I’ve posted this before, but it’s an appropriate intro to this post (not suitable for work…turn your volume down):

Yes. This was me most of 2007 and 2008. Frustrated, almost to the point of insanity whenever 5 p.m. rolled around.

But in case this is STILL you, I figured I would share some of what I’ve learned over the past three years. I’m not guaranteeing that these tips will work for your kid, but hey, give it a shot and report back.

Before we get started, however, let me introduce you to the three schools of the “Get your kids to eat – and like! - healthy food” bandwagon:

They will eat healthy food because your word is LAW. Put that whole grain pasta with raw carrot sauce on their plate and you will not let them up from the table until every last drop is cleared from their plate. If they don’t like it, tough.

Kids are gonna be kids, so I’m not going to sweat over it. What harm is it if they eat French fries a couple times a week? Potatoes are veggies, right?

Sneak those veggies into their burgers and chicken fingers. Put some green bean puree in their meatloaf and some squash in their brownies and call it a night.

I fall somewhere between 2 and 3. I used to be the #1 mom. I’d try – in vain – to get my kids to eat whatever new health food was the craze at the time, pleading, begging, demanding that they eat whatever was on their plate. And they’d shut me down. Hard.

So I switched tactics. Food is important to me. I love to cook and I love to eat. (I mean, I loooooove it. If the doctor said I had six months to live, I’d spend almost all my time with my face in a bowl of spaghetti. Oh yes.) I want to pass on that love of food to my kids. Plus, by helping me in the kitchen, they’d be getting:

1. Math lessons. Add two cups water. Cut an orange into quarters. Math is everywhere in the kitchen.
2. Science lessons. What does baking soda do when baking? Even something as simple as making Jell-O has a lesson attached.
3. Life lessons. When we’re out of a particular ingredient, I like to improvise. We were out of eggs on the day I wanted to make meatloaf. A few Google searches later, I simply added some mayo
   (which has eggs in it) and no one could tell the difference. Life throws you curveballs – learn to adapt.
4. Quality time. Yes, many days they are glued to Nick Jr. while I am racing to make dinner. But when I can, I like to have them in the kitchen with me. I let my son shuck corn and yes, it takes him a while, but when dinner rolls around, it’s HIS corn.

So here’s a bunch of tips on dealing with picky eaters. Some of this you’ve heard before. Some of this might be new. Drum roll please….

THE YOUNG MOMMY GUIDE TO GETTING YOUR KIDS TO EAT THEIR DAMN FOOD

1. Check out the nutritional facts for the so-called “healthy options.” My kids love pudding cups and applesauce. You’d think applesauce would be the better choice. Eh, not so much. I was stunned when I realized how much sugar was in one applesauce cup – 22 grams! The fat-free pudding had 11 grams, but it also had calcium. Pudding was actually the healthier choice!

2. Keep offering new things. This sounds so easy in theory, but in reality it’s a pain. My daughter’s doctor kept telling me to keep offering food, that it sometimes takes kids 10 times to realize they like a certain food. Well, they obviously don’t care about Mama’s grocery bill. But I’ve discovered it’s true. Not only that – offer things you don’t think they’ll like. One day, I made some curry chickpeas (try it!) and my son was sniffing around like he wanted some. I hesitated, but gave him a small forkful. Turns out – he loves ‘em!

3.  Let them pick out a veggie or fruit at the grocery store. I linger a long time in the fresh produce section and let my kids pick out something new. Whether it’s a star fruit or a tangelo, they enjoy coming home and eating their new “treasure.” And half the time, I haven’t had it either, so it’s fun for all of us. My kids picked out zucchini once and as I was slicing it for dinner, my son snuck up and ate a raw piece. He didn’t spit it out! This was me:

4. Introduce salads. I used to make myself salads and then I would give my kids their dinner. But I was pleasantly surprised one day when my daughter wiped her plate clean after I tossed a quick salad on her plate with no thoughts that she’d actually eat it. Once she refused to eat it, and so to outsmart her, I let her sprinkle some cheese on it and then she tore it up!
5. Find something they like? Make it healthier. Chicken nuggets and french fries? Bake ‘em instead of fry them. If they like spaghetti, get (or make) the healthiest sauce possible and use whole wheat noodles. (If your kids don’t like whole wheat pasta, then start by using half regular and half whole wheat at first.)

6. Relax. This was the hardest thing for me to do. Sit back and eat calmly while my daughter refused to even pick up her fork, or better yet, just asked for Cheerios and yogurt? I don’t think so. But the more I pushed, the less she ate and the more she clung to the foods she was familiar with.
7. Double check your serving sizes. If I don’t put as much on my kids’ plate, they tend to eat more. It’s like they get overwhelmed by the sight of too much food.

8. Sometimes it’s not the food – it’s what’s under it. I bought these ZooPals plates (yeah, it’s wasteful and gets expensive after a while), but my kids ate the food I put on it. I also took them to Target a while back and let them pick out their own plates and spoons. That helped a ton.

9. Try smoothies. This is a recent thing for me, but my kids actually like smoothies. I don’t add the spinach to theirs (they didn’t like that) but I do add some lowfat yogurt for some protein. It’s a healthy and easy way to get fruit into the little ones. You can also make it as thick or as thin as you want it so a little can go a bit further.

10. Don’t be afraid to “deconstruct” food. Now that I’m home all day with the kids, I want something quick and healthy for lunch. What’s quicker than a turkey sandwich, right? Well, a turkey sandwich is not so quick when the kids refuse to eat it. But for some reason, if I put a piece of turkey, a slice of cheese and a small piece of bread on their plates, they will eat it. It looks like a poverty meal (lol), but really it’s just a turkey sandwich on step 1 rather than step 4.

11. Ask them what they want for dinner. 9 times out of 10 my daughter tell me something like, “I want mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets and French fries and yogurt.” I’ll usually take one of her suggestions and go from there. So if she asks for chicken for dinner and I put down her plate and say, “Here, honey. Here’s your chicken,” she usually lights up, happy that I remembered her request.

So that’s it. That’s all I got. I’m sure I could think of more, but these are the tips that worked for me. The biggest thing, though, is to remember that they will not be picky eaters forever. Toddlers and little kids are notoriously fussy about what they eat and will not eat – it is part of their development. It’s our job as parents to simply guide them through this phase and make it the other side with our sanity intact.

Do you have any tips to add to my list? Share what worked for you in the comments!

This is a new feature I’m trying out, where I share recipes that I’ve tried recently. I try to feature recipes that are quick and cheap to make. Here’s the first installment – let me know what you think!

The quest: To up my veggie and fruit intake

The solution: Breakfast smoothies

I have to give credit where credit is due on this one. Nadirah (who you might remember from my review and giveaway of her book last year) kept talking about smoothies on her Facebook page and finally I had to give it a try. I only drink smoothies like once a year and even then it’s at a Jamba Juice-type place. How hard could it be to make them at home?

So I gathered my ingredients:

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1 cup frozen fruit (a mix of strawberry, mango, pineapple and peach)
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

I got a huge bag of frozen fruit ($8) from Wal-Mart Supercenter – enough to make more than a week’s worth of smoothies. A bag of spinach cost about $3. I already had the juice and the Greek yogurt was on sale (woo!) so I bought a big container. All told, I spent about $15 and that’ll get me through the week. Not bad at all!

As you can see (maybe) I put the orange juice in first, then the spinach, then the fruit. I let the fruit thaw for about 10 minutes (so it blends smoothly), then I add a couple dollops of yogurt. I used Greek yogurt rather than regular because it’s lower in sugar and much, much higher in protein.

I can definitely tell there’s spinach in there but it doesn’t bother me. If you want to mask the taste, I’d add more fruit and fewer veggies, and add a bit of flavored yogurt (like the honey or fruit variety).

You can add some crushed ice or extra fruit depending on how thick you like your smoothies. I like mine on the thinner side, so you might add more yogurt or toss a banana in there.

Next week I’m tackling my quest for a delicious vegetarian dinner that even my husband will eat. Stay tuned.

If you’ve been a YML reader for a minute, you’ll remember I started a blog about food sometime last year. I love, love, love to cook and if you’re my friend on Facebook you’ll see that my dinners are usually something fierce. Not bragging, just stating facts. *wink*

But then life got busy. I didn’t have time for my full-time job, a marriage, two kids, three freelance jobs, THIS blog and yet another? Oh no. So the food blog had to die. [Insert sniffles here...and to think, I paid to have it professionally designed! I was serious, y'all!]

If you want, you can go poking around in the archives for a few recipes and tips (I recommend my date night recipe – Jerk chicken pasta - so sexy!!).

But since I still want you to have access to recipes and tips that will help you feed your kids faster and healthier, I have to do something. I reached out to Adeana Wilson, the foodie behind www.PinkLadyGumbo.com, to see if we could have a partnership. Adeana (you probably know her as Mrs. W) throws down in the kitchen and I.AM.IN.LOVE with her food. Check this out:

BBQ baked beans...tell me you don't want to lick the screen

Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce

What?!?! She's making breakfast, too? I'm sold! Easy Baked French Toast

Make sure you check Ms. Pink Lady Gumbo out from time to time. I’ll be posting photos and links to her recipes on Fridays (hopefully you check it out before you go to the store!).  Enjoy!

I’m in love with my slow cooker. Ever since that little 1950s gadget came into my life three years ago, we’ve been attached at the hip. I loved everything it made, especially on weekends, when I could walk around and smell the deliciousness all day but not actually be cooking.

But you know what? Turns out, I’ve been using it wrong this whole time. Well, not wrong, but in a way that doesn’t really work for my family (and maybe yours too).

See, I would do like the instructions say. I would toss all the ingredients in the slow cooker, set it and forget it. Head on to to work and come home to a delicious meal.

But the whole time I’m at work I’m wondering: Crap, did I really turn it on? What if I accidentally hit “Warm” instead of “Low”? Shoot, I hope I don’t get stuck in traffic on the way home. Did I put the lid on securely? Did I put enough liquids in there? Crap, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO EAT IF THIS DOESN’T COME OUT RIGHT?

So I made the switch that has TOTALLY changed my life.

I started cooking dinner at night. While I sleep.

This.is.genius!

I toss all the ingredients in the slow cooker around 11 p.m. I set it for 6-7 hours. When I wake up in the morning, the food is perfect! I toss it in a dish and put it in the fridge. When I get home from work, all I have to do is heat up dinner. BONUS! If I make a pot roast or a cut of meat that is not the leanest, all the fat from the meat rises to the top. All I have to do is skim it off, making it instantly healthier.

This way I’m not thinking about dinner at work, the food is ready to go in a few minutes, and it’s healthier. What could beat that?

For more shortcuts in the kitchen, check out my food blog at www.alilbutter.blogspot.com.

No matter what I’m doing, or what my day looks like, I know I have to make dinner, preferably done by the time my hubby and kids come home. If you don’t grab my daughter as soon as her coat comes off, the chances of getting her to eat anything are very, very slim.

It’s like wrestling an alligator, really.

And I know I’m not alone. The whole, What’s-for-dinner-what-will-they-eat-am-I-getting-fat-maybe-I-should-just-order-a-pizza-oh-that’s-right-I-am-trying-to-save-money-so-I-guess-I-will-just-go-ahead-and-make-something-so-then-what’s-for-dinner? routine is something every mom goes through, especially us young moms.

So I created a totally separate blog, called A Lil’ Butter, which will feature recipes, products, appliances, etc., to help you learn how to cook. But don’t worry – I will feature the recipes over here as well.

Already know how to cook? Visit me anyway and share some of your favorite recipes as a guest post. I know I’m always looking for new recipes to try out.

Psst - Want to know where the name of the blog comes from? Well, it means a couple things. I’m a firm believer that a little butter does wonders for a dish. Finishing off a sauce, giving meat a little more flavor, etc. But it’s also about being healthy. It’s just a little butter. Not a ton. It’s also my philosohy toward life. Just a little extra in life can do wonders.

So please visit me over there and let’s help each other out!

I guess I’ll never really know for sure what I’m doing with this whole motherhood thing. My latest conumdrum? Figuring out what the h&#! to feed these kids.

My daughter, who’s two, has survived this past year on basically four foods: bananas, yogurt, Cheerios and oranges. And orange juice. Lots and lots of orange juice. It used to drive me mad.

The backstory: I breastfed her for six months, then when I went to work, the breast pump I used wasn’t doing the job and I began to exclusively feed with formula and baby food. I mixed all types of baby food and rice cereal, making sure to give her different tastes every day and occasionally she’d get a taste or two of table food.

As time went on, she became more and more picky, refusing to even touch her spoon or plate. Nowadays, if I can get her to eat more than a tablespoon of food, I consider it a good day.

With my son, who is almost nine months, it looks like it might be a different story. He’s a big boy for his age, almost the same size as his sister. He’s got a hearty appetite and will shovel food in his mouth so quick it’s like he inhales the food. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the boy actually chew.

But I don’t know how much longer I can wait. I used to stress and demand that she eat her food, but she would refuse and the food would go to waste. I tell myself that the food she does eat – at least it’s healthy.

So any advice? How do you get your kids to eat dinner? Please tell me something I haven’t already tried!

My poor baby boy is teething right now and so far, so good. He’s not too cranky or fussy as long as you hold him. Put him down and there will be hell to pay.

I saw the recipe for these teething biscuits in Wondertime magazine and thought I’d try to make them in order to give him something to play with if I happened to put him down. Distraction is the name of the game, people.

It couldn’t be simpler:

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons applesauce

1/2 cup maple syrup

Mix together until it forms a ball of dough. Flatten it out and cut out shapes using the cookie cutter. Bake at 300 degrees for 35 minutes or until barely brown. Let cool and eat! (To make them extra hard, leave them out overnight.)

They’re tasty, but very very hard (so it won’t break off in the baby’s mouth, which would be a choking hazard).

My son tried it and gummed it for a few seconds before hurling it across the room. Apparently, my “Chunky Boy” (as his sister calls him) doesn’t like tasting food. It’s all or nothing with that boy.

If you try this recipe, let me know how you liked it!

Next time you’re out at your favorite restaurant, pick up one of its to-go menus. Go home and try to recreate your favorite dish for half the price and none of the waiting.

Besides, people have already concluded that eating at home costs less than eating at restaurants. Plus, it’s healthier.

Whenever I have a strong Chinese food craving, I reach for this Asian Glazed Wings recipe from Rachael Ray. The glaze is good on chicken breasts, beef, vegetables, pasta and rice. If your kids don’t like heat (it’s not that hot, really) you can reduce the amount of red pepper flakes you use.

Asian Glazed Wings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
• 12 whole chicken wings, drummers and tips
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup plum sauce
• 1/2 cup orange juice, eyeball it
• 2 inches ginger root, peeled
• 3 tablespoons tamari, dark soy sauce, eyeball it
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, medium heat to extra spicy
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Preheat oven 400 degrees F.

Preheat a large oven safe skillet over high heat with the oil. Liberally season the chicken wings with salt and pepper. Once the skillet is screaming hot add the wings in 1 even layer. Brown the wings for 3 minutes per side. While the wings are browning, assemble the plum glaze: in a small pot over high heat combine the plum sauce, orange juice, ginger root, tamari and hot pepper flakes. Bring up to a simmer and lower the heat, reserving it until the wings are done browning. Remove ginger from glaze. Pour the simmering plum glaze mixture over the browned wings. Place the skillet in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, flipping the wings once half way through the cooking time.

Remove the wings from the oven, if the glaze is not syrupy and thick, place the skillet of wings on the cook top and turn the heat on high, allow the glaze to reduce for about 1 minute. Toss the wings around in the glaze and finish with the fresh cilantro and basil.

Serve hot or room temperature.

If you’ve been blessed with good knives and quick hands, you can avoid the whole “crying your eyes out while chopping onions” routine. Me, I kind of enjoy the pain, but only because I’m crazy like that.

But since I enjoy onions in almost everything I cook, I had to figure out a better way to do it.

So now I use my box grater to get the real pungent onion “juices” into the dish I’m making. It’s especially good in ground meat recipes, like meatballs, meatloaf and burgers. Plus you’re finished in seconds, not minutes.

Try this stainless steel 4-sided grater from Target for starters. At $20, it might be more than you’re willing to pay, but if you use it at least 4 times a week, it more than pays for itself in the amount of tears it saves you.  

I love to cook.

If I made enough money to hire a chef, I probably wouldn’t. I like cooking and it relaxes me. I love the chop, chop, chopping of onions and even though I may cry, it makes me feel like I accomplished something when dinner is cooked and smells so good.

One complaint I hear from my fellow mommy friends that they only know how to make one or two dishes. I like to call these my “spaghetti and fried chicken” friends. They don’t stray too far from what they know and if a recipe has more than five steps, they won’t make it.

I used to be like that. Longer recipes used to scare me and I used to avoid baking altogether.

But it’s all about confidence. If you believe you are a good cook, the rest will follow. You have to learn to trust your tongue.

So when you’re trying to get dinner on the table every night, try some of these tips:

1. Any meat you plan on cooking take out of the freezer the night before. Put it on the lowest level of the fridge, preferably on a plate or platter so the juices don’t leak onto anything else.
2. Assemble your ingredients the night before. This will help you know if you’re missing any particular ingredient that has the possibility to ruin your dish. (Don’tcha hate that?)
3. If you have time the night before, prep some food. Chop that onion or bell pepper, make the rice. It saves you time and energy the next day.  
4. Merge dishes whenever possible. Say you make a pot roast on Sunday night. If you have some left over, use it in a chili or in an omelet. No need in wasting food or cooking from stratch when you already have seasoned, cooked meat at your fingertips.

What about you, readers? What tips do you have for getting dinner on the table fast?

A new feature where I bring you one of my latest creations in the kitchen!

I always, always, always name my dinners. If someone asks you what you had for dinner, doesn’t it sound better to say, “Chipotle chicken with cilantro-lime rice,” rather than, “Some chicken and rice.” Yes, I think it does. It makes me feel like I’m really doing something in the kitchen. Try it sometime. You’ll see.

Chipotle Chicken with Cilantro Lime rice

Today I’m bringing you my dinner from last week. I made this in an attempt to satisfy my Chipotle craving. I love love love the rice in their burritos and wanted to attempt it. Try this recipe when you have some chicken in the freezer and don’t feel like paying $11 for some burritos. This (in some ways) mimics Chipotle’s burrito bowl. (It’s a lot more saucy though.) Enjoy!

Chipotle chicken (Makes 4 servings. Cook time: 25 minutes)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 lime

KC Masterpiece Chipotle Lime marinade

1 medium onion

1 red, green or yellow (or all 3) bell pepper(s)

2 cups of chicken broth (or water)

2 tablespoons butter/olive oil (whichever you prefer – if you use the butter, do put in a tablespoon of vegetable oil so it doesn’t burn)

Salt and pepper

Cilantro-lime rice

1 cup rice (or use basmati rice, if you have it, which makes it light and fluffy like Chipotle’s rice)

1 tablespoon butter

2 1/4 cup water

2 limes

2 tablespoons cilantro

Salt (to taste)

Directions:

1. Melt the butter and/or oil in both the skillet for the chicken and the pot for the rice. In the pot for the rice, after the butter has melted, stir in the rice and the  juice from one lime. Let the rice get toasty, about 3 minutes. Add the two cups of water and bring to a boil. Once it come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Once the rice is fluffy, add the cilantro and more lime juice (if you like a really strong lime flavor).

2. While the rice is cooking, coat the chicken in the chipotle lime marinade. Put aside for 3 minutes. Cut the onion and bell peppers in strips and saute them in the butter. Once they get soft, transfer to a plate. Saute the chicken in the skillet until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

3. Slide the peppers and onions back into the skillet, pour some additional marinade over everything, add the chicken broth, stir and let simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the sauce thickens.  Serve over cilantro lime rice.

If you try the recipe, let me know how you liked it or what modifications you made to it!