? Or after? Do I need to adjust the amount of ounces in his bottles? Do I need to offer foods in a specific order? Like I said...obsessing.

So I sent my pediatrician an e-mail asking all of those questions. Then I checked my usual sources (our pediatrician's website, the american academy of pediatrics, various google searches and fellow moms) and determined the following:

• Introduce 1 food at a time. After 3-4 successful days, add another. That way, if there are any allergies or reactions you can easily identify the trigger.
• Start with veggies. Fruits taste better so if you start with fruit you run the risk of struggling to get them to eat the less flavorful (but oh so important) veggies.
• Begin with orange veggies then add green (orange, apparently, are easier to digest).
• Never feed directly out of the jar unless you know they will finish the entire jar (or you risk bacteria/contamination from the saliva on the spoon).
• Offer at lunch and dinner.
• Formula is still the primary source of nutrition. Offer the bottle first and then the solids - as much as they are interested in. 1-4 Tbsp. is a typical amount to start with.
• Eventually, as the solids increase, they will require less formula.

With all of that knowledge under my belt I put my plan into action. I went to Target and bought all orange veggies. I then printed a blank calendar for the month of June and made a food schedule. One for us and one for Holly - so were consistent in our offerings. Sweet Potatoes on June 5, add carrots on June 8, add squash on June 12, etc. Yes. I really am that anal.

This afternoon, I received a reply from our Pediatrician regarding introducing solids. I've mentioned before how much I love Dr. Peterlin. She is about my age, has a 3-year old son (so she's recently experienced the very issues we are going through) and is about as laid back as they come. She's a perfect balance for me. In her words:

"You guys can start with either veggies or fruit- -doesn't matter what order. I started my kid at dinner and then gradually filled in a lunch to have 3 meals per day. only rule is 1 new thing every 3-4 days so you know if he has a problem with one -- which one it is. Note that when he starts eating more solids, he won't drink as much -- so he may take less formula overall. generally most kids his age take approx 4-6 oz per feed- sometimes more. follow his lead-- he knows when he is hungry and when he is full. Have fun!"

That's when the light bulb moment occurred. And I could do nothing but chuckle at myself and how absurd my over-analyzing really was. "He knows when he is hungry and when he is full." Of course he does. And he has never had any problem communicating that to us. It dawned on me that I am not attempting brain surgery or astrophysics here. I'm merely feeding mushy food to a baby. A baby who loves to eat. A baby who pulls his head away when he is full and opens his mouth wide or sucks on his fist when he is hungry. Jack knows what he wants, and he knows how to tell us.

Don't get me wrong. I don't regret my research. In fact, I consider it responsible parenting. But I also recognize that I need to tone it down a notch (in other words, C.H.I.L.L.)! I'll probably keep my calendar (or some form of it) so Holly and I are consistent in our food introductions, but beyond that I'm going to take Dr. Peterlin's advice...I'm going to follow Jack's lead and Have Fun!

But not until I'm done chuckling at myself.

Food, Glorious Food

This week we introduced Jackson to something we do quite well in our household...eating!

His first attempt at cereal was as we expected. Less about eating and more about making a mess! But all 3 of us enjoyed it nonetheless.