BRAT

No… I have not resorted to calling my readers mean names… BRAT is the diet that Abigail is on today. After she downed her morning bottle, she promptly “upped” it, or vomited it, all over our living room carpet, and me. She’s also been a little “loose in the diaper,” if you know what I mean (diarrhea!). So, she’s on the BRAT, dry em up diet.

B - Bananna, R - Rice (or rice milk, rice cereal, rice pasta), A - Apple (or applesauce, apple juice, etc), T - Toast

If you feed this to your child when he or she is not sick and “runny,” they will become constipated. These are all “binding” foods, which help to hold everything together and keep things inside the tummy when one isn’t feeling so good. (PS - this works for adults too!)

Product Spotlight - Soap! Kiss My Face GermsAside Tea Tree Moisture Soap

I’ve chosen to spotlight the hand soap that we use at our house… Kiss My Face Moisture Soap, GermsAside Tea Tree.

I love this product because it is naturally anti-bacterial. With a small child, and flu season, washing hands is the #1 way to prevent sickness. According to the AMA and other organizations, commercial antibacterial soaps have been shown to do more harm than good. http://ideonexus.com/2008/10/28/antibacterial-soaps-are-bad-for-you/.

The main ingredient in most traditional antibac soaps is alcohol which not only is extremely drying and irritating to the skin, but it kills too much bacteria. Antibacterial soaps and other products have led to antibacterial resistant strains of some scary illnesses.
We choose to use the Kiss My Face option because the natural antibacterial ingredients, including tea tree oil, eucalyptus, clove, and others, wash off some of the nasty bacteria, while not completely stripping your hands of the good stuff!
Enjoy!

Egg Sandwich

This recipe might be a “duh,” but I wanted to include it anyway… because it’s so simple, and we love it! This is a GREAT, easy breakfast if you are on the go. When my husband is rushing out the door to go to work he can easily take one of these with him. Portable and nutritious! If you leave out the bacon/ sausage option this literally takes like 5 minutes… if that! We serve with fruit!

Ingredients:
Eggs (2 per adult, 1 per toddler or young child)
Salt & Pepper
Coconut Oil (coconut oil is a “good” oil and one of the few that stay healthy when heated)
Butter
English Muffins (we use spelt which is wheat free, but NOT gluten free)
Cheese (we use raw milk cheese… whatever we have on hand!)
Tomatoes, Spinach, or other Veggies (optional)
Bacon or Sausage (optional)
Vegetarian option… leave out meat and cheese (if you don’t eat that!)

• Place skillet pan on the stove on medium heat. Add a scoop of cocount oil to the pan (about 1 1/2 tsp)


• When oil has coated bottom of pan, crack eggs into pan


• Cook bacon or sausage (if using)


• While eggs are cooking, start toasting your english muffins


• Slice cheese, or veggies (if using)


• Flip your eggs and cook until they are to your liking (we like ours over medium)


• Season eggs with salt and pepper


• Butter toasted english muffins, put desired number of cooked eggs onto each (2 eggs per adult, 1 egg per young child)


• Add cheese and optional veggies, close your sandwich, and viola!
  
  Toddler variation: One egg gets minimal seasoning. She eats the egg cut into small pieces, cheese pieces, and english muffin pieces all separate.

Chicken Caesar Salad Pasta

I try to make things gluten free… so most of my recipes will reflect that. I got this one from Rachael Ray yesterday (and modified it a bit!). It’s really tasty, easy, and very cheap to make! It makes quite a bit so is great for a casual get together. It tastes great warm, or the next day as a pasta salad.

Ingredients:
Salt
1 pound gluten free brown rice pasta
Olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
Black pepper
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic grated
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2-1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
Boil water, put pasta on to cook… cook according to package directions
Coat bottom of skillet pan with olive oil
Cook chicken over medium heat in pan with olive oil. Cook until almost cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side
When chicken is almost cooked through, take out of pan and chop into bite sized pieces.
Add more olive oil to pan, if needed. Put chicken pieces back into pan over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper and cook until pieces are cooked through and browned (stir frequently)
While chicken and pasta are cooking, chop head of romaine lettuce and put pieces in a large bowl
In a food processor, combine egg yolk, Dijon mustard, Worchestershire sauce, garlic, lemon juice, 1 cup of starchy cooking water from the pasta, salt and pepper liberally, and 1/2-1 cup of olive oil
Process above untill mixed
Drain cooked pasta and return to warm cooking pan
Add sauce, parmesan cheese, and chicken to the pasta, toss until mixed. Heat on low until desired temperature is reached
Add pasta/ sauce/ chicken mixture to bowl with lettuce
Toss and serve!!! Enjoy - yummy!
** Toddler variation - I keep a bit of evverything separate for her prior to mixing the sauce in. So she eats plain pasta, lightly seasoned chicken, plain lettuce, and whatever veggie I prepare.

Daddys and Little Girls...

I write this post with a 13 month old little girl climbing all over me, and Sesame Street on in the background… Anyway, I was inspired this morning to write about one of my favorite topics… daddys and little girls. My little girl, Abigail, loves her daddy…deservedly so! This morning during breakfast Abby had only been in her high chair for about 2 seconds before she started waving her hands frantically in the air and whining (her sign for “all done”). I didn’t understand, because generally she is a pretty good breakfast eater. After a few moments I realized that she heard the water running in the

bathroom and knew that her daddy was in there cleaning paint brushes (my husband is a painter). Nothing was more important to her at that moment than being where her daddy was. So… I got her down from her chair and she toddled quickly into the bathroom to “help” daddy.

It is a joy to me to watch Abigail and her daddy’s relationship deepen and grow. I remember noticing the different, special, way she related to her dad when she was about 6 weeks old. “Dada” was Abby’s first word which she proclaimed with enthusiasm at 11 months. Over the last 3 months, she has only added one other word to her vocab repertiore, the word “no,” which she exclaims frequently and loudly… dragging out the “o,” “NOOOOOOOO!” But, what other words does a young girl need, besides “dada” and “no?”

Here are some fun facts about dad’s relationships with their daughters:
More girls are following dad’s career path http://www.news-medical.net/?id=46136
Father’s teach their daughters how to think about themselves http://www.dr-jane.com/chapters/Jane125.htm
Father’s teach their daighters what kind of relationships are healthy, and what to expect from other men in their lives http://www.dr-jane.com/chapters/Jane125.htm
Girls with close relationships with their fathers tend to enter puberty later, while girls with absent or distant fathers begin puberty earlier http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/09/990927064822.htm (this one is fascinating, and worth reading!)
Children with involved fathers do better in school, have higher self esteem, and are less likely to abuse substances http://www.lifescript.com/Life/Family/Relativity/The_Importance_of_Fathers.aspx
Children learn eating habits more from their fathers than from their mothers
A girl’s relationship with her father, and her perception of how he views her physically, is directly related to her body image and presence or lack of eating disorder(s) http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18108100
To say the least… a girls relationship with her father is extremely important.