ML Interest Tag: nourish

Why Soup Is a Must-Have on Your Table

By Alexandra Gabalda

If you are looking for nutritious and stress-free recipe ideas, soups are a must-have at the family table. The idea of homemade soup can be intimidating at first. And yet, they actually allow you to get a nutritious and tasty meal on the table in no time while not requiring any specific culinary know-how nor a recipe. Discover all the benefits of making soup, as well as easy recipe ideas for the lunchbox!

Soups are inexpensive and so easy to make.

Whether you use a slow cooker or a pressure cooker, you can prepare a savory soup in five minutes, and let the cooker do the rest of the work. If you like to meal prep, you will love to make soups as they can be prepared in batch and allow freezing for days when you are too tired or have no time.

What we like best about soups is that you can create your own soup every day with any veggie you have at hand. Options are unlimited, which makes it easier to limit food waste while exposing your family to a wide area of foods, taste, and texture too. Poor in fresh vegetables? Frozen vegetables work perfectly too.

Soups are by far the easiest way we found to teach the kids the love of vegetables, one soup at a time. Vary the textures and play at the dinner table with the seasoning. Kids love to season a soup to their taste by adding cheese, breadcrumbs, butter, or cream.

Soups are the ultimate winter comfort food.

There’s nothing like a nourishing bowl of soup to keep the kids warm, full, and hydrated during the winter season. That’s why it’s always a great idea to make a soup to ease the first symptoms of a cold. Tip: load it up with fresh garlic, onions, celery, or carrots for a powerful immune boost.

Easy soup ideas for the kids’ lunchbox

1. Hot or cold, tomato soups are perfect with grilled cheese for the lunchbox.

2. Peas and spinach make a simple and healthy green soup.

3. Mix zucchinis with your kids’ favorite cheese and enjoy. Our kids learned to love zucchinis by mixing the laughing caw or brie.

4. The sweet taste of carrots will welcome any other vegetable or spice. Start easy with our carrot pumpkin puree.

5. Add one potato, one onion, and some garlic cloves to any combo of vegetables, and you are all set!

Pro Tip: Grill brioche rolls and you’ll get savory croutons that kids love.

Want to get more ideas of soups that kids love? Find out what soups kids are having for lunch on Teuko.com, and share your own creations by uploading a photo or commenting below.

This post originally appeared on Teuko Blog.

Teuko is the first platform that empowers families to simplify lunch packing. Using Teuko, they can find and share kid-approved lunchbox ideas, recipes, and tips, all in one place. Teuko is transforming the lunch packing experience by boosting inspiration and motivation week after week. 

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A Retirement Party for My Least Favorite Work Partner

By Keren de Zwart

I’m planning your retirement party next week, even though you’ve mostly just been a pain in the butt for that last year. You regularly made me late to meetings or required me to duck out early. You interrupted my work flow at your convenience, and you made me stress out like crazy if I didn’t get to you on time. Thanks to you, I ate lunch at my desk almost every day because you took up what little free time I had. You are loud and annoying, and frankly, you’re a little embarrassing.

You gross some people out. You require so much attention, and in some cases, that time and effort provides so little return. Sometimes you make me feel like you’re just extra baggage to carry around. So many people questioned why I associated with you for so long, knowing how much I disliked you. Some people thought I shouldn’t have formed a relationship with you at all in the first place. Most people are shocked that despite our rocky relationship three years ago, I still opted to work with you again this last year.

I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to give up on you. There were so many moments I felt that putting effort into our relationship just wasn’t worth the mental and emotional costs. Often, I even worried that associating with you was affecting my career growth. But I guess when I think about it, you’ve done some good, too. Despite the tax on me mentally, there’s no arguing that you’ve helped me lose some weight.

You’ve saved me thousands of dollars, too. You’ve also shown me that I have grit and commitment like I never thought possible. It’s almost hard to believe you’re retiring. I’m fairly confident that after your retirement, I will never see you again. I can’t really say I’ll miss you, but I can say thank you. Thank you for nourishing my babies even when I was working 40, 50, or even 60 hours a week.

Thank you for showing my family that my stubbornness could be put to good use. Thank you for being the reliable, rhythmic workhorse that allowed me to breastfeed as a full-time professional. So here’s to you, breast pump! Cheers to your retirement. I can say with certainty that I will absolutely have a drink (or three) in your honor!

Keren is a business owner x2 (flat-fee lawyer and digital marketing operations) in active pursuit of the elusive work-life balance. With a couple of demanding jobs, a husband who travels for work and two little kids, she maintains her sanity by reading and engaging in inappropriate banter with friends, family and strangers. 

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When Your Son Prefers His Dad over You

By Crystal Peterson

When I was expecting my first child, I had imagined this perfect tiny human that was going to be coming into the world and he was going to be all mine! I mean, I knew I sort of had to share him with my husband but in my mind, he was mostly mine. I was so excited and yet so unprepared for motherhood. When he finally arrived, I was smitten! He was perfect, he was more than I could have imagined! If love can happen at first sight, it definitely did!

I had imagined the endless snuggles, little boy hugs and kisses and all the things that we would do and bond over, after all, I was his mama. And of course, I got all those things! We laughed and played, snuggled, giggled over silly things and bonded like a mama and her boy only can. It was blissful. But, when he started to develop his own sense of personality and desires, I began to slowly fade out of the picture. Suddenly Daddy became his whole world, and still is.

My first realization that things were changing was when my son started having meltdowns whenever my husband left for work. Things would be calm and peaceful until Daddy left. Suddenly this little boy was sitting by the door crying out for Daddy in pitiful sobs, giant tears pouring down his little cheeks. My heart broke. I couldn’t do anything to make him feel better. No amount of snuggles, hugs or distraction would work. I would try to comfort him but I wasn’t enough.

My heart felt like it was being torn in half. How could this beautiful little boy that I brought into the world (painfully I might add!) suddenly decide that I was not his favorite anymore?! I mean, I was supposed to be HIS whole world, right?! Nine long months of pregnancy, a year nourishing his little body, my undivided attention, while I stayed at home and raised him…what, had I done wrong?

He started to run to Daddy when he banged his knee or fell down. He would call for Daddy in the night when he had a bad dream and needed extra comfort. He wanted Daddy to give him night time kisses and hugs before bed. I was barely on the radar it seemed. The more I felt rejected, the more I wanted to prove myself worthy of his affection. If only it worked that way…

Now that he is three his preference for daddy comes out in other ways. He still gets upset when Daddy leaves in the morning but there are no tears. Rather, he serenades my husband in heartfelt good-byes and endless hugs and snuggles. Then we go about our day as normal and things are pretty good, or at least civil. When Daddy comes home it’s like he’s been away for a year! He runs to the door where Daddy is waiting with his arms open for those little boy hugs and snuggles that my heart yearns for. When I come home after being away for a few hours I barely get a hello!

While reflecting on the last two years, I had a humbling thought; it’s not about me. My purpose as a mother is not to have my emotional needs and wants met. My job is to raise my children to the best of my ability and make sure that they know they are loved and that they are secure in that love unconditionally. Does it still hurt? Yes! Do I still feel those moments of heartbreak? Of course. Rejection is never easy, especially when it comes from your child.

My son, who is and always will be one of my greatest treasures on earth, needs me to be a source of love and comfort for him. I know he still loves and needs my consistent care and that he still wants me to be his mama. He bonds with his daddy because they have similar interests, similar personalities, likes, dislikes and desires and I am happy about that. My husband is a cattle farmer and my son LOVES going out to the farm and spending time with the guys (Grandpa and his uncles). They do things that Mommy doesn’t—ride tractors, check the cows, get a little dirty! This is what my son loves and doing these things with his dad is developing his character in ways that I probably can’t.

I won’t lie, there are moments that I am a little glad he prefers his dad! Times when he says that only Daddy can wipe his bum or when only Daddy can snuggle him at 4 a.m! Hey, I can live with him needing Daddy to do those things! The real challenge is being okay with him needing Daddy to fulfill his needs and emotional desires that I so much want to fulfill. As a mama to my two little ones, I want to be the favorite parent, the one needed most, if I’m being honest.

Are you experiencing these same feelings? Does your child prefer one parent over the other? It’s natural for our kids to have favorites, but it is never easy feeling like you are the runner up in a marathon for two! I won’t sugarcoat the reality by suggesting this is all just a phase —maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Your little one is figuring out how to express themselves in the only way they know how and you are the one person they can safely express those feelings to. Continue to be that constant source of love, comfort and stability and they will love you for it!

This post originally appeared on While They Nap.

I am a stay at home mama to two beatiful children! I love writing about every day parenting, reading the latest financial guru book and eating anything chocolate! I live in the far northern corners of British Columbia with my husband, team of huskies and a lot of cows!

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How to Establish a Successful Morning Routine for Kids

By Amanda Tallent

Morning routines are everything when it comes to getting out the door without letting the morning madness get to you. And, let’s face it. From your alarm clock waking you up at the crack of dawn to making sure your kiddos are fed and out the door on time, things can get stressful. 

However, with a little planning, and a solid morning routine, you can transform how your family handles the morning rush. Read on because we’re sharing 7 tips on how to establish a morning routine for kids that may set the tone for a more positive and productive day. 

1. It All Starts with Sleep 

While we may be talking about morning routines, a seamless morning routine really all starts with how your kid’s slept the night before (and you too!) Hitting the hay earlier and setting your little ones up for a solid night’s sleep is the number one step to hit the ground running with a much smoother morning routine. 

Think about it this way. When your child is overtired, nothing seems to run smoothly, right? So, make sleep a priority. 

As a general rule of thumb, The Sleep Foundation says that toddlers (ages 1-2) need 11-14 hours of sleep. Preschoolers (ages 3-5) need 10-13 hours of sleep, school-aged children (ages 6-13) require 9-11 hours, and teenagers (ages 14-17) should be getting 8-10 hours each night. 

Here are a few tips to help establish a better evening routine to set your whole family up for a smoother morning. 

  • Have a predictable evening routine. 

  • Try using noise machines to block out outside noise. 

  • Consider using blackout curtains to set the tone for sleep. 

  • Get the kids into bed early enough to make sure they are getting the amount of sleep their growing bodies need. 

2. Plan Ahead 

Planning is key to avoiding chaos, so consider planning ahead a bit before your busy morning starts. If you can carve our just ten minutes to plan ahead the night before, you will feel so much less stressed when the morning rolls around. Have lunches to pack? Try getting everything out and ready to go the night before. Need to pick out clothes for the kiddos? Try setting those out the night before. 

Crossing just a few things off of your to-do the night before will ultimately save you tons of time during the morning rush. 

3. Claim Your Own Power Half Hour 

If you can manage it, try waking up just a little earlier than the rest of the house, and get some “me time” in! Make the first half-hour of your day your power half-hour to focus on you. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy it while it’s actually still hot. Listen to your favorite podcast, or roll out your yoga mat and get a quick yoga flow in. Doing something for yourself before you dive into your morning routine will help you feel more centered. Hint: A more centered parent equals a smoother morning! 

4. Ease into That Wakeup Call 

Think about how you feel when your blaring alarm clock goes off at the crack of dawn. For many of us, we dread that wakeup call. So, ease into your little one’s wakeup call. If they have a hard time rolling out of bed in the morning, ease into it. Try playing some gentle music, lay in bed with them for a few minutes talking about the plans for the day, or simply offer a hug and some positive words to help your kid’s wake up on the right side of the bed. 

 

5. Get Your Children Involved in the Routine

If your children are old enough, consider getting them involved in the morning routine. This will help foster some independence, but also make them more excited about waking up and diving right into the morning routine.

Consider making a routine chart of what everyone is responsible for each morning, and everyone gets to check their tasks off when they are complete. This example from The Zebra includes a printable morning and routine chart for your family to help them get out of the house on time. 

6. Get Nourished 

Setting the tone for a productive day also starts with nourishing the body. Kiddos (and adults) need something wholesome that’s rich in protein and healthy fat to stabilize blood sugar and help kids stay full until lunchtime. So, consider offering things like eggs with a side of fruit and a piece of toast with mashed avocado or almond butter. Or, on the days you’re in a rush, blend up a kid-approved smoothie.

7. Be Flexible 

As parents, it may seem like we’re always having to bend and flex. Our kid’s needs are ever-changing, and being able to be flexible in your morning routine is just another way to challenge that inner parent patience we all have to muster up. Being flexible when things don’t go exactly as planned will help you bounce right back, instead of letting the morning rush get the best of the entire house. Just remember that not all is lost if your morning routine is slightly thrown off track. Just roll with it! 

A Sample Morning Routine for Kids 

Want to see what a sample morning routine put into real-time looks like? Here’s an example of a morning routine that can be tweaked to work for you. 

The Night Before

8:00 PM: Light’s out for kiddos

8:30 PM: Lay clothes out, get lunch ready

Morning 

5:30 AM: Parent power half hour 

6:00 AM: Kiddos gentle wake-up call 

6:30 AM: Morning schedule

7:00 AM: Enjoy a nourishing breakfast 

7:30 AM: Out the door for a positive and productive day! 

With a solid morning routine, you will quickly see just how powerful they can be for getting out the door and seizing the day. 

I declared my dream of being a mom at the age of five years old on my kindergarten graduation day when answering the age-old question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Many years later, it still seems like the best job in the world. 

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5 Ridiculously Simple Dinner Ideas for When Your Brain Is Just Fried

By The Anti-Cookbook Easy, Thrifty Recipes for Food-Smart Living

You know that point in the day when you already produced at least one nourishing, palate and-mind expanding meal? And you had to clean up. And then someone got irrational because you said “no more screen time” even though you say it all the time. Every. Single. Day. To add injury to insult, you can’t pinpoint exactly when you wrenched it, but your neck is definitely hurting.

So, here you are, it’s 5:30 p.m. and you’re facing the existential crisis otherwise known as “dinner.”

Anybody can look up a recipe on their phone, but that might look Instagram perfect and make you feel worse. And it goes without saying that you should refrain from watching cooking shows on TV right now. They’re aspirational and perfect for the right time of day, which this is most assuredly not.

Well, moms, dads and caregivers—we’ve been there and we’re here to help. You want easy? We have it. Ingredients likely to be in your cabinet? Check. We don’t call these recipes—we call them lifelines.

Here’s our list of five ideas to get you on to bath time, bedtime and beyond.

Ant’s Picnic

They fall for it every time. With just a little help from you so they don’t spill sticky mango juice all over the just-cleaned floor, they can assemble a group of yummy finger foods. If you have one of those “the carrot is touching the cheese” kids, just break out the segmented plate. (You’re welcome!)

Dinner can be as easy a few grapes, several nuts, string cheese, a turkey roll (deli turkey rolled up), a piece of whole-wheat toast and a carrot stick. Nobody’s picky when they made it themselves. Wink, wink.

Be Italian

White beans, olive oil and lemon juice. If you have sage, go ahead and get jiggy with it after you chop into microscopic pieces—the smaller the green stuff the fewer the complaints. If not, salt and pepper are fine.

Now, you’ve got a crostini topper (just make some toast), a bed for some canned or jarred tuna if they’ll eat that or a perfectly delicious pasta sauce.

Breakfast for Dinner

On a day like this, a few food groups are enough. Stop flipping out and flip a pancake or an omelet instead.

Taco Bar

If you can handle some drips and spills on the table, this can be quick and painless. Beans and cheese are the basics. Rice is optional. Left over chicken or meat can be cut up and heated easily. If you have an avocado, you’re in the big leagues!

Sauce in a Jar

Anytime you have about quarter jar of peanut butter left, make Pong Pong sauce right in the jar. Just add about 3 tablespoons each of sesame oil, tamari and rice wine vinegar until the consistency is just about pourable. If you have any, add chopped scallions, garlic,and ginger.

Trust us, it is yummy on any carb you can think of, from soba noodles to sponge cake. (Okay, that one’s gross.)

Dinner dilemma, be gone!

The Anti-Cookbook Easy, Thrifty Recipes for Food-Smart Living
Tinybeans Voices Contributor
We're Shelley Onderdonk and Rebecca Bloom. A veterinarian and a lawyer-turned-writer walk into a kitchen… We aren’t chefs and that’s exactly the point. We have a lot to share about food-smart living with our own young-adult children and other people and their children, too. Together, we wrote The Anti-Cookbook: Easy, Thrifty Recipes for Food-Smart Living.
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This Teen Just Got Her Beauty Brand into Target (& It’s Vegan!)

by Karly Wood

Zandra Cunningham has been busy. The 18-year-old Buffalo, New York native is not only a teenager, but the founder and CEO of her own beauty line, Zandra Beauty and oh yeah––it’s now being sold at Target!

Zandra Beauty is all about chemical and cruelty-free, vegan, plant-based products, and currently sells over 50 skincare products, including deodorant, body wash, and artisan soap bars. The Target-exclusive “Treat Yo Self” beauty box comes with a nourishing hand and body lotion, exfoliating sugar scrub, and lip and body balms.

After launching her cruelty-free beauty brand at the tender age of nine, Cunningham focused her efforts on selling her products at a local farmer’s market. Fast forward to 2019 and the teen is not only leading the green beauty initiative, but she is encouraging teen girls to pursue their interests in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) through the brand’s “Science Behind It” program.

You can find the beauty box at over 707 Target stores on the exclusive Black History Month display.

 

––Karly Wood

Feature photo: Zandra Beauty via Instagram.

 

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New & Cool: A Personal Milk Monitor

by Ayren Jackson-Cannady

Ask any experienced breast feeding mommy what’s the most frustrating part of getting started with her newborn, and most likely she will tell you it’s figuring out how much milk baby is actually drinking and how much she’s left for later. Not knowing can bring a world of agony and worry to a new mother, especially if baby doesn’t seem to be gaining enough weight or asking (ok, crying) to feed often enough.

If only there were a way to measure how much milk you’re starting with at each feeding and how much milk is left at the end…. Well, now there is, thanks to the MilkSense Breastfeeding Monitor, designed to serve as your very own personal milk monitor. Innovative, simple, and surprisingly accurate, it takes the guesswork out of nourishing your baby.

Simply place it on each breast for 10 seconds before and 10 seconds after each feeding, and voila, it determines exactly how much milk in milliliters baby drank. How does it work? The device uses electromagnetic signals to measure the volume of the breast alveoli—a component of the mammary gland—and based on this information, can determine the exact amount of milk in each breast. The best part: The information is stored so that mommy can monitor baby’s intake over time. Genius!

Available at amazon.com, $140

Would you use this device to keep track of your breast milk? Let us know in the Comments section below.

—Jamy Bond

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Eat Up! Simple Ways To Shake Up Snack Time

by Phebe Wahl

Whether it is your week for share-a-snack at school, or you are looking to tide over tiny tummies until dinner—snack attacks can leave you starved for ideas. If your crew craves something more creative than a bag of goldfish, satisfy small stomachs with a playful presentation. Here are eight simple solutions that take snacks from drab to fab—and might even introduce some new flavors to the mix.

Stick It To ‘Em


Something about eating off a stick is always tempting to tots. Add some fun shapes that they can help prepare—and voilà—you have a winner! Try these fruit and cheese kabobs from The Nourishing Home for a healthy snack that packs a protein punch. Let little ones help you cut fruit and cheese into shapes and slide onto sticks. Mix things up with any kind of berry, mellon, or pineapple plus a variety of cheeses so they don’t tire of this treat. Just be sure to supervise since sticks can be sharp.

We are hungry for your “feed” back! What do you serve for snack? Tell us below!

–Phebe Wahl

Photos courtesy of The Nourishing Home, Desiree Nielsen, Flower Patch Farm Girl, Leanne Bakes, The Weekend Homemaker, and Zoku

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Cute as a Cupcake Berries

by writerredri

Courtesy of Katie Morford of Mom’s Kitchen Handbook, these “Cute as a Cupcake” berries make nourishing food look every bit as appealing as sugary store-bought treats. These cups of goodness are great for playdates, after-sports nibbles, and birthday parties. Arrange a dozen on a cake stand and you won’t need frosting to get the kids to dive in. And, with berry season in full swing, now is a good time to give this one a whirl.

Ingredients:
A variety of fresh berries (we love strawberries, blueberries and raspberries)
cupcake papers
Toothpicks
Yogurt (optional)

Method:
1. Start with any fresh berries you can get your hands on in any combination along with charming cupcake papers.

2. Fill cupcakes papers to the brim along with toothpicks for spearing the fruits. Littler kids can use their fingers if you’re worried they’ll go rogue with a toothpick.

3. For a more filling snack, whip together equal parts low-fat lemon yogurt and low-fat plain Greek yogurt. Scoop yogurt into cupcakes papers (I use two for added sturdiness), top with fresh berries and serve with a spoon.

“Like” this recipe if you plan to make these for your kids. 

Katie Sullivan Morford is a mom, food writer and registered dietitian. You can find her family-friendly recipes and kitchen wisdom at Mom’s Kitchen Handbook. 


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