ChowBaby

YUM! EAT THIS...
a lovely, family-friendly recipe for squash and chickpea moroccan stew (via Smitten Kitchen)
3 family-friendly, easy veggies recipes (via Cookie Magazine)
a super healthy tofu (or chickpea) stir fry with spinach and okra (via Sassy Radish)
Making Orange Sherbet with Your Kids (complete with video!) (via Tara Parker-Poke's Well blog)
healthy, family-friendly turkey meatball recipe (via The Kitchn)
inexpensive, nutritious foods easily purchased in bulk (via Not Eating Out in New York)
Healthy Foods for Under $1 (via Tara Parker-Poke's Well blog)

INTERESTING! READ THIS...
5-year-old chef gets his own show (via NPR)
a review of Mark Bittman's Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating (via Salon)
the problem of health care for farmers and how it impacts our food supply (via The Ethicurean)
the science of developing taste buds--from in utero onward (via the The Calgary Herald)

OF COURSE! TRY THIS...
a great hack to get sick kids to sip water while sleeping (via Parent Hacks)

USEFUL! LOOK INTO THIS...
Ziploc Zip n' Steam bags--worth it? (via The Kitchn)
Tilty sippy cups (via Weelicious)
small, melamine bento boxes perfect for toddlers and lil kids (via Oh Dee Doh)
reusable sandwich bags (via Cool Mom Picks)
reusable lunchbox napkins (via Springwise)

-S

BabyCakes (and i'm not talking about mine--though those are nice, too ;-) are a revelation! Like thousands of others in the blogosphere, I'm a cupcake person. (Okay, really, I'm a donut person... but cupcakes come in a close second.) We skipped a wedding cake and served cupcakes instead. I serve cupcakes at every birthday, mine and Mike's. And now at Isaac's birthdays, too. Well, at the one birthday party he's had so far.

I discovered BabyCakes last year while looking for 1st birthday party sweets. At a mere 12-months-old, Isaac had never had refined sugar, maple syrup, agave syrup, sucanat... none of it. I felt kinda bad serving a sugar-virgin icing slathered cakes, even small ones. On one hand, it seemed insane to introduce sweets at such a young age when he was so blissfully unaware and satisfied with his non-sweetened diet. On the other, I needed to relax--it was his birthday. What's the big deal? And restriction is much more likely to make him a sugar fiend than anything else. Plus, when I told Mike and my mom about the bakery's agave sweetened, soy-, dairy-, egg- and gluten-free treats, they laughed at me. This was my way of relaxing? Feeling a little embarrassed (was I going to be that mom?!), I gave in and got delicious cupcakes from a conventional bakery. Of course, they were a hit. And, of course, Isaac managed not to become the sugar addict I feared he would. Because we don't really eat a lot of sugar. Every once and a while wouldn't kill him.

So, it's been a year and it's cupcake time again. This year, though, I am not afraid or embarrassed. We've had a year of food experiences and now that he's an oh-so-mature eater, he's had his share of sometimes-snacks (i.e., sugary sweets). I tried making cupcakes the other day (the pineapple carrot ones mentioned in yesterday's post), but they came out only okay. A baker, I am not. (Michelle's the queen of that domain.) So I'm back to researching cupcakes to buy for Isaac's birthday play date on Sunday. 

I've considered everything from these crazy tiny stuffed gems by Baked by Melissa to these bite size beauties by Kumquat Cupcakery. And, of course, there were the usual NYC suspects: Magnolia Bakery and Cupcake Cafe. I even considered a 1/2 homemade approach using mix from the infamous Los Angeles cupcake bakery Sprinkles (the mix is available for shipping). But I kept coming back to BabyCakes. I'd been shamed into old-fashioned, refined sugar bombs last year and needed to know if it was really worth it (cuz, you know, it might be!). So, this morning, I made the trek to NYC's lower east side for a cupcake taste test. I got 1 vanilla cake/lemon frosting, 1 vanilla cake/vanilla frosting, 1 chocolate cake/chocolate frosting, 1 pumpkin spice/vanilla frosting, and 1 brownie (because they use brownie batter to make cupcakes!).  And, I gotta say, these cupcakes kick ass.

I wanted to like BabyCakes, so I tasted them with Mike, who I knew would be a harsher critic (especially when it came to chocolate). As it turns out, these are the genuine article--we both really liked them. The best were the brownie and pumpkin. The brownie was moist, chocolaty, and had just the barest hint of that natural-y aftertaste that often lingers after baked goods like these. It was hardly detectable--Mike agreed. The pumpkin spice was perfect. Also moist, but cakey, and full of flavor, with a nice nutty undertone. I'd NEVER in a million years guess that either flavor was an "alternative" baked good. We are definitely getting these for Isaac's birthday play date.

The vanilla and chocolate cupcakes were a little more obviously "natural", but still delicious. The vanilla cake was a little bit dense and dry/crumbly, at least compared to the brownie and pumpkin (though not unbearably so). It had a mellow vanilla flavor, which I prefer to the super-sweet ultra-vanilla that you typically get. I preferred the vanilla cake with lemon frosting to the vanilla cake with vanilla frosting--it tasted just like those yummy lemon Girl Scout cookies, but lemon was Mike's least favorite. He said that it started out strong (because he agrees that the icing is delicious), but finished in a way that he didn't like. His favorite of the chocolate and vanilla varieties was the vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting. He thought it was the most like a conventional cupcake. The chocolate cupcake was a little anemic compared to the brownie, but it was chocolaty enough for me... AND for Mike! The icing was yummy--started a little sour cream-y with a coconut undertone, and finished chocolate. It might not be strong enough for serious chocoholics.

BabyCakes delivers to the contiguous 48 states via FedEx, so you can get them no matter where you are. I think they are well worth it--and absolutely so if you or your child is a vegan or has food allergies. But more than anything, BabyCakes is proof that you can make a mean cupcake without a butt load of butter and sugar. (And speaking of butts, they have a great tag line: Saving your behind, one cupcake at a time!) This year, I will proudly buy and serve BabyCakes at our various birthday gatherings. And maybe next year, I'll make 'em myself with the help of the BabyCakes cookbook: Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery.

In the meantime, for all you cupcake lovers, here is a short list of the many cupcake blogs ready for the reading: 
Cupcake Blog
52 Cupcakes
Cupcakes Take the Cake
Cupcake Frenzy
Cupcake Project
I Heart Cuppy Cakes
the Kumquat Cupcakery blog
Cupcake Fetish
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
the BabyCakes blog

-S

happy weekend. here's a quick little find. straws made out of straws.

you'll see that i spied these on a design-focused blog that mike reads, swiss miss. he suggested that i read it since the writer, tina, is a mom who often posts cool, beautiful kids stuff. i love the her picks and thought that you might want to look, too.

the straws are from a japanese store called muji. they were the 2008 muji award prize winner (the theme of which was "found muji"--very cool concept). i looked up muji because i recognized the name. turns out, they have a small store in the new jet blue terminal (where i was recently stuck for hours). their only other US stores are in NYC, so it may not be so easy to get these straws for now. but keep your eye on this company. they are growing quickly and have an inspiring eco-minded point-of-view. we'd love for muji to make well-designed, eco-minded eat- and drink-ware widely available around the world!

-S

when i posted my new year resolutions, stacie commented that she wanted me to ditch the pull-up bar and research water filters that remove (among other things) flouride. well, i didn't ditch the pull-up bar (in fact, i'm going to get it today!)—but i did look into some water filters. and, man, is it confusing. so i'm going to try to keep it simple. and here's what i found.
 
first, a little background. as per my new year resolutions blog post, there are lots of reasons why bottled water is really bad for the environment. we all know more and more about about why BPA plastics are bad for our bodies. and stacie already blogged about why many experts think flouride is bad for our kids.

here's where i'm at now. i have one of those poland spring home-delivery water dispensers in my kitchen. the big 5 gallon version. we go through 7 jugs a month at a cost of $53.55 per month. and we do our best to use our klean kanteen bottle (the whole family has them in different sizes) in lieu of buying disposables when we're on the go. starbucks will fill them with everything with water (for free) to tea and coffee (although that isn't the focus of this post). this solution addresses the issue of flouride, but still has less-than-stellar environmental and BPA consequences. so i'm ready for something better.

turns out, there are tons of pitcher, faucet-mount, counter-top, under-the-sink, and whole-house filters that remove various contaminants from silt to heavy metals to pesticides. the quality counter-top and under-the-sink ones seem to run in the $100-$200 range. and it seems that only the reverse-osmosis products also remove flouride. the counter-top versions can be installed in 5 minutes with no plumbing experience. the under-the-counter versions require some plumbing expertise. but not too much—ie, i can do it but i'm not sure about stacie (wink).
 
now let's do the math. because in this economic climate, the bottom line matters more than ever. sure, i try to make the best environmental choices at every turn. but if i can't afford the best environmental option today—even though i know it is the most valuable option for our kids, families, and earth long-term—well, then it just isn't an option. an initial filter investment of about $150 would equal 3 months of my current poland spring delivery. and since the average replacement filter costs about $55 dollars and should be changed every 6 months, i'd need to buy 2 filters this year for a total of about $100. that means that less than 6 months of poland spring equals 12 months of filtered water in the first year. and next year, i only have to buy the filters—at a cost equal to 2 months of poland spring delivery. so now i can save money AND do the best thing for the environment. woohoo!
 
so which should you buy? i wish i tell you, but i haven't even decide which i'm going to buy yet. luckily, there are lots of brands out there. PUR, Brita, Kenmore, Whirlpool, Clear2O.... the list goes on and on. you might want to check out the green guide for tons of great info on the various contaminants in water, product reviews, and the environmental impact. i'm leaning toward this Crystal Quest stainless steel water filter from Pure Water Essentials. mostly because i live in a rental apartment so don't feel like taking the time to do any real plumbing work. plus, i like the way it looks.
 
bottoms up!
 
—m

this made me laugh. thought it was worth sharing for those of you who don't subscribe to daily candy:

http://www.batterblaster.com

the branding on this is hysterical--and done to a tee! as for the product, i'm happy to try an easy way to whip up organic pancakes as a treat. (although every time i feed isaac pancakes, i feel a little more bad that he's yet to taste maple syrup! we still use a drizzle of yogurt or apple sauce. seems to satisfy him just fine, so i'm sticking with it. it's just funny considering how much *i* love syrup!)

whenever i actually take time to make pancakes, i make a whole bunch extra so that i can freeze them (place parchment between flapjacks and stack in a freezer storage bag--they microwave beautifully after that). this might just make my big batch even easier to cook... or maybe i'll stop worry about making a huge batch at all with a great short cut like this! i'll report back after the family taste test!

-S

i thought i'd never have to say my son is a picky eater. after all,
food, in all its many splendored varieties, may just be my greatest
pleasure. planting it. growing it. picking it. reading about it.
cooking it. sharing it. and, especially, eating it. no surprise i fell
hard for my husband since he's a (now retired) professional cook. and
even if i'm not the best on-the-fly savory cook, i can follow (and
even tweak) a recipe with the best of them. plus i'm a rocking good
baker.
 
anyway, i was hell-bent on having a kid with a good palate. one who
could go to any restaurant and eat off the menu (and i don't mean the
kids' menu!). one who could travel unencumbered by any special foods
from home. one who proved, once and for all, that if we feed our kids
a varied diet we'll raise kids that will eat just about anything.
 
and that was true for the first 2 years of atticus' life. spicy
curries. dark and bitter leafy greans. fennel olive breads. i admit
it. i was proud. and then, one day, out of nowhere came the cry: i
want plain! plain pasta. plain yogurt. plain chicken. plain bread.
plain rice. i was ready to kill myself. or him. what had gone wrong?
 
i did some digging and found out it's not me. some say it's biology.
evolution, in fact. this article describes that kids get picky between 2-years-old and 4- to
5-years-old because taste buds "shut down" around the time toddlers
start walking to prevent them from putting just anything in their
mouth and eating it. i also learned from one of my favorite baby food resourcs that some say it's a development issue. an opportunity for kids to
flex their independence and experiment with cause and effect (ie, how
funny it is when he says "no, yucky" and i roll my eyes and sigh).
suddenly, i didn't feel so bad.
 
so until this phase passes, what is the parent of a picky toddler to
do? don't make a big deal of it. but don't give in to it either. i
don't support, and neither do many experts, the strategy of hiding
veggies in foods your kids like (ie, hiding pureed butternut squash in
macaroni and cheese)--because kids aren't learning to appreciate the
food in question. i do, however, like the idea of continuing to offer
the foods they reject along with the foods they enjoy. and not making
a scene if they don't eat it. it helps that we cook so much at home
since we're invariably making some staples (like rice or pasta or
chicken) that he will eat. so before we plate our meals and let every
food (gasp!) touch the other, we make a special plate (like this fancy schmancy BPA-free and phthalate-free one from Skip Hop) for atticus where the foods he doesn't like remain far from the foods he does. and
sometimes, if we act over-the-top excited about how yummy the yucky
food is (but not so over-the-top that atticus gets suspicious), he'll
ask for a bite. and sometimes, just sometimes, he forgets it's yucky
and eats it all up. yum!
 
--m

hello from muggy louisiana. we finally made it here after a seriously botched travel day. we were booked on a 7:15 am flight from new york to new orleans but after waking up at 5 am, we were still running late. we reached the gate at 7:14 am to find that the plane was gone. not closed. not locked. GONE. as in no where near the gate. in the sky. really gone.

to avoid paying $300 to guarantee seats on the next flight out--which left at 2:30 pm!--we had to hang around the airport until 10 am to get (free) seat assignments. and by that time, going home wouldn't make much sense. so, we were stuck. for 7 hours. with a nap-aversive 2-year-old.

while it was not an ideal way to spend the day, i must say that isaac (and baby daddy, for that matter), held up remarkably well. it wasn't nearly as bad as i had anticipated. being in the new jfk/jet blue terminal definitely helped. it's pretty nice. it's new (ie, fairly clean) and there is a play area. but what about the food? i was dreading our options, but also knew that food was the key to a successful camp out. i prepared to break under the pressure of making the day go smoothly. thankfully, i didn't have to.

not sure how helpful this list will be seeing that our options were superior to those available at most airport terminals, but here's what we fed isaac while stranded and in flight:

• i had packed a hard boiled egg, but noticed that there were some for sale. i thought this was a good protein-packed foundation for what would inevitably be a day of snacking.
• we were excited to find a jamba juice--and, while not always as nice as jamba, i think there are usually places where you can get a smoothie. we got a fruit-and-juice-only smoothie that had pomegranate juice, strawberries, bananas and mango. no frozen yogurt, no supplement powders, no added sugar. the small size was plenty for me and isaac to share (about 1/3 for him, 2/3 for me)
• a lot of nyc airport terminals have lunchboxes made by nyc-based kid fresh. we got one with a small packet of organic cheese crackers, turkey & cheddar on whole wheat bread, and organic raisins.
• we picked up some stacy's pita chips to give isaac on the plane when me and baby daddy would indulge in potato chips. they're pretty salty, but more wholesome than your average chip. and with the same impact. i looked for some hummus to go with the chips, but couldn't find any. i was sure to call the package all done once 2/3 through--it's just too much to give him the whole thing.
• there were a bunch of celery and carrot packets with dip--i could have gotten them and ditched the dip, but found cherry tomatoes instead. it felt like they'd be easier for him to eat without requiring us to watch over him. carrots make me nervous. and i've recently learned that non-organic celery is among the 12 foods on which pesticides are most commonly found (according to the environmental working group).
• i found a small package of peeled (brand) dried fruits and nuts. i like how these come with the dried fruit and nuts in separate packets. i was able to pull out some of the dried fruit (isaac had had plenty of fruit between the smoothie, and pineapple fruit leather, apple sauce, and grapes that i brought--i was nervous for his belly!).
• i had also brought a bag of my own crackers (thinking organic ones would be hard to come by at the airport and, besides the crackers in the kid fresh kit, i was right), cucumber spears (which hold up well), and veggie booty.

besides the one mini chocolate chip cookie that baby daddy gave up when he was caught eating them, isaac didn't get nearly as much trash food as i thought he might. i felt really proud that we were able to pull it off. though, of course, if we hadn't, one day would not have killed him. it's just nice to not have to go there since we shouldn't be forced to. i hope that jet blue's approach to on-the-go food is a sign of how younger companies to come will think about the options they make available.

-S

i'm not exaggerating when i say that kitchen shears are the most indispensable tool in my kitchen. and i've got a LOT of kitchen tools. every parent must have a pair. if you don't, put it on your holiday wish list.

because i feed isaac the same foods that i make for me and my husband, his meals don't come out of the pot in the appropriate bite size. and they haven't for a long time. (i've been exclusively making single family meals that can feed all three of us since isaac was around 12-months-old. if you want to do the same, just remember to season with your youngest eater in mind. once you set aside their portion, you can add more seasoning for the older folks.) once you've made an entire meal, the last thing you want to do is whip out a clean cutting board (which you have to do so that your raw ingredient shizz doesn't contaminate your meal) to chop up food for the baby. the genius of kitchen shears is that you can just spoon the food into a bowl and start snipping away until you get an age-appropriate bite size. done and done. works for everything from pasta, to stew, to chick pea masala, or even meat.

kitchen shears aren't expensive and i PROMISE you will get value out of them. even the super shmancy brands are relatively affordable. these by wusthof will only set you back $19.99. target is selling this pair (as in two!) by kitchen aid for $9.99!

-S

you may still be thinking about turkey (and that includes thinking that you never want to eat turkey again), but i've moved on to fish. [insert yet another joke about me being greek.]

i've posted several times (and have more posts up my sleeve) about fish resources that help suss out safe fish options that are also environmentally friendly. this SUPER COOL APP allows you to text 30644 to get up-to-date info on seafood. just send the message "FISH" followed by the name of the fish in question. you'll get a reply from the Blue Ocean Institute's assessment (which you can also access directly online here). they've also conveniently formatted fishphone.org for cell phones if you've got a mobile that goes online.

thanks, coolhunting, for the find!

-S

last night isaac and i tried something new: greenwheat freekeh. it's green (as in young) durum wheat.

maybe it's the funny name that caught my eye, or the fact that it looked so damn healthy:

i just mixed some freekeh (i bought mine at trader joe's, where it's sold fully cooked--i think it's usually sold dried) with butternut squash soup and warmed the whole thing up. we loved it! it's a little nutty and pleasantly chewy (in the way that israeli couscous is pleasantly chewy).

i think my next attempt at cooking with freekeh will be a breakfast porridge (instead of oatmeal or muesli). seems that's one common way to cook freekeh in the middle east where it's most commonly used. i'll probably use this recipe--post#5--as inspiration.

here is how trader joe's describes this yummy grain:
Freekeh (freak-ay) – yeah, it has a cool name, but what is it? It’s 100% "green" durum wheat (the variety used to make pasta) & it makes a unique alternative to rice, couscous or pasta. There's more! Grown in Australia, the durum is harvested before it has fully matured, then roasted with a selection of fresh, natural seasonings. Because it is harvested while young, Freekeh is higher in protein, vitamins and minerals than other grains. Plus it’s naturally sodium free and packed with fiber. And it's tasty. The Freekeh flavor is mellow, similar to couscous, and contributes to the creation of a sensational sides, salads or stuffings...

i'm sold! yummy, mid flavor; nutritional profile comparable, if not superior, to brown rice (our grain of choice); and flexible enough to use in breakfast, lunch or dinner.

if you're sold, too, learn more about freekeh!
history and overview
general description and nutritional info
nutritional profile and more (note: this is a commercial site from a producer of freekeh in Australia)

-S