Nora is quite the stunt woman.  She thinks that she can defy odds and walk on water.  She’ll be sitting on the couch and stand up and think that she can take a step and just be on the floor again.  It doesn’t seem to click in her small mind that the couch is 2 feet off of the ground.  She tries to climb everything and can’t seem to grasp that certain objects weren’t meant to be stood on.  This results in quite a number of boo boos.  She has mastered putting her hand on her head and announcing to us “boo boo”.

However, what really drives me crazy lately is her eating behavior.  Now maybe her taste buds aren’t fully developed yet or something but the manner in which she consumes food often grosses me out.  Case in point:  Last night for dinner we had tacos and Mexican rice.  She loves this meal.  I piled her tray with seasoned beef, shreaded cheese, rice, olives and pieces of taco shell.  She shoveled the food in her mouth so fast I doubt she could even taste it (which may have something to do with the following)!  She finised her food before anyone else was done.  At that point she was twisting and turning in her high chair and exclaiming “uck, uck” (stuck).  I kept telling her, “No, you’re not stuck.  You’re sitting in your chair while we finish eating.”  Realizing that she was just going to keep trying to get out of her chair, I decided to give her something to keep her quiet.  Enter popsicle!

I opened up a green apple flavored mini pop and handed it to her.  She devoured it in about 2 minutes.  Not quite enough time for Scott and I to finish our food.  I assumed that she’d go back to trying to get out of her seat and yelling “uck, uck” but instead she did something that sort of grosses me out.  She picked up some small pieces of beef and rice off of her try and ate them.  Then she asked for more.  So I gave it to her.  It sort of bothered me that she had just finished eating a cold, sweet, popsicle and was now putting pieces of beef and rice in her mouth.  That is something that I’m pretty sure a grown person would never do.  This is also not the first time she’s done this.  She’ll finish her food and have “dessert” and go right back to eating whatever the meal was.  Maybe I’m the strange one, but I can’t stomach eating spaghetti and meatballs then having some ice cream and going back to eating the meatballs.  GROSS!

This past weekend we were on a road trip and stopped at Burger King for a quick, unhealthy lunch.  Of course the entire restaurant (if you can even call it that) was plastered with Twilight and Eclipse posters and paraphernalia.  I understand that big chain places like BK are going to market hot movies and do promotions based on them.  It’s always been that way.  It’s a money maker for both parties.  I have no problem with that.  What I do have a problem with is that Burger King continued the Eclipse marketing in the form of their kid’s meals.  WTF!

To me, kid’s meals are just that, meals for kids.  And when I say kids I’m implying someone under the age of 12, most likely even younger.  Most teenagers I know can and do consume much larger quantities of food than are given in a kid’s meal at Burger King.  So, if kid’s meals are geared toward kids under 12 then why would BK put an Eclipse “prize” in the kid’s meal?  The movie is rated PG-13 due to some violence and scenes of sexuality (according to IMDB.com) so it seems very counter intuitive to me for BK to do this.  I know all they’re doing is seeing dollar signs but still.  It’s not like there aren’t any other big blockbuster movies that they could use in their marketing.  How about Toy Story 3?  Of course, I’m not a marketing expert or anything and I’m sure one has to offer the other the deal.  I’m sure they don’t just get to choose what they want to use for prizes, but I simply can’t understand this.

After bringing this topic up with some of my family and friends I have heard that some Burger Kings offer an alternate “toddler prize” for the kid’s meals upon request.  However, I was unaware and the cashier who took my order at BK clearly saw that I had a 3 and 1 year old in tow.  Obviously they had no idea what Eclipse was.  I was never offered a toddler prize and I didn’t see any signs anywhere that they were even available.

In reality I know that BK and [whoever produced this movie] do not care about whether or not my child actually likes the prize.  I know they just care about the money, but really Burger King?  Really? (a la Seth Meyers on SNL)

Image borrowed from www.bellasdiary.com

The “prize” we received was the mini tote bag.  Seriously?  It’s a little piece of fabric with a handle on it.  It’s not even big enough to hold a pack of gum.  Oh and I love how the poster says keepsakes for girls and guys.  It’s clearly not targeted toward kids, otherwise it would have said girls and boys.  Ok, rant over.

]]> http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/2010/07/really-burger-king-really/feed/ 8 http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/2010/06/better-than-sex-cake/ http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/2010/06/better-than-sex-cake/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:55:06 +0000 Kristin http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/?p=262 More >]]> I realize I’ve been quite the bad blogger lately.  We’ve really been enjoying summer with BBQs and visits from friends.  The girls have been staying up later and we’ve be outside a LOT!  It’s fabulous, really.  Anyway, I have lots of posts brewing in my mind and they’ll find their way to my computer soon enough.  But for today, I bring you my Momma’s Munchies recipe.

This week’s topic is favorite 4th of July recipes.  Like Lindsey, I’m a huge dessert fan.  Cookies, brownies, trifles, YUM!  And even though this is not a red, white, and blue concoction, it’s delicious nonetheless and one of my favorites.  The name of it should tell you just how good it is!

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 jar caramel topping

1 carton whipping cream

1 bag crushed Heath bar pieces

sugar

vanilla extract

Directions:

Prepare the chocolate cake according to the box directions using a 9×13 metal pan.  Allow the cake to cool but do not take it out of the pan.  Take a wooden spoon and using the handle poke holes throughout the cake.  Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cake.  Pour the caramel over the cake.  Whip the whipping cream adding a few teaspoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla.  Lay the whipped cream over the top of the cake and cover with the crushed Heath bar pieces.

As the name suggests, this cake is UNreal.  Expect lots of oohs, ummms, and nomnoms when eating it.

If you try it, I’d love to know what you think.  Enjoy!

Anywho, this week’s theme is dips, one of my favorites!  I may have to post two today if I get around to it.  But this one is for Buffalo Chicken Dip.  This stuff is TO.DIE.FOR!  I could eat it with a spoon.  Again, not a healthy choice, but a very delicious one.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts

1 block of cream cheese

1 Cup Ranch dressing

3/4 Cup to 1 Cup hot sauce (depending on how spicy you like it)

Monteray Jack cheese

Directions:

Boil the chicken and then cut it into bite size pieces. Mix that with the Ranch dressing, melted cream cheese, and hot sauce.  Then spread shredded Monteray Jack cheese on top. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  This works great with Tostitos Scoops Chips!

Anyway, it’s been quite a while now where going number two has been a non-issue.  However, the fruit snacks always seem to creep into the shopping cart each week.  The funny thing is, Brinley rarely asks for them at home and I’ve only ever rewarded her with them when she explicitly asks for them.  So it is always a surprise to me when the box turns up empty in the pantry closet.  What on earth could be happening to all of the fruit snacks?  I don’t eat them and Nora is too young for them.  Enter the guilty party, Scott!

I think suggesting we use fruit snacks as a reward for Brinley was all a part of his master plan to get them into the house.  Of course it’s silly for a grown man to request I buy fruit snacks at the grocery store each week but chewy, gummy, fruity snacks are one of Scott’s greatest weaknesses.  Gummy worms, gummy bears, those jelly fruit slices – he loves them all!  It took me a little while to catch on to the disappearing fruit snacks but when I woke up one morning and noticed an empty wrapper on the coffee table, I knew he had to be the culprit.  I usually sneak off to bed a little bit before he does at night and around that time, Scott is usually looking for a sweet snack.  I laugh when I think about a thirty year old man sitting on the couch at night scarfing down a pack of Dora or My Little Pony fruit snacks.  What’s even more hilarious is that sometimes he brings them to work with his lunch.  I wonder what his coworkers must think!?

This is a quick and easy recipe. Very yummy, but not very healthy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/2 bag of frozen chopped spinach
• 1 can artichoke hearts, unmarinated
• 8oz grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded Monteray Jack cheese

Directions:

Drain artichoke hearts completely.  You will need to squeeze the excess juice out of the artichokes by putting them in a paper towel and squeezing them.  Chop them up.  In a medium sized bowl combine the mayo, all of the parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the monteray jack cheese, the spinach and the chopped artichoke hearts.  Mix well.  Put mixture into a casserole dish and top with remaining monteray jack cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

I usually serve it with Wheat Thins or Tostitos Scoops.

Enjoy!

Case in point – Three years ago when it became time to introduce Brinley to solid foods, her pediatrician strongly suggested that I start with rice cereal, then move on to oatmeal, and then barley.  From there he suggested starting fruits and veggies, one at a time, leaving a few days in between to make note of any reactions.  I followed protocol to a tee.  I was also instructed that under no circumstance was I to give her nuts of any sort, eggs, citrus, honey or shell fish before she turned two years old.  Again, I followed what I was told.

Fast forward to about seven months ago…  I’m at Nora’s four month well visit with the same pediatrician and the topic of starting solids comes up.  He asks me when I’m planning to start and I tell him probably in a month or so.  He asks what I plan to start her with and I say rice cereal.  He let’s me know that I may start with any of the grains and go from there.  Alright, a little different than with Brinley but nothing too different.  Same rules applied for the fruits and veggies, one at a time with a few days in between. Then he lays it on me, “Once she get’s the hang of eating, go ahead and offer her anything that you happen to be eating.”  I, thinking I’m all smart, say, “Right, but make sure not to give her nuts, shell fish, citrus, honey or eggs until she’s two.”  He says, “No, no.  You can go ahead and give her all of that stuff, except for the honey, right away.  There’s no need to wait.  The earlier you expose her to those things the less likely she will be to develop an allergy.”

Wait!  Hold the phone! You mean I should be giving her peanut butter and scrambled eggs and shrimp?  Before she’s two?  Well, apparently, yes I should.  According to the AAP, “Current evidence is insufficient to document a significant protective effect of maternal dietary restrictions during pregnancy or lactation. Nor is there sufficient evidence that any dietary intervention after 4-6 months of age prevents allergic disease. This includes delaying the introduction of complementary foods.”

So, Nora has dined on everything thus far from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, to tuna fish, to strawberries.   It’s a good thing that this new research came about because Nora is a human garbage disposal.  She will and does eat anything.  So if I’m eating it, you better believe that some of it is in her mouth as well.  Since PB&J is pretty much a staple in my life (I ate it for lunch every single day of my grammar school career) it’s a good thing that I don’t have to try to keep it away from her.  One of the only foods that she doesn’t like so far is pasta.  Must be too bland for her.  Among her favorites are taco beef, black olives, Mexican rice, and baked beans.  Could she be any more different from her big sister who eats maybe four things total?

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“I’m Sorry, Gluten Free??” : My journey through Celiac Disease

“Gluten Free” – 3 years ago when I was told by my doctor that this was the only treatment for what I was just diagnosed with, I was both relieved and freaking out. I was a young mother who just had her second child 4 months ago and was just learning how to handle 2 kids 14 months apart and now I was thrown this curve ball.

My heath had been an issue for some time and while I was relieved to finally have an answer for what was going on with me, I was not prepared to have to completely change my eating habits. Celiac disease … celiac disease was the reason for my weight loss, brittle bones, fatigue, digestive issues, walking around with a 6 month-looking pregnant belly (when I wasn’t). Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder which the absorptive surface of the small intestine is damaged by a substance called gluten – hence the “Gluten Free Diet”. There is no “cure” but the treatment is to strictly follow the diet.

OK… so gluten free, what does that mean? Gluten is in what seems like EVERYTHING. Pasta, breads, cookies, crackers, pizza, beer, … even the glue on the back of envelopes. I had to learn a whole new way to shop, cook, plan and come to terms that I might not be able to eat certain foods ever again.

Fast forward 3 years to today, and I can tell you that it really isn’t as scary as it may seem. The whole house is gluten free, if my husband wants a treat he must have it outside the house. My older daughter (she is 3 now) has also been put on the gluten free diet so it was safer and easier for us to have a totally gluten free kitchen. I have a strict NO GLUTEN rule (one breadcrumb will send me into a downward spiral) and as bizarre as it sounds my husband would tell you he doesn’t feel like he lives in food h*ll, we actually eat pretty good!

The initial learning period can be hard to navigate, but once you align yourself with some really great resources you will quickly realize that you are not condemned to a lifetime of bad food. The gluten free market has grown so much in the last few years and products like gluten free beer, ‘oreo-esque’ cookies, gluten free pretzels, pizza, bread and more – are all available and taste great. My favorite gluten free recipes that I cook on a regular are gluten free lasagna, orange beef with fried rice and peanut butter bars.

Things are not always easy being gluten free. I run a busy household with 3 kids 3.5 years apart and one of the biggest road blocks of being gluten free is we can not easily go out for dinner or do take out. I am also facing another gluten free dilemma when my 4 year old starts school this fall. Although he does not exhibit signs of having celiac disease I am going to have to be aware of what he touches and eats while at school (play doh is not even gluten free).

I am actually one of the lucky ones. Typically it takes the average person 10 years of symptoms and doctors visits before they are correctly diagnosed with Celiac disease. I am feeling so much healthier and I am thankful that my daughter was caught early. Gluten free isn’t a life sentence to bad food but a wonderful way to discover what it’s like to feel healthy and to use that creative cooking side.

Have you ever heard of Celiac Disease? What is the one food you don’t think you could give up?

Am I worried about it?  Yes and no.  I worry that she’s not getting all of the nutrition that she needs because her diet lacks fruits and vegetables.  But when I take her to the doctor for her well visits and her pediatrician asks me how she eats and I tell him.  He is not the least bit concerned.  She is growing and gaining weight just fine.  I’ve asked the doctor before why she suddenly stopped eating the way she used to.  His answer to me, “She’s three.”  I’m convinced that it’s a control thing.  I know she likes the taste of things fruity because she loves applesauce, fruit bars, fruit smoothies, fruit snacks, etc.  She just doesn’t want to give me the satisfaction of her eating the actual fruit.

I’ve read and heard all of the suggestions for trying to get your kid to eat/try new foods and don’t think I haven’t tried them all.  I’ve tried just putting things on her plate in hopes that she might try them but that usually results in her not eating ANYTHING on her plate.  I’ve tried “hiding” things in her food.  But if something that she is eating looks even remotely different than it did the last time she ate it, she’ll refuse it.  I’ve tried bribing her to try new things and doing the “just one bite” song and dance.  All to no avail.   So please don’t think I’m a slacker mom who just gives her kid whatever she wants because I’m too lazy to try to get her to eat new things.  Food battles are just ones I’m not willing to fight.

Another reason that I don’t worry about it is because I know that I was the same way as a kid.  I can remember being an extremely picky kid.  Every single day for 12 years I brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to school for lunch.  Every.single.day!  I wouldn’t try new things and I would only eat foods that I knew I liked.  There were a lot of things that I didn’t even try until I was an adult, like shrimp and tomatoes.  Now I love both of them.  So I still hold hope that someday she will broaden her tastes and try new things.  For now, I’ll just let her be a carb-o-holic!

Here is proof that Brinley used to eat vegetables:

Scott and I often show her these pictures to let her see that she used to eat green beans and broccoli.  She still doesn’t buy it!

Ingredients:

• 3 lb pork shoulder roast, well trimmed
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• McCormick Slow Cooker Pulled Pork packet

Basically put the pork roast in the crock pot, mix everything else together in a bowl and then pour it over the roast.  Turn the crock pot on and cook for 4 hrs on high or 8 hrs on low.  Near the end of the cook time, remove the pork and shred it with two forks.  Return it to the crock pot and mix it together with the juices.  Let it all heat up for about 20 minutes.

I think the key to this one is getting a nice fresh bulky roll.  It was so sloppy and delicious.  The only issue I had was trying to trim the roast before cooking it.  It’s really hard to cut fat off of raw pork.  So I did my best and then I just cooked it.  What was good was that when I pulled the pork out to shred it, most of the fat just fell off anyway and I threw it away.

I wish I had had some sweet potato fries or corn bread to serve with it, but I did not so we just had it with corn.  Yum!