Tot Food

Well, Clara inspired me to eat better. I will delve deeper into that in another post. Her dinner tonight was vegetable bowtie pasta Asian style with Tahini (sesame seed butter), a bit of soy sauce, Earth's Balance Natural Buttery Spread (vegan butter), with fresh ginger and garlic in it and I tossed in some shredded carrots. She also had squash, broccoli, and cauliflower. Clara would have liked it better with less ginger, I think. She is not too fond of cauliflower....okay...she does not like it. BUT I still offer it to her. She will eat a bit of broccoli and she likes black beans. She was not too fond of the squash either. I will just continue to modify until her tastes change. I also offered her up some walnuts and had cherries for dessert. She was not keen on the walnuts either....=( We have begun eating more vegan but would not say we are. Clara and I are trying to stay away from meats and dairy. Dairy is known to lead to skin problems (allergies) and the calcium is harder to digest than would be represented in vegetables.

Last night I made Baked Ziti with brown rice penne pasta. You can find the complete recipe in the great book The Eat-Clean Diet for FAmily & Kids by Tosca Reno. It had organic Muir roasted tomatoes pureed them in their can, garlic, onions, 2 cups shredded carrots, vegetable stock, 1lb bison (the boys are not ready to give up meat....I am undecided). I topped it off with non-dairy mozzarella and wallah (sp??) it was done. It was a success by all, except me. I am fasting so unable to eat what I am making now. I started last Friday with only veg juice and water. It is TOUGH!! Clara also LOVES pizza along with most everyone else in this family. I found a pre-made whole wheat crust at the health food store and bought organic pizza sauce. I topped with spinach, roasted red peppers, grated carrots, non-dairy mozzarella and it was a success also. If all else fails and she does not like what I serve I can always give her a organic, whole wheat bread with almond butter and a natural fruit spread and she is happy!!

Okay...I might post again tonight as I have been behind lately and have much to share!

Tot Food~ Leading to better decisions for the whole family!!

Prior to this week we have not had much luck with Clara eating sandwiches. She tended to take them apart and did not each much of it at all. While we were in Oklahoma I found a heart-shaped sandwich cutter which I "had" to have. Well, I am glad I got it. She will eat almost an entire peanut butter and jelly sandwich when it is cut with the heart-shaped cutter. I think it seals it better and it is easier for her to hold onto without the crust. We also tried the Mott's natural applesauce but blueberry flavored and peach flavored. The kids LOVE these and they are all natural too.

We also really like Annie's Homegrown organic ravioli and also the spaghetti loops and soy meatballs. This way she can have quick "junk" food that isn't really junk at all. We have used the bunny grahams before but I wish we could find such good variety in the stores here. So far I have only found the loops and meatballs and cheesy ravioli. I need to run by the health food store and see what I can find.

This plate has the organic/natural cheese ravioli, natural vanilla yogurt, frozen peas, and frozen berry blend of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Clara likes peas but she does not like them frozen hard. She likes them after they have sat out of the freezer for a bit when they are cold but not hard. When I first heard of eating frozen peas I was kind of grossed out. Try them...they are yummy, cold, sweet treats!! The kids also LOVE CLIF Kid Zone bars to snack on. We have found them at Sam's Club. They are organic energy bars for kids.

Focusing on feeding the kids better has shone a glaring spotlight on what I do for myself. I am a full-blown diet soda addict and enjoy food so very much. I am trying now to make those good choices not only for my kids but for myself. As of today I have had NO diet soda and only had 2 yesterday before deciding to make better choices. Asparatame is such a horrible thing for you. I have known it for a long time. We are so stringent about no smoking and no drinking but yet I will drink 4-6 diet sodas a day. What kind of message is that sending?? I ask that you pray for me through this struggle. I know God is mighty and He can do anything, BUT God is also a gentleman. He will not just barge in and take control unless you ask Him too. I am asking that I can make the next "best" decision through Him and that I can hand this struggle over to Him!!

To join in Tot Foods to share your ideas with others and get great ideas from others you can go to Carissa's website here. Join in the fun and share your ideas!!