Kid’s Menu at Piano Piano the Restaurant
Someone pinch me. Did I really get the opportunity to work with one of Toronto's most reputable and creative chefs (Victor Barry) and his incredible wife (Nikki Leigh McKean) to design the kid's menu for their new restaurant (Piano Piano The Restaurant). Yup, this...
Mindset at meals makes all the difference
It's Monday! Today's Mommy Mantra is all about mindset at meals. This morning neither Naomi or Sienna wanted to eat their breakfast, despite me whipping up some curried scrambled eggs that they both love. Yup, they love curry...well, they usually do. So once it...
ezpz mats: a staple at our table
When you have a pickier eater at home you do whatever it takes to keep them interested at meals and interested in their food. Sometimes that involves dancing and singing (been there, done that, and it's exhausting). Or you can make food fun using cheap &...
4 Cheap & Cheerful Tools for Picky Eaters (to try new foods)
In one of my previous posts we talked about why helping our children eat better and getting picky eaters to try new foods isn't just about WHAT we serve them. It's also about HOW we serve those foods. Kids tend to gravitate to certain food groups (or shy away from...
The hardest decision I’ve ever made
This weekend my littlest one Naomi turned a year old. And what a glorious year it was. Today marks the beginning of her second year, and the end of my maternity leave. So at this very moment I should be packing my lunch and making my first drive back to my full-time...
The Ultimate Chicken Nuggets (gluten-free)
I don't typically post on weekends because I try to keep these two days focused on family. I'm also usually in bed at this time (11:30pm on Saturday night). But tonight there was some drama which is now keeping me awake. I'm visiting my parents in Ancaster. We were...
Why kids LOVE carbs
It's no secret. Kids LOVE carbs. Many of the children I meet and work with (especially the 'picky' ones) are guaranteed to have at least one of the following foods on their list of favourites: Bread Cookies Crackers Chips Pancakes Waffles Pizza Pasta [insert other...
Beautiful chaos of mealtimes (and family photos)
This weekend was a little nutty. We had scheduled a photoshoot for the recent launch of one of the best kid's menus in Toronto. Scratch that! I think it's THE BEST menu for kid's in this city (and outside of it). [Full discloser: I'm a little biased because I am...
Birthday parties for kids: 4 ways I keep it simple
Kid's birthday parties can get complicated quickly. This year I decided to simplify the party planning and save my sanity. After all, I have absolutely no recollection of what it was like to be one year old. I don't remember my cake, whether there were balloons or...
Avocado Carob (Chocolate) Pudding
I'm on the pudding train and I don't expect to come off it for a while. Last week I shared on of my favourite ways to eat chia with a Chocolate Chia Pudding. And a few days ago, I dusted off my recipe binder and found my trusty Avocado Carob Chocolate Pudding (it...
One clever way to help a picky eater try new foods
So much of our energy at mealtimes is focused on WHAT we feed our little ones. Especially if we're trying to help a picky eater try new foods and expand mealtime variety. We analyze which foods they eat and take mental note of whether they are getting 'enough' - be...
Instant Chocolate Chia Pudding
Admittedly, I grew up in household with all the sweet treats readily available. That includes everything from Twinkies to Instant Jell-O Pudding. If only I knew that a simple Chocolate Chia Pudding would make me just as happy. My sweet tooth lives on today but...
An important question to ask yourself tomorrow morning
Another birthday has come and gone. I would LOVE to tell you that it was the best birthday yet, but I would be lying. Let me sum up my day here: Keith took the day off to spend time with me (how sweet!) but instead spent the day feeling ill and in bed. The girls...
Cauliflower Rice (Spanish Rice style)
May I vent for a moment? I'm supposed to be on a beach right now, in a bathing suit, eating Spanish rice and Chimichangas. Instead I'm in a hoodie, sipping tea at my kitchen table. And I'm kinda bummed about it. We've had to cancel three (I repeat, THREE) family...
Roasted Curry Cauliflower
Please don't let the word "curry" deter you from reading further. Admittedly, a "curried cauliflower" recipe didn't initially catch my motherly eye either. When you have kids, the blander the recipe the better. At least, that's what we think! Parents assume little...
BEST Dairy-Free Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
This is a healthier spin on your traditional creamy cauliflower casserole. Many kids (and moms) I work with have dairy sensitivities that show up as skin issues (like eczema) or digestive discomfort, hence why I love that the creaminess in this casserole is 100% dairy-free.
My Birth Story
This is a post I wrote 3 years ago. A post that I lost (and cried over) but have since recovered, and one I wanted to share with you. After all it is the reason I do what I do, working with moms and littles ones. This is my birth story.
New research: mercury toxicity in kids
New research illustrates that mercury may be toxic in children at levels MUCH LOWER than previously assumed. Find out what this means for your kids and their fish consumption.
How to start EVERY meal with kids
Kids do not like being surprised and thrive with schedules. Just as you have a bedtime routine that starts with a bath, followed by a book, and ends with singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, every meal should have certain elements repeated with diligence – essentially a beginning, middle, and end. Find out if there is an opportunity to improve your dinner with this small change.
Wondering how to get your child to eat? Read this.
“How do I get my child to eat?” – this is the question we all desperately ponder when we have a “picky eater” at home, but it is actually the wrong question to ask. Here’s the best advice I can give any parent who finds mealtimes are a battle. Advice that I wish someone had shared with me when I was asking the same question.
