Thursday Theme (Pizza)

Just ask your child what they want for dinner...is the answer almost always pizza?? We likely eat pizza 2-3 times a week in our house. And no its not delivery or Digiorno lol. Pizza is a very versatile food and its so fun to let your kids help.

Making your own dough is really easy I use my bread machine most of the time but some days I just feel like doing it the old fashion way. Making a traditional pizza with homemade dough isn't the only option. You can make pizza on English muffins, pita bread, bagels, tortillas.. even bread. Its so simple when you are not fussing with dough. When we do little pizza like this the kids get so happy knowing they each get their own little pizza and I let them do their own toppings. Even my 1 year old sprinkles her own cheese on.

When making mini pizza with the kids I give them each a pre sauced pita and place it on wax paper. I line up bowls with toppings across the table starting with the cheese, pepperoni, veggies then Parmesan at the end. They make an assembly line of sorts and pull their wax paper down the line as they pick out their toppings. We then place them on the cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 8-10 mins.. when you are not dealing with dough you pretty much just need to cook until the cheese is melted.

How about Mexican pizza with your taco night leftovers? We generally will do this on English muffins pretty much the same way as above I just use salsa in place of the sauce and will put out left over beef, beans, rice & cheese.. when the pizzas are cooked they can then add sour cream, pico, lettuce, etc..

My husband also makes a wonderful breakfast pizza..I will have to get the recipe from him soon.

and for extra fun..dessert pizza? This works best on regular dough.. you cook just the dough when it comes out brush the crust with butter and sprinkle on some Cinnamon sugar, then I smooth on some vanilla pudding then top with seasonal berries and drizzle the fruit with a bit of honey... YUM!

Toddler Tuesday!

Toddlers are a strange breed! Some are great eaters. Some are good eaters one day and bad eaters the next. Some are so picky that you think you might pull each and every last hair out of your head trying to get just a few healthy bits of food into their little mouths. As a Mother of 4 I have had each and everyone one of these types. I am blessed that our current toddler loves just about everything. After nearly 12 years of feeding toddlers at various ages I think I might just have a few good tricks up my sleeve.

Toddler Feeding Tips
Portion Control- Toddlers have tiny tummy's and can be overwhelmed with huge portions half of which may end up on the floor, them self, or even you. I generally give toddlers about a TBSP or 2 of each food item or if its a casserole type dish 1/4 cup. If they love it great give them more!
Finger foods- Most toddlers see forks and spoons as merely something to hold in their left hand while the feed them self with their right hand. Try cutting everything in bite size pieces that are easy for them to pick-up and self feed. They love self feeding because it gives them a little control in an environment where they have very little control! I will say that my mini muffin pans are an asset I make lots of muffins, mac n cheese, pasta bites etc in mini muffin size this is a big hit for the kids for after school snacks too.
Dipping- Almost every toddler will eat so much better if they can dip their foods into things, messy yes but if it means I just got a bunch of raw veggies or chicken in them I will take the mess.
Smoothies- this is like a secret assault weapon, so many things you can add into smoothies to sneak in some healthiness. Banana avocado smoothie anyone?
Cookies & Muffins- A yummy treat that can also pack in some nutrition too, all kinds of ways to sneak in carrots, zucchini, flax seeds, beans etc.
Pasta- I would say about 99% of little ones love pasta. You can add many veggie purees to tomato sauce, or try veggie Alfredo or even pesto is a big hit here.
Fruits, Seeds/Nuts & spreads- Caution of course with seeds & nuts. My toddler loves to munch on Pepita's, sunflower seeds, dried fruits and leathers and nut or sun-butter or nutella on some whole wheat toast.
Shapes & colors- Bright colors and fun shapes bring a lot to the table for toddlers. How fun is it to eat some star shaped pancakes with some Cantaloupe & Honeydew melon balls?
Reintroducing previously dissed foods- Toddlers can be so finicky maybe they didn't like black-eyed peas last week but try it again in a smaller portion this week. You never know they may ask for seconds!
If it ain't broke don't fix it- if you find your toddler adores certain foods keep giving them those foods maybe jazz it up with different variations of the foods they love
Use Caution- Certain foods need a bit of caution in little ones. Cut hot dogs into fourths, cut grapes in half long ways, give only a few raisins, nuts/seeds & popcorn at a time. Avoid honey until a year of age and if your family has a history of nut allergies you may want to avoid them or slowly introduce them at an older age.

These are just a few tips that I could put together at 1am in the morning I may do more posts on the same subject at another time. If these tips help you out let us know, or if you have some tried and true tips of your own please comment!