LilSugar

Do You Have a Kids' Table at Holiday Dinners?

LilSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:00:20 -0800

My mom has a big family, which resulted in packed holiday gatherings. I don't recall a kids' table, but I do remember the "fun table." It wasn't a designated spot - my sister and I always slipped into seats far away from our parents and next to my young aunts and uncles. For conversational reasons or the sake of space, many families have a table just for children at their festivities. Do you?

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Delilicious: Dream Dinners

LilSugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Today's families are busier than those of a generation ago, and it is hard for moms to find time to make and serve a home cooked meal for the family.

Dream Dinners is a welcomed short-cut. Started by two women in a Seattle suburb and franchised across the country, you can get out of the house and whip up a few weeks of delicious meals within two hours.

Simply go online to find a store near you, choose a date and time that fits best with your schedule and choose the meals you want to prepare. The menu options are tasty and plentiful, including items like herb crusted steak, citrus ginger salmon and good 'ole macaroni and cheese. To find out more about the meals, read more.

You prepare and assemble your chosen meals at the Dream Dinners location and then take them home to store in your freezer and serve in the weeks to come.

The meals are priced per menu item and the cost varies per location, but it averages at about $3.33 per serving. Not dirt cheap, but at least you won't be relying on drive-thrus and delivery.

YoBaby Meals Are a Modern Option to TV Dinners

LilSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0700

What mother hasn't stocked Yobaby Yogurt as a refrigerator staple? While the dairy treat has been the snack of choice for many children, Stonyfield Farms is now giving moms a hand by prepping full, organic YoBaby Meals ($1.30) to feed growling lil bellies. The three-in-one entrees combine yogurt with fruit and veggie purees in one package. The six ounce cups available in pear and green bean, peach and squash and apple and sweet potato varieties will provide more than 35 percent of a toddler's daily protein and calcium needs. We are loving this modern and healthful take on the old TV dinner and entree in a cup concepts.

Toy Box: Family Time Fun Dinner Games

LilSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Get your kids excited about family dinners with a fun game that will keep them sitting in their seats! Family Time Fun's Beginner Dinner Games ($15) is a little tin box filled with 51 games to play while seated at the dinner table. The games don't require a board or pieces, just a mouth that works and food on the plate.

While some games encourage tots from three to six to eat different colors, others require them to make up a song about an item on the table and have each family member hide something on their lap while the kids try to guess what is missing. Great for keeping wee ones in their seats, Beginning Dinner Games is a great way to keep the TV off and the conversation flowing.

Lil Tip: Breakfast For Dinner

LilSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:00:00 -0700

I'll take that dinner sunny-side up! Growing up, my friend's mom would surprise the family once a month with breakfast for dinner. She never told them when it would be, but one evening she would pull out the griddle and start fixing up pancakes, bacon, and eggs once the sun went down.

Being a mama myself now, I see why her mom dished up the morning favorites once in a while. The entire concept is fun, easy, and puts a smile on everyone's face at the end of the day. Sometimes we get in a routine that leaves us making the same foods on a weekly basis, and this changes it up every once in a while. So the next time you find yourself in a dinner rut, consider flipping your day on its head and a few hotcakes or omelets onto their dishes. If you want to take the concept one step further, have your child jot down everyone's orders and turn yourself into a short-order cook!

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Mural Meal: Prehistoric Dino Dinner

babysugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:00:00 -0700

The only food I sometimes have trouble getting my daughter to eat is meat. But, she'll always go for chicken nuggets. Barring fast food from her diet, I discovered a seemingly good option in the frozen section aisle of my grocery store. The Yummy Dino Buddies are all white meat nuggets with Omega 3 value. Better yet, I knew I could create another masterpiece with the prehistoric figures.

To see what I used for this mural meal, read more.

Ingredients:

Four dinosaur nuggets
Black beans
Zucchini
Honey
Marshmallows
Optional: Whoppers and ketchup

Cooking the food:

Drain the can of black beans and rinse.
Slice zucchinis in long strips and cut in half. Saute with a pat of butter and garlic salt.
Bake dinosaur nuggets for 12 minutes at 425.

Placing the goodies on the plate:

First lay out the beans on the plate.
Next, create some sort of vegetation with the zucchini; a tree, bushes or what have you.
Place the dinosaurs a top the beans.
Use the honey to make a sun in the corner. Kids love dipping nuggets in honey. If you prefer, substitute ketchup.
For the treat, use marshmallows to make clouds in the sky.

I have a few candied eggs left over from Easter so I placed on the plate as an added bonus. It gave me the opportunity to teach her a lesson about dinosaur eggs over dinner.

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When Vegetarians Raise Vegetarians

babysugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:30:08 -0800

For some, dinner is just a meal. For others, it is a way of life and a testament to their beliefs. Carnivores may not give much thought to the burger on their plate, but vegetarians might. They often take comfort in the fact that no animals were harmed in the making of their cuisine - a mindset many would like to pass onto their offspring. Some vegetarian moms limit their children to a strict greens and fruits diet, and others allow their children to choose meals for themselves - meat included. While the choice may seem insignificant to some, others believe a parent's push to be strictly vegetarian may have negative consequences.

Instead of forcing a child into vegetarian restrictions, Jennifer Nelson, director of clinical dietetics at the Mayo Clinic, thinks children who can select their own food may experience less peer pressure than their limitless foodies in the lunch room. Furthermore, she argues it may even cause a child to feel stressed out if she is not limited to parent-approved choices when out on her lonesome. To avoid setting children up for failure, Nelson recommends this tidbit of advice:

You should offer age-appropriate explanations for why they don't eat meat . . . Then give children reassurance and strategies for making food choices when they're not with you.

So tell us, would you raise your child to have the same eating habits as you or would you allow them to test things out for themselves?

Mural Meal: A Preppy Pink Heart

babysugar — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:15:00 -0700

If you want wee ones to take another little piece of your heart, serve it up on a pretty platter. We all know fish is good for the heart and full of protein so introducing it to tots at a young age will teach them to eat healthy. A cinch to cook, salmon is a tasty meal that leaves very little clean up behind. Surround it with peas and rice and baby's got a whole new perspective on "seafood."

First cook up some tasty rice and peas. While those are heating up, turn on the oven to 350. Place a piece of foil in a Pyrex dish and the salmon fillet on top of it. Using a teriyaki sauce, glaze the fish and put the pan in the oven for 10-15 minutes. It should "bleed" white when it is cooked through. Once the rice is done, scatter it in a circle on a plate. Then using a heart shaped cookie cutter, break apart the salmon and spread it in the heart. Finally, spoon out peas to encircle the rice for a preppy pink and green mural meal made with love.

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Start Giving Thanks Early This Year

babysugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:00:55 -0800

The turkey is cooked, the gravy is steaming and the cranberries are waiting to pop. Just before families dig into their fruitful feast, they sit down to give thanks for the past year's blessings. Instead of waiting until the end of the month, start a new family tradition and have everyone start writing down things they are thankful for at the dinner table every night leading up to the festivities. Hand out a pen and piece of paper to each person. After they write (or in wee cases - dictate) have them toss the papers into one bucket to be read at the holiday family gathering. It is sure to provide a warm and fuzzy moment for everyone when weeks full of thanksgivings are read aloud at the table. Take it a step further and save the scraps in a book that can be cherished every year.

What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions? Join our The Mommy Club over in our LilSugar Community and share your tips! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Do You Hold Family Meetings?

LilSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:00:23 -0800

The family that eats together, stays together, right? While dinners often serve as a family meeting of sorts, some busy broods pencil in a separate meeting time in hopes of improving family communication, conflict resolution, and discussing other issues that may come up. The digital age of emailing, cell phones, and social networking has made it possible for many families to interact without coming face-to-face with one another. Though it may seem old-fashioned, some crews choose to assemble the troops on a regular basis.

Do tell, does your family hold meetings?