by on March 20, 2013   •   54 Comments Nourishment

7 easy steps towards a Paleo diet {recipe: Pumpkin Pancakes}

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes on simplebites.net

The following is a guest post from Hanna of Honey & Huckleberries. Welcome, Hanna!

I’ve always tried to eat well.  Whole foods, lots of veggies, dark chocolate (because it’s healthy then, right?), all that good stuff.  So when my best friend told me that she had started to eat paleo, and then explained what that entailed, I have to admit I thought it was a bit crazy.

The Paleo diet cuts out processed foods, sugar, all grains, legumes, and usually dairy.  I was very excited that she was trying to feed her family less take-out, but not eating whole wheat?  Brown rice?  Cheese!?  Even if it was helping her lose weight, I couldn’t see how it could be healthy to cut out entire food groups and replace them with bacon.

It didn’t help that I was pregnant with my second little girl at the time, and horribly sick.  Bread was one of the only things I could keep down, no one was taking away my bread.

Then Sunny was born, my sweet wonderful baby girl.  She ended up with terrible eczema and I went on an elimination diet that was ironically very close to the paleo diet.  Her skin cleared up and I lost five pounds in a month.

It turned out that her issue was with dairy so I added wheat back in, only to find that it made me feel really weird.  My lovely, homemade, whole grain bread made my stomach hurt if I ate it for breakfast and gave me heartburn whenever I had some.  This had always been the case, but I hadn’t noticed until I cut it out completely.  I was pretty annoyed.

I didn’t want to believe it, but clearly the wheat was not my friend.  I did some serious reading and came to the conclusion that our family was going paleo.  I convinced my husband, tossed the toddler’s crackers and started our journey towards healthier eating.

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by on August 29, 2011   •   65 Comments Kids in the Kitchen

How to Make Your Own Fruit-Bottom Yogurt

We’re so pleased to have Cheri Neufeld of Kitchen Simplicity back as a regular contributor. Welcome, Cheri!

Growing up, Fruit-Bottom Yogurt was always my favorite. I got so excited when I would see one packed in my lunch box. Somehow they always seemed more flavorful then regular yogurt and I loved how the little chunks of fruit would add a burst of flavor in my mouth.

I’m still a big fan of yogurt but I have a hard time eating ones that taste fake or processed. Anything that has the “flavor” and no fruit gives me a bit of the heebie-jeebies.

Eating yogurt is a daily occurrence for my son so I try and make sure that the yogurt I purchase has real fruit in it. One way to ensure that is to make your own.

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banana oatmeal pancakes
by on March 2, 2011   •   22 Comments Nourishment

Nutrition for Picky Eaters (Recipe: Fluffy Banana Oat Pancakes)

Feeding kids is a tough job. As parents we constantly worry about what they’re eating. Are they getting enough? Eating the right things? Trying new foods? It’s a never-ending process.

That said, some kids are naturally adventurous eaters and you don’t have to worry quite so much. On the other hand, some are much less than adventurous. You might even call them a “picky eater.” Or if it is especially bad, a “problem feeder.”

In our family we have one of each. Our daughter was a particularly voracious eater as a baby. She skipped the baby food phase almost entirely, preferring to grab at chopped up table food with her chubby hands. She’s easily encouraged to try something new and eats a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, so it’s not often that I worry.

In contrast, our son is a “problem feeder” (read more about that here). At times I have been in a constant state of worryregarding his nutrient intake. With the help of a feeding therapist and a nutritionist we were able to work around his limited palate.

Here are some healthy eating tips that have worked well for us along the way. By using these simple suggestions, you can turn many foods that a typical picky eater or problem feeder enjoys into something that is much more nutritious for their growing bodies.
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by on January 19, 2011   •   33 Comments Quick Bites

Healthy Winter Breakfasts (Recipe: Maple Vanilla Roasted Pear Parfait)

Eating seasonally can be difficult in the winter, especially if you live somewhere that is covered in snow for 4 or 5 months out of the year and all that’s available locally are potatoes, squash and apples with a long storage life.

Adding berries and tomatoes is much easier in the summer when they’re available straight out of my own garden, just beyond the back door. At the moment, my gardens are buried under three feet of the white fluffy stuff, and it’s likely I won’t see the dirt until sometime in March. However, even amidst the winter wonderland, there is hope for a healthy, ready-to-start-the-day breakfast that will give you the energy and courage (or is it insanity) to head out and embrace the cold.

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