Trees, Flowers, and Butterflies

Big Brother and Little Sister selected some new foods to try in the produce section today. We chose snap peas, spinach, apples, and green beans. I washed all of the food while the kids were watching part of Cars (their favorite movie). It would have been good to involve the kids in washing the vegetables, but I was in a hurry to get the therapy session ready.

I placed all of the vegetables in separate sections on the divided plate, made sure that the kids had water to drink during the session, and wet wash clothes for wiping their hands. I wanted to provide him with one food that he enjoys eating, so I also included some Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thin crackers on the plate. I used one of Big Brother’s new favorite snacks – Keebler Bites Cinnamon Graham Crackers, in the shape of Cars characters – as his motivational food.

Our divided plate...minus some of the foods & green beans.  I forgot to take a photo at the beginning of our session!

Big Brother has helped wash and snap green beans into smaller pieces before, but I was very surprised at how quickly he got into the therapy session. I showed him how to make trees and butterflies with our foods. We saw weeping willow trees on a recent car ride, so we made them using a green bean as the trunk and snap peas as the leaves. We also made trees using green beans and spinach. For the butterflies, we used two apple slices as the wings and a green bean as the body. We used apple slices as flower petals, a Nut-Thin cracker as the center of the flower, and green bean as the stem. I showed him how to open up the pea pods (like opening a present) to get the peas. We also opened the green beans to get the beans.

Trees and butterfly.

He really got into playing with the food. He loves tractors, so he started “planting” the peas and beans in the field and harvesting them with his combine. After playing for some time, I showed him how to take small bites of the food. I explained that the peas were already in mouse-sized bites for him to try. He smelled a pea, licked a pea, and tiny bite of one. As a reward, I gave him one Cars graham cracker. He took a few more bites of a pea to earn additional crackers, announced that he was done, and got up from the table.

I am extremely pleased with our session. In the past, Big Brother has been very reluctant to touch a food he doesn’t feel comfortable with and certainly wouldn’t try a bite of it. Ryan did a great job of exploring the food and wanted to know what we would be doing tomorrow.

Puppy Waffles

I saw this blog post and thought it would be a fun activity to do with the kids. The blogger uses waffles, blueberries, red grapes, bacon, and marshmallows to make puppy waffles.

Rice Krispie Treat Pinwheels

I love this idea for making Rice Krispie Treat Pinwheels!

Little Books for Little Cooks

I came across some fun and yummy recipes that go along with books you can read with your pre-schooler. Click the link for some great ideas. Little Books for Little Cooks

My Life in Food

I recently joined a forum on the website PickyEatingAdults.com and saw links to this program on picky eaters. After watching it, I have conflicting feelings. On one hand, it's comforting to know that we are not the only people who struggle with food. However, it's also somewhat discouraging and makes my heart ache for Big Brother...listening to the adult picky eaters talk about how food has negatively impacted their relationships and lives.

My Life in Food, Part 1

My Life in Food, Part 2

My Life in Food, Part 3

Article on Duke University Picky Eating Adults Study

Click here to read an article about a Duke University Study on adult picky eaters. It pretty accurately describes Big Brother's eating habits, "The work could also shed light on why they share certain favorite foods, most of them bland, processed and laden with carbohydrates."

Apple Graphing

Over the course of the past few weeks, we've been learning about apples. I saw a post about apple graphing and thought it would be a fun activity to do with the kids.

I placed yellow and red apples in a bowl and explained that we were going to sort the apples by color and place them in the boxes on the chart. Big Brother and Baby Sister eagerly sorted the apples and then we counted to see how many yellow and red apples we had. The kids had fun putting the apples back into the bowl and sorting them again and again.

Don’t Give Up!

Progress is achieved in spurts at our household. The only fruit Big Brother accepts is applesauce (which he is starting to phase out of his diet), so I thought it was time to work with him on accepting other forms of apple. We read books about growing and harvesting apples (see my Apples, Apples, Apples post for more apple-theme ideas), went to the grocery store and looked at all the different kinds of apples in the produce section, and baked and tried apple crisp (we’d had success with it before; this time he accepted it on his plate but didn’t want to touch or eat the crunchy topping). I was getting frustrated and discouraged. After all our effort, it didn’t seem like we were making any progress.

When I was least expecting it, we made giant leaps of progress! I cut apples into butterfly, star, and train shapes using a cookie cutter and gave Big Brother a shaker with some cinnamon and sugar in it. He sprinkled cinnamon/sugar on his apple cutouts and started licking the cinnamon/sugar off! (He has never touched apple slices, let alone licked them!) One evening we watched a couple of videos about harvesting apples (video 1 & video 2). When we watched it the first time, he didn’t seem very interested. However, when daddy came home, he excitedly asked daddy if he’d watch it with him. Then at supper, I sliced up an apple to share with Baby Sister. Big Brother asked for an apple train. He proudly showed daddy how to sprinkle cinnamon/sugar on it and lick it off the apple.

This was a great reminder to be patient and not give up. Even if it seems like little progress is being made, your child is benefiting from the learning activities that you implement. Try not to become discouraged and don't rush your child – he needs to be free to move at his own pace.

Mini-Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Big Brother helped bake some mini-chocolate chip banana muffins. We used Pamela’s Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix and the recipe on the back of the package. After I put the muffin batter into the mini-muffin pan, I used a spoon to push a chocolate chip down into the center of each muffin.

As we were eating the muffins, Big Brother was a little confused about where the chocolate chip went (the chocolate chip melted during the baking process). He and Baby Sister liked the muffins. – I think they enjoyed eating food that was just their size and of course they loved the yummy chocolate chip in the center!

The Cook Box: Mixing Up Fun with Children

I found this great idea for making a family "Cook Box." The idea is that you would buy baking mixes for cookies, cakes, muffins, etc and put them in your Cook Box. It would also include other fun things like frosting and sprinkles. Each week (or as often as you decide), your kids choose one item out of the box to bake with you. As the blogger suggests, this is a great learning opportunity for children - to learn math, safety skills, and cleanliness - and try eating something new! Click here to read the blog post, "The Cook Box: Mixing Up Fun with Children."

Rolled Fruit Leather

I thought this recipe for rolled fruit leather sounded tasty! This would be a great cooking project to work on with kids. Click here for the recipe.

6 Lessons Children Learn from Cooking

I found this article about the importance of cooking with children and thought I'd share. Read the blog post, "6 Lessons Children Learn from Cooking."

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sticks

I saw this recipe for chocolate peanut butter sticks and wanted to try it with Big Brother.  (Click here for the recipe.)  I cut the egg roll wrappers and smeared the peanut butter on the egg roll wrappers for him.  He enjoyed putting chocolate chips on the wrappers (and eating a few in the process!).  Since Big Brother loves crunchy foods, we baked the chocolate peanut butter sticks for about 12 minutes so they were a little crispier than the recipe called for.

We tried them with "dip," which consisted of confectioner's sugar and some sprinkles in cupcake papers.  The cupcake papers were the perfect size and looked fancy.  You could also dip the sticks in melted chocolate.

Big Brother tried several mouse bites of the chocolate peanut butter sticks, but preferred to lick the chocolate off them and eat the sprinkles and confectioner's sugar.  We'll try the recipe again, as well as some variations and see if he will more readily accept them.

One of my friends had a great idea for a healthier version...spread mashed banana (or other fruit) or jelly on the egg roll wrappers along with the peanut butter.

Apples, Apples, Apples!

Big Brother’s diet primarily consists of carbohydrates and very few fruits and no vegetables (unless you consider McDonald’s French fries to be a vegetable!).  :-)  He eats strawberry/banana smoothie pops on occasion and eats applesauce with cinnamon and honey on a daily basis. Our goal is to add at least one fruit and one vegetable to his accepted foods over the course of the next few months. Since he likes applesauce, we thought we’d start by food chaining towards the goal of his acceptance of raw apple slices. Click here to view food chaining suggestions for applesauce to apple slices.

During food therapy, we learned about the importance of helping kids become more comfortable with food through education. We began by getting several books from our local library about apples (see below for our favorites). Using these books and some of the web resources listed below we learned about how apples grow, the parts of an apple, and what foods contain apples. We also learned that apples can be many colors (red, yellow, or green). Note that we are still in the process of learning about apples, so I will periodically update this post with our results.

Education via Books & the Web
Apple Books

• Ten Apples Up On Top! (Beginner Books(R)), by Dr. Seuss
• Apple Farmer Annie, by Monica Wellington
• I Am an Apple (Hello Reader Science Level 1), by Jean Marzolo

How an Apple is Grown and Harvested

• Read about the growing season of an apple.
• Learn about how apples grow and the parts of an apple.
• Learn a poem about apples. This one is called, “Awesome Apples."
• Watch a video about harvesting apples. Click here or click here.

Hands-on Exploration
Following are some ideas for hands-on education with apples, that don’t necessarily include eating an apple. We didn’t do all of these activities, but I wanted to include all of ideas for future reference.

• Explore an apple. Discuss the color, size, and shape of an apple. An adult can cut the apple in half. Discuss the parts of an apple, including the skin, stem, core, meat, seeds, etc. Ask your child to count the number of seeds and/or the number of apple pieces you cut.
• Make apple prints.
• Pretend to run an apple stand. Provide your child with bags, plastic or real apples, a cash register, money, and baskets. Pretend to package, buy, and sell apples to family members.
• Get apples of various sizes and colors. Have your child sort apples according to size or color.
• Visit an apple orchard and pick apples.
• Visit the grocery store. Point out all the different kinds of apples, including differences in size and color. Select some apples to buy and use them to make apple dishes when you get home.

Cook Together
Identify foods and beverages that contain apples and explore the taste of apples.

• Try Seneca apple chips.
• Bake and try apple crisp (see recipe below). [*Update: Big Brother normally won't touch apples on his plate, but he enjoys helping me make this recipe. After I've peeled and sliced the apples, he helps arrange the apple slices in the baking dish and sprinkles the topping over the apples. Big Brother hasn't eaten the apple part of this recipe yet, but he now tolerates having the apples on his plate and loves eating the crunchy topping.]
• Have an apple tasting party. Cut up different varieties of apples to taste. You could dip the apples in caramel, cinnamon sugar, chocolate, or make apple dip. [*Update: I used a butterfly cookie cutter to cut an apple. Big Brother likes to sprinkle spices on food, so I put some cinnamon and sugar into a shaker. We pretended that he was sprinkling “sparkly stuff” on his apple butterfly, just like the penguins sprinkled “sparkly stuff” on themselves so they could fly in the movie Merry Madagascar. I was surprised when he repeatedly licked the cinnamon sugar off his apple! Note that I didn’t prompt him to do this. In fact, when we first started I told him that he didn’t have to eat the apple at all and that we were just going to sprinkle “sparkly stuff” on it.]
• Try foods that contain apples (i.e. applesauce, apple pie, apple muffins, cookies made with applesauce, apple turnovers, apple juice, apple cider). [*Update: Big Brother’s consumption of liquids consists of whole milk and water. Even as a baby he has never wanted to drink juice. We saw some apple juice boxes with Clifford the Big Red Dog on them at Menards. He likes Clifford and likes to drink with a straw, so he was excited to try. My husband showed him how to stick the straw into the juice box. He took a sip! Based on the sour face he made, I don't think he particularly liked the apple juice, but he tried it, which is a huge step!]
• Make an apple smile (see instructions below).

Apple Crisp
[A recipe my mom makes]
4 cups sliced, peeled apples (approx. 4 medium)
2/3 to 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8x8x2 (brownie pan-use glass). Place apple slices in bottom of pan. Combine brown sugar, oats, flour, and spices. Mix in softened butter. Sprinkle over apples. Bake 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

Apple Smile
[From http://www.educationworld.com]
"One of the most fun snacks I have seen children make also happens to be very nutritious. It's the apple smile. Wash and cut unpeeled red apples into about eight slices. Give two slices to each child. Have the group use popsicle sticks to spread peanut butter on one side of each slice. Pass out a few small marshmallows to each child, and tell the students to place them on one apple slice on top of the peanut butter. Put the other slice on the marshmallows so that the layers look like a mouth with peanut butter in the middle and the two red peeling edges showing on one side. You now have a delicious apple smile!"

Using Dips in Food Therapy

Do you have a recipe for a dip or sauce that your child likes to eat?  If so, please leave the recipe in the comments section.  Thanks!

Tips for Feeding a Picky Eater

I recently watched a video about picky eating made by Gerber.  The video defines a picky eater and discusses basic strategies for feeding a picky eater.  They emphasized that it can take up to 10 exposures to a new food before the child accepts it.  This is a great reminder for me personally.  It can be frustrating when I've prepared a food especially for Big Brother and he doesn't want it.  I need to remember not to take it personally and simply try again another time.  Click here to watch the video.