“Tasty Baby” for Babes (and Moms) with Taste

Yes, when we had a baby we tried to make our own baby food. But honestly, working full-time and trying to prep all the little containers of food ended up driving me crazy. I know there are tons of moms out there able to juggle more balls than me, but I just could never quite get down the routine of boiling the veggies, pureeing them, and storing them. So I usually resorted to the good ole’ Gerber for help. But I am happy to pass on that help is now here! In the freezer section of many health food stores has arrived “Tasty Baby” which is organic baby food, already prepped, frozen, and ready to use.  Yes, it tastes good too, and saves a few precious minutes that a parent with a newborn needs. So, for us moms that just quite can’t get that food processor going, thank you Tasty Baby for doing it for us!

The Cutest Bunny Family Baby Gift

People are always asking me what baby gifts I recommend. I understand their problem, because when you have to buy a baby gift you might not know what the family wants, desires, or needs. I have numerous suggestions for baby gifts (I have a lot of friends having babies!). One that sticks out, is one that we received two years ago and is still going. It is a Bunny Family enamel dish set from the Golden Rabbit. This has withstood washing, throwing, dropping, banging, and having food left on it for long periods of time. The Golden Rabbit carries various children’s dish-sets in their Babyware line and all of them are proven to be lead-free, come gift wrapped, and are unique. Any gift that keeps giving has got to be one of mom’s favorites!

Mom’s Favorite Treat for a Snack Pack

So our little one is just about to make his first foray into a summer program, and all of a sudden we find ourselves desperate to find good and healthy snacks he can take with him. We love cut up grapes, apples, halved cherry tomatoes, and defrosted beans - which all hold up well with heat and travel. But we have recently found a new favorite to add to mom’s list - which is a healthy & organic version of “animal cookies” - called Barbara’s Bakery Vanilla Snackimals Animal Cookies,. Although we try to limit sweets, every now and again we do allow a little treat and we discovered these at our local health-food store. We love them so much, that we have now started to buy a pack of 18 through Amazon.Com as they make a nice addition to a healthy snack pack for mom & dad too.

Beware of a Baby Sweet-tooth

We love our pediatrician, and she along with every other “expert” reminds parents not to load babies with sugar. Although tempting to feed babies lots of fruit, cereals, and snacks, these are all high in sugar and can result in overweight infants who grow into overweight adults. Related to these concerns, The NY Times reported today that some infant formula has what many pediatricians believe to be too much added sugar.To make matters worse, this formula is organic (and you all know that one of mom’s favorite things is organic). If you use Similac Organic formula be sure to read this article “A Top-Selling Organic Formula Is Also Sweetest” here.

Raising Baby Green

Okay, so right now I am thinking more and more about keeping our family healthy. As seen in my “Healthy Lifestyle” article, this mom believes in raising her family organic & green. Here are a few books and resources that helped me do just that.

Go Organic

Yes, it is expensive, but in our family we have tried to go organic. The more that we learn, the happier we are with this decision. Why? Frankly, because we are not comfortable with the amount of chemicals, pesticides, and genetically modified ingredients in many non-organic foods. So we figure, the cost is worth it in the long run. What are some of mom’s favorite organic products? Gerber Organic, Nature’s Path, Earthbound Farms, Amy’s, Cascadian Farm, Health Valley, Horizon, Stonyfield, and Earth’s Best (to name just a few).

If you want more information, check out a recent NY Times Article entitled “Five Reasons to Go Organic”

As always, be sure to share your favorite organic products with this mom!

Smart Snacking on the Go

Soon we are going to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend, and many times those long road trips lead to unhealthy eating all day long.  However, recently we revamped our snack strategy for the whole family - no matter where we go.  We take a little time to make sure we are armed with healthy snacks which can be just as convenient. What are mom’s favorite smart snacking ideas? Grapes, carrots, pretzels, laughing cow cheese (which doesn’t need to be refrigerated), cut apples, rice cakes, organic animal crackers, and of course peanut butter & jam sandwiches still work well. We also have found some great “grab and go” drinks and snacks from Horizon, Health Valley and Clif Bar. We tend to buy these items in bulk from Amazon because we can stock up and buy more for less.

Clean Eating

Okay, so there is almost nothing as both fun and messy as feeding kids. Here are a few of mom’s favorite items that have helped keep the mess controlled a bit - spill proof bibs, placemats, and cups.

As always these are this mom’s favorites, but what are some of your ways to keep the eating time mess at bay?