Cook and Brew.

If you have a toddler, I bet you can relate when I say that meal time in the dining area can look like as if there’s always a food fight or of that sort. I guess, you would have also been used to having a broom or any type of sweeper, a dust pan or even a vacuum always on a standby because aside from dishwashing the plates, you are always engaged with a clean up routine removing the food particles, sauce smudges, liquid spills on the dining area caused by your little messy eater. Probably, you would have arranged likewise numerous San Diego carpet cleaning appointments already because you might have given up already cleaning those stubborn carpet blemishes.

My 19 months old son is at the height, or perhaps just starting to take off to being an overly inquisitive and playful toddler that he loves experimenting and exploring things. And that includes his food. He wants to eat by himself with this tiny Barney spoon and fork and doesn’t want to be guided anymore. That is why, since his dexterity hasn’t fully developed yet, the food would sometimes miss his mouth and off it falls on his high chair desk or on the floor. Well, of course, he’s just a tot and is too young to reprimand although of course, we started orienting him about proper table manners. We just let him explore because after all, he’s in his developing years and I can always clean up his mess anyway.

Filipinos are known for the custom of having close family ties. We naturally care for each family members that home for the elders centers and nursing homes are uncommon. For some married children, even if they have the means to live on their own, they would still prefer to live with either of the couple’s families or parents.

A family is one of the major factors or the basis of one’s happiness. It is also in this light that a kid’s values formation and development are immensely affected by his family’s circumstance or state. So it is imperative that a family must stand sturdy together at all times and remain joyous despite life’s troubles. It is said that families who spends more time together, especially during dinner, is an effective means to strengthen the bond of the family. According to research, dinner is the perfect time to connect with our family. The communication that occurs over meal time fortifies the parent-child relationships.

Every fourth Monday of September is Famealy Day as spearheaded by Lucky Me! with their advocacy of acknowledging the importance of family meals in strenghtening the family bond. So on September 28, 2009, be sure to be home early for dinner and eat together with your spouse and kids. Because as they put it, your children need more than just good food during mealtimes..they need you!

Here’s one smoothie recipe that I’ll be trying once we can buy loads of strawberries this December in Baguio.

2 cans (240 ml each) Pure Pineapple Juice
1/4 kg fresh strawberries, washed and trimmed
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar

Freeze contents of 1 can of Pineapple Juice in an ice cube tray. Chill the other can. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Garnichs with fresh strawberry slices. Serve immediately.

**This is rich in folic acid and helps prevent/reduce birth defects so this drink is ideal for pregnant women.

I could say that Asher, at this stage, is a vegetarian kid. He loves eating mashed squash, soyote, eggplant, carrots, broccoli, stringbeans, potato, malunggay, spinach and saluyot leaves and even those uncommon vegetables that we have on our Dinengdeng dish like the green spaghetti-like “alukon”. What he abhors eating are any meaty texture – pork, beef or chicken. At first, I got worried because he may not be taking in enough protein and other key nutrients but my research in parenting books says that “vegetarian kids can be very healthy, as long as you keep these few simple rules in mind”:

1. Dairy foods (such as milk, eggs, cheese) are great source of protein.
2. Whole grains have lots of proteins, too.
3. Variety of beans,nuts, legumes, and some soy foods together with whole grains cover the baby’s protein requirements.
4. Serve a vitamin C–rich food (which boosts iron absorption), at every meal to make sure the toddler makes the most of the plant-based iron he’s eating. Plant-based iron (called non-heme iron) is not as easily absorbed by the body as animal sources of iron (heme iron).
5. Milk intake should be carefully regulated for vegan kids. While milk is packed with calcium, vitamin D, and protein..it has no iron. So if a vegetarian kid bottoms up just milk, he’ll not go hungry for solid foods in meals that contain iron and many other nutrients. Instead, if he clamors for more milk, serve him some enriched soy milk – which contains iron.

Do have an idea the right amount of food your child should be taking in? Check out this USDA’s Food Pyramid, which was updated late last year. It emphasizes more on protein and vegetables opposed to the grains.

To see the specific requirements for your kids, check the following tables: