All of us moms have been there. It is your first kiddo and they are wanting more than just pureed baby food at meal time. The panic sets in and all the nerves about your child choking, gagging, or refusing the eat kick in. What do we reach for? All the soft mushy stuff! Bananas, overcooked noodles, giant wafers, itty bitty puffs that dissolve so that there is no chance of choking.
What if I told you that while those foods are not bad, you do need to provide your child with firmer or crunchy foods so that they can learn to manipulate their food correctly.
When you stick to much and soft textures, your child's go to manipulation method is going to to mashing that food with their tongue against the roof of their mouth. Then, when it is time to had over a firm or crunchy food, we panic when they don't chew it or manipulate it the way they need to. This can lead to the gagging, choking, swallowing food whole, or food aversion or picky eating. It is so important that your child learns how to manipulate and chew their food with the right textures and consistencies.
Good news!
There are ways to do this without causing excess stress for the child and parents. Start with foods that are easily broken down. Reach for a graham cracker or a club cracker. Take a look at the technique below. Grab a milk shake straw. Cut it into thirds and stuff it with the cracker. Create several of these tools. One for you. One for your child, and a few more for them to independently grab and explore. Guide them to place the straw on the right or left gum line and model or tell them to "Crunch" or "bite". They get immediate sensory input from the sound and feeling of the crunch. This reinforces another bite, and another. As they manipulate the food in the straw it will work it's way out , make it's way to the tongue and they can safely swallow. You can do this with them to model the appropriate placement and chewing patter as well. I have done this with apple, melon, crackers, and chicken nuggets. As your child gets the hang of it, you can easily explore different textures using this same method!
Other tips for introducing solid foods correctly:
-Cut bananas into handheld spears. Freeze them. This is a handheld that with easily soften but can also be placed on the lateral surface to reinforce the correctly manipulation.
-Cut grilled cheese or quesadillas into handheld strips.
- As the child progresses try narrow carrot sticks or apple sticks (you can also freeze).
-Crisp up some sweet potato fries!
The easier for them to hold and place, the better.
Say goodbye to large dissolvable wafers and handheld nets. You will set yourself up for an easier transition with the above suggestions!
Fall sports are in full swing at our house!
This means we are going non-stop from the moment the boys come home from school to the moment they go to bed. Dinner can be a stressful component of a busy night. Especially if the goal is to avoid fast food but stick to a budget.
I wanted to share some of our favorite slow cooker meals for fall. On the nights where we are strapped for time and sometimes eating before and after practice/games, the slow cooker can guarantee a warm delicious meal at any time!
First up, Slow Cooker Carnitas! I received a recipe from a friend a few years ago and put my own spin on it! I cannot remember for the life of me where the recipe came from, but I know it has been a hit ever since and my family requests this frequently.
You will need
Around 4 lbs. of pork shoulder
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1TBSP Kosher Salt
1 tsp Cumin
½ TBSP Chili Powder
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
½ tsp Cinnamon
1 light beer (I usually grab a Corona or Dos Equis)
Combine spices, salt, and pepper in small bowl.
Cut the pork shoulder into 2-inch cubes.
Coat the pork with seasoning mixture and all to sit on the meat for a couple of hours or overnight.
Add a bit of oil to a skillet and heat to med-high setting.
Remove pork from fridge and place in pan to brown. Once meat is browned on all sides, place into slow cooker.
Open the beer and pour into the hot pan to deglaze the bottom. Pour the liquid from the pan into the slow cover, over the meat.
Slow cook on high for 4-6 hours or on the low setting for 8 hours.
When done, remove the lid and shred the meat with two forks. It should fall apart.
Set the oven to broil. Place the meat on a sheet pan and place in the oven. Allow the meat to crisp up over several minutes and then remove.
Serve with tortillas, cilantro, and onion!
With the left-over meat, you can create taco bowls or quesadillas when needed, throughout the week!
Next up, is Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings. I just made this two nights ago and it was a huge hit after soccer practice. My boys could not get enough of the biscuits on top!
You can grab the recipe and shopping list from Spend with Pennies here!!
As a healthier option to the condensed soup blends. You can briefly sauté celery with onion and fresh carrots. Use 2 tablespoons of butter to sauté the vegetables and add 1-1.5 tablespoons of flour to the veggies before adding to the slow cooker. Then add your chicken broth.
Finally, are Slow Cooker Meatballs!
You cannot go wrong with these. To avoid an additional cooking step, we like to make a quick meatball sub with ours. If you have time, you can always boil some pasta and serve the meatballs on top!
You can choose to use frozen or pre-made meatballs OR you can check out this recipe from Dinner at the Zoo here!!
I hope these recipes take some stress out of your evenings during the hustle and bustle of fall!
Enjoy!
