baby health

Quick & Healthy Toddler Meals #2: Salted Edamame with Cheese and Fruit

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Salted Edamame with Cheese and Berries

Nothing in the fridge? Head to your freezer for this quick toddler meal.

This is one of my favorite quick toddler meals to throw together when I am in dire need of a trip to the food store, as I tend to always keep a bag or two of edamame in the freezer.

While I’m not a giant fan of giving soy to toddlers, edamame is such a nutritional powerhouse for a “I have nothing to feed you” kind of day, that I reserve it for those desperate times. A great balance of protein and carbs, it is also high in folate, choline, vitamin K, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and manganese. Edamame also provides each of the essential amino acids, meaning it is a complete protein food.

Another bonus: Faye loves squishing the beans out of their pods. If you have a toddler who isn’t a fan of sitting at the table, this “activity” might help to settle them down. Continue reading →

The Best “Cheezy” Kale Chips

/ Tracy Gromek / 1 Comment
RaisingFayeKaleChips

The best kale chips in the world.

Kale chips. You either love them, or hate them. Like with most of my food, I am fickle about kale chips. Spending close to $10 for 3 leaves of kale coated in a mild-tasting vegan concoction doesn’t have me jumping up and down the isles in the grocery store for joy.  This recipe, on the other hand, has me (and my family, and friends and their toddlers) doing backflips.

These cheezy kale chips will change your world. They are hands down, by far, my absolute favorite discovery from my vegan/raw days. Bursting with intense flavor, these chips kick all other chips’ asses. I’m not kidding–even kale/veggie haters gobble these suckers down like they are going out of style.

Whether you are trying to incorporate more greens and nutrients into your daily life, attempting to replace junk food with a healthier but phenomenal tasting alternative, or looking for a nutritional powerhouse of a snack for a toddler, I urge you to try the recipe below. You will not be disappointed.

Did I mention they are also great for your milk supply?

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Healthy Baby: Raspberry Protein and Probiotic Smoothie (with Dairy-Free version)

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RaspberryProbioticSmoothie.jpg

Nutritionally dense, fabulous tasting, quick to make, and travels well. What more do you need?

We try to head out to a park or playground to burn some energy and get some fresh air twice a day: once after breakfast and once after afternoon nap. Faye is famished after running around for an hour or two, and tends to chow down on a ton of snacks on our walk back to the house.

Faye is a phenomenal eater, but I’ve been feeling more and more like she’s been filling up on these after-play snacks rather than her main meals, making it all the more important that the snacks I do provide are healthy and nutritionally dense (which is easier said than done – especially when they need to travel well). Hence, this smoothie.  Continue reading →

DIY Diaper Rash Butt Spray (aka My Version of CJ’s BUTTer Spritz)

/ Tracy Gromek / 9 Comments
DIYButterSpritz

My homemade organic version of CJ’s BUTTer Spritz – I dare say it’s better since it contains aloe vera oil.

Am I weird because I love diaper changing time? I’ve used the RIE approach to diaper changing since Faye was born and it has paid off big time. It is all about slowing down and giving the child gentle, undivided, unplugged attention. Ask for their help. Ask for their permission. Sure, it may take 15 minutes, but sometimes, those 15 minutes are the highlight of my day.

I also have fallen in love with my DIY version of CJ’s BUTTer Spritz. Its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties keeps diaper rash away and softens skin. The dispensing via a spray method versus dipping your fingers into a tub keeps it sanitary and my hands goop free. Plus, it smells great. I always spray one or two pumps into my hands, rub my hands together and then put them to my nose and inhale deeply. I then give my hands to Faye to smell and she raises her eyebrows as if in agreement it smells lovely. I never actually hear her inhale though, so I whole heartedly believe she is screwing with my head.

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Should You Buy It?: Turtlemeter, the Baby Bath Floating Turtle Toy and Bath Tub Thermometer

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TurtlemeterLong

Try to buy a baby bath thermometer that isn’t shaped like an animal or transportation device. I dare you.

Marcus and I like our space. We like it not covered in baby crap. I truly believe this is why we did not purchase a bath thermometer until Faye was 4 months old.

Up until that point we had been using an old digital candy thermometer of mine. It took a temperature, but it couldn’t be submerged in water which meant I had to continually take readings throughout bathtime. It was also off by 31 degrees so there was that added bonus of simple math equations after no sleep for the past quarter of a year all while trying to keep an infant afloat.

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DIY Natural Diaper Rash Cream

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Diaper B

Faye’s skin is extremely sensitive. Unusually sensitive. We’re talking so sensitive that being in a wet cloth diaper for less than two minutes gave her a diaper rash (or dare I say, “diaper burn”) even though she was lathered in cream. Poor thing. From that moment on, my infant cloth stash that took weeks to research was sadly packed away, we switched to the most natural disposable we could find, and made sure to use a high grade/wet barrier diaper rash cream at every change.

I’m a big proponent of using natural products on myself and an even bigger advocate of doing so on infants. I also get a kick out of DIY projects and being able to whip an item up in a few minutes should we run out of something. (Which is also why I LOVE cloth wipes and homemade solution.)

With Faye strapped to my front facing out so she could clearly see what was going on, I made a diaper cream and a diaper spray. (I’ll post the spray later this week.) They only took minutes to put together and I love them both. Because of her sensitive skin I use the cream over the spray when she’ll be in a diaper for more than 2 hours.

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