What Moms Want To Know

Why We Love Smoothies and A Smoothie Recipe

We have a new love at our house.  Smoothies.  My husband has always liked them, but I have just recently gotten into making them for my little boy and me.  They are a miracle food, as far as I am concerned. 

1) Healthy
They are a healthy snack and/or meal.  And the nutritional content is up to you.  You control the amount of fruit, yogurt, milk, wheat germ, whatever else, you want in your smoothie.  

2) Taste Good
They are taste good and they are healthy.  You really can't beat it.  It's almost like having desert for breakfast. 

3) Easy
They are easy to make.  A scoop here, a handful there, and you're done. You can folow a recipe if you'd like, but really, if you have frozen yogurt and some fruit on hand, that's all you need.  (The only negative I have found that takes away from the easiness quotient is the clean-up because you do have to get your blender out and if you don't rinse it immediately, you will need to soak it in warm water, but otherwise, they're simple to make.)   

4) Make Ahead
You can make them the night before and have them ready for breakfast in the morning.

5) Snacks or Meals
My son is not what I consider to be a truly picky eater, but he will go on what I call hunger strikes for days at a time.  Smoothies are one thing he will usually eat, even if he is on one of his "I don't really need food" days.  And I use them for both snacks and meals.

6) They Keep Well
I usually make much more than we can eat and refrigerate or freeze the remainder.  I have found that if I pour the extra into a thermos and put it in the fridge, it tastes just fine for about 24 hours.  That way if my son or I needs a quick snack, I just pour it straight into a cup.  No thawing required.  If I plan on keeping it any longer, I stick it in the freezer.     

7) Frozen or Fresh Fruits
 You can use fresh or frozen fruit; both taste great. 

What Moms Want To Know Smoothie Recipe

1-2 spoonfuls of vanilla frozen yogurt
About 1/2 c. milk
Handful of frozen peaches
1/4-1/2 sliced banana (Word of Warning, I've discovered that a little banana goes a looong way) 
Handful of frozen blueberries

Blend until smooth

How easy is that?  I know the recipe is far from exact, but that's why they are such a neat treat.  You don't have to worry about getting everything exactly right and they're really hard to mess up. 

Moving Your Toddler From a Highchair to a Booster Seat

We recently moved our then 18-month-old from his highchair to a booster seat. We mainly did this because our kitchen is pretty small and getting rid of the high chair freed up a lot a space.  During the process of moving him to a booster I discovered some things to consider.

1) Is he ready?  I figured he was pretty much ready when he started wanting to sit in the seat next to me during meals.  He's so short that all you could see was the top of his bald little head (maybe he'll get some hair someday) but he was happy as a lark sitting there like a grown-up, and much more well-behaved during mealtimes, I was surprised to see.

2) Is your table ready?  My table has been taking a little more abuse than it has in the past.  I have a place mat for him, but sticky stuff still finds its way under the mat and around the edges of the table.  Not to mention the pounding it sometimes receives from various utensils. My table is old, so I really could care less, but if you have a newer, nicer table, you may want to keep this in mind.

3) Are the restaurants ready? My son is now so over highchairs.  They are for babies.  Even at restaurants. Our booster seat has a strap which keeps him contained.  He's not going anywhere unless Mommy or Daddy lets him.  Restaurant boosters, on the other hand, normally do not have straps.  So eating out is now even more of a challenge than it was before.  (Not that we eat out much anymore, but still.)  This is something I did not think about before moving him.

4) Is your family ready?  This has been the best thing about his big move.  He is now 100% part of our family dinner.  There is no tray separating him from us and I think we all have enjoyed this.  His manners still leave much to be desired, but I feel like he watches us and listens to us more now that he really is a part of us at mealtime. 

All in all, I'm glad we went ahead and moved him.  I thought he might be a little young, but it's worked out well.   He feels like a Big Kid, we have more room in our kitchen, and we're all enjoying our meals a little more.