The Sneaky Chef

Marley is a very picky eater. As a baby she ate almost everything that I put in front of her until she was 18 months old. It was like a light bulb turned off. She started refusing all the food I normally prepared. Her doctor and many friends and relatives told me not worry, that kids only eat what their bodies need. Being a first time Mom, I still worried. She's healthy but I worry that she's missing out on a crucial developmental stage of trying new flavors and textures.

For Christmas my sister in-law gave me a fabulous cookbook called The Sneaky Chef. This cookbook for kids "hides" vegetables in favorite dishes like pizza, mac 'n' cheese, hot dogs, etc. My first reaction was, what a wonderful concept!

I was going through the cookbook yesterday to pick out a couple of recipes to make this weekend and I started thinking. Is this concept really fabulous? It certainly makes meal time less of a struggle for a parent but is it truly a good idea in the long term for kids? The vegetables are pureed, so that children do not detect them and the flavors are hidden-hence the sneakiness. Shouldn't a child be offered the cauliflower in it's unpureed form to be able to enjoy it as an adult? If children are only eating vegetables that are hidden, won't they miss out on a developmental stage of being introduced (even if it's over and over again) to certain foods?

Like Marley, I was a very picky eater as a child. As an adult, I will eat certain foods that I would not even try as a child. Although, I am still picky. Certain vegetables I still won't eat but it certainly was not a lack of my parents trying.

Any thoughts about this would be greatly appreciated!

I am still going to make a couple of the recipes today. The corn muffins with zucchini sounds delicious! And I am not a fan of zucchini at all.

What to do in February....

I found this over at Montessori Mama's and had to steal.

The February 10
I think the February ten is right up my alley:

1. Blogger.

2. Snuggling under warm blankets with Marley.

3. A car that has finally warmed up to the point that I can blast the heat.

4. My bathrobe and slippers at night.

5. Two obnoxious beagles that keep my feet warm and my face clean.

6. The warmth of the oven when I take out a batch of oatmeal cookies.

7. Very happy that I no longer live in snow country. Although 11,600 feet was fun in my twenties the coast of NC is more my pace in my 30's.

8. Bundling up and taking Marley for walks in her stoller.

9. My sweaters. I have a few that I just love to wear!

10. The Febraury 10 that I will steal and post on my blogger page in hopes that the author does not mind.

Daily Chef

As I am learning how to cook daily foods again I came across a great dish. It did not come from a food website or one of my many cookbooks nor my Mother. I found it on the back of a Pierogies box and changed it of course.

Pierogies a la Spectacular

A box of delicious frozen Pierogies
Portobello Mushrooms
Red Onion
Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese

Dice the onion, chop the portobellos. Heat the olive oil until warm and throw all the ingredients in until the pierogies are no longer frozen and the onion and portobellos are to your liking. Sprinkle with parmesan and feast!

Next time I may add fresh spinach, red pepper and a smackering of hot red pepper flakes.

This is the best dish I have found so far when you are tired, hungry, have a two year old and need to find the time to blow bubbles.

Ease on down, Ease on down the road...

All of life's changes in the last six months has completely changed the way that I normally have done or handled situations. Priorities are different, the time I have in which to accomplish tasks has significantly reduced and the tasks keep multiplying. It's a good thing that I was a great multitasker prior to all of the changes! At least the changes have subsided for the time being and I'm hoping I'll be able to blog more often.

I started a new job a couple of weeks ago. It is a job that I have been looking for and I am thrilled to have the opportunity.

My only complaint is that Marley has fallen into the category of the child in daycare for 9+ hours a day and I miss her. Thankfully, I am I am over joyed with the daycare. Marley seems very happy and loves her teachers. They give each parent a review on paper of the daily activities. Periodically they will make a suggestion of a game to play with your child that incorporates what they are learning. One week it was reptiles. The suggestion was to roll play dough between your hands and make snakes. Now when Marley sees play dough she says SNAKE! Which make Mommy jump every time.

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I just came back from seeing the movie The Wiz. The movie is based of off L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. It has an amazing cast but I am not amazed that it did not win an Oscar. It was still a joy to see. It made me realize what a fortunate person I am. When a person has positive, supportive people surrounding them, they can unlock inside of them what they thought they were lacking.

Dorothy's quest through out the film is to go home. At the end of the story, Glinda the Witch tells her that home is not a place where you eat or where you sleep. Home is the strength that you find within yourself to accomplish life. A satisfying life that only you can define on your own.

On that thought I bid a good night to everyone!

The Move

I have been in Wilmington for approximately six months now. Lots of changes in my life and a lot of transitioning. I moved to a house that was temporary and it was wonderful but I did not unpack all my belongings to simply repack them in three months. I felt I was living out of a suitcase and could not wait to finally feel settled again. Then I found a place that was three blocks away, adorable and a huge fenced in back yard for the dogs. It turned into a nightmare. The evening before the move I walked in to look around and to picture where my belongings would go. As soon as I opened the door I smelled dog, not just dog, but dirty dog. The landlord had nine dogs along with various other animals living there and why I did not notice the smell or the see the dirt, I don't know. I looked around and the place was filthy. I am not the type of person who is obsessed with cleanliness, but when you find a bird feather stuck to your bedroom wall.....needless to say I called the landlord and was diplomatic, what my family and friends heard was $!*%#!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have since found a new place that is wonderful. I moved last Thursday, it took 12 hours but it's done! The place is charming, the landlords are wonderful and best of all it's CLEAN.

Now back to my laundry, I've been working hard getting the dirt pit, as I so graciously nicknamed it, out of all my linens, towels and clothing.