It’s a nightmare! Your two-year-old is refusing to eat dinner. Again. It seems he has been living on nothing but peanut butter and jelly for the last month! Relax. Here are some hints that might help you get through this picky-eating phase.

It is possible that your child is overwhelmed by the amount of food on his plate. Adult portions are enormous to a child under six or seven years of age. The right serving size for children ages one to six is about one tablespoon of fruit, vegetables or meat per year of age. Give your kid a small portion. Maybe he will ask for more.

Smaller portions allow children to pay attention to their natural hunger cues. This will pay off for them as they grow older, making eating disorders and weight problems less likely.

For new foods, use some psychology on your child. Give them just a little dab, and tell them that’s all they can have right now. It’s amazing, but it works!

Don’t aim for nutritional perfection at every meal. Children don’t need to have a perfectly balanced diet every day. Look at your child’s diet and provide variety over a span of several days or a week.

Lastly, if your child is finicky and refusing to eat what you serve at a meal, DO NOT make your child a completely different meal. Offer fruit or veggies. Kids will not starve if there is some food available. He will eat eventually. Really. You will be helping your child learn about limits and to better understand the family rules.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas gift buying is in full swing. The challenge is on! With only a few shopping days left and perhaps many gifts still to buy; here are a few ways to minimize your shopping time and frustration and simultaneously make a significant difference for the environment. When making a few changes in your buying styles and habits you can have a considerable impact on the environment with little effort.

It’s really fairly easy. Just follow some of the gift ideas below and enjoy the satisfaction of being part of the “green” movement by greening your gifts. Make it a truly “green” holiday this year. Take heed!

Remember try to give gifts that people need, can use and are practical. Be creative! Try theseŅ

1. Tickets to movies, concerts, museums, sporting events, outdoor activities or an annual pass to national parks.

2. House or garden plants, herbs, seeds and bulbs. Pots and planters boxes made from natural ingredients.

3. Gift certificates to clothing, electronics, books, grocery, or vitamin stores.

4. Donate to one or more Charities in the name of your recipient.

5. Give the gift of YOU! Make coupons for services such as babysitting, a night out at the movies, dinners dates, weekends away, massages, yard work, dog-walking or help write a resume or article, give a computer lesson or offer some other talent or skill you can share.

6. An old book or collector’s item. Things with a unique meaning. Shop at antique stores, estate sales or flea markets.

7. Cook home-baked sweets and put in a reusable tin box, a kitchen container, or another usable item.

8. Any homemade item. A knitted hat or scarf.

9. Fair-trade organic chocolate or coffee. Always a hit.

10. Clothes and other items made from hemp, wool, or organic cotton.

11. A roll of postage stamps.

12. Office supplies such as recycled paper and envelops.

13 Energy efficient light bulbs, battery re-chargers, or solar-powered products.

14. First aid kits or emergency road side equipment.

15. Board and card games that will be used over and over again.

16. For your children, you can open a savings account, buy stocks or bonds.

17. A gift gasoline card for your teenager or college student.

18. A calendar marked with important dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and family gatherings.

19. A book of favorite recipes.

20. Carbon offsetting. This purchase erases negative energy footprint of reducing carbon emissions.

21. Music and books. itunes or the equivalent downloadable books and music.

22. Plant trees in the name of your beneficiary.

23. Name a star after

24. Have a party and invite everyone over as your gift.

25. A years membership to an Environmental organization, a health spa, the auto club.

The list is really endless if you just take a moment to think about your purchase. If you consider where the product was made, what it is made of, who made it, what actually went in to the manufacturing of the product, you might want to reconsider that purchase. Fact: A manufactured item will generate 70 times its weight in waste during manufacturing. Wow!

To learn more about how become more environmental conscious when planning your holiday parties and events, planning conferences, workshops and seminars, and events of all sizes, shapes, and styles, visit my website: http://www.successfuleventplanning.com.

About The Author

As an Event Planner, Writer, Author and Environmentalist Ms. Shannon Kilkenny is in the process of writing her next book which is dedicated to “greening” the hospitality and event planning industry. Her first book “The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning” is due out Dec. 06. Visit http://www.successfuleventplanning.com for more information. Email me: eventresults@aol.com

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• ISBN13: 9780452275874
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description
With sixty-five illustrations and a host of restaurant facts, this colorful book provides recipes for more than one hundred dishes like those found in famous and well-known chains, such as Applebee’s Quesadillas and T.G.I. Friday’s Nine-Layer Dip. Original.”Amazon.com Review
Long before scientists in Scotland cloned Dolly the sheep, Todd Wilbur was hard at work replicating recipes from some of America’s favorite restaurant chains. Armed with Zipl… More >>

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I hope you’ve been enjoying my posts lately. I thought I might do something different today and rustle up a few bits of info from around the WWW. These are some of the news items and blog posts that have been popular over the last few weeks. Leave me your thoughts.

Dairy Free “Tried and True”: Panda Express Orange Chicken

I am a lucky wife of 6 years, and I am a mother of one happy eater and one terribly picky eater. Unfortunate for me that the same picky eater also happens to have food allergies. My kind of recipes aren’t gourmet 3 course meals, …

JUICY RECIPES

The addition of celery makes the recipe more tasty and provides the vitamins and minerals to support the immune system. Garlic When you feel a sore throat or a cold coming, eat raw garlic. Garlic has very potent anti-bacterial and …

App Review: “20 Minute Meals” boils over other cooking apps

I admittedly don’t watch Oliver’s shows often and am not generally a fan of his recipes/dishes (picky eater, here). However, the man is a fierce media personality and knows what people need to get them out of the drive-thru and into the …

Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

Play Clay Recipes – Home Made Clay Made Simple
 by: Patricia B. Jensen

Shaping, molding, rolling and creating with clay appeals to kids of all ages. Whip up a few batches for creative fun using these simple homemade play clay recipes and a few simple household ingredients. Even very small children will delight in the squishy pleasure of play clay!

This quick basic recipe is very easy to make and to use. It is soft and pliable for little hands to work with ease. Color, scent, and even glitter can be added to the recipe to make more interesting clay creations.

BASIC PLAY CLAY RECIPE

1 cup flour

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cup water

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

Heat, stirring constantly, until ball forms. Knead. Store in airtight container or plastic bag. Makes about 4 portions.

Add-Ins for Color

Food coloring

Kool-Aid

Fruit-flavored Gelatin

Add-Ins for Scent

Peppermint oil

Lemon oil

Vanilla extract

Gingerbread: Ground Cinnamon & Ginger

Add-in for Sparkle

Glitter

Gluten-Free Play Clay

For children who can’t tolerate gluten or food coloring, substitute rice flour for white flour and natural beet (red), spinach (green) or carrot (orange) juice for color.

Pumpkin Pie Play Clay

Large batch is perfect for your Halloween party!

5 1/2 Cups Flour

2 Cups Salt

8 teaspoons Cream of Tartar

3 1/2 Cup Oil

1 1/2 ounces Pumpkin Pie Spice

Orange Food Coloring (2 parts yellow, 1 part red)

4 Cups Water

Mix all of the ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until dough forms. Knead dough until smooth.

*************************************

EDIBLE CLAY RECIPES

These yummy edible clay recipes can be enjoyed as snack food after the creating is done!

Peanut Butter Play Clay

Peanut butter

Honey

Dry powdered milk

raisins, peanuts, chocolate chips, coconut, sprinkles, pretzels (for decoration)

Mix equal parts peanut butter and dry milk. Slowly add honey to desired consistency. If too sticky, add more dry milk. If too dry, add more honey. Form clay into shapes or roll into balls to be served as cookies.

Easy Chocolate Play Clay

One 16 oz. Container read-to-spread chocolate frosting

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Combine all ingredients and you are ready to play!

Chocolate Modeling Clay

The secret of pastry chefs for making tasty cake decorations!

10 oz. chocolate chips (or colored candy disks to create different colors)

1/3 cup light corn syrup

Heat chocolate carefully until melted, stir in corn syrup and blend. Pour onto a waxed paper sheet and spread to approx. ½ thick. Cover loosely and let stiffen for a couple of hours or overnight. Chocolate will become very pliable.

Use Your Play Clay Recipes to Make Party Favors –

Basic play clay makes a great party favor too! Put a portion of clay in a plastic sealable bag along with a label with the party guest’s name, decorated with markers or stickers. Add a colorful cookie cutter or cut a 1/2 inch dowel into 4 inch lengths to serve as a little dough roller.

Copyright 2005 Kids Party Paradise. All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com – a complete resource for kids party ideas including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food.

For all the latest party news, read her Kids Party Blog.

Toddlers are notorious for being picky eaters. I remember being so excited when my babies reached the age of 6 months and started experimenting with various foods – they loved food and loved to eat! As they got older, they were especially excited about food they saw us eating.

Fast-forward a few months, and all of a sudden they developed a mind of their own! Toddlers know what they like, and they know what they don’t like, and this is true for everything, from the clothes they wear to the foods they eat (or don’t eat, as the case may be).

The thing is, you can’t expect to reason with a toddler. They are not reasonable, and they are not supposed to be reasonable – they haven’t yet developed that ability. So it’s futile to say ” but it’s good for you” and it’s definitely never a good idea to try to force children to eat – this could lead to miserable battles, and even if you “win,” to a lifetime of food issues for your child.

Instead of reasoning, forcing or begging, try enticing. We all appreciate food when it’s presented in a way that appeals to our senses, and toddlers are no different. Since toddlers are very independent and love to feed themselves, one of the best ways to get them excited about food is to give them finger foods.

An ideal daily menu for toddlers should include about 3 ounces of grains, 2 cups of milk, 2 ounces of meat, beans or legumes, 1 cup of vegetables, 1 cup of fruit, and a tablespoon of fat and oils.

This is not a lot of food – in fact, if you were to take all the food your toddler eats in a day, it could easily fit on a dinner plate. The trick is to get your toddler to actually eat all those “good for you” foods voluntarily.

When searching for toddler meal ideas, the concept of finger foods comes up fairly often. This is because finger foods give toddlers a sense of control and independence, which are very important to them – so they tend to eat finger foods happily or at least are open to trying them.

For example, a simple toddler recipe that tends to become an immediate hit with most toddlers and is also very healthy, is to cut half an apple to slices and serve it to your toddler with a tablespoon of peanut butter for dipping, and a glass of milk. This simple meal, which your toddler is likely to eat happily, takes care of half of her milk, meat and fruit requirements for the day.

Another great toddler meal idea is to serve half a cup of baby carrots with a dip made

From either hummus (if your toddler will eat it) or cottage cheese.

A few more simple toddler finger food recipes and ideas:

1. String cheese is a huge favorite with toddlers. My toddlers used to like it so much that I was actually taken by surprise when they reached school age and decided that they don’t like it anymore! String cheese and a piece of fruit make a great meal for toddlers.

2. Cooked whole-wheat pasta of any shape, with a little olive oil and grated cheese on top.

3. Banana wrap. Warm a flour tortilla in the microwave for 10 seconds, spread with peanut butter and jelly, place a banana at the edge and roll over to make a wrap.

4. Mini “Pizza.” Spread catsup over half a mini-bagel (whole wheat is best), add shredded cheese and toppings (my kids used to love black olives) and warm in a 350-degrees oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese melts. Catsup is rich in anti oxidants and can be considered as a veggie serving. Try to find a brand that does not contain high fructose corn syrup.

5. Fish sticks. Either make them yourself or buy frozen ones. Serve with catsup or applesauce for dipping – toddlers love dips!

When planning a daily menu for toddler, it’s important to remember that all you need to do is offer a variety of healthy foods, and let your toddler decide how much she wants to eat. Don’t pressure your child to eat more than she wants to. Even if her diet seems out of balance on a particular day, usually it will balance out over the course of a week.

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101 Worry – Free Hcg Diet Recipes Plus Hints & Tips From Experts: Great Taste Yet Strict Adherance To Dr. Simeons / Trudeau Hcg Protocol

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With The New Best Recipe, we invite you into America’s Test Kitchen where you will stand by our side as we try to develop the best macaroni and cheese, the best meatloaf, the best roast chicken, the best brownie, and nearly 1,000 more best recipes for all your favorite home-cooked foods. Behind this book is a deeply felt understanding of how frustrating it can be to spend time planning, shopping and cooking only to turn out dishes that are mediocre at best. Wit… More >>

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