Guest Bloggers - Chaos Appreciation

Overcoming Picky Eating: Buffet Style

June 27, 2012 By TheTadey Leave a Comment

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Has meal time become a challenge in your home? Do you struggle to get your child to eat what is on his plate? Is dinner a constant battle?

Are you dealing with picky eaters?

In our home, we certainly have seen our share of struggles around the dining table. With our oldest daughter having an Autism Spectrum Disorder and our oldest son having his own texture-sensory issues, preparing a meal that everyone enjoys is not an easy task. (I can only imagine what it will be like when the youngest two children are old enough to voice their opinions!)

Each day, I would wail and bemoan the fact that my children were not getting a good balance of nutrition. Then, I read The No-Cry Picky Eater Solution by Elizabeth Pantley and she said something that changed how I thought. Instead of putting so much focus on what the children were (or were not) eating at each meal, I started to think about their nutrition over the course of a week. I decided to make one buffet-style meal each week so the children could prepare their own plates.

Do you know what happened? They put things on their plates that I would have never imagined. And. They. ATE.

So, here are some simple buffet-style meals to help you tame the picky eaters in your home.

Make your own pita pizza

Purchase whole wheat pita bread, pizza sauce, alfredo sauce, and a variety of cheese and toppings. Don’t hesitate when it comes to vegetables or meat. Steam broccoli florets. Julienne a few carrots. Dice some cooked chicken. Whatever you have in your refrigerator or freezer that might make an interesting pizza topping… pull it out and place it on the counter.
Then, allow the children to prepare their own pizzas. You can place their creations on a baking sheet and cook in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or you can just microwave them for 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the amount of toppings.

Yogurt parfait breakfast bar

Offer a choice from two flavors of yogurt. Wash and cut (if needed) a variety of fruit. Some great options are sliced bananas, quartered strawberries, halved grapes, apple chunks, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Also, consider allowing your picky eaters to choose to top their parfaits with cereal, granola, toasted oats, dried fruit, and/or nuts.
My children love to make (and eat) yogurt parfaits. Some nights, we even eat these for dessert.

Other buffet ideas for your picky eater

Build Your Own Pasta Bowl ~ Let children choose from two different pasta shapes, sauces (spaghetti, alfredo, pesto, etc.), cooked and/or raw vegetables, pepperoni, ham, cooked chicken, browned ground beef, and various cheeses.
Chef’s Salad Bar ~ This is a family favorite for us, especially when the produce bins only have a few things available and there is not enough of any one thing to create a meal. However, aside from vegetables, consider adding some of these options to your salad bar: cooked meats, diced fruit, various textures of rice, hard and/or soft cheeses, nuts, dried fruit, croutons, french fried onions, boiled eggs, olives, pickles, etc.
Bottomless Oatmeal Breakfast ~ Prepare oatmeal as you normally would but allow the children to top their hot cereal with yogurt, honey, chocolate chips, fresh or canned fruit, jelly, nuts, or granola.

What could you serve buffet-style?

Tabitha Philen, known as “Penny” to her readers at www.MeetPenny.com, is a saved by grace wife to one terrific husband and homeschooling mother to 4 amazing children, ages 8 years old and under with the oldest having an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Tabitha recently released her first ebook, Advanced Penny Pinching, in which she shares very practical tips for cutting your grocery expenses with or without coupons.

Love and Blessings, The Tadey

Filed Under: Guest Bloggers, In The Kitchen, The Chaos Makers Tagged With: breakfast, cooking, dinner, picky eaters, pizza, recipes, yogurt Leave a Comment

How Does Your Family’s Cancer History Impact How You Raise Your Child?

November 12, 2011 By TheTadey Leave a Comment

Guest Post by Lawrence Reaves

Giving Your Child a Better Chance at Not Having Cancer

Some families have strong genetic links to cancer growth. Those families tend to have a very high incidence of cancer developing. In many cases, it can be a major factor in deaths within the family. If your family’s history of cancer is there, how do you raise your children and try to prevent it from happening to them? The last thing a parent wants to do is bring this type of complication to their children’s lives.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Eating the right foods seems to have an impact on cancer. A natural cancer fighting component in the human body is antioxidants. These components help to destroy or neutralize free radicals that have known links to cancer development. Eating foods rich in antioxidants can help keep your child, as well as yourself, healthy in the long run. They are also rich in other nutrients that help the body fight off other cancer causing components.

Avoiding high levels of sugar is a good idea. Cancer loves sugar. Moreover, research is backing up that fact. All types of cells utilize glucose to grow and metabolize. Cancer cells use a higher level than normal cells. In combination with certain proteins, cancer cells seem to have an extraordinarily long life when compared to normal cells. Natural sugar amounts in fruits and other foods is not the problem. When you or your child consumes large amounts of processed sugars, you are only setting the stage.

Weight control is important. Scientific studies over the past couple of decades provide an overwhelming amount of evidence showing the links between obesity and cancer. Many cancers — such as breast, kidney, cancer, colon, and endometrial — have a direct link to being overweight. Getting to a healthy weight and maintaining it can greatly reduce the possibility of developing cancer in the first place.

Physical activity is essential. Inactivity has a direct link to obesity. However, being physically active has a direct impact on preventing cancer. For example, physical activity helps to move food through the colon efficiently. That reduces the chances of colon cancer. Another example is preventing breast cancer. Activity helps to reduce the hormones that directly cause breast cancer.

Avoid exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, lead paint, or asbestos. Over the past century, the amount of pesticides in the human diet has gone through the stratosphere. While farmers and food industry bigwigs claim there is no problem with ingesting pesticides, science does not back up their claim. To avoid pesticides, try to eat as organically as possible. Lead paint and asbestos are common hazards in older homes. Test your home for these cancer causing agents. Asbestos cancer can occur, as well as a host of other problems.

Set a good example by not smoking, drinking alcohol, or using recreational drugs. Tobacco use is a major contributor to lung and heart cancers. Second hand smoke is deadly as well. Drinking alcohol in excess can lead to cancer, especially in the liver. The links between recreational drugs and cancer are not so clear cut. However, inhaling or injecting foreign substances into the human body is not a good idea for anyone.

Help your child achieve and keep emotional balance. Stress affects the immune system directly. Stress is normal. It comes and then it goes, in most cases. However, chronic, ongoing stress is not normal. That type will take a toll on the immune system. There is some relation between a depressed immune system and the ability of virus to cause cancers like Kaposi sarcoma and some lymphomas.

Lawrence Reaves writes about a host of topics, including asbestos lung cancer and mesothelioma life expectancy, as well as pet care and family life.

References:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-prevention/CA00024
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817184539.htm
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/obesity
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/stress
http://www.asbestosnews.com/lawyers/

Love and Blessings, The Tadey

Filed Under: Guest Bloggers Tagged With: cancer, guest bloggers, health, prevention Leave a Comment

Why are we all so insecure? (Guest Blogger)

April 6, 2011 By TheTadey 2 Comments

When Lisa put out a call for guest posters I wanted to help but I struggled with what I could offer her readers. My youngest child is 7 and we’re (happily) through with that whole contributing to the gene pool thing. I don’t home school. I’m not a SAHM. I am NOT at ALL crafty. I stand in awe of Lisa and all the other women who pull off this full time mommy job — well — full time. Like REALLY full time.

But I just recently started a study of Beth Moore’s “So Long Insecurity” with some women in my church. You know a study is going to be good when you’re sobbing just a few pages into the first chapter.

“Good”? It’s completely subjective.

Moore uses a definition of insecurity taken from “The Tender Heart: Conquering Your Insecurity” by Joseph Nowinski.

Insecurity refers to a profound sense of self-doubt – a feeling of uncertainty about our basic worth and our place in the world. Insecurity is associate with chronic self – consciousness, along with a chronic lack of confidence in ourselves and anxiety about our relationships. The insecure man or woman lives in constant fear of rejection and a deep uncertainty about whether his or her own feelings and desires are legitimate.

Highlights are mine. Because yes. Yes. And oh dear lord yes.

Oh. My. Goodness. I probably could have highlighted the “constant fear of rejection” too. I have this fear that I will drive someone away. That they’ll have this realization that they screwed up by befriending/loving me. That they’ll, well, yeah, reject me. But I wouldn’t say it’s constant. Not even close. Still – it whispers sibilantly through the back of my mind more often than I like. Which is to say any at all.

What have I learned from the study so far? One – I’m insecure. Oh wait…I already knew that. No – what has really jumped out at me is the fact that I’m not the only one. Moore says that this is a universal struggle though with different areas and intensities. If you meet (or are) a woman who does NOT fight this particular battle, then it’s because you have put a lot of effort into it. I tend to believe her. Primarily because it makes me feel better. In fact – I was absolutely shocked by one of the woman who strolled into our first group session. She’s young, cute, outgoing and bubbly. She seems to have it all together. And yet she was in tears because she was tired and frustrated. Tired of doubting herself, of disliking herself. Frustrated with the fears and anxiety and the bonds she felt in her life.

I’m not alone. And guess what? Neither are you. It will interesting to see what this study yields.

************

Rhoni is God fearing wife and mother of 3 boys who manages to work full time, mom full time, wife full time and co-lead a lifegroup at her church. She blogs at Not Living In Vain and is active on twitter as @Rhoni_renee. She is also a great player on Word With Friends and unlike me she doesn’t take 20 hours to spell a word.

Love and Blessings, The Tadey