We made these super easy gelatin treats for Halloween, but they would work just as well for a fall-themed event. You can easily buy pre-made gelatin already in a cup formation (which I did to save time, but also to get a variety of colors) and use any leftover Halloween candy for the body parts of the spider or monster that your child is creating. I also invested in a small tube of black frosting that Monkey could easily grab and use to create the eyeballs, etc. I know it seems like a lot of sugar all at once, but I was there to regulate her intake, and it turned out that she didn’t care for the gelatin one bit. She mainly enjoyed making her “jiggly critter.” We were inspired to make this dessert by one of my mom’s magazines (she’s been in town visiting), but I can’t find it on their site. Here’s a picture of the page that we used to guide us:
We’ve been really experimenting with the garden – table connection, and having a lot of fun with it. Not too long ago, Monkey had a couple of friends over and we set them up with some seedlings, water and soil. Each girl planted some plants that we had on hand waiting to go in the ground anyway. We used cardoon, pole beans and strawberry plants, but you could use anything appropriate for your zone (talk with someone at your local nursery). It has been wonderful to watch the plants grow and the girls come by to check on them and snack right off of the plant. (Once again, I’m able to maintain my hands off, raw food, vegan philosophy on the table without hitting anyone over the head with it.) The best part is that the girls treat these fresh off the vine fruits and veggies as treats!
There’s nothing better than a quick list of what your kid WILL eat posted on your fridge. At one of our friend’s house, they use this list to keep track of what their daughter likes for dinner. In a hurry? Refer to the list. Babysitter coming over? Refer to the list. Child melting down about dinner? Refer to the list. There’s no reason not to have multiple lists: snacks, breakfast, soups, smoothies and so on. It’s also a handy way to focus on healthy meals.
The monk loves these! Fiberfuls are only available at Trader Joe’s (http://www.traderjoes.com/index.html). They fill her up and are full of fruit. We only get them once or twice a month and that seems to be enough to keep her interested. In fact, most of the time I just have her eat one in the store and we’re good on them until the next shopping trip.
I suppose every parent bribes their child at some point. Monk has been having some difficulties adjusting to life without her Grammy, Poppa and Max, and consequently – in desperation – I offered her a cupcake if she was a good girl.
Now, everything has become about her being a good girl (or a good monkey). As a woman, sometimes the phrase “good girl” and all of its loaded implications makes me shudder. And I have unwittingly have installed the idea into my 2 year old’s vocabulary. She is already a good girl! Kids need treats, sure, and treats are a good reward for hard work as she gets older. But at 2, I don’t like using a food as reward in general. Food is food and not something to be withheld.
Monkey’s first lollypop – oh, heaven. It was her second haircut, and the salon offered a “snack” when she was done on the chair. There were so many choices and Mia spent about 1 second before deciding that this was the most delectable piece of candy she’d ever seen. Needless to say, her face, chin, cheeks, hands and fingers ended up very sticky. On the other hand, she didn’t finish it. It was soon forgotten for the delights of playing with Max, my parents’ dog.
As a side note, the salon does offer non-food items as treats. But the stylist said snack, and what kid, denied candy since her birth at her house, would choose plastic beads over a Tootsie-roll pop?
