Riced Cauliflower + How to make prepped and frozen riced cauliflower

As I talked about last week, I did Whole 30 last month (yesterday was my last day!). One of my favorite hacks was discovered when I was shopping at Trader Joe's and found prepped and frozen cauliflower rice. I grabbed a few bags, and as I was checking out the cashier noted "It's a good thing you grabbed a few of these things. They are like gold around here!" And so it held true, I couldn't ever really find them again when I went, as they were always selling out a few hours after they were out on the shelf.  So I decided I would have to just make my own frozen version, and it has done wonders!

Baby-Led Weaning (Solids)

When I found out I was pregnant (almost two years ago) one of my first reactions was “holy cow, how on earth do I take care of a BABY?!” I was excited, obviously, but realized I really had no clue how to take care of a newborn. Then came my reading obsession about babies; if there is a book about babies on the library shelf, there is a 99.9% chance I read the book. Because of all the reading and researching I felt like I knew every “method” of baby raising, and I was able to modge podge all of my favorite’s into my own version of child rearing. (which turned out great, by the way. Baby sleeping through the night by 10 weeks? Yes please.)

When time got closer for Calvin to start eating solids, the same thing happened (book frenzy). I remembered my sister Natalie telling me about Baby-Led Weaning, and how it worked wonders for her little man, I decided to pick the book up, along with a few others. I instantly fell in LOVE with the idea; bonus, the thought of feeding my child rice cereal kind of gave me the heebie geebies.

Like the whole newborn rearing, I definitely made my own version of BLW, and both my husband and I felt comfortable with the way we ended up introducing solids, and let me tell you; almost everyday I get a comment like “Claire, he is SUCH a great eater!”

Here we are; now that I have given you that rather lengthy introduction, you can choose to go to another web address, or just stick with me as I take you on the journey of BLW.

Kids & Veggies: Cooking and Growing

Collette and I (Natalie here) were contemplating when our kids ate the best or happily ate new things without hesitation, it really came down to two scenarios: The Kitchen and The Garden. While we will discuss many topics about kids and veggies here (including how to introduce them, when, how to raise independent eaters, baby foods, and so on), we thought we'd dedicate our first full "Kids and Veggies" post to these two important places.

The Kitchen

Cooking with your kids is an incredible way to expose them to a variety of foods and to help them understand where their prepared meals come from. When they are involved in this process and "help" with food prep, they are more likely to eat what they helped with or had a say in (and what child does not like a say!). My son is much more likely to try a new vegetable when he is involved in the preparation. I always have him try it as we are prepping (he has been know to sneak raw onions or peppers during prep) and then his favorite part is the "tasting." When he has seen it from start to finish and tasted it numerous times before dinner is actually served he will always eat it from his plate. However, I have seen the opposite effect when he is not included. If I cook a new dish or introduce a new food that he has not seen and was not included in, he is much more hesitant at meal time to give it a try. The best part is, if you are getting your kids into the kitchen with you, that means you are in the kitchen. And it is always better for you and your family to be preparing your own wholesome food.