Ash Wednesday: Make Your Own Tartar Sauce

It's an oldie but a goodie from Mommy's Recess. Easy, free and quick!

Make your own tartar sauce!!

Tip Tuesday: Don't Buy What Dr. Oz is Selling

I watch Dr. Oz. I have a reminder set. And I get mad when the reminder pops up during "Final Jeopardy". I'm quite sure that Baby Harry's first words may be "Darn you Dr. Oz!"

I wouldn't blame Baby Harry. Even more so now. I and many other moms I have play dates with, watch him. Dr. Oz is our second bible, the first Bible being the one we read daily. However, I was so mad watching his "report" on BPA that I wrote an article on Yahoo! about it. I titled it Dr. Oz Promotes False BPA Claims, because he does. Everything he reported was false.

Women and mothers expect Dr. Oz to report the truth, especially in a show titled, "The Chemicals You're Feeding to Your Kids." I believe many mothers were upset by this show. I can only imagine how many moms tossed their canned goods because of Dr. Oz's comments. But he is so wrong. So very wrong.

The "expert" he had on his show cited a Harvard study where the test subjects ate one can of soup per day, which "increased their BPA output by 1,000 percent." She also claimed that BPA was found in umbilical cords and that the chemical "leads to higher obesity, lower birth rate and lower test scores for children."

Really? When Iowa temps were over 110 degrees and I was so very pregnant with Baby Harry in 2012, I couldn't tend my garden....and it died. We ate canned veggies. And Baby Harry was 9lbs, 1 oz. Lower birth rate? Not so much. I've been eating canned food since and at 5 months (while breastfeeding exclusively) he now weighs 19.9 lbs. Again, lower weight? Not so much.

When I was pregnant with my first child, William, I ate canned foods then as well. He's now a happy, healthy and thriving 7 year old. In fact, his pinewood derby car won first in his Cub Scouts den and 6th overall in their pack (against the "big boys" as he says).

Liam drew the design for his car. He also has the periodical table of elements on his wall. He's brilliant. And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom....I've had three teachers in two school districts tell me so. 

Sorry, Dr. Oz...but BPA leading to lower test scores? Not so much.

Food Friday: Gluten Free Recipe - Shepherd's Meatloaf

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe for my freezer shortly before Judah was born. I remember that only meat and potato type meals seem to fill me up with the nutritious calories I needed for nursing. And this was one of those meals.

Not only is portion of meatloaf delicious, but it is a guaranteed gluten free recipe. My brother-in-law is constantly on the look out for such recipes and having gestational diabetes in the past, I understand how important it is to have recipes like this on hand for special dietary needs.

So eat healthy and eat tasty!

Ingredients

1 pound lean chuck beef
2 tablespoons diced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 cooked medium potato, mashed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms sliced or 1 can drained

Directions

In an 8 inch loaf pan, mix meat, onion, salt, potato, garlic powder and egg, thoroughly and form loaf. Firmly press mushroom slices over entire surface of loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Slice and serve hot.

Toy Thursday: Brown Paper Sack Puppets

For those who like to pretend, in particular, preschoolers, making puppets can be fun.  Putting on puppet shows and playing interactively with your child is rewarding creativity and encouraging skills.

If you are like me though, I have neither the patience (plus I cannot draw very well) nor the time to make elaborate puppets.

Instead, we find our brown paper lunch sacks, coloring books, scissors and glue. Then we construct our own puppets from there. And it does not have to be hard, one easy way to pretend is to take a favorite book and make the characters of the book to act out the story.

So we find large color sheets of people and animals from coloring books or an online source. I find the coloring pages with large plain pictures work the best. Judah then can color the animal or person as desired. He can practice cutting out the object. We glue the head onto the bottom flap of the bag and line up the body on the side. Other decorations can be added like yarn for hair, objects for props, and eyes for 3-D facial features.

Between making your own puppet and acting out your own story, imagination is endless. And all the while you are having lots of fun making memories with your child! And you will have less stress with this simple play thing and activity.

Food Friday: Crock-Pot Ham and Scalloped Potatoes

Here is great slow-cooker recipe from a family friend. You know one of those comfort foods, especially this cold weekend. I plan on using the leftover Christmas ham from the freezer for this.


Crock-Pot Ham and Scalloped Potatoes

6-8 slices of cubed ham
8-10 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup grated cheddar or American cheese
1 10 ounce can cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup
paprika to taste (optional)

Chunk ham in pieces. Put half of the ham, potatoes, and onions in crock-pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then top with grated cheese. Repeat with remaining half of everything, then add undiluted soup over top. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4 hours. Increase by half for 5 quart cooker.