JD had his 2-year check-up at the beginning of August, at which point we got the all-clear to introduce peanut butter. However, since we’ve gotten into a routine with our eating habits and menus, I find we still haven’t tried it several weeks later. Over the past few months, we’d slowly been testing the allergy waters by putting pb into some dishes and giving him bites (the biggest hit was a banana-pudding pie with a graham cracker and peanut butter crust). So far it looks l... Read Full Story

Of late I’d been noticing my almost 3-year-old son had been eating a lot of ice. He points his index finger high in the air and says, “Just one more ice cube, please.” It melts my mommy soul and I almost always open the freezer and give him one. Once he’s done chewing the hard ice, he comes back with an Oliver Twist look, asking for more. Then a few days ago, a visiting friend told me that his love for ice may be a symptom of a problem — pica, an appetite for non... Read Full Story

Joseph may have trouble enunciating words in his ever-expanding vocabulary, but one comes across loud and clear—cookie. Almost immediately after waking in the morning, he tries to drag me down to the kitchen pantry chanting, “cookie, cookie.” After we walk in the door in the evening, he makes a beeline for the pantry. If I don’t move, he’ll grab my hand and place it on the doorknob as if to prod me along. If the desired treat is not forthcoming, the 2-year-old t... Read Full Story

My children are having a fabulous summer so far-—with two doting grandparents who have taken over the reins at home. Granny (Patti) is a former art teacher, and spends countless hours creating and teaching Origami designs to the kids-—they are now expert makers of star box, parrot, elf, ladybug and numerous other designs. The kids have also taken to eating proper South Indian fare for lunch—complete with rice, rasam, kuttu,  poriyal etc.  Besides keeping the kids well-fed, m... Read Full Story

Our first harvest of the season included eggplant, arugula, basil and cilantro. The kids joined me in putting together an arugula salad, and we decided to add red grapes and pine nuts for color and crunch. For the dressing, we whisked together olive oil, vinegar, Worchestershire sauce, paprika and a pinch of sugar. Delish! Read Full Story

Don’t want to jinx it, but I can hardly resist the first glimmer of hope in my organic vegetable garden.  This is our second year, and buoyed by our beginner’s luck last year (click here for the earlier post), we went all out  this time—with a raised bed and fence. And the results, so far, are encouraging. Check out the green tomatoes and the skinny eggplant! Oh, and we already harvested some arugula last week! I’ll post pictures of the salad soon. Read Full Story

I have long lamented my youngest son’s limited palate. After months of rejecting anything that wasn’t pureed or cracker crisp, he’s now taken to wolfing down salami and chicken nuggets. It’s not something that makes me particularly happy. After all salami is full of nitrites and chicken nuggets are just processed chicken. I have to take heart in one of his great passions, though — water. He loves to sip water all day, either from his sippy cup or his bottle at ni... Read Full Story

Over on the Momslikeme Web site…moms are talking about the worst breakfast they’ve ever fed their kids. Answers range from pretzels , ice-cream to chocolate poptarts. Read Full Story

My daughter does not eat as healthy as I do. She’s 2 and whenever you ask her what she wants to eat, she says chicken and pasta or rice. Chips is another frequent response. Read Full Story

I’ve been making a point of putting more sprouts in my diet. They’re great in salads and with sandwiches. But this just in, beware of the alfalfa sprout!!! Read Full Story