Mommy FTW

I’m always on the look out for a kid friendly place to take Cameron for a meal – and when I can find a place that I also enjoy eating it’s a bonus! Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza is perfect for us. There are a few locations, but the one we frequent is in Friendship Heights (4940 Wisconsin Ave). Their pizza is “New Haven Style” – I’m not exactly sure what that means – but having moved to DC from New York (and having eaten a lot of really good pizza) – I can say that “New Haven Style” must mean “tasty.”

It’s a thin crust pie with sophisticated, quality, locally sourced toppings available (don’t worry, they also have peperoni – Cameron’s favorite) like broccoli rabe, roasted while garlic, and sautéed wild mushrooms to name a few. This isn’t Dominos, people! They also have super delicious salads, some pasta dishes (which I admit I’ve never tried) and desserts.

If you head there for lunch, which is what we do, be sure to consider one of the lunch specials – 2 slices of cheese pizza + a fountain drink, or 1 slice of cheese and a small salad + a fountain drink for $5.99 (you can get toppings on your pizza for 25 cents each).

After you order, the food comes out quickly. There’s plenty of places to sit, and it isn’t a huge deal if your kid is a little rambunctious. There are plenty of high chairs and booster seats, they have kids cups with lids, and a bathroom for the all important potty break.

If you are a fan of Pete’s A Pizza like me, be sure to sign up for their email list so you can hear about specials. For example, October’s special is on Tuesdays 25% off your order, all day, all three locations (dine in or take out only). Not bad! You can also follow Pete’s on twitter.

A mom friend of mine brought these Blueberry Crumb Bars to my 4th of July BBQ earlier this summer, and Cameron (not to mention everyone else) gobbled them up.  I asked my friend for the recipe, made a few tweeks to it, and baked up another batch for Cameron.  He is still loving them, and I wanted to share the recipe with you all.

Blueberry and Peach Crumb Bars

2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of one lemon
Zest and juice of one lime
4 cups fresh blueberries
2 peaches, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/4cup white sugar
6 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a food processor, mix together 2/3 cup sugar, the all purpose and whole wheat flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Cut the cold butter into cubes, put it in the food processor, along with the eggs. Pulse the food processor until the mixture becomes crumbly. Press half the mixture into the pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, lime juice and zest. (You can use lemon if you don’t have lime, I’ve just found that lime really goes great with blueberries). Gently mix in the blueberries and peaches. Sprinkle the fruit mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the fruit layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. I even chill mine in the fridge overnight before cutting.

FYI, this recipe is based on a recipe from Smitten Kitchen – here’s the link if you’d like to see the original (I basically used some whole wheat flour instead of all all-purpose flour, cut out some of the sugar, added more fruit, changed the method a bit to make it easier….)  I hope you enjoy it!

Cameron is a lot better at eating his vegetables than he used to be, but I still like to try to sneak in extra veggies whenever I can – it’s good for him and good for me and my hubby too!  So, when making spaghetti I like to pump up the vegetable content.  Here’s my how to guide for spaghetti with hidden vegetable tomato sauce:

I buy a jar of tomato sauce (I happen to like Trader Joe’s marinara).  Before putting it in the pot to warm up, I sautee some carrots, onions, green peppers, and garlic.  Don’t bother chopping them up too much.  You’ll see why soon.

I also sautee some ground beef (but you can keep it vegetarian if you like).  Then, add in your pasta sauce.

Here’s where it gets extra sneaky – if you’ve got some salad greens in your fridge, take a couple heaping handfuls, give it a rough chop, and toss it in the pot.  It might seem like a lot, but it will really wilt down.  Put the lid on and let it simmer.

Then, take the whole mixture and give it a whir in a food processor.  When it comes out, it looks and tastes like the regular sauce, but you’ve added tons of extra veggies.  No one will be the wiser – except you!

When I went to Cameron’s 2 year check up his pediatrician recommended that I try and get him to eat more Yogurt.  His mastery of the spoon is minimal, and he hasn’t really shown interest in regular yogurt for ages.  He does like yogurt smoothies, but I wanted to try something else.  After his shots at the pediatrician, they gave him an otter pop which totally gave me a brain storm – GoGurt!

Cameron really enjoys it, it makes  a great snack, and he can feed it to himself.  Sometimes I freeze it – this makes it a little less messy (and more portable!  Throw it in your bag and it will slowly thaw over a few hours).

Cameron gets more yogurt... on the go!

I was looking on the Yoplait site for info about GoGurt and it seems like they have a product out there called Simply GoGurt which has no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners.  Beileive me I’ll be checking for this option next time at the store!

Loyal readers of Mommy FTW know that Cameron is a very picky eater – especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables.  The best way I’ve found to win him over is with creative packaging – and that’s why I decided to try Buddy Fruits.  I am really excited to say that he LOVES it.  He will eat at least one package a day, and sometimes two.  I wrote Buddy Fruits to ask them about writing a review of their product, and to my amazement (and happiness) they sent me a box which a whole bunch of flavors.  Cameron has been sucking them down ever since.

Why do I love Buddy Fruits?  Let me count the ways….

1) Cameron eats it – and it’s just fruit – no sugar added.

2) It’s easy to take on the go, so I always have a healthy snack on hand.  And if he doesn’t finish it, I can just screw the top back on and save the rest for later.  No utensils are required, and usually there is no mess (only once did he manage to squirt it on himself).

3) Cameron’s poops have gotten more regular and softer.  Sorry if that was TMI – but he’s had some pretty hard poops which have caused some bleeding in the past, so this is kind of a big deal for me.

4) Cameron now seems more willing to try fruit in it’s regular form, perhaps because he is more familiar with the taste.

Buddy Fruits comes in 5 flavors, apple, apple cinnamon, strawberry, apple banana, and multi fruit.  Cameron pretty much likes all of them except the apple cinnamon – I guess it’s just not his speed.  I think strawberry is his favorite.  And guess what, he now loves regular strawberries.

Buddy Fruits are available in lots of stores.  Check out their website to see the full list.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.  I for one will be cooking up a storm – and I am really hoping Cameron will enjoy eating with the family.

A lot of Thanksgiving food is very baby / toddler friendly – Butternut squash soup is full of hidden vegetables, sometimes Cam can be convinced to eat green beans (green fries,) mashed potatoes and stuffing make good finger foods, and Cameron has rarely met a roast chicken (we don’t really do Turkey at my house) that he didn’t like.  And apple pie filling can make a great apple sauce, or perfect finger food.  YUM!  I can’t wait to dig in.

These Earth’s Best Organic Letter of the Day Cookies make a great snack or post meal treat.  I was first introduced to them by a mom friend while we were having lunch at the tots with Whole Foods after a swim at the Wilson Aquatic Center.  She had bought some for her daughter Lily and was kind enough to share with Cameron who gobbled them up.

C is for Cookie, that's good enough for Cameron!

I was pleased when I looked at the nutrition information to see that they are a great source of iron (9 cookies gives them 20% of their daily requirement!) zinc, and 6 B vitamins.  So if you are looking for a reasonably healthy snack or treat, try these cookies.  And, don’t forget that Earth’s Best website has printable coupons – they’ve currently got one for $1 off two Sesame Street products.

A new mom friend I’ve met in DC recently suggested I try giving Cam Quesadillas when I was lamenting his poor eating habits (particularly in the vegetable department).  She said her daughter Giulia loves eating them – and they are a great way to hide vegetables.  She also suggested using salsa or avocado as a dip – and I’m not sure about your toddler, but Cameron loves to dip his food!

Easy to make, easy to eat, and easy to hide things in!

So, the other day I gave Quesadillas a try – just a simple cheese and chicken one – and Cameron gobbled it up.  Next time I’ll get a little more advanced and try the hidden vegetables and dip route.  Fingers crossed for continued success!  Give it a try – and feel free to post your recipe ideas for the rest of us to try!

I first made this soup for Cameron last fall when my mom brought me loads of Butternut squash from her garden.  Well, it’s that time of year again.  Squash and apples are in season – and this soup uses both!  It’s nice and sweet, a great way to sneak in vegetables to your kids’ diet, and super easy to make.

Tasty Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash cubed

1 apple (I didn’t bother to peel it) cubed

3 carrots cut in big chunks

2 onions cut in big chunks

2 cloves of garlic

Butter, Olive Oil

Low Sodium Chicken Stock

nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste

Here’s what it looked like before I pureed it

Saute the onions and garlic in 1 TB of olive oil and 1TB of butter on medium heat until translucent. Add the rest of the veggies and fruit, stir around and let cook another minute or so. Add enough chicken stock to cover all the veggies. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer untill everything is tender – 30 minutes or so.

Puree or use a food mill. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. I didn’t really add any salt to the soup, but instead added it to my portion as I heated that up. Also to mine I added some hot sauce.

You can serve this soup over some rice or orzo, or just on its own.

I’m pretty sure you could make this soup with any squash, and just throw in any veggies you have in the fridge!

I have to admit this idea was not one that I came up with – rather I give credit to a mom friend from Brooklyn (shout out to Crystal and her little one Jackson!)

The idea of Cameron + spoon + hot liquid scares me. This was the perfect solution!

This past week Cameron seemed a little under the weather with a runny nose, and the temperature here in DC had dropped to a decidedly fall level.  I didn’t have a lot in the fridge in the way of dinner options, but I remembered my friend had told me once that she fed her son chicken noodle soup, without the soup.  I searched the cabinets for a can, and behold – my dinner savior appeared.

I heated the soup on the stove, as normal, and then used a slotted spoon to pick out the chicken, noodles, and vegetables.  To be honest, Cameron stuck mostly to the chicken and the noodles.  Maybe someday a stray vegetable will make it into my child.  Until then – I’ll try and keep hope alive and place options in front of him!

I took what Cameron didn’t eat and put it back in the broth.  This became my dinner with a sandwich.  Yum!  Perfect for a chilly evening.