Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give her poor dog a bone:
When she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so her poor dog had none.

My little dogs, Phoebe and Mille, never have to worry about getting a dog bone. Although ol’ Mother Hubbard’s dog wasn’t as fortunate. In my last blog, “Food Storage: A Crisis Savings Account”, I offered numerous reasons as to why having a well-stocked pantry is wise. When you purchase items on sale and in bulk, you’ll stretch your grocery dollars. Planning for an unforeseen event isn’t difficult and stocking up doesn’t have to take lots of money. (Unless, you purchase pricey ready made emergency meals.)

How much food do you have in your house right now? Take a look at your pantry and in your freezer. Chances are you might make it a few days or even a week without going to the store. Could your family eat for a month…three months…or even a year? You should NEVER go into debt to build up your pantry. If your family is already in financial crisis, because of loss of employment or other personal catastrophe, this won’t apply. But, if you want to prepare for a possible family emergency or inflation-proof your pantry keep reading.

Where to Store Food
Is your kitchen pantry large enough for what you want to accomplish? If you plan on using a portion of your basement, never store food on the cement floor and keep it six inches from cement walls.

How to Store Items
I used to write the date I purchased the food item on the can. Then, companies began posting “Best By” dates. I now write the “Best Buy” date on the lid with a black marker. My most recent purchase might not be the item which was most recently produced. Although, canned food is usually good past the “Best By” date. The items with the newest date are placed behind older dated foods. Never use a can which has expanded or bubbled.

Grains, beans, and the like should be stored in mouse/bug proof containers which are acceptable for food. I buy garlic by the bag and hang it in my basement. Onions and potatoes also are kept in the cool of my basement. Once potatoes have sprouted, especially if they have a green tinge, it’s not advisable to eat them.

Aaron decides where to store his canned goods.
Aaron’s mom is a professional photographer.
You can see her work at Mary Beth Graff Photography: http://www.mbgpics.com/

Where to Begin
Your food storage should begin with foods your family normally eats. Then purchase more. Items to consider are basics like grains (rice, beans, oatmeal, lentils, flour, etc.). Rice and beans make a complete protein. So that’s a good place to begin. Do you pop your own popcorn in a hot air popper? You should, it’s healthier and cheaper than the microwave variety. Popcorn also stores very well. Raisins and other dried fruit also do well in storage. So do seeds for sprouts.

There are a few items that will last forever. I think pasta and honey have a shelf life of a thousand years. So you’ll want to stock up on these. Tea is another item that will last forever in storage.

Cans of tuna, salmon, and chicken always make yummy sandwiches and quick meals. Having extra is always a good idea. Do you like sardines or anchovies? If you do, then add cans of these to your storage. Applesauce is my favorite canned fruit, so I have jars of applesauce in my basement food storage. I use a lot of canned tomatoes as well. I buy them by the case.Do you regularly eat canned soup? I don’t, but if you do, that’s another item that might be in your food storage. I do use a lot of organic chicken broth, so you’ll see that stored in my house.

Quality is important to me. Although there are those whose pantries are stocked with a huge food supply for a famine (like Joseph in Genesis) or the biblical End Time Tribulation, both seven-year events. Then, the cost is a major factor. For me, purchasing whole foods is essential. Foods without a lot of additives like altered fats, MSG, and the like. You’ll find  “My Unofficial Costco Organic Foods List,” helpful, especially when getting started.

Buy in Bulk
Obviously, purchasing items when they’re on sale is the best time to stock up. If you have a Costco, Sam’s Club or other big box membership, you’re already purchasing bulk items. Just plan for a little longer: buy an extra case. You can purchase bags of rice and beans in those stores as well as in Super WalMart. Some grocery stores will give you a case discount if you ask. Although Super WalMart will not (I asked), probably because their prices are lower. Whole food stores almost always have a bulk section. And you can order larger amounts from them as well. I just ordered 25 pounds of lentils and 50 pounds of wheat grain.

Don’t Fear
Ultimately, it’s not what we store, but who we put our trust that will get us through tough times. In Deuteronomy it says, “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Click Here for the blog, “Food Storage: A Crisis Savings Account.”

Looking for a way to make a little extra cash from home? Interested in GMO-Free long term food storage?
Click Here to find out more about eFoods Global food storage.

For a synopsis of the Baby Bites book, Click Here.
CLICK HERE for ordering information for Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater and The Forest Feast: Baby Bites Mealtime Adventures.
For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE.

The study, led by researches from Cornell University, found that while adults tend to find three items of different colors most appealing, children preferred much greater diversity. On average, they preferred seven different items on their plates and six different colors.

Think like a kid, because kids find different things appealing.
Have your kids help assemble these Mouse Eggs. They are fun to eat!
Click Here for a fail-safe hard boiled egg recipe.

Study co-author and Cornell postdoctoral research assoicate Kevin Kniffen said, “Compared with adults, children not only prefer plates with  more elements and colors, but also their entrees placed in the front of the plate with figurative designs.”

With Baby Bites, learning to acquire new tastes is fun. I included 12 Fun Food Facts and Big Bite Activities in my book. These will not only familiarize your child with various foods, but it’s guaranteed that you’ll have a great time in the process.

The Big Bite Activities incorporate all seven sensory techniques. When you accomplish an activity with your child, she’ll listen to you read the steps, interact with you verbally, touch the food, move as required to complete the activity,  completed, and lastly smell and taste the result.

Always keep in mind how your child thinks. Learning is fun for kids. Don’t make mealtime a chore. Remember to keep food visually appealing, it’ll make a difference for the picky eater.

Make Egg Boats– Click Here.
Make funny face pancakes– Click Here.

CLICK HERE for ordering information for
Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater
& The Forest Feast: Baby Bites Mealtime Adventures.

The Baby Bites steps are designed for habits to be established in three weeks, but it’ll take longer for an extremely resistant eater to eat everything with the family. Think about it, the most resistant child in four short weeks, will add four new foods to the list of things he regularly eats. In three months, that’s at least a dozen! The goal isn’t to overwhelm your child, but to alter  perceptions and acquire new tastes.
Tristan can give his mom a run for her money!
Baby Bites gives you the tools to outsmart your picky toddler.

Flavor is a combination of smell and taste (plus texture). By teaching children to smell, feel, and explore foods, they’re learning ow to appreciate new flavors. Taste is a part of the flavor, but not all of it. Many children have learned to only appreciate sweet and salty tastes.

Taste buds are located on the tip, sides, and back of the tongue. There are four or five different tastes, depending on whom you ask. Sweet, bitter, sour, and salty are commonly recognized, but the Chinese define a fifth taste: Umamie, which is pungent or savory like meat. In addition, French scientists have located fat receptors on the tongue, explaining the desire for fat in our diets.

Your preschool child’s stomach is about as large as his fist. Keep portions very small. For more see “Train Up a Child” in Chapter four of Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater.

CLICK HERE for ordering information for
Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater
& The Forest Feast: Baby Bites Mealtime Adventures.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE.

Today, Approximately 90 percent of American’s food budget is spent on processed foods. No natter how much you might discuss a subject, (read about, study, etc.) it’s not until you get around to doing something that anything will actually change! Remember, small changes over time make a big difference.

Begin by making a few realistic, incremental changes — which are likely to last. Improving nutrition in your family’s meals is a process occurring over time. Healthful meals don’t have to take a lot of time to be tasty. Julia Child took us all off the hook when she said, “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces –  just good food from fresh ingredients.”

Being prepared with frequently used whole foods in you pantry and having a few pre-made healthy items on hand is the key to successful, hassle-free, nutritious mealtimes. A few extra minutes planned in advance of your week will reap ten-fold during your most hectic days.

Aaron agrees, “Talk doesn’t cook rice!”

Traditional time-saving meal preparations include bulk meal cooking, multi-use recipes, and shared cooking groups with friends. I find for busy families, basic ingredient bulk cooking takes the least amount of preparation and planning. Cooking extra in bulk cooking allows for the other time-saving preparation, as well as spur-of-the-moment meals.

I don’t know how many times I’ve decided what’s for dinner at five o’clock. Having pre-made brown rice, grilled chicken and hard-boiled eggs available makes a last-minute dinner decision a snap. Many of the kid-friendly recipes in Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater call for these prepared-ahead ingredients. When you have brown rice, chicken and boiled eggs in your refrigerator you are guaranteed to solve your dinner dilemma when your day runs wild!

CLICK HERE for ordering information for
Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater
& The Forest Feast: Baby Bites Mealtime Adventures.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE.

Eating is more than taste. Helping to prepare meals employs all the senses. The more you include your picky eater in meal preparation, the more likely she/he will eat it.

Tasks a Preschooler Can Accomplish

(The following was taken from page 58 of Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater. Click Here for a synopsis.)

1. Set the table.

2. Clear the table.

3. Toss things in the trash.

4. Identify and bring items within reach from the pantry.

5. Measure ingredients.

6. Break eggs into a bowl with assistance.

7. Use a plastic knife to cut soft fruit and cheese.

8. Make sandwiches.

9. Toss salads.

10. Serve her/himself cereal with assistance pouring the milk.

Katelyn thinks it’s even more fun to help mom
cook wearing a fancy chef’s hat and apron.

CLICK HERE for ordering information for
Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater
& The Forest Feast: Baby Bites Mealtime Adventures.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE.

Your kids eating habits will change when YOU change.

We need to look at ourselves first, if we want our kids to change their eating habits. Any goals for healthy children come from a sincere desire to change yourself. When you change your habits, your kids will, too.

Mason & Violet make a New Year’s resolution to eat whole foods.

I don’t know how many parents have told me they have tried to get their kids to stop eating junk foods…but their cupboards are full of chips and soda. (Of course, there’s lots of additional help for your picky eater. Click Here to purchase Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater.)

Your goals should be positive. Research has shown that negative feelings are a frequent cause of relapse in behavior-change programs. Focus on the positive. For example, resolve to “eat healthier” rather than “no junk food.” Both resolutions have the same end result, the first focuses on the positive.

Make Time to Cook
The number one reason why our families eat poorly is that we don’t want to cook. Fast foods do NOT provide the nutrients we need to remain healthy. Yes, cooking takes time. There is really no excuse for not cooking, other than we don’t want to.

Even those who don’t know have much time to cook can eat healthy… Click Here. We have appliances designed to cut cooking time (pressure cookers) and others (crock pots) which allow you to be out of the house while dinner is cooking. Making double size batches of casseroles, pot roasts, and basic ingredients like brown rice, the next meal is a matter of reheating.

Shop Wisely
Reading labels is the only way to know what’s in the food you purchase. It takes a little more time in the beginning. You will quickly find additive-free products. If you store highly processed cookies, crackers, chips and sodas in your pantry, that’s what your kids will eat. When you purchase real food that’s what your kids will snack on: fruit (including dried fruit like raisins), nuts, seeds, and veggies. Click Here for 7 Tricks of the Trade.

Incorporate Whole Foods
You’ll eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day when you have fruit and vegetables readily available. A half cup of cooked vegetables, one cup of raw leafy vegetables, or one small whole fruit counts as one serving. You’ll incorporate healthy snacking when you have nuts, seed, and fruit in your kitchen. Get your kids involved. They will eat more whole vegetables when they help out in the kitchen. Set aside at one day a week for each child to be your kitchen helper or chef of the day.

Finally, don’t get discouraged. If you slip into unhealthy patterns, redirect your course. You’ll be glad you did.

CLICK HERE for ordering information for Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater and The Forest Feast: Baby Bites Mealtime Adventures.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE.

More people will be entertaining this month, than any other time of year. The challenge is how to eat healthy when sugar, white flour, altered fats, high fructose corn syrup and artificial food flavorings and colorings are everywhere. In fact, holiday gatherings are landmines of hidden chemicals.

You can still enjoy the season, yet remain healthy if you follow the following tips:

Presents make all kids happy!

1) It makes sense to feed your family a light healthy snack before going to a holiday gathering. Parents often don’t have much control over what their kids eat at other people’s homes (especially Grandma’s house). The trick is to eat whole foods first. Chips, candy, cookies and other sugary foods won’t be so tempting, if your child’s tummy has previously eaten a whole food.

2) At the party, load up your (and your kid’s) plate with veggies, fruit, cheese, and slices of turkey or roast beef. After you and your kids have feasted on real food, indulge in the holiday’s treats. You won’t eat as much, because you’ll already be satisfied with whole food. Keep a look out for super foods: blueberries and other fruits, veggie slices, salmon, deviled eggs, and nuts.

3) Foods to avoid or at least hold off eating until you’ve had some real food: Crackers are the worst for altered fats. It’s hard to find a cracker that doesn’t have interesterified  fat as an ingredient. Candy and cookies are loaded with sugar and food colorings. Baked goods usually are made with white flour, lots of sugar, many times have altered fats, and are devoid of nutrients.

4) Choose your beverage wisely. Soda pop has approximately 10 to 14 teaspoons of sugar in one can. (I say, save your sugar consumption for chocolate, and the darker the chocolate the better it is for you!)

5) Keep a proper perspective. If you over indulge in junk foods, get back on track New Year’s Day.

For more information about Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, CLICK HERE.

Liked this posting? Read Surviving the Holidays with a Picky Eater: CLICK HERE.

It aids in circulation and digestion. It’s a common ingredient used in tea for nausea during pregnancy. It’s also used following delivery to decrease hemorrhage. Cinnamon raises vitality, warms the system, stimulates all the vital functions of the body, counteracts congestion, improves digestion, relieves abdominal spasms and aids in peripheral circulation.

Cinnamon has long been used to cure everything from athlete’s foot to indigestion. Early civilizations recognized its ability to stop bacterial growth. The Egyptians used it in embalming. During the Middle Ages, it was mixed with cloves and warm water, and placed in the sick rooms of victims of the Bubonic Plague.

Nicole says, cinnamon is yummy in cocoa or coffee.

The health benefits of cinnamon can be attributed to its antibacterial, anti-fungal, antimicrobial, astringent and anti clotting properties. Cinnamon is rich in essential minerals such as manganese, iron and calcium. It is also rich in fiber.

Cinnamon boosts the activity of the brain and hence acts as a good brain tonic. It helps in removing nervous tension and memory loss.

Cinnamon helps to reduce blood sugar levels, as it helps to combat insulin resistance. It may be a factor in helping you lose weight. The fat cells in your abdomen are particularly sensitive to high insulin levels, and are very effective at storing energy–far more so that fat cells you’d find in other areas such as the lower body (i.e. hips, rear end, thighs). Because abdominal fat cells are so close to your digestive organs, and there is an extensive network of blood vessels circulating in the abdominal area, it’s even easier for fat cells to store excess glucose there.

Use Cinnamon Everyday
Most things taste better with cinnamon. Try adding it to your picky eater’s food:

• Steep your favorite herbal tea with a cinnamon stick, adding flavor to the tea.
• Add one-half teaspoon of cinnamon to unsweetened applesauce.
• Add cinnamon to breakfast cereal or oatmeal.
• Sprinkle cinnamon on toast.
• Adding cinnamon to butter or cream cheese.
• Sprinkle cinnamon on your morning cup of coffee, cocoa, or cappuccino.
• Add cinnamon to a smoothie.
• Cinnamon also combines favorably with many baked fruits like peaches and apples as well as fruit juices and ciders.

For more information about Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE for the Baby Bites Store.

For info about the FREE Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE

For the last 30 years, our Thanksgivings have been as natural (chemical free) as possible. Most Thanksgiving dinners are loaded with ingredients the Pilgrims never heard of: High Fructose Corn Syrup, MSG, artificial colors and flavors, polysorbate 60, sodium caseinate, and transfat. These ingredients are so commonplace today, that for many Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving with them.

I was motivated all those years ago to eliminate chemicals from our Thanksgiving feast, because our four-year-old daughter, Jenny, reacted to the additives and sugars in processed foods. Today, there are over 3,000 additives in our food supply, we have Genetically Modified Foods (GMO), and sugar is paramount. In fact, we now have a new sugar: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Savannah and Ashlyn are determined to help their mom make their Thanksgiving healthy and yummy.

According to a USDA’ report, about one-quarter of the calories consumed by the average American is in the form of added sugars; the majority comes from high fructose corn syrup. Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar.

Making your Thanksgiving healthier really isn’t as difficult as you might first think. Purchase a turkey with the nutrition label listing only one ingredient: turkey. Save money and make your own stuffing with leftover whole wheat bread. Instead of soda pop, containing HFCS, for the kids, offer sparkling apple juice. Don’t use box mixes or canned vegetables, like sweet potatoes.

I’d like to know who came up with “candied sweet potatoes.” Aren’t sweet potatoes, well, sweet, without marshmallows? Did you know that marshmallows are really sugar-mallows, because they no longer contain any marshmallow root. Marshmallows are made from sugar, primarily corn syrup, water and gelatin.

I suggest regulating sugar in all its forms to dessert. Delete it from the main course. And, totally eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrup from your Thanksgiving meal altogether.

Many of the dishes we serve during the Thanksgiving meal are loaded with sugar. Why aren’t they considered dessert? This is beyond me! Jello “salad” is one that stands out. Jello is made with only five ingredients: water, gelatin, sugar, and artificial colors and flavors. This doesn’t sound much like a “salad” to me.

Cranberry sauce is a Thanksgiving perennial. They say there is always an exception to the rule. This is my exception for sugar during Thanksgiving dinner. Cranberries by their very nature are tart. I always purchase cranberries in the produce department and cook them with less sugar than is suggested in the directions. Some make their cranberry sauce with apple juice instead of sugar, but I haven’t been able to find the right combination that suits our family.

Pre-made, whipped toppings, like Cool Whip, are primarily air, sugar and transfat. Make your own whipped topping with real whipping cream. Not only will it taste better, it’s better for you. Cool Whip is made of water, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated coconut (this is the transfat) and palm kernel oil (CPKO), sodium caseinate, vanilla extract, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60 (glycosperse), and beta carotene.

A natural Thanksgiving begins with having yummy, healthy recipes and then purchasing whole foods. Now’s the time to do a little planning. Read labels and find products free from sugar and artificial ingredients. Take a close look at the ingredients in your favorite recipes and make healthy substitutions. Finally, keep sugar regulated to dessert.

For my alternative to the jello fruit mold, CLICK HERE.

For more information about Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE for the Baby Bites Store.

For info about the FREE Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE

What food comes to mind when you think of pumpkins?

“Pie,” of course. For many people, the only pumpkin they consume is a piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.Crates of pumpkins in the grocery store are a sure sign that autumn has arrived and Thanksgiving isn’t far off. Unfortunately, pumpkins completely disappear after Thanksgiving. In fact, it’s near impossible to find a fresh pumpkin after mid-November.

The good news is canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix with added sugars) may be even more healthful than fresh.

Canning shortly after harvest captures more vitamin A than you’ll receive from a store-bought pumpkin. Furthermore, canning makes pumpkin available all year long, so you don’t have to wait until autumn to enjoy it and reap the health benefits.

Joshy thinks pumpkins are FUN.

Foods like carrots, bell peppers, oranges, and sweet potatoes contain carotenoids. Pumpkins are a super-food, loaded in carotenoids. They have one of the richest supplies of carotenoids, containing both beta- and alpha-carotene. In addition, pumpkins have an abundance of disease fighting nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, and vitamins C and E.

There’re lots of little known facts about pumpkins:

• Pumpkins are fruit (the seeds grow on the inside), which we call squash.
• Pumpkins come in white, green, tan, grey, blue, red, as well as orange.
• Pumpkins are 90 percent water.
• 80 percent of the pumpkin supply in the U.S. is available in October.
• Cooked pumpkin (not the sugar that’s added to pies) is not only good for you, but your dog, too.
• Average pumpkins have about 1 cup of seeds.
• The flowers, seeds, and pulp of the pumpkin are edible.

The next time pumpkins are mentioned, think about soups, stews, cookies, muffins, cakes, fruit smoothies, pancakes, breads, puddings, nut breads, seeds, and of course pies. These dishes aren’t only more delicious with pumpkin, but even a persnickety picky eater won’t detect the nutrition value has been greatly improved when pumpkin is added!

CLICK HERE for the Baby Bites Store.

For a synopsis of Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, Click Here.

For info about the FREE Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE