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Figuring Out What to Feed Yourself or Kids, Are You Still Searching?

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Hi Friends! How’s your week going so far? I’ve been busy with life, work, balancing it all. I did take Skylar to the park the other day and got a few action shots. Grandma sent her a new velour hoodie outfit that she’s sporting.

Tree lined play area at park - 3 Tree lined play area at park - 4 Light pole surrounded by trees - 5 Light pole surrounded by trees - 6 Young girl running at park - 7 Young girl running at park - 8 Backside of young girl running - 9 Backside of young girl running - 10 Side of young girl at park running - 11 Side of young girl at park running - 12 Young girl running while looking at ground - 13 Young girl running while looking at ground - 14 Young girl standing with arms up in the air - 15 Young girl standing with arms up in the air - 16

I know this is one of those things that unless you have kids may sound cheesy, but I don’t care, I am a proud mom and this is cute.

Lately she’s been telling me things that she thinks are “hug-able” or not. For instance, she told me that fish are not hug-able, leaves are, ladybugs are not, blankies are, pink feather boa’s at Halloween stores are, ghosts are not (smart kid at age 3 that ghosts are intangible) , and rocks are hug-able but we don’t hug rocks, Mommy.

Randomly she will blurt out, “Mommy, that doggie is so cute. He is very hug-able .” It’s just so cute!

Just wait til you have kids, you’ll do the same thing telling your “cute kid stories”.

Apparently American Parents are very confused about food for their kids. Because by toddlerhood, the publishers are writing articles every month in order to help correct toddler eating issues or tummy issues.

September 2010

Parents Magazine - 17 Parents Magazine - 18 Article in magazine titled An All-Natural Cure for Tummy Troubles - 19 Article in magazine titled An All-Natural Cure for Tummy Troubles - 20

Wonder if the Tummy Troubles have anything to do with the food choices?

Is it the schools or the parents responsibility to feed their children and not “fail them”? Hmmm….

Articles titled How School Lunches are Failing our Children and 11 Easy, Healthy Brown-Bag Ideas - 21 Articles titled How School Lunches are Failing our Children and 11 Easy, Healthy Brown-Bag Ideas - 22

October 2010

Parents Magazine - 23 Parents Magazine - 24 Article on Grocery-List Makover - 26 New Foods Your Picky Kids Will Eat - 25 Article on Grocery-List Makover - 26 New Foods Your Picky Kids Will Eat - 26

November 2010

Parents Magazine - 27 Parents Magazine - 28 Article title Fix Your Child's Worst Eating Habits - 29 Article title Fix Your Child's Worst Eating Habits - 30

Yesterday I saw an article in the NY Times about “ What Kids Want to Eat”

“A traditional dish of peanut butter, jelly and white bread with a big pile of raw sugar for garnish in the wheelbarrow. ”

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in triangles with wheelbarrow of brown sugar - 31 Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in triangles with wheelbarrow of brown sugar - 32

From yesterday’s post about Blogging as a Hobby vs. a Job . Most of you said of course, you’d love to make money at blogging but that you’re realistic and realize that’s probably not a huge likelihood. And in the meantime, you’re happy blogging as a hobby.

Thanks for the thoughts about how you balance the time commitment of your “hobby” so that it doesn’t turn into a job. Many of us said that although we love our “hobby”, it can easily take on job-like time commitments, in a hurry.

In Green Food Matters this was a good Rainbow Colored Veggie Feast dressed with Orange Coconut Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Green salad with mixed vegetables topped with Orange Coconut Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette Salad Dressing - 33 Green salad with mixed vegetables topped with Orange Coconut Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette Salad Dressing - 34 Close up of salad topped with Orange Coconut Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette Salad Dressing - 35 Close up of salad topped with Orange Coconut Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette Salad Dressing - 36

I also made a batch of Sweet & Sour Honey Lemon Tofu If you don’t eat honey, use agave, yacon, or maple. I love the sweet and sour vibe in this recipe.

Stacked Sweet & Sour Honey Lemon Tofu - 37 Stacked Sweet & Sour Honey Lemon Tofu - 38 Close up of Sweet & Sour Honey Lemon Tofu in container - 39 Close up of Sweet & Sour Honey Lemon Tofu in container - 40

Dessert: Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve

Chocolate Chunks for Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve in blender - 41 Chocolate Chunks for Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve in blender - 42 Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve in bowl - 43 Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve in bowl - 44 Close up of Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve - 45 Close up of Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve - 46

Questions 1. Did your grandparents or relatives ever send you things in the mail as a child? Do you remember anything special? I lived nearby most of my relatives so they didn’t send gifts in the mail but I did have an uncle who used to send me money for my report card. Right or wrong, yes, that A Honor Roll was worth something to him and he sent me cash. I loved it!

But I would have been on the A Honor Roll with or without his cash. Trust me, I was Miss Studious in my day.

  1. Why do you think parents need help figuring out what to feed their kids? I don’t pretend to have all the answers in parenthood or life. No way! But it seems like such common sense to me to serve an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies, modest amounts of (processed) grains, some protein, and everything else in limited moderation or not at all, i.e. junk food, processed food, candy, treats, desserts…for both kids and adults.

We are not purists in our house, but junk food, treats, desserts, represents a tiny portion of our overall food choices. I post dessert recipes daily but don’t make or eat desserts daily. People love dessert recipes and I will be honest, the amount of click-thru’s on dessert recipes is about quintuple that of other recipes. You all love desserts and the google stats don’t lie…haha!

I don’t believe in swearing off all candy or desserts for kids but I also don’t believe in a wheelbarrow filled with sugar to dip a white bread sandwich in. Cringe!

Why is there such confusion about what to feed kids? I guess because people are so confused about what to feed themselves, but that’s a whole other topic, isn’t it…

  1. Are you confused about what to feed yourself? Have you found your Groove ? Or are you still searching? I went through my childhood eating largely a plant-based diet. In my late teens, college, and early 20s, not eating at home and mom’s cooking and not being a cook myself, I ate my share of processed foods. I was always largely a vegetarian or pescatarian, sometimes vegan, but I didn’t label it. The farther away I drifted from a plant based diet of unprocessed whole foods, the worse I felt .

My food allergies were out of control, and I was not feeling strong and healthy. Once I eliminated my allergens from my diet, and in large part by “default” became a high raw, GF Vegan , I felt better than ever and this is my life path.

I tend to eat the same types of foods over and over , I call this a Groove, Not a Rut . There are only so many ways to make fresh, raw produce “exciting” and “novel” but I am happy to have found my groove and if it’s little repetitive to some, that’s fine because it suits me just fine. Finding your Food Groove can take years, or for some, the better part of their lifetime. I think intuition, common sense, and a little luck are all at play to help each person find what works best for his or her body.

Have you found what works best for you? What is it? How did you figure it out for you?