MOMS Club® of Rockville - South, Maryland


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Mealtime & Nutrition
* Please note that these comments/suggestions are for informational purposes only,  and are not endorsed by MOMS Club International or this chapter.
Since my husband and I cook dinner together (and tend to mess up recipes when forced to work alone), we had trouble finding something to occupy our 16-month old that would allow us to cook in relative peace. We recently bought a sturdy step-stool that allows her to reach the counter safely, and she loves to, in her words, "help cooking." We now keep a variety of dry pasta shapes in small containers to give to her. She will stay busy for quite a while transferring them from bowl to bowl, stirring them, and-of course-scattering them about the counter and floor. Dry rice can also be fun to pour and stir, but it is much harder to clean up. Another favorite is paper muffin cup liners, which apparently are lots of fun to separate, stack, crumple, and take out of and put back in their box. The downside is that it is unlikely we'll be able to use them for their intended purpose when she is done!

To lessen mess and frustration for the child who is learning to self-feed with a spoon, substitute yogurt for milk in cereal or add a bit of applesauce to vegetables. Food sticks together and stays on the spoon!

If you're having trouble getting your child to drink milk, or just want a warming drink for a cold day, try warm milk. I heat 4 ounces in the microwave for about 30 seconds, 6 ounces at 45 seconds, for example. Until you know how long to heat in your microwave, taste it first to make sure it's not too hot.) My son drinks twice as much warm milk as cold, especially with warm foods such as hot oatmeal or eggs.

Serving soup (Our favorite is Imagine in a box, squash, broccoli, corn, and tomato) from a gravy pitcher into espresso cups (try Rodman's for inexpensive cups) is great fun for kids and gets good food into their tummies.

If you're down to your last match while lighting birthday candles, light an uncooked spaghetti noodle to finish the job.

(found in Real Simple magazine) Strawberry-Banana Smoothie Recipe: For those of you with children who will not eat fruits and veggies, smoothies are a great way to get them some nutritious fruit. Unfortunately, spending $3.65 per smoothie at the mall can break the budget pretty quickly. After many false starts, we finally determined the recipe to make it taste just like at the mall. (Because we all know if it tastes ANY different, it WILL be rejected!) The secret ingredient is honey. You can vary the following ingredients to taste, but this has worked for our notoriously finicky eater: Equal parts frozen unsweetened strawberries, frozen banana (be sure to peel the banana before freezing!) and water. Add 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of honey, blend, and serve with a straw. Note: You can use sweetened strawberries if you can't find the unsweetened ones, just cut down on the honey a bit. Also, consult your pediatrician before giving honey to a child under 1 year old!

Cut a large paper grocery bag while cookies are baking. It is a good place to cool cookies, and the bag absorbs excess oils.





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