How do you feel about shoe shopping for kids? On the one hand, there are some insanely adorable shoes for little kids. It's hard to choose just one pair. On the other hand, children's feet seem to grow three feet overnight every time you buy new shoes, and they can destroy them in one day. But cuteness and growth spurts aside, do you put a lot of thought into your child's shoes? Do you simply go for what will fit their feet and your budget (without them throwing a fit)? If you've … [Read more...]
Why Weight Loss SHOULDN’T Be Your New Year’s Resolution | Digesting Well is More Important Than Losing Weight
Do you know what is happening on January 1, 2020? Nothing! Absolutely nothing. Maybe you're going shopping or watching football with a favorite game day appetizer dip and some chips. Maybe you're kicking off a new exercise routine after some holiday indulging. But me? I'm doing nothing. (Well, at least that's the plan in my head.) That is when my in-laws are leaving after I host the whole relation (which includes ten kids, ages 1 - 11) for several days for Christmas. So on January … [Read more...]
How to Be a Mind Reader When it Comes to Feeding Your Kids
My one-year-old is a pretty good eater. He generally likes most things and really loves it when he gets to try something new. But the other day he kept spitting his food out or just clenching his mouth shut altogether, refusing to eat anything. I was getting very frustrated. I was serving foods he normally loves. Then when he started sleeping poorly and refusing to nurse I knew something was going on. After some investigating, I realized he's cutting his two-year molars. #ouch Knowing … [Read more...]
{Series: Those Weird Veggies} Everything You Didn’t Know to Ask About Rutabaga + Scalloped Rutabaga Recipe
This post is a continuation of a series on "Those Weird Veggies." You can also read about parsnips and kohlrabi. Are you an avid gardener? Or someone that loves the idea of gardening...but just hasn't found the time for it? Or maybe you are quite content to leave the gardening to your local farmer? I'm not ashamed to admit that my husband is the gardener in our family. He grew up on a farm and has watched his own father garden for many years. I'd love to learn more...someday. … [Read more...]
Easy Breakfast for School Mornings: Granola Bar Bowl Recipe
Getting a healthy breakfast on the table for your kids before school is a common struggle whether you homeschool like Mary or have kids in school like me. I have a whole post full of tips and recipes for quick healthy breakfasts and this recipe is a great one to add to your rotation! Enjoy! -Katie We just started our fourth year of homeschooling. Each year it gets a bit more challenging to fit all of our work into the day as my kids get older and we add more work and more kids into the … [Read more...]
How to Teach Your Kids to Cook (In Just Two Weeks!)
If you're new around here you may not have heard of Kids Cook Real Food. That's my online cooking class for kids! My kids and I teach your kids to cook by introducing age appropriate skills in a way that builds connection, confidence and creativity! Check it out here and keep reading to hear Mary's experience using all three levels of the course to teach three of her kids to cook in under 2 weeks! Have you ever had a really good idea that could either be amazing or completely insane? I think … [Read more...]
Do You Really Need to Take Supplements?
I’ll never forget my son’s last visit with the allergist. It was a new allergist as our old one had to retire. She came into the room, took one look at him, and commented that his feet were orange! A condition called carotenemia (and something we’re still working to detox from several years later! Read about it here). I guess I never really bothered to look at the bottom of his feet. But sure enough, they were yellow/orange. Since we had to cut out a lot of foods from his diet due to … [Read more...]
Allergy Friendly Healthy Breakfast Hummus Recipe
I have four kids. They all have individual eating styles and food preferences. But in general I know what they like. Three out of four will eat what I serve without much complaining. Sure they have their favorites. But they eat most things. Then there is my four-year old. She doesn't play along so nicely (there always has to be one, right?). I have learned that I have to always ask her what she wants for breakfast. Always. If I make the "wrong" food there is no way she is eating it. And … [Read more...]
Low Sugar Gluten-Free Parsnip Cupcakes: Perfect for a First Birthday!
My baby just turned one (sniffle, sniffle)! This is the fourth time we've celebrated a first birthday in our family...and it never gets easier. Something about that transition from baby to toddler is so hard for Mama! I think this one is especially hard, knowing it is our last time. I love watching my kids grow and mature. But there is nothing quite like snuggling a little one. Over the years I've baby-stepped my way to a healthier diet. My oldest had a pink cake (yes, with food dyes) made … [Read more...]
How to Stick to a Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free Diet Long Term (and not go crazy!)
If you're new to a dairy-free and gluten-free lifestyle, start with Katie's post with all of the rookie steps. If you are in it for the long haul I've got you covered here. I remember when I first made the decision to switch to a gluten-free diet almost nine years ago. It felt pretty monumental. Especially since it wasn't as popular as it is today, and gluten-free convenience foods were slim pickings. I was dealing with a lot of digestive issues, hypothyroidism, and infertility. It … [Read more...]
How to Cook Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot
I am a morning person (don't hate me!). I kind of feel like I have to be with four kids. Getting up early is the only way to get anything done. I am also someone that wants breakfast as soon as I get up. Roll out of bed (or out of the rocking chair and lay the baby down as is the case lately), shower and EAT. This is a habit I started in college...and 20 years later it's still how I function. Up early. A healthy breakfast as soon as possible. Then get right to work. I am the most focused … [Read more...]
Should You Pay Kids for Chores?
Growing up I did not have any chores. It's kind of sad since I was the kind of kid that loved to help. Even though my parents never assigned me any tasks I often vacuumed, took out the trash, made snacks for my siblings, and dusted. My parents missed a huge opportunity to teach me life skills when I was very willing. Once I was in junior high I started mowing our lawn. Not because I was asked to do it. I just wanted to. I think I may have gotten paid a couple dollars each time I mowed for a … [Read more...]
Every Parent’s Goal: Raising Responsible Kids
Ah, January...Christmas is over. Winter is really setting in. The second semester of school is starting. Time for routines and a fresh start. Everyone is making resolutions. Maybe you want to eat healthier, lose weight, get stronger, pay off debt, cook more homemade food, start meal planning, get organized or simply slow down life a bit. Or you're like me and you don't really make resolutions, but adhere to these goals for everyone. But have you ever thought about your parenting … [Read more...]
Gluten-Free Sweet and Salty Snack Mix Recipe Kids Can Make
Without fail, every day right around 3:00 pm my kids rush up to me asking, "What can we have for a snack?!" I'm usually trying to feed their little brother or he's sleeping on me (which despite six months of me trying to tell them that's not the best time to ask me for things they continue to do it daily anyway). I've been teaching my kids to cook for quite a few years now. They are very capable in the kitchen. I think they forget that too. So my response is usually a hushed, "I don't know. … [Read more...]
Family Favorite Grain-Free Avocado Taco Bowl Recipe
As a homeschool family learning is incorporated in all things. To help my four-year-old learn her letters we do one lunch a week that we call a "letter lunch." We make something that starts with the letters she's working on. For letters C and D we did Crazy Designs. I gave my kids an assortment of veggies, cheese, dips, etc. and let them make a design on their plates. For letters S and T we did Sea Turtles. I used half of an avocado flipped upside down to make a turtle shell and added veggies … [Read more...]
What you Need to Know About How Food Dyes and Behavior are Connected
I'm not sure if it's my over-tired postpartum brain, or simply the fact that as I get older I've stopped caring what people think - but after last month's post about living the way God intended I'm back with another blunt post about how the way we feed our kids needs to change. Today I want to discuss how food dyes and behavior are connected. And why the 80/20 rule does NOT apply here. When my oldest (now ten) was little I fed her the way most Americans feed their kids. We started with … [Read more...]
How Does God Want Us to Live?
I've been living a real food lifestyle for about ten years now. I started my journey when struggling with infertility. I found Nourishing Traditions and have been learning all I can ever since! It took a lot of baby steps to get where I am now. But it wasn't until my family moved to a farm two years ago that I realized just how important it is to care for our bodies and the Earth and to raise animals well. And with all the recent news about glyphosate, it has become more clear that we, as a … [Read more...]
The Benefits of Slowing Down Life
Ah, summer. Don't you just love it? No more school work. No more soccer. No more robotics. No more dance. No more packing lunches. No more early mornings. No more...you fill in the blank. Summer break is great because it is just that - a break. A break from the chaos we call life most of the year. It's a time to slow down, spend time as a family and enjoy the freedom of actually having free time! Living a fast-paced life with a packed schedule is the norm for most people. But what if it … [Read more...]
Easy Gluten Free Nut Free Breakfast Mudball Recipe
Breakfast. It's the one meal of the day that I don't typically "cook" for my family. At least not on a weekday. Mom and Dad are up early. The kids get up a bit later. Sometimes we're relaxed. Sometimes we're rushed. But that doesn't mean breakfast isn't important to me! Quite the contrary. I know that a balanced, nourishing breakfast can completely make or break our day. A starchy breakfast without healthy fats and protein or full of white sugar will make blood sugar go crazy and set my kids … [Read more...]
Nutrient Dense Dairy-Free Smoothie Recipe
I love dairy. In all forms. If I could choose one food group to never have to give up...it would be dairy. And yet I or someone in my family (or a combination) have been dairy free for anywhere from six months to two or more years at a time during the past seven years. Which means I know a thing or two about eating dairy free and still enjoying food! You can even make delicious dairy-free frozen treats everyone will enjoy! One of the questions I get most often on my blog is how to make a … [Read more...]
