Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category

Books for Picky Eaters

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

Have a picky eater in your house (or on your gift list)? Nagging or coercing probably won’t work to expand their palate – but a fun book about food just might. Here’s a list of some of our favorite books geared toward (and about) picky eaters:

Green Eggs and Ham: The definitive book on what happens when you give something a “try.”Ages 2-6.

Bread and Jam for Frances: What would happen if you just ate bread and jam forever? A classic. Ages 3-8.

D. W. The Picky Eater: A special dinner gives a picky eater incentive to try something new. Ages 4-7.

I Will Never, Not Ever, Eat a Tomato: Can you be really sure on that? A Charlie and Lola book. Ages 3-8.

The Seven Silly Eaters: Seven kids, each with a special food demand. Ages 4-8.

Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating. Could oatmeal thrown overboard a ship cause a creature to grow into the Loch Ness Monster? Ages 6-10.

Horrid Henry’s Underpants: Henry makes a deal with his parents in return for eating his veggies. Ages 6-10.

R.L. Stine’s The Boy Who Ate Fear Street: A former picky eater eats a strange spice that makes him start to eat everything in sight. Ages 9-13.


So give a few of these a try. At the end of the holiday season, even if they’re not eating, at least they’ll be … reading.

Posted Under: Just For Fun, Parenting | Tags: , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on December 14th, 2011

Great Gifts for Kid Chefs

Friday, November 25th, 2011

Back by popular demand: It’s our list of some of the best gifts we’ve found for the young chefs in your life. You can give your junior kitchen helpers some new tricks and tools – or just some inspiration to get started.

1) Colorful spatulas: Your littlest ones can stir, they can mix, they can even just wave these spatulas around and still have fun in the kitchen. Find one in your little chef’s favorite color; or give them a rainbow of colors.

2) Colorful measuring cups: Even the smallest chef can help you in the kitchen if he has his own measuring cups. Simply help him measure out the quantities and then let him shout out, “DUMP!” We like these mouse cups from Kuhn Rikon.

3) Kid-Friendly Knives: Yes, your kids can (and should) learn proper knife skills – and it’s easy for them to get chopping practice with these kid-friendly nylon knives. Note that these knives are designed for kids ages 5 and older.

4) Work boards: Colorful cutting boards are easy to clean, plus they give your little chef a defined work space to claim as her own. We’re partial to this cheery little tomato board (imagine that) and other vegetable shapes.

5) Mini baking pans: Baking is fun; baking on a small scale is even more fun. Find some small pans so your young chef can make miniature loaves of bread, tiny batches of cookies - or even better, teeny-tiny muffins.

6) Cookie cutters: For your little chefs, cookie cutters aren’t just for cookies. Your kids can also use them on bread for sandwiches or to make fun shapes out of French toast, pancakes or omelettes.

7) Rolling pin: What better job for a kid chef than rolling out some dough? It keeps them occupied and there’s no way they can mess up. Although plain wooden rolling pins are best for the non-stick factor, this green one from the Curious Chef also comes with a non-stick surface.

8 ) Egg beater: Sure, they’re old-fashioned, but a hand-held egg beater is a great way to put your chef in charge of the morning eggs (or just about any liquid that needs mixing).

9 ) Nut grinder: Who doesn’t love watching those little nuts go down the chute and turn into crumbs? Again, it’s old-fashioned, but a manual nut grinder is a great way for your kids to have some hands-on activity in the kitchen.

10) Personalized apron: Your little chef will want to get right to work with her own apron. She’ll be proud to wear it – and even better; she’ll be less likely to spill stuff on her clothes.

Happy gift-giving – and happy cooking!

Posted Under: Just For Fun, Parenting | Tags: , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on November 25th, 2011

Kids at Work

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Stressed out about cooking a Thanksgiving dinner? If your kids aren’t helping you out, it’s time to put them to work. Even the littlest ones can get into the act. Here’s a sample kids’ to-do list:

Set the table: You may not want to trust your kids with Great-Grandma’s china or crystal, but they can certainly set out silverware and napkins. Are they still looking for something to do? Have them design place cards.

Scrub-a-dub-dub: Even your littlest ones can be in charge of washing fruits and vegetables. And how much fun is scrubbing a potato? They won’t want to stop until every speck of dirt is gone.

Chop away: You may not necessarily think to assign your kids the task of chopping things, but you’d be surprised what they can do if you give them a kid-friendly knife and a lesson in safe chopping skills. Our kids’ chop-list includes bread that needs to be cubed for stuffing, apples to be cut into slices for pie (after Mom cores and peels them), cranberries to be chopped for relish, and cooked sweet potatoes to be sliced for a casserole.

Mash, mash baby: What kid would turn down an opportunity to take a potato masher and go to town on demolishing a big bowl of potatoes? Just give the potatoes a few minutes to cool after you boil them.

Grind and blend: If there’s anything on your menu that needs to be ground or blended, give your kid the task. Cranberry relish recipe? Put your kid in charge of pressing the buttons on the food processor. Need ground nuts for your stuffing or pies? Your kid can do the honors with a small nut grinder. Pressing cranberries for sauce? Try one of our family’s standbys, the kid-proof and irresistible Foley food mill.

Rock and roll: Making your own pie crust? Give a kid a rolling pin and put him on rolling duty. And if you’re concerned about pie dough perfection, let your kid roll out the pie dough scraps and cut them with cookie cutters to make leaf decorations for the top of the pie.

Chef’s Choice: Is your kid old enough to read and follow a recipe? Put him in charge of one simple dish, from start to finish. This could mean anything from a fruit-and-veggie appetizer plate, to an easy biscuit recipe, to a sophisticated sweet potato casserole. You’ll find some fun recipe ideas at Parenting, Disney Family Fun, and Nick Jr.

And last – are the kids running around like crazy after dinner? Put them on dishwashing duty.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Posted Under: Just For Fun, Parenting | Tags: , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on November 22nd, 2011
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