To put things in perspective, my current blender is about 15 years old, cost less than $35 and is slow as mud. I’m not the type that drinks smoothies every day, so in the past, it seemed unnecessary to buy an expensive blender that I wouldn’t use very often. But, that was before reading all the wonderful features the Dash Digital Blender has to offer. I was so excited to try them all!

The Dash Digital Blender features a 64-ounce blending pitcher and 1400 watts of power. Its six preset functions include puree, smoothie, crush, frozen (for ice creams and “nice creams”), soup (which yields hot, creamy soup in about eight minutes!) and rinse (for easy cleanup). The preset functions allow the user to hit “start” and step away – the machine handles the rest, including pulsing and adjusting speeds to achieve the desired result.

I’ve never owned a powerful blender, so as soon as I unboxed the Dash Digital Blender, I was taken aback by its size. At 21.5 inches tall, this blender is almost twice as tall as my current blender. It’s so tall that I can’t store it on my countertop; I have to store it in my kitchen cabinets with the blender pitcher separated from the base. That being said, it is a comparable size to a Vitamix blender, which is only 1 inch shorter at 20.5 inches tall.

The Dash Digital Blender is big on size as well as function. I was amazed at the creaminess of smoothies, the speed and ease in which it crushed ice and frozen fruit, and how easily it cleaned itself using the “rinse” function. As a test, I made peanut butter in the blender and almond butter in my food processor. The Dash Digital Blender produced beautifully creamy peanut butter in about two minutes, whereas my food processor took more than five minutes to produce creamy almond butter.

One of the most interesting functions of the blender, the “soup” feature, uses the natural heat generated by blending to create a hot, creamy soup in about eight minutes. You can use vegetables that are raw (tomatoes) and pre-cooked (sweet potatoes) to make smooth, delicious soups.

The Dash Digital Blender is a great investment to make creamy smoothies, pureed foods and more. It would be a great investment for someone on a modified texture diet, a busy family looking for an easy way to cook at home more often, or a registered dietitian nutritionist who does cooking classes or demos. The blender’s power and versatility make it a treasured kitchen tool that you’ll want to use again and again.

So, with all that concern, is it safe to give peanut foods to babies? When is the best time to introduce peanuts to babies?

Research says that early introduction of peanuts may help prevent a peanut allergy.

In 2015, New England Journal of Medicine published a study examining the effect of early introduction of peanuts on the prevalence of peanut allergy. This study was inspired by prior observations that babies in Israel tended to have lower rates of peanut allergy. In Israel, it is common practice to introduce babies to peanuts around 7 months of age, often in the form of a peanut butter-based baby-friendly snack food.

The study, called Learning Early about Peanut Allergy looked at babies ages 4 to 11 months who were at risk for developing food allergies due to severe eczema and/or egg allergy. The researchers instructed one group of babies to avoid peanut foods, and the other group to introduce peanut foods. At 5 years old, the children were tested for peanut allergy. Researchers found that the children who consumed peanut foods early were much less likely to have developed a peanut allergy than the children who avoided peanut foods.

These positive results led the scientific community to continue to study early introduction of allergens, including peanuts, as a way to help prevent development of allergies. In 2017, NIAID released guidelines on the early introduction of peanut foods as a way to prevent peanut allergies. You can read the full guidelines here.

For babies with history of severe eczema and/or egg allergy, consider seeing an allergist before introducing peanut foods.

While having a history of eczema or egg allergy does not mean that your baby will definitely have a peanut allergy, there does appear to be an increased chance that they will. Talk to your pediatrician or allergist before introducing peanuts. Your doctor may want to do a skin prick test or IgE blood test for peanuts to see just how high that risk is.

Depending on your baby’s history and results of testing (if testing is done), your pediatrician may advise you to hold off on giving your baby peanut foods. For many babies, the risk of peanut allergy is still low, and your pediatrician will recommend to begin introducing peanuts to your baby as early as 4 to 6 months, provided they are developmentally ready for solid foods. Starting to introduce peanut foods early, around 4 to 6 months, may help prevent your baby from developing a peanut allergy.

For babies with history of mild-to-moderate eczema, introduce babies to peanut foods around 6 months old.

It’s important to talk to your pediatrician before starting any solid foods. If your baby is developmentally ready for solids, and your pediatrician gives the green light, it is recommended to introduce your baby to peanuts around 6 months old to help protect against peanut allergy.

For babies with no history of eczema or egg allergy, introduce peanut foods according to your family’s lifestyle.

Even if your baby is at low risk for developing a peanut allergy, it still makes sense to introduce peanuts early and often. Simply introduce your baby to peanuts in a way that works with your family. Introduction does not have to take place at 6 months, but if peanuts are a part of your family’s diet, you can give your baby peanut foods according to your family’s preferences and lifestyle. There is no evidence that giving peanut foods at this young age will cause your baby to develop a peanut allergy.

How to give babies peanut foods.

When introducing any new food to your baby, you want to introduce one new food at a time and monitor your baby carefully for any signs of allergic reaction. Learn the signs of a food allergy and what to do if you suspect your child is allergic to a food.

Follow this process for introducing peanut foods for your baby. You can download these steps from NIAID here.

Before feeding:

• Feed your baby only when they are healthy, and not if they have a cold, vomiting, diarrhea or other illness.
• Unless your doctor instructs you otherwise, give your baby peanut foods for the first time at home, not at daycare or a restaurant. If your baby is at higher risk for peanut allergy, your doctor may instruct you to give peanuts for the first time in the doctor’s office.
• Make sure that you or another adult can have your full attention on your baby for at least two hours after eating, to monitor for signs of an allergic reaction. Feed peanut foods for the first time in the morning or afternoon, not in the evening, so you can watch your baby for two hours after eating.
• Do not make peanuts the first solid food for your baby. Before giving peanuts, make sure your baby is developmentally ready for solid foods and has been able to tolerate foods. If peanuts are the first food given to your baby and there is a reaction, you won’t know if it was due to the peanuts or your baby not being ready for solid foods.

How to feed:

• Prepare a full portion of peanut foods (see below). Remember, do not give babies whole peanuts or chunky peanut butter and do not give peanut butter directly from a spoon without thinning it out. These are all choking hazards for your baby.
• Offer your baby a small part of the peanut food on the tip of a spoon.
• Wait 10 minutes, watch for signs of allergic reaction.
• If no reaction, then slowly offer your baby the rest of the portion.

Peanut food recipes:

• Puffed peanut snacks. For babies 7 months old or younger, soften 20 puffs in 4 to 6 teaspoons of water until they break down. For babies older than 7 months who can manage this crunchy dissolvable texture, puff can be given without soaking in water.
• Peanut butter in water. Combine 2 teaspoons of creamy peanut butter with 2 to 3 teaspoons of hot water. Mix until the peanut butter dissolves and is thin. Let cool. You can then add more water or infant cereal to make it a better texture for your baby.
• Peanut butter in puree. Measure 2 teaspoons of creamy peanut butter, add 2 to 3 teaspoons of a fruit or veggie puree that your baby has had before and tolerated well. Mix well. You can add more puree to make it a better texture for your baby.
• Peanut flour or powder. Measure 2 teaspoons of peanut flour or peanut powder. Add 2 Tablespoons of a fruit or veggie puree that your baby has had before and tolerated well. You can add more or less puree to make it a better texture for your baby.

Thinking about the next chapter of your little eater’s life can be a lot. What should I feed them? OK, what else should I feed them? How do I know they won’t choke? How do I know they’re eating enough? How do I know they’re not eating too much? And on, and on, and on.

But, fortunately, many of the common fears and myths about starting babies on solids are just untrue, or designed to make you think you need to buy special foods and tools to raise a healthy eater. For the most part, your baby can eat *most* of what the rest of the family eats, provided it’s a safe size and texture. You can make your own baby food easily, with no special “baby food maker”. And babies are excellent at regulating their own appetites, meaning they will (for the most part) stop eating when they are full.

Here are the top tips to start your baby on solid foods with ease and confidence.

1. Wait for baby to be ready

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that most babies begin the introduction of solid foods around 4 to 6 months of age. Prior to 4 months, your baby’s digestive system is not mature enough to handle solid foods, and introducing solid foods before 4 months may put your baby at higher risk for developing food allergies.

Besides age, there are other signs that your baby will show that indicate they may be ready for solid foods:

• Good head control
• Can sit upright while supported
• Loss of tongue thrust
• Desire to eat solid foods

You should always talk to your pediatrician before introducing solid foods and discuss any concerns you have around your baby’s weight, allergies or other medical concerns.

2. Practice good food safety

Babies and young children have immune systems that are still developing, so they are more prone to foodborne infections. You can help keep your baby free from these types of infections by practicing good food safety.

Principles of good food safety include:

• Clean: Wash your hands and baby’s hands prior to preparing food. Clean all surfaces used to prepare food (cutting boards, knives, bowls, etc) often.
• Separate: Keep raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs separate from foods that are ready to eat. Do not reuse any utensils, cutting boards or other cooking tools after they have come into contact with raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs.
• Cook: Cook meat, poultry, fish and eggs thoroughly. Do not serve raw or undercooked meat, poultry, fish or eggs to your baby.
• Chill: Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours of being cooked.
• Store: Homemade baby foods can be safely stored in the refrigerator for 1 day or in the freezer for 1 to 2 months.
• Reheat: Reheat foods from the refrigerator or freezer until they are thoroughly heated, then let stand until they are cool enough to eat.
• Unpasteurized foods: Never serve your baby unpasteurized (“raw”) milk or juice.

While your baby is learning how to chew and swallow solid foods, they are at risk for choking.

Avoid foods that are choking hazards for babies 6 to 12 months of age, such as:

• Whole corn kernels (cooked or raw)
• Uncut cherry or grape tomatoes
• Pieces or raw hard fruit or vegetables
• Whole pieces of canned fruit
• Uncut berries, cherries, grapes or melon balls
• Uncooked dry fruit such as raisins
• Whole or chopped nuts and nut butters (nut butters can be thinned with water, breast milk or formula, or spread thinly on a cracker. Do not serve large globs of nut butters.)
• Tough or large chunks of meat
• Hot dogs, sausages
• Fish with bones
• Large chunks of cheese, including string cheese
• Cookies, granola bars
• Chips, pretzels, similar snack foods
• Whole kernels of cooked rice and other grains
• Hard candy, jelly beans, marshmallows, chewing gum

Always supervise your baby while they are eating. I highly recommend that all caregivers complete an infant and child CPR class that covers choking.

3. Be a responsive feeder

Babies are surprisingly excellent at regulating their own appetite. They tell us when they are hungry. They eat to fulfill their hunger. And they stop eating when they are full. How many of us adults can say the same? Not many, I bet (and I’ll be the first to admit that I am not great at it either). For many of us, we tend to mindlessly snack out of boredom, loneliness or stress. We eat to the point where we feel overstuffed and then we regret our choices. If this is you, take a look at the principles of mindful eating or intuitive eating, which can help you become more aware of your body’s hunger cues and overcome eating for reasons other than hunger.

You can help your baby develop healthy eating behaviors by helping them understand their appetite and how to regulate it. This is done through responsive feeding. It’s a simple approach, but it does require you to trust your baby, which can be a little challenging and stressful.

Hunger cues are signs that your baby is hungry and wants more food, which include:

• Reaching or pointing to food
• Gets excited when food is offered
• Opens their mouth to accept more food
• May sign for “more” food

Fullness cues are signs that your baby is satisfied and done eating, which include:

• Slows their pace of eating
• Plays with food, throws food
• Turns head away from food, pushes food away
• Clenches mouth shut
• May shake their head “no”

Responsive feeding means you offer food when baby is hungry and complete the meal when baby is full. Don’t try and get baby to finish their plate of food or take more bites when they are full. Even if it looks to you that baby has not eaten enough, it’s important to remember that every meal is different. Your baby may eat a lot for breakfast and very little for lunch or dinner. Or your baby may eat very little on Monday and Tuesday and eat a lot on Wednesday. Look at your baby’s overall pattern of eating for a week, and most of the time you’ll find that, on average, they are eating enough.

If you have any concerns about your baby’s appetite or how much they eating, do not hesitate to talk to your pediatrician or a pediatric registered dietitian.

4. Offer a wide variety of foods

Are you struggling to think about what to feed your baby? For the most part*, your baby can eat exactly what the rest of the family eats.

*Foods that you should avoid are:

• Honey (raw or cooked) if baby is under 1 year old
• Choking hazards
• Foods that are unsafe (such as undercooked meat, poultry, fish or eggs)
• Foods that baby is allergic to
• Excess salt and sugar

Other than those, babies can enjoy all the same foods that you do!

The more different kinds of food you expose your baby to, the more likely they are to be adventurous eaters when they get older. Most kids will go through some periods of picky eating but you may be able to lessen the blow.

One of the most wonderful gifts you can give your baby is to cook them foods from your family’s background. Let your baby try your mother’s or grandmother’s famous recipes. Expose them to the foods of your culture. Show them that food is exciting and flavorful and fun. You teach your baby about colors and animals and shapes. Don’t forget to teach them about flavors too!

5. DIY puréed baby food

There are lots of baby food jars and pouches available at the grocery store. The quality has definitely gotten better over the years but these foods really don’t compare to fresh, homemade baby food. Store bought food may contain preservatives, including an acid like lemon juice, which isn’t bad for your baby, but it does affect the flavor of the food. Plus, store bought baby food is expensive, and can cost $1 to $2 per meal. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but compared to the cost of homemade baby food, it’s expensive!

Some key tips to remember:

• Use a blender, immersion (stick) blender or food processor to make baby purees
• Add water, breast milk or formula if you need to make your puree a thinner texture.
• Freeze your purees in ice cube trays (they are the perfect 2-tablespoon serving sizes). Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag and label. This will keep in your freezer for 1 to 2 months. Then simply defrost and heat as many cubes as you need. Mixing and matching fruits and veggies is easy and quick.
• You won’t need as much puree as you think. Many babies are only eating pureed foods for 2 or 3 months before transitioning to more solid textures and finger foods. When my daughter was starting on purees, I only had to make 7 or 8 ice cube trays of food and that lasted until she was on to more solid textures.
• Cooked baby cereals (oatmeal, rice, mixed grain cereals) also freeze wonderfully in ice cube trays!

6. Keep mealtime fun, calm and positive

Above all else, remember, you are doing great, even if your kid doesn’t eat kale, açaí and quinoa. Mealtime is about more than eating, it’s about your baby learning to use all their senses to explore the world of food. Talk to your baby about the food you are eating and let your baby touch and smell the food. Get messy! And most importantly, have fun!

Since becoming a mom last year, I have learned that cooking and preparing food with a child can be tricky. Now that I’ve got a full-blown toddler, I am increasingly nervous about using a large knife while being climbed on like a jungle gym. My prep time is virtually zero, and my daughter is eager to help me in the kitchen in any way. I was excited to try the Cook’s Innovations Adjustable Fruit Scoop as a way to easily and safely prepare fruit and vegetables.

The fruit scoop by is designed to easily and safely scoop, slice and remove seeds from many different fruits and vegetables. Its handle has a rubber grip to prevent slipping and a sharp stainless-steel scoop, which can be adjusted by turning the knob at the end of the handle. Although the manufacturer suggests hand-washing the adjustable fruit scoop, I ran mine through the dishwasher and saw no damage.

The first thing I noticed about the adjustable fruit scoop was how sturdy it is. The stainless-steel scoop is thick but flexible. Its edge is not too sharp, so I was not concerned about accidental cuts if it fell. My daughter is too young to use this on her own, but a 3- or 4-year-old could use it with supervision. The scoop is easily adjusted by turning the knob at the end of the handle to match the size of the scoop to the size of the fruit or vegetable.

The manufacturer suggests using the adjustable fruit scoop on nearly any fruit or vegetable, including kiwi, avocado, watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, papaya, eggplant, zucchini, passion fruit, dragon fruit, cucumber or even a baked potato. After cutting a fruit or vegetable in half, you can scoop out seeds, scoop out the flesh or create balls of the food by rotating the scoop in a circle.

I tried the scoop on a few different types of foods: mango, avocado, cantaloupe, kiwi, cucumber and butternut squash. While it was easy to adjust the size of the scoop, the actual scooping process takes a bit of practice. In many ways, the scoop exceeded my expectations. It swiftly removed seeds from a butternut squash in one stroke, easily separated an avocado half from its skin and made beautiful melon balls. Some tasks, however, were better suited to a traditional knife or spoon. I was unable to cleanly remove mango or kiwi flesh from its skin, accidentally cutting too close to the skin and tearing it. And the cucumber I attempted to de-seed was very nearly massacred.

The adjustable fruit scoop would make an excellent addition to the kitchen of a family or person who consumes a lot of produce and would like an easy and safe way to prepare it. Someone who is less confident with a large knife, or would like to involve children in preparing produce, also would love this tool. But, if you prefer to have more control over your produce prep, you may find this tool is less precise than a knife and may favor the traditional chef’s knife for the job.

Easy. Healthy. Perfect for sharing.

I first started making this recipe five or six years ago, once my husband and I decided to cut down on our gift giving during the holiday season. I was leaving my full-time job to become a full-time (unpaid) intern on my journey to become a registered dietitian. My husband was planning to leave his full-time job and transition to full-time freelance work. We struggled to figure out how to balance our finances. We loved getting our family and friends gifts for holidays and parties throughout the year. But we just couldn’t keep doing it the same way. So, we decided to swap out store-bought gifts for homemade gifts. Even with using some fancy ingredients, we would still save money on gifts, and we love to share good food with our loved ones.

This was one of the first successful homemade gifts I tried. I like to get my nuts and seeds from the bulk bins at my local health food store. It allows me to customize what’s in the mix and get as much (or as little) as I like. My favorite nuts to include are almonds, walnuts, cashews and pecans. But I’ve also made this mix with peanuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. It always comes out fantastic!

A great after-school snack for kids.

Are you looking for a healthy and hearty recipe for your older kids? This nut mix makes a great snack and exposes your kids to lots of new and interesting flavors. The fiber and healthy fats in nuts will help keep your kids full until dinner is ready and the mild spice may actually get them to drink more water! These nuts should be enjoyed by kids aged four years and older because nuts can be a choking hazard for younger kids. You child can help with this recipe by:

• Choosing which nuts and seeds to use
• Measuring and combining the nuts and seeds
• Measuring and combining the remaining ingredients in a bowl
• Stirring the nuts as they are baking (if your child is old enough to safely be around hot pans)
• Taste testing the results!

Rosemary, Maple, and Cayenne Mixed Nuts

Serves 15 to 20

Ingredients

• 6 cups raw nuts and seeds, any kind and variety
• 1 tablespoon dried, ground rosemary
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (use more or less as desired)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or coconut oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread nuts and seeds in an even layer on the baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, stirring once. The nuts should smell toasty and fragrant.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.
4. Add the hot toasted nuts and seeds to the bowl, and toss to coat.
5. Return to the baking sheet, and bake in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. The nuts should look very toasted. If you smell burning, remove from the oven.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool.

And then, all the sudden, your baby is now 4-, 5- or 6-months old, and it hits you: “They’re going to start eating real foods pretty soon?!?!?!” No longer are boobs and bottles going to cut it, your little one is joining you at the table.

As you’re starting to think about baby’s first precious bites of food, don’t let that huge aisle of baby food at the market scare you. The companies that make those jars and pouches want you to think that their product is necessary. They want you to think that they will give your baby the most nutritious food, the biggest variety, and the most convenience. They want your money, plain and simple.

But it’s all hype. Making your own baby food can be easy, healthy and perfectly safe. With a little planning, some creativity, and confidence in the kitchen, you can make all your baby’s meals quickly, easily and affordably. 

Read on for my top 5 tips to make homemade baby food easy and healthy:

Safe Size & Texture

Before anything, talk to your pediatrician to make sure your little one is ready for solid foods. You’ll want to discuss any special concerns you have, such as food allergies, swallowing difficulties and maintaining a healthy rate of weight gain.

Once you have the go-ahead from your doc, baby’s first foods should be an appropriate size and texture. Many parents are now considering a baby-led weaning approach, which bypasses the typical progression of pureed food to lumpy food to finger foods. Many other parents stick with what they know, starting with pureed food and slowly progressing to table foods. Talk to your pediatrician, and do what you are comfortable with. For me, it was a combination of the two approaches. Whatever approach you decide, you should always trust your instincts, consult your pediatrician and listen to your baby.

Wherever you start, there are some foods that are pretty much universally off-limits for a while because they are choking hazards. These foods include:

• Popcorn
• Whole nuts and seeds
• Whole grapes or cherry tomatoes
• Big globs of peanut butter or nut butter
• Raisins and other dried fruit
• Bug hunks of cheese
• Hot dogs
• Hard candies, gum, and marshmallows
• Most raw vegetables

For the most part, those first few months of eating are going to be filled with very soft and moist foods. If you’re not sure if something is soft enough for baby, one way to estimate is to put a small piece in your mouth, and see if you can “chew” it without using your teeth. Only use your tongue to mash the food around in your mouth. Can you do it? Then it may be soft enough for baby.

Some considerations when choosing foods for baby:

• Dark meat chicken and turkey are typically more soft and moist than white meat. Plus, they have more iron.
• Ground meats are usually much easier for babies to handle (think a hamburger vs. a steak).
• Some fruits and veggies are naturally perfectly soft: avocado, banana, cooked sweet potato.
• Many fruits are soft but might need to be cooked so they are really soft enough for baby. These include peaches, plums, pears and apples.
• I love using frozen fruits and veggies — when you heat them, they are already usually soft enough for baby. Some of my favorites are broccoli, cauliflower, peas & carrots, strawberries, peaches and mango.

Think Seasonally

Foods that are in season are going to be super fresh, full of flavor, and packed with vitamins and minerals. Fruits eaten in season are sweeter and more colorful. Veggies in season are crisper, brighter and less bitter. Yes, you will see tomatoes and strawberries at your supermarket year round. But out of season, these foods are shipped thousands of miles from other countries, and (in my opinion) taste like cardboard.

Visit your local farmer’s market or look for local foods in your supermarket to find the freshest seasonal foods for your baby. Don’t stress, there are plenty of delicious seasonal eats for your little one, even in the winter.

Add Some Spice

A great way to help your little eater develop their tastes is to give them foods with lots of flavor! Don’t be afraid to season food with all sorts of spices. Even try a little heat. You’ll be surprised what your baby can handle, and even what they prefer.

With my daughter, in those early months of eating, her favorite meals were always the ones with the most seasoning and the most spice. The first time I let her try some salsa (a medium heat one, too), her eyes lit up as if to say “Whoa!! So that’s what food tastes like!”

The only exception I would add is to go light on the salt. If you are using a spice blend that you bought from the store, try and choose ones without salt, or don’t add any additional salt to the food. I’ve gotten in the habit of not adding salt to my food until I’ve parsed out a bit for my daughter, then my hubby and I get to add some to our meals if it’s needed.

Offer Lots of Variety

Offering your little one a wide variety of foods helps them in so many ways. First, it helps make sure they are getting a diet rich in vitamins and minerals. Each food has its own blend of nutrients and, by eating a wide variety of foods, you help your baby check all their vitamin and mineral boxes. It also helps to expand their palate, challenge them to new and unique flavors, and eventually may help them to be less picky as they get older.

Exploring different foods stimulates all of babies’ senses: they can see the different colors, smell different scents, touch the different textures of fruits and veggies, hear the sounds the food makes when it is cut or cooked, and of course they taste the wonderful diversity that nature gives us.

But, I get it. I’m a mom. It’s just not realistic to give my daughter different foods every single day. Babies eat such small amounts at each meal. It used take my daughter three days to eat a whole banana. And some foods are so super healthy that we want to give them often. My family often makes fun of me for raising a ‘hipster baby’ because she eats avocado toast almost every day for breakfast. And that’s OK. As long as there is variety of foods in the week, you’re doing just fine.

I have a fun challenge for you. Each time you go grocery shopping, pick out one new fruit and one new veggie for your baby. You don’t need to buy a lot, just one or two pieces so you, baby and any older kids can have a taste. Here are some examples of fruits and veggies I tried:

Fruit

• Kiwi
• Yellow plum
• Persimmon
• Mango
• Blackberries

Veggies

• Fennel
• Purple sweet potatoes
• Broccoli rabe
• Turnip
• Plantains

Don’t Take It Personally

That veggie you spent time picking, washing carefully and cooking with care? That piece of meat or fish you cut into tiny pieces and blew on like the Big Bad Wolf so baby wouldn’t get burned? That expensive, organic grass-fed yogurt?

It will get thrown on the floor. It will get smooshed in their hair. It will get smooshed in your hair. It will get spit out, spit up and refused all together. Maybe, just maybe, it will end up in baby’s tummy.

As hard as it can be, try not to take it personally. Your baby is not a sophisticated food critic, throwing those peas on the floor because they were slightly too mushy. Your baby is just being … a baby. Throwing food on the floor is part of the game. Refusing food happens. Spit up happens.

And with any new food, it can — and usually does — take many, many tries before they like something. It took my daughter nearly five months to like bananas — yes, bananas — the most loved and revered of all baby foods. Just keep offering. Encourage them to try it, but don’t force it. Keep mealtime positive.

And remember, anything baby doesn’t eat, hey, another snack for you!

There’s not much that I consider memorable about school lunches when I was a kid. We had all your standard American fare: mystery pasta with sauce, mystery meatloaf, mystery chicken nuggets, pizza. You know the drill. There are, however, two things that really stand out in my memories: 1. the GIANT chocolate chip cookies we would get after a mandatory shift working in the cafeteria (and, oddly, straight from the freezer, which was somehow incredible and even more delicious than a hot cookie), and 2. the salad bar.

It wasn’t like I was a super healthy veggie enthusiast as a 10-year old. Far from it, if I’m being honest. But there was something about that salad bar that stands out in my memory. Maybe it was the fact that there was actually something fresh and crisp to eat, an alternative to all that greasy, mushy food. Maybe it was the freedom to choose whatever you wanted to build your salad, even if it included a ratio of 90 percent croutons to 10 percent lettuce. Yeah, it was probably the croutons.

I love having a big salad for dinner, but finding the inspiration is sometimes difficult. Channeling my inner kid, however, makes having salad so much fun. Pair it with a nice big glass of milk, and you’ll see me running around the jungle gym after we eat!

There is no recipe for this salad. Just a few “rules” I like to follow, and I say that loosely. This salad is a little bit naughty and a little bit nice. There’s enough good stuff in it that you know you’re fueling your body right. It’s substantial enough for dinner, even for those with the biggest appetites.  But there are also enough fun foods to keep it interesting and make it a meal you’ll crave over and over again.

Fancy Lettuce

Of course, when I was in elementary school, the base of the salad bar was definitely shredded iceberg lettuce. Nowadays, we’ve got a lot more options. You can stick to a classic and go romaine or red leaf. Or get a little bold and go spring mix, Bibb lettuce or spinach. Feeling really adventurous? Try swapping half the lettuce for kale or arugula for a nice kick!

Another pro tip: Add in some chopped herbs to your lettuce base. Cilantro, parsley or mint are wonderful and refreshing in any salad.

All. The. Veggies.

As many as you can handle. Clean out your fridge. As long as it tastes good raw (sorry, eggplant!), it can go in your salad. Green beans? Yep! Corn? Sure. Broccoli? Why not? Just like the cafeteria at school, everyone is welcome in my salad!

If you’re planning this meal for your family, allow everyone to build their own salads by adding whatever veggies they like to the lettuce base. Encourage, but don’t force, the kiddos to try a little bit of everything. Be a good food role model by trying everything yourself.

Two Kinds of Protein

I always like to have two kinds of protein in my salad. Not all protein is created equal, and this way, you get protein from a variety of sources. Sometimes I add hard boiled egg and some cubed cheese. Keep the portion on the small side for each protein, since you’re adding two. As a rule of thumb, the total amount of protein added should fit in the palm of your hand. Sources of protein you can add include:

• Beans (chickpeas, kidney beans, edamame)
• Nuts (walnuts, almonds, etc.)
• Seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, etc)
• Meat or poultry (cooked chicken, turkey, beef)
• Seafood (tuna, cooked shrimp, cooked salmon)
• Boiled egg
• Tofu
• Cheese (really watch the portion on this! A portion of cheese is the size of your thumb … yes, your thumb!)

Double Fun Foods

It wouldn’t be a nostalgic cafeteria salad if there weren’t some fun ingredients in it! I like to limit myself to two of these fun foods to keep the balance on the healthy side. Some fun foods you can add are:

• Tortilla chip strips
• Dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries)
• Extra cheese
• Anything fried
• Croutons
• Creamy dressing
• Bacon