Starting New Family Traditions

The holidays are upon us and that means observing and enjoying old famiily traditions. There are likely certain foods and rituals that you practice with your family each and every year. What about new traditions? If you have a baby at home and are celebrating their first Christmas, why not start some new traditions? Not that the new traditions have to take the place of the old tried and true ones, but they can make the holidays that much more fun for your newly growing family.

Start an ornament or special keepsake collection. We decided that we would get a snowman ornament for the tree each year for our daughter. We started it this year for her first Christmas and plan to get her one each year from here on out.

Designate a special time for you to open presents with your little one. Perhaps allow one present to be opened on Christmas Eve and then the rest get opened the next morning along with the Santa gifts. This can be an easy tradition to implement, and it gets everyone excited when the time approaches every year.

Make a special meal that becomes part of your tradition. You likely eat a huge dinner with your extended family, so how about a special breakfast that becomes tradition? Maybe you have chococolate chip pancakes each and every Christmas morning after presents are open. It’s something simple and sweet that cements your new family’s love of traditions.

Get together with friends or go to a special Christmas day. Before the holidays hit each year, designate a day each year that your new family gets together with friends and their kids. You could also designate a specific day each year that you go see Santa, have some lunch, and do a little Christmas shopping at the mall.

Traditions are what the holidays are all about! Enjoying old traditions and creating new ones are what makes this time of year so magical.

Planning Baby’s First Birthday Party

Let’s face it, birthday parties for kids can get a little out of control. It used to be simple, a celebration with family and a few friends that included cake and ice cream and everyone was happy! Nowadays it’s not a true party without a pony! Planning a first birthday party should be a simple affair but for some reason some people tend to get carried away. As I think of my daughter’s first birthday party, I’ve taken a few things into consideration with my planning. I’ve taken cues from some friends and decided that while it should be a celebration we will certainly keep it easier than others we’ve seen.

Celebrating at home, particularly for a first birthday, is not only acceptable but expected. The real focus of a first birthday is the cake! Everyone attending is fully expecting to see your baby covered in cake by the end of the party, so this should be the highlight of the event. If you make it about anything else like the location, you are simply wasting your hard earned dollars.

Serve a simple meal and everyone will be happy. You don’t need to break your neck cooking up a feast. Let’s remember that this is about a little birthday person, and a feast is honestly wasted on them. I plan to serve a nice but easy pasta bar. I have some friends that have done cake and ice cream, and others that have done hamburgers and hot dogs.

A theme is okay but let’s not get carried away! I’m all about the theme, a princess one for example is super cute. However getting carried away is unneccessary and can be saved better for later birthday parties when the child actually appreciates it.

Having a first birthday party is of course essential and exciting. Keep it simple and make it all about that little baby and their big old birthday cake!

Meals for Toddlers–How Can I Mix It Up?

When you think about moving beyond bottles and feeding your baby real foods, it sounds like so much fun. If you’re anything like me you raced to the grocery store to get baby food as soon as the pediatrician cleared your baby. I remember beign so excited to get her started on solid foods and trying out new textures–the whole thing was just another reassurance of how exciting it is to be a mommy.

Fast forward a few months and to the point where you are teetering between real foods, baby foods, and still a regular flow of bottles as well. Not only is it expensive and you feel as though you are the grocery store every day, but it begins to become difficult to come up with new options for feeding your little loved one.

I had to create some new mealtime options that offered a more comprehensive menu full of healthy options. Here are some ideas that I’ve come up with and borrowed from others, they seem to work quite well with our eleven month old.

*Instead of the same old oatmeal baby cereal with a fruit, instead offer cheerios and bananas for self feeding and yogurt that you can feed to them. This gives them all of their major food groups and offers a nice alternative to the same old breakfast.

*Sautee some ground turkey or ground beef and cook up some noodles. We use this as a base for soup for the adults and then offer the pieces of each to our daughter. She gobbles it up and she’s getting some great protein! I mix in some shredded cheese and some diced pears and she not only has every single food group but also has an interesting dinner that she will eat every last bite of.

*Lunch time is always the most difficult here. I have made chicken noodle soup and offered the noodles, chicken, and vegetables–minus the broth it’s easy to eat and offers a nutritious balance. The old standard of lunchmeat can be dressed up a bit–offering ham or turkey is great but if you offer some hummus, cheese, and perhaps peas you can really pack a nutritional punch.

*Rather than serving the same old scrambled eggs, we use an old Italian trick. As we use eggs and breadcrumbs to coat our chicken before baking it in the oven, this makes for a great meal as well. Take the leftover breadcrumbs and egg, mix together, and sautee as a patty on the stove. We all love this and the baby is carrying on the tradition!

*You can create your own meals for your toddler based on their favorites. If they love veggie burgers, cottage cheese, and peas then you can make this into an interesting array on their tray. They’re sure to eat it and you can pat yourself on the back as you’ve given a nutritious and delicious meal!

Unexpected Company…What Do I Serve?

It happens to all of us, especially at this time of year. Either you have the company that drops over unexpectedly or you get a call from your husband to let you know that he’s invited people over. You have been taking care of the kids all day, aren’t exactly looking entertaining worthy, and have nothing prepared to eat. What now? Well here are a few tried and true methods to throwing together a last minute spread of food without ever having to panic.

*Always keep cream cheese and some sort of spread in the house. A good example is a chipotle jam (easy to find in a jar) that can easily be thrown over a block of softened cream cheese, served warm with crakers. Presto! You’ve got an instant appetizer that’s super easy and delicious.

*Keep a jar of sundried tomato pesto in the house, along with some sliced appetizer sized baguettes in the freezer. When you’re in a pinch you can spread the pesto on these breads pop them in the over to broil and you’ve got a delicious appetizer sure to please. It’s made even better if you have garlic and parmesan cheese to mix in, but just the pesto works great as well.

*As it should be part of your kitchen basics anyhow, be sure to stock the kitchen with olive oil, parmesan cheese, and dried basil in the house. If you’re really in a pinch you can throw together crusty bread (have your hubby pick up a loaf on the way home) with this delicious olive oil mix for dipping. It’s sure to please and looks like you actually fussed!

*It helps to have some entertaining basics in the house such as hummus, crackers, a good cheese, and some amazing salsa and tortilla chips. If you’re really pressed for time and need to put some munchies out you can still supply a tasty spread with some of these party basics. The reality is that most people will munch on whatever you put out for company, and these are sure to go a long way.

No need to panic if you have the inevitable unexpected company. By keeping some basics in the house you can put out a spread that will look as if you cooked all day.

Entertaining Made Easy

Tis’ the season for entertaining! You may be one of those people who entertains all the time but runs short on time, or perhaps you are not big into it but want to figure out some good tips. Entertaining doesn’t have to be overly complicated nor does it have to be overly expensive. Here are a couple of tips that make entertaining easy and much more fun:

*Keep it simple and try hard not to go overboard. It can be easy to get carried away and feel like you don’t have enough. Remember in this instance a little can go a long way! Putting out a few well thought out appetizers that are filling can be perfect to please the crowd. Including some sort of hot dip (like a simple artichoke), some classy sandwiches, and a few cold items can look like more than it is. Get some easy to make recipes off the many websites out there or ask a friend who has a signature recipe.

*If people offer to bring something, take them up on it. There’s no shame in having people bring a dish to pass, most occassions warrant it. This can save you a lot of time and money as you plan your festive gathering.

*Keep it simple with beverages. Make a signature drink or festive punch, and then offer wine, beer, and pop. You can get carried away trying to supply a full bar and people can certainly find something they like with those choices.

*Be shopping well before the occassion to stock up on items when they are on sale. You know that you will likely need staple items such as crackers, wine, and canned goods such as artichokes and olives. Keep an eye out for these items as the year goes on, that way you don’t have to get hit all at once with a crazy shopping bill that’s way too expensive.

Entertaining can be easy and fun with a little bit of preparation. You can wow your guests with less effort than you think, and it will likely look like you did far more than you did.

Seperate an Egg

I never knew there were so many different ways to seperate an egg, but the folks over at WikiHow sure do! This site details the shell method, hand method, funnel method and the seperator method. It also gives us a couple of tips on what to do if the seperation goes awry.

Although you could discard the yolk, a better idea is to use any of the yolks created this way to make an egg dish (like homemade mayonnaise) or for cakes. Try to have two recipes in mind before you crack the eggs open.
If eggshell falls into the egg whites, scoop it out with a teaspoon or another larger piece of the egg shell.
If you’re beating the egg whites, such as for a meringue, make sure no yolk gets in. Any bit of yolk in egg whites will cause them not to foam.
Seperator method can be performed with a simple slotted spoon. Just crack the egg on top of the spoon, with bowl beneath to catch the whites, and shake gently.

Banana Treats You and Your Kids Will Love

My sons both love bananas. They also love cupcakes. So when I saw this recipie over at Blissfully Domestic I knew I had to give it a try. Bonus: The caramel frosting makes it grown up enough for adult tea parties!

Banana Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
Makes 18 cupcakes

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
3 large eggs, separated
One 5.5-ounce bag soft caramels, such as Werther’s Original Chewy
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 18 cups of 2 standard 12-cup muffin pans with baking liners. In a large bowl, beat 1 stick butter with 1 cup granulated sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add 3/4 cup bananas, the baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt and beat until smooth. Stir in 1 cup flour. Mix in 6 tablespoons milk and the remaining 3/4 cup flour until smooth.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually mix in the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar at high speed until stiff and glossy. Fold the egg whites into the batter until no streaks remain.

3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each liner three-quarters full. Cut 9 caramels in half, and submerge one piece in each muffin cup of batter. Bake until the cupcakes are springy to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool.

4. Meanwhile, in a small, heavy saucepan, cook the remaining caramels, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup banana and 1/4 teaspoon salt over medium heat, stirring, until the caramels are melted.

5. Using the electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and confectioners’ sugar until thick, about 3 minutes. Slowly beat in the caramel mixture; transfer the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cool.

6. Using the electric mixer, beat the remaining 2 sticks butter at high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cooled caramel mixture, then beat at high speed until fluffy. Spread the frosting onto the cupcakes.

Breakfast Tips

You’ve heard it time and time again. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But sometimes it’s difficult to get in a good quality breakfast. NewsCanada had some tips on how to make sure you (and your children!) get enough from each of the breakfast food groups:

Breads and Cereals
• Whole Grain Cereal • Whole Grain Toast • Whole Grain Bagels
• Toasted English Muffin • Soda Crackers • Baby Sized Muffin

Tip: Many children do not get enough whole grains. Choose whole grain bread and cereals more often. You can learn more online at www.areyougettingenough.ca.

Making Mealtime More Enjoyable

Mealtime can be stressful enough as an adult, but when you have a baby to feed it can be taken to a new level. Now you are not only trying to feed the adults of the house and come up with creative ideas, but you have to introduce new foods and make them healthy for your little one. It can be a lot of work to figure out what foods to introduce and when, in addition to keeping it all interesting so that your baby will actually eat it.

Ensuring that you plan mealtime appropriately is key. If you try to feed your baby when they aren’t hungry, you will be met with a resistance to eat, utter frustration, and a hungry baby an hour later. Figuring out your baby’s needs and developing schedule will help you to feed them when they are more likely to eat. This is a key to success in feeding your little darling.

Introducing certain foods slowly and keeping with them can make life much easier. Rather than throwing down a bunch of new foods and expecting the baby to jump at them, it will benefit both parties if you take it one new food at a time. This will also help you to be sure that your baby doesn’t have any allergic reactions. Don’t give up though if they don’t take a certain food at first try, stick with it and try to reintroduce a little later on.

As the baby gets a little more well versed, keep things interesting. If you know that baby loves bananas, offer that along with a food that they may not love as much such as peas. This will help them to handle the less desirable food and hopefully ensure that they eat enough.

Don’t be afraid to introduce foods that you eat when the time is right. I remember thinking that mhy baby surely couldn’t be ready for things such as pasta and chicken. Once they hit 9-12 months, you not only can but should introduce table foods. Obviously stay away from any choking hazards, but you want to make sure that they are on a path to eating real foods and keeping proper nutrition.

Mealtime can be fun again with a little imagination and a lot of cooperation. Use your baby’s reaction as a benchmark and they will let you know if they’re not ready.

Use a Crockpot to Save Money and Time

I firmly bellieve that the crockpot is one of the greatest inventions for mother-kind. It allows you to create healthy meals with limited time. As my husband calls it, the ol’ chop, toss and cover. It’s worth using just to reduce the hassle when everyone rushes home from work/school and you’re left holding the bag. This recipie from Created and Called for a pot roast is a tasty example of just how great that Crockpot can be:

Super Easy Pot Roast:

1 beef roast - any kind. (I used 3 lbs)
1 (1.25 oz) package dry brown gravy mix
1 (1.25 oz) dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 (1.25 oz) dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup water

1. Place beef roast in crock pot (I always spray my crock-pot first with Pam cooking spray as per Promises suggestion and it makes the clean up a whole lot easier).

2. Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl (I use a fork) and sprinkle over the roast.

3. Pour the water around the roast.

4. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

The Frugal Grocery Shopper

In the last 15 years, my husband and I have enjoyed shopping together. It’s our guaranteed once a week getaway, and we find it loads of fun. My husband prepares the recipe list for the week (he does all the cooking) while I look for the best prices on the items he picks. I also supplement or subtract based on coupons and items we have purchased during our “bulk shopping” trips. But, even after all these years, we still look for tips and tricks on how to save money. Audrey Okaneko from www.recipe-barn.com had these tips to share:

1. Buy day old meat. If you freeze the meat it will hold for several months. Sometimes I can save 50% on the cost of the meat by buying day old meat. This applies to poultry also.

2. Buy bread at outlet stores if available. Again, I save 50% by buying the day old bread. I keep bread in my refrigerator, so it will last many days. If you don’t have an outlet store, compare the price of store bought bread with the price of day old bakery bread.

3. Watch the store sales. I try very hard to not run out of items so that I only buy items when on sale. For example, we make spaghetti at least once a month. I use Prego sauce as a base. I buy it when it’s on sale, knowing I’ll use it in the next month.

4. Use coupons. If I see a coupon for a product I use, I cut the coupon. If your store offers double coupons, shop on the days your coupons will be doubled. If you can buy an item on sale and use a coupon, you’ll save even more. Consider trying a different brand, if there is a coupon and it will cut your overall grocery bill.

5. Grocery stores tend to put the higher priced items at eye level. Check the top and bottom shelves to see if a different brand or different size might be a better price.

5 Things You Need to Make Baby Food

Todayshousewife had a point when she wrote about the back of the babyfood jar. It’s impossible in some cases to pronounce those ingredients. By making our own baby food we can have more control over what our children eat. In a day and age where food allergies are much more common among young children it becomes imperative to know what’s in his/her dish. Sandra posts a list of 5 must haves for making your own baby food.

1. small food processor
2. books like Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron and/or The Healthy Baby Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel
3. ice cube trays
4. baggies
5. fruits & veggies

Cooking Tips for Busy Moms

Working mothers often come home to chores and cooking. My secret? My husband does all the cooking. This works out great for us, I get to unwind and play with the kids while he gets a break from the kids doing something he loves. After dinner time at the table the kids relax with some cartoons while Hubby and I catch up while clearing dishes. If you’re DH is not as inclined to cook as mine is, try some of the tips from Busy-Online-Moms.com:

Make your crock pot your best friend. This one cooking tool can make your life so much easier, and your family much more satisfied with the meal. Put your ingredients into the crock pot, turn it on, and leave it alone. By the time you return home, you’ll have the makings for a great home-cooked meal!

It’s More than a Pizza Cutter

Lifetips.com gives us some tips on how else we can use this tool in the kitchen:

Pizza cutters can be a wonderful kitchen tool for more than just pizza. Use them to take the crust off of kids´ sandwiches, cut sandwiches into manageable quarters, cut up pancakes, etc. The wheel-shaped slicers is quicker and easier to use than the more time consuming knife.

Family Dinner Night

What a great family New Years resolution - have a Family Dinner Night. From prep to clean up, engage every member of the family in some quality bonding time. Newsweek tells us why this activity is an education for kids as well:

Cooking is a chance to teach kids more than just basic knife skills. “It’s a real education in life,” says Annabel Karmel, author of the new “Mom and Me Cookbook.” Would-be chefs learn how to follow instructions, how to tell time, how to take risks even how to solve complex math problems.

DIY Starbucks Recipes

Has the state of the economy forced you to forgoe that daily latte? Still craving the taste of a mocha? Well never fear. The folks over at Coffeefair.com have put together the perfect little ebook of recipes of all your favorite Starbucks drinks.

Brown Avocados? No More!

Another great tip from LifeTips.com on preserving your avocados:

To prevent browning of prepared avocados, brush lightly with lemon juice.

If you’re using your avocados to make guacamole plop the stone inside the finished product - it will also keep your avocado green longer!

Keep those Onions

Lifetips.com has another quick tip for making your groceries last a little bit longer. Use this tip to make two small batches of salsa… instead of one big batch where you throw away the leftovers:

When you are only using half an onion make sure to save the half with the root. It will stay fresh longer.

Pumpkin Carving Tricks for Next Year

It’s been a while since we carved Halloween pumpkins, but I was messing around with some left over pumpkins I had after making Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie. I looked to the web to get inspiration on what I should do with my pumpkin leftovers. At BlogHer, contributor Denise tells a great story about her family’s experience and imparts some tips along the way to make your pumpkins last and keep the squirrels away.

When it came time for clean up, I scooped up the sheets and waved them outside on the front lawn. I had second thoughts as pumpkin chunks went flying because we have enough wildlife problems around here as it is but it was too late by then.

When is Your Baby ready for Cow’s Milk?

I had always been told 12 months was the magic number to transition your child from breast milk to cow’s milk, but with son number 2 it was obvious that 12 months was too early. Browsing the web I was able to find this tip and more on the subject from iParenting.com:

How should I introduce it? “Most babies can go cold turkey,” says Dr. Jana. If your tot balks, mix cow’s milk with formula or breast milk in increasing amounts. (You can continue to heat bottles if your baby prefers.)

Easy on the Ice

Leave it to the geeks at Wired Magazine to finally settle the debate about whether or not one should add ice to their drinks. They actually did the hard research by going to a Cineplex armed with thermometers and empty bladders. Find out the results of their efforts and see if you’ve been thrifty or if you and the kids spent way too many years drinking unpleasant warm soda.

Can Produce before the Season Ends

If you can carve out a day for canning produce you will save yourself quite a bit of money. In addition, you’ll be able to have those fall harvest foods well into the winter and save some veggies from the compost pile. Jenny at Blissfully Domestic has put together a selection of links to help you preserve that produce and your cash. My favorite from these links: Canning 101.

Brownies Made Easy

What kid (or husband) doesn’t love Brownies? As hard working moms we want to find ways to provide our family great tasting treats with less work and for less money. How about a device that makes precutting those brownies a snap? At luxuryhousingtrends.com I found a review of a gadget that takes one more step out of the process of making great treats. Sure, you may have something a little more difficult than a knife to clean - but all of those pieces will be the exact same size! No more arguing about who got the bigger brownie. Now that’s a time saver!

Small Gadgets = Big Savings

Sometimes you have to spend money to save money. Linsey Knerl from WiseBread.com shares information on 4 Kitchen Gadgets that will save the pennies in your pocketbook. She then goes into detail on how you can save even more when using these gadgets:

Number One: The bread machine

Buy supplies in bulk. Get the largest flour bag and yeast package you can find. (Check your warehouse stores for deals.)

Package your mixes ahead of time. My mom and I had a marathon event of packaging up do-ahead baggies with all the dry ingredients. We even used up all of those dried potato flakes I had hanging around.

Plan bread making into your week. It takes no time at all the dump in the ingredients and push the button. You just have to plan for it. Most bread machines have a delay option to bake while you are at work. Use this to have a nice hot loaf waiting when you get home, and plan a meal around it!

Peel a Peach When You Don’t Have a Knife

Sometimes kids balk at skin on fruits and vegetables. The folks over at HowToMe.com received a submission on how you can peel a peach without a knife. All you need is a peach, water and a slotted spoon. Finally, a way to peel fuzzy fruit without wasting half of it!

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