happykiddo

Chomp! Healthy munching encouragement

Chomp from rei on Vimeo.

A quickie veggie video for kiddos - how silly and sweet - as part of a neat campaign by artist Reina Takahashi to encourage short people to make smart/healthy food choices.

So fresh and so green, green

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Originally uploaded by Maproom Systems.

Sometimes (actually, lots of times) I throw a few bags of frozen veggies in the shopping cart as an easy way to supplement Ella's lunch and dinnertime.  You know, so all the ice cream, cake and bubble gum has some variation to it (kidding).

When I heat these frozen little bricks formerly known as a living, vitamin-filled plant, I get the feeling that a truly good mommy would have somehow magically appeared at the organic food aisle on the lunchbreak she probably didn't actually take to provide her little bouncy daughter with more wholesome sustenance.

Frozen guilt trip no more.  Apparently, when it comes to veggies time is everything (although when isn't it?):

“By the time vegetables are consumed, fresh, frozen, and canned have similar nutritional values,” she says. “Frozen is picked and frozen within hours, whereas fresh is placed in the shipping container and shipped across the country to the supermarket warehouse, then to the supermarket back room, the supermarket shelf, and finally to the consumer’s refrigerator.”

SOOO!!!  With the amount of nutrients lost over time due to oxidative degradation (aka:  exposure to Oxygen and time which breaks down certain vitamins and makes them less awesome for our bodies), the nutritional value of regular grocery store produce is about (and sometimes a little worse) than frozen, rock-hard vegetables.

This all links back to the concept of 'food miles', that is the enormous eco footprint our produce makes - most grocery store produce doesn't originate in Texas and usually not even the United States.  So to recap, frozen food is okay when compared to gas-guzzling, days-old produce from the grocery store. 

BUT!!  buying local is a million times better (and tastier) than all of that.  Guess who's going to the farmer's market for locally grown organic produce tomorrow!!  :)

P.S. The jury is still out on the benefits of freeze dried foods - anyone know about this?  Inquiring minds (and me) want to know!

Because omnivores are so passe...

Ella likes food - even with only 2.5 teeth she is a marvelous eater (with minimal Mommy biting, thank God).  Her favorites right now are Cheerios, tortillas and expensive electronic equipment.

While the Bunn still likes to try new stuff, particularly if we are eating and appear to be enjoying it, she has become noticeably pickier about what textures and flavors she deems acceptable to make it past that initial bite.  And even then she carefully eyeballs the spoon headed her way, always making eye contact to ensure that we KNOW she's keeping track of what we're up to.  Because she does, you know.

The one exception to this is fruit (okay, and sweet potatoes to be fair).  Fruit is Ella's friend.  Ella is a fruitivore. It could be worse, as giving birth to a vodka-vore would probably make for some really awkward AA conversations right?  But seriously, if I have to plan high school graduations and wedding reception meals around diced peaches and bananas I might go a little nuts.

Express yourself (okay, bad pun)

Funny how having a baby changes the household excitement ratio/focus.  One of our latest Ella acquisitions is the limited edition Medela 'Pump In Style' breast pump - a surprisingly striking number in light blue and chocolate. 

We are absolutely ecstatic about it and until recently would show it off to just about everyone that came by the house (we are just that dorky).  Not only does it look snazzy, but the 2-phase expression really keeps things comfortable and natural feeling. 

We used Medela pumps when working with the lactaction consultants in the hospital and I'm really happy we got to bring one home.  They are just that good.  There were some rental options through the hospital for about $50-60/month, but that cost would really add up as I plan on breastfeeding the kiddo for at least a year. 

The Pump in Style was a little out of our budget, but my parents saved the day and bought it for us as an early Christmas gift. Best.  Present.  Ever.

Baby ice cream sammiches

We are wildly in like with these neat-o ice cream sandwich molds from the mighty drool-inducing Williams Sonoma.

As happykiddo gets closer and closer to making her debut, we've been experimenting with new vegan recipes for the big day when she actually starts gnawing on food items other than, well, me.

These sandwich makers will be perfect for incorporating our Soy Delicious ice cream and homemade soft cookies/brownies into ridiculously cute, hippie-friendly, small person-sized summer snacks.

Somehow, I think that we will remain far more excited over these cute shapes than our little lady - but hopefully she will love us all the more for it.... after some extensive eye rolling.

Found via Babygadget

Tags:  ice cream sandwiches | vegan kid treats

Sometimes Mommies need chocolate - for real!

There are times when I feel like I'm not a normal momma-to-be.  No, not because I spend time dreaming about what kind of stencils to make to graffiti my baby's room.....  I just simply am not a huge chocolate fan. 

In small doses - okay, I'll totally take it.  A couple of nice fudge-y brownies with vanilla bean ice cream?  Yah, I'll take that too.  Otherwise I leave the cocoa bean cravings for A and stick to gummy worms.

A few weeks ago a Roller Derby girl recommended that I eat a bit of dark chocolate everyday in my third trimester, citing a study on the correlation between happy babies and moms who indulge.

Further chocolate consumption may be pretty easy for me, as I just had my first Bellybar today and it was AMAZING.  Super tasty and, supposedly, super healthy.  According to the Bellybar site, each bar is packed with prenatal vitamins.  Sound good?  You can buy Bellybars for (relatively) cheap here - about $2/bar, not too horrific.  Happy munching!