Archive for September, 2011

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September 27, 2011

Tuesday Tip: What’s the Best Sippy Cup? I May Finally Know!

Having four children, ranging in age from one to eight years, I have had the opportunity to test out a lot of different cups for kids.

Most cups fall into one of the following two categories:

1. They leak
2. There are too many parts to clean, find, lose, etc.

Some wonderful cups actually fall into both categories. I feel like I have tested (and promptly donated) way too many cups, even considering how many children I have.

As a mom striving for less stuff (read: Minimalist Mommy), this has been a struggle. Each of the kids have only two cups with lids, whether they be water bottles or sippy cups. When Champ turned one in July, I started thinking about the sad, sad day (coming all too soon) when I will need to ween him from the bottle.

Like most of you, my thoughts tend to have a domino effect (which, according to my husband, usually means him writing a check). I thought about Champ moving on to a sippy cup (he already tries to steal his brother’s), and how a spouted sippy cup is getting kind of ridiculous (and probably not good for his dental health, if I’m being honest) for Carl, who will be four this fall. An even bigger challenge here, is that when Carl gets something new, especially big boy related, Jude wants it too. I decided I would get new spoutless cups for the eldest two boys, and pass-down the spouted cups to Champ. My plans were derailed when Jude couldn’t get his new cup to function (you’ll see why in my cup review below).

Anyway, the starter Sippy cups I tried that had soft, nipple-like spouts all leaked (Munchkin Mighty Grip Trainer Cup, Munchkin Mighty Grip Spill-Proof Cup). I’m sure there are some that do not, but I never saw the need for that kind of transition, really.

Then, I tried all of these transitional cups:

  • Take & Toss Sippy Cup

    • This thing gets dropped once, the lid opens, contents spill out. No bueno, even if it is for temporary or occasional use.

  • Vital Baby Toddler Straw Cup

    • First of all, the cover is attached with a very small plastic hinge. I tried these with Carl and Jude at ages 24mo and almost 3.5 years. Carl broke the lid off his in one day. The straws are also very narrow, making it difficult to even sip water…don’t even try a smoothie! Lastly, this cup has way too many pieces. Who wants to worry about washing all of those?

  • Munchkin Mighty Grip Flip Straw Cup

    • These cups are tough to clean and hard for kids to flip the straw open (at least mine). Again, too many parts.

  • Crocodile Creek Stainless Steel Reusable Drinking Bottle

    • This would be a great water bottle for the price, but the lids won’t stay on, and I bought two, so I doubt mine were just defective. I probably should have forked out some extra cash and purchased the Sigg bottles, but after discovering how painful it is to have an aluminum water bottle dropped on a toe, I decided to wait a few more years to try aluminum again!

    So, in my humble opinion, the best sippy cups by age are:

    12 months to 24 months (one to two years) : Playtex Insulator 9 oz Cup
    Easy to clean. Only one removable part. Won’t leak unless you don’t screw the lid on correctly (my husband says I’m the worst person to ever attempt to put a lid on anything, but I do okay with these ;) ).

    Two years to 3.5 or 4 years: Playtex Baby Coolster Twist ‘n Click Insulated Cup

    Easy to clean. Only one removable part (happens to be the same part as the spouted cup! Yay!). Missing the spout so looks more like a big kid cup (and it’s better for dental health) Won’t leak if you put the lid on correctly.

    3.5 years until you’re not concerned about spills (ten? Lol): Contigo Autoseal Kids 14-Ounce Trekker Cup

    This thing is rad. It’s basically your travel coffee mug meets Coolster cup. It doesn’t require the sucking action to extract liquid, which makes it uber grown-up. Instead, the kids have to push a button to open the hole and have a drink. This does take some coordination, so it isn’t recommended for kids too young. I originally bought a set of two cups, thinking my 2 year old Jude would want to try it, but he just couldn’t get the hang of pushing the button and drinking at once. It’s also a little bit bigger, so that may be part of the coordination issue.

    It actually worked out nicely, we now have Champ, at 14 months, using the Playtex Spouted Cup, Jude, at 29 months, using the Playtex Coolster Cup, and Carl, at 3.5 years using the Contigo Cup.

    Have I missed any awesome cups? Please share!

    Posted in Minimalism, Mommying | 3 Comments »

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    September 18, 2011

    Blog Stalking and Whiney Thoughts

    Hello, my name is MomvsChaos, and I’m a blog stalker. Whew. Glad we got that out of the way! The first step is admitting you have a problem, right? :)

    I follow several blogs on the Pulse App on my iPhone, and come across many, many more on my various Google searches each day. But I have never commented on a blog. I’m not really sure why, because if I follow a blogger on Facebook, I may comment there. Just never on a blog.

    The irony here is crazy, because the I started this blog for only two reasons: to have something that was for me in a life filled with small children, and (more importantly) as a way to communicate with like-minded women.

    Most (if not all) of the blogs I have discovered are blogs of women who are a lot like me. So what gives?

    I guess I’m lazy. But also insanely jealous. That’s right. J.e.a.l.o.u.s. I struggle with wanting my blog to be cleverly written with lovely pictures like this friend, or be full of deep insights and minimalist love like this one, or full of really useful information, like this one. Of course, in my right mind, I remember that I’m trying to avoid chaos, and if I had the time (or camera) to take lovely pictures or do some fancy HTML work, I would totally do it. Someday, I probably will find the time (or make the time), but if it was really important to me (like going to the gym), I would do it. I guess the bigger point is, I want other people to think I can do it all as a Mom and have witty, insightful, well-researched blog with fancy pictures.

    Truth is, I’m doing what I have time for. I’m doing what makes me fulfilled without adding chaos. I do resolve, however, to start commenting on blogs I visit- even if it’s just a quick note. Maybe you’ll do the same?

     

    Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

    September 16, 2011

    Chilling Out and My Recipe: Paleo Chicken Nuggets

    If you’ve read my earlier posts, you know my kids were raised mostly vegan until recently. This meant a lot of whole grains (read: Pasta) and the occasional fake-meat chicken nugget. If you’ve ever tried fake meat (or shmeat as we used to call it), the texture is much different than real meat. Even the “healthy” stuff made at home sans preservatives and such still has a much softer, less chewy texture.

    Getting my kids to eat real meat has been a HUGE challenge. Champ will eat pretty much anything, but he’s been eating Paleo since he started solid foods. Carl will eat bacon, and we did get him to try a bite of steak once. Jude wants nothing to do with any of it, and has taken a “that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it” approach. I feel like they would rather STARVE than eat on many days. I admit that I’m mostly just a big wuss. I realize that kids won’t allow themselves to starve, but I can’t handle two exceptionally-difficult-because-they-are-going-on-a-hunger-strike toddlers.

    So, I’ve decided to loosen-up a bit (at least until they’re old enough to successfully bribe). The truth is, they’re doing pretty well. Carl asked me for green onion and shredded cabbage for his bedtime snack the other day, and that, my friends, is a WIN in my book.

    So, thanks to my fancy food chart (which I will share in a future post) I’ve decided to focus more on trying new fruits and veggies (and actually consuming them). This means I’m going to be okay with them having My Paleo Chicken Nuggets for many lunches and dinners, with a side of the “real food” I’m cooking, and extra fruit and veggies, I’m fine with that. I don’t want eating to be stressful and yucky for them, so I need to chill out. For reals.

    Paleo Chicken Nuggets

    • 1 lb ground chicken*
    • 1 cup coconut flour
    • 1 cup almond meal
    • Dash poultry seasoning
    • Several eggs  -or- 1 cup or so of unsweetened coconut milk**

    Roll out the ground chicken on parchment paper or a silicone cutting board until it’s an inch or so thick. Put it in the freezer for 30-60 minutes until partially frozen (it’s easier to cut and bread that way). Cut ground chicken into strips, or rounds. Or if you want to get crazy (or just have time to kill), use cookie cutters to make fun shapes, like the Dino Nuggets in the store. You have to work kind of fast, because you still need the meat partially frozen for breading. Once cut, dunk the meat in egg/milk, then roll in flour mixture. Place on heavily greased cookie sheet, and cook at 350 for 30 minutes or so.

    *I opted for ground chicken, because it is more like the texture of vegetarian chicken nuggets.
    **I don’t like being too specific here, because I hate wasting ingredients, and I think everyone has different “breeding” skills. I start out small and add more egg/milk or coconut/almond flour as required.

    This recipe was inspired in part or in whole by this recipe

    Posted in Food, paleo, paleo | 3 Comments »

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    September 15, 2011

    Recipe: Homemade Chocolate Larabar

    My kids LOVE Larabars. I do too. Unfortunately, they are at least a buck a piece. I’ve been searching for the perfect recipe to try, but I never have dates, and I don’t usually have dried apples, which is required to make copycat Apple Pie Larabars. I hate buying ingredients for specific recipes that I may not use for anything else, cause let’s face it…. Not everything is delicious!

    Anyway, the other day, I saw a chocolate Larabar at the checkout at Whole Foods. I bought it because those darn over-priced checkout stand treats get me every time. When I brought it home, the kids and I all tried a bite, and thought they were pretty good…and worth trying to make on my own (assuming dried apples and dates weren’t necessary). After googling over and over, and discovering every recipe required dates, I decided to modify one fantastic recipe.

    Homemade Chocolate Larabars

    • 1/2 C raisins
    • 1/4 C walnuts, chopped
    • 1/4 C almonds, sliced or roughly chopped
    • 1 t cocoa powder
    • Splash of vanilla extract

    Place all ingredients into your Vitamix, Blendtec, or food processor. Press into small glass pan or mold into small bars on cookie sheet and refrigerate. I press mine into a small rectangular Pyrex, put the lid on, and refrigerate over night (an hour is fine). Then slice into bars and store in refrigerator. These will last several days in the fridge, but if your family is anything like mine, they’ll be gone in 24 hours :)

    Enjoy!

     

    Posted in Food, paleo, quick & easy | Leave a Comment »

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    September 12, 2011

    Recipe: Paleo Blender Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

    We’ve tried quite a few chocolate breakfast muffin recipes in this house since converting to Paleo. I used to make a semi-vegan version of the ever popular Chocolate cake mix + Canned Pumpkin muffin for easy breakfasts, and I really wanted a healthier, Paleo-friendly Chocolate Muffin.

    My requirements were that it use either carrot or zucchini (since it’s summer), be somewhat high protein (since my kids are still not willing to eat eggs or any meat (besides my special Paleo Chicken Nugget Recipe) thanks to their vegan formative years), and low sugar.

    Carl declared this recipe “much better” than the other iterations, and “actually, pretty delicious,” but you be the judge.

    Paleo Zucchini Chocolate Muffin

    • 1 large zucchini or 2 small, peeled
    • 1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified or melted grass-fed butter
    • 4 eggs
    • 1/4 cup coconut sugar*
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup*
    • Allspice a few dashes (to taste)
    • One or two grinds of sea salt
    • Splash of vanilla
    • 1/2 cup coconut flour
    • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder

    Lemme say, I love, love, love, my Blendtec Blender.  Also, my kids are kinda averse to chunky stuff in muffins, so it works really well to make these.  

    Add cubed zucchini and all liquid ingredients to blender and pulse several times. Add dry ingredients and blend until well mixed.Pour into greased muffin tin or silicone muffin cups. Makes 12 regular sized muffins + 12 mini muffins, or roughly 18 muffins.

    Bake at 375 degrees for roughly 20 minutes.

    *if you don’t have coconut/palm sugar, or would rather not use it, use 1/2 cup maple syrup instead. Or, if you prefer local honey, substitute 1/2 cup.

    This recipe was inspired in whole or in part by this recipe.

    Posted in Food, Mommying, paleo, paleo, quick & easy | 2 Comments »

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    September 10, 2011

    DIY Toddler Preschool Chart: Weekly Menu aka “You Try It, You Like It!”

     

     

     

     

    Our first delivery from Urban Organic arrived two days ago.  I know I’ve said that I use a lot of frozen vegetables, and I still use some, but I’m trying something new.  You see, I’ve been trying to reinvent the wheel, and get my kids to like eating Paleo.  I had this fancy schmancy idea to create a food chart/ weekly menu for Jude and Carl to help with every week. My hope is this gets them excited about trying new fruits and vegetables.  So far (two days in), it has totally worked! Yay me!

     

    Let me start by saying, I am not even a little bit crafty. Even my penmanship stinks.  I can, however, do a thing or two in Google Docs.  So, I bought a pocket chart at the One Spot at Target and got to work.  Using Google Docs Paint, I searched for copy-write free images of all of the fruits and veggies found on my Urban Organic list for the week.  I shrunk each picture to the correct size, threw a label on it for reading practice, and voila… a Weekly Menu “You Try it, You Like it” Food Chart!

    Every Friday morning (our delivery comes Thursday night), the two oldest boys help me by picking out the fruit, vegetable, and breakfast item they want for that week.  I’ve already come up with my recipes based on the produce list, so I just insert my meals into the days the kids have selected.  Hopefully, the Yo-Gabba-Gabba line “You Try it, You Like it” will help us out here. . .I’ll be posting my recipes and what works as I go, so wish me luck!

     

    It’s not the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen, but hey- if it gets my kids excited, I’m happy!

    Posted in Food, Household Tip, Minimalism, Mommying, paleo | 2 Comments »

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    September 9, 2011

    Recipe: Paleo Sausage, Cabbage, and Egg Breakfast Casserole

    Okay, so I won’t get into why I decided to pick up an exceptionally large head of green cabbage the other day, except to say that it was a gross miscalculation. The great news, is Carl has been begging to try it since we picked it up at the store Wednesday. So, yesterday, I chopped it up for him to try. He had a handful of shreds and declared “maybe this will be better cooked!”

    So, last night I was left with a shredded head of green cabbage, only half of which was designated for a recipe. Additionally, my very first order of Grassfed Beef from Tendergrass Farm arrived, and I was dying to try something. I randomly selected the hot (spicy) pork breakfast sausage and placed it in my skillet, still having absolutely no idea what I was doing with it. While the sausage was browning (it smelled heavenly), I decided to chop a yellow onion. Then, I just kind of threw together this Paleo Sausage, Cabbage, and Egg Breakfast Casserole. I’m sure it can be improved upon, but I felt like this was a great start.

    Paleo Sausage Cabbage and Egg Breakfast Casserole

    • 1/2 to 3/4 head large green cabbage, shredded or finely chopped
    • 1 yellow onion diced or sliced
    • One pound grassfed pork hot breakfast sausage (or regular if you don’t like spices)
    • 10 free range large eggs

    Preheat oven to 350. Brown sausage. Remove sausage from skillet and place in 9×13 glass casserole dish, keeping fat in skillet to sauté onion and cabbage. Add onion and cabbage and cook on medium heat until desired consistency (about 10 minutes for me). Dump cabbage and onion on top of sausage in baking dish. Beat eggs and pour on top of sausage, cabbage, and onion. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

    I started this recipe at night, I decided to put the lid on my Pyrex and add the eggs and bake fresh in the morning. I plan to try this OAMC Paleo Style, maybe even in muffin form for easy freezing and devouring? Stay tuned for that update.

    Posted in Food, paleo | 1 Comment »

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    September 6, 2011

    Recipe: Paleo Apple Chicken Sausage Salad

     

     

     

     

     

     

    My first delivery from Urban Orbanic arrives tomorrow.  While I wait patiently, I am trying to go through my refrigerator and use what we have to make room for the fresh produce.  I’ve been dying to try the Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage I bought on a whim, but I wasn’t really sure what to do with it.  I started asked my friend Google, and came up with the recipe below.  It.Was.Ah.Mazing.

    Paleo Apple Chicken Sausage Salad

    • 1 Red Onion
    • 1 Package Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage (or regular chicken breast diced and cooked through, if you can’t find/don’t have this sausage.  It won’t be as delicious, but it will still work)
    • Olive Oil
    • Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
    • 1 Large or 2 Small Granny Smith Apple(s)
    • Feta Cheese (optional)
    • 1/2 C Lemon Juice
    • 1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 1 Tbs Dijon Mustard

    Turn on oven broiler. Slice red onion thinly. Place sliced onions and sausage rounds on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Broil for 5-8 minutes. If placing on top rack, pay extra close attention or you’ll burn it! While onion and sausages broil, slice or dice granny smith apple(s). Pour olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and salt and pepper into a carafe (or if you’re fancy like me, a Ziploc Twist-n-lock 2 cup bowl). Shake vigorously until well mixed. Your sausage and onion should be done by now- remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. While cooling, put greens in bowl and add feta and apples. Once cool, add sausage, onion, and dressing.

    This recipe was inspired in part of in whole by this recipe.
     

     

    Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

    September 4, 2011

    Hurricane Irene Food Spoilage & A Fresh Start!

    It’s been more than a week since Hurricane Irene touched down on the East Coast. As I post this, I realize that some have lost their lives, homes, pets, possessions, and more, and I feel fortunate to have avoided all of these losses. Living on the coast of Long Island, we expected far worse, and evacuated with our children before Irene hit.

    The only inconvenience caused by Irene for us (and likely many of you), was the loss of electricity. A week later, there are still thousands of families without power. If you are like us, and lost power for several days or more (five for us), the food in your refrigerator and freezer spoiled and had to been thrown away. Many full garbage bags, hundreds of dollars.

    In these economic times, the thought of stocking up on perishables can be overwhelming. It’s not just the big stuff, it’s the “use once in a while” condiments and specialty cooking items that add up.

    I’ve decided to look at the silver lining here. This is a perfect chance for a fresh start. If you’ve been trying to clean-up your eating habits by going Paleo or just by tossing the junk, now is the time! I’ve always felt guilty throwing away food, even if it’s unhealthy, because it’s like throwing money in the trash. In this case, you’re forced to toss it anyway. DON’T REPLACE THE JUNK!

    If you’re looking for a good list of essentials, the Everyday Cookbook has a great list, and Robb Wolf’s website has a PDF of shopping lists for several weeks.

    *it is worth mentioning that some homeowners insurance policies and renters insurance policies cover food spoilage in events like this. It’s worth checking out, but ours does not.

    Posted in Food, Household Tip, Minimalism, paleo | Leave a Comment »

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