Family Time

Three of my own kids plus two other kids (that are like nieces and nephew) plus my teenage nephew from Brazil who doesn't speak English. My mom. My aunt and uncle. My friend and her husband (that are like family). My cousin, her husband and her baby. And my husband.

It's not for the faint of heart.

Thanksgiving 2013

On Wednesday I left work early and came home to Christian and the kids and pies in the oven and pies in the making. This was the first year that Christian and I hosted Thanksgiving, minus the year we were in Brazil and had an alternative Thanksgiving. Ever since we moved to California we've been going to his aunt's house and it's always so magnificently fabulous that we've never felt the urge to host our own. But this year his aunt and uncle went to Italy and we have our new house that's big enough for such extravaganzas.

It was a lot of work but it was the good kind of work where you check things off to-do lists and your house smells so good and looks so good too because you're in a frenzy to clean it up for your guests. The kids were awesome. I made them to-do lists and they totally helped. When you say things like, "if you clean your room you get to eat as much pie as you want" they get right to work.

My whole mission was to make sure I made a moist turkey. So I brined the turkey and I soaked cheese cloth in melted butter and white wine and wrapped the turkey up. Then every half hour I would pour more of the butter and white wine mixture over the cheese cloth wrapped turkey, and it worked!

I was telling Cedar, Christian's cousin (the one holding Eliza in the picture above), that my first post ever on this blog was his sweet potato and orange puree recipe that he made the first Thanksgiving we spent in CA. That means that I'm coming up on six years of blogging.

I am thankful for blogging and am sad I don't have the time to do it as often as I would like, but because of blogging I have a job I really enjoy.

Six years later and I get to spearhead a project on the Foodie.com site and work with so many wonderful food bloggers. So many things have changed in the last two months and yesterday after having people we love and care for in our new home and sharing a meal with them, helped solidify that these changes are o.k.

Taking on a new job where I have to be in the office everyday, instead of working from home, has been a challenge. I miss my kids. Moving out of Santa Cruz, a place we love so much, to South San Francisco has been hard. We miss our friends and our community, especially our church community. Enzo has had to change schools and that has been hard for him too. He loves his new teacher but is having a hard time making new friends.

Holidays are good because they make you reflect on the past. This is our 10th Thanksgiving together, Christian and I, and we've spent most of them here in california but also in NYC, MA, and HI, all in different situations as we were moving around. The one constant was each other, and I guess the turkey too. Every year, even when we do have Thanksgiving at his aunt's house, there are always new people to share a meal with. I think that's why I love thanksgiving so much, the aspect of sharing something delicious that everyone can enjoy right there and then is amazing. It's not like Christmas where you're jealous that someone got a better gift than you, or you're annoyed that your kids are complaining about not getting enough toys. Christmas is great but there's always that element of let-down and disappointment.

So far I have never been disappointed with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving dinner is like one big collective gift, and unlike Christmas where buying is king, with Thanksgiving homemade is better. Every year I like this holiday more and more.

The Picky Eater Conundrum

The question I get asked the most by my readers is, "how do I get my kid to not be picky?" Funny you should ask considering that my kids are far from being easy when it comes to food. However, there have been some things that have worked out well for us.

Feed them when they're hungry.

This seems so obvious right, but it actually took me a while to figure this out. When Enzo wakes up in the morning he is hungry. He'll have pancakes, eggs, bacon, and a bowl of cereal on the side. Or he'll just have 3 big bowls of cereal and some fruit since most mornings I'm not cooking anything. When I wake up in the morning I'm not hungry. I can wait 2-3 hours before I eat breakfast, and by then it's already lunch time. If I have a piece of toast and some tea as a morning snack then I'm good to go. Maria just wants milk. At around 10:00am she'll eat a handful of Cheerios. If I feed Maria when she's hungry she'll eat anything.

On Friday I made a cauliflower, chick pea, curry stew, the kind of food I usually have to trick my kids into eating. Lunch was ready at 2:00pm. By that time Maria was hungry, really hungry, so she just sat down and ate two big bowls without a single complaint. On Saturday I tried to give her the same thing and she wasn't at all interested, she just wasn't hungry.

This gets tricky because if you're trying to feed everyone when they're hungry then you're pretty much cooking and re-heating food all day long, and I have a 3 month old who nurses on demand, plus I work, plus I have a bathroom to clean for goodness sakes. So here is what I do - breakfast and lunch I let them eat when they're hungry, even if it means we're eating at different times. Enzo is in school  during lunch 4 days out of the week and and 2 days out of the week Maria eats at preschool. Plus, I work 30 hours a week. Christian is usually the one who gets lunch together. If I have a minute I'll take a break and eat with him, if not I just eat in front of my computer. 

Dinner is a whole other story. Yes, I want my kids to get healthy food inside their bodies but I also really want them to learn table manners, and learn how to socialize around the dinner table. At dinner time we all sit together and we eat and we talk. I try to push dinner to 6:30 when I know they're hungry but before 7:00 when they start getting tired.

Get them involved

Ever since Christian started gardening with the kids both Enzo and Maria have been willing to try out all sorts of things. Enzo used to not touch his salad, now he eats it and enjoys it! I like cooking with the kids, but have no interest in gardening. Find some way that you can involve them, as long as this way is also enjoyable for you. One mom told me she likes taking her kids to the store so they can help her pick out produce. I would rather stick a needle in my eye than take my kids shopping. Her idea sounds awesome but I know it's not for me. If cooking is stressful for you than don't cook with your kids, it will just make it more stressful. If you like having your table set then let them help you set the table and fold napkins, tell them how special dinner is when you get to eat on a pretty plate. Find one aspect of food preparation that you enjoy and get your kids involved. If they participate in the process of creating food they are more likely to want to try the food. Also, plan on doing this sometimes not every day. Sure I like cooking with the kids but more often than not I'm rushed and if I have another body in my tiny kitchen it totally throws my momentum off. I try to cook with them once a week max.

When all else fails

If they're being crazy stubborn this is what I do. 

• Dice. If they're being super stubborn and I'm on the verge of yelling at them (which I have done many times) I make them roll a dice. Whatever number they get, that's the number of bites they have to take. If they want to be mad about it they can just be mad at their own luck.
• Books. Maria will eat anything if I'm reading a book to her and distracting her from her food. I don't like doing this, but sometimes I'm in a hurry and it gets the job done. Also, if Enzo is eating by himself I let him listen to an audio book. If we're all having dinner together books are not allowed at the table.
• iPad. I have only done this a handful of times but if baby Eliza needs to nurse at the same time the other two kids need to eat and Christian is gone and my patience is running very thin, I prop the iPad on the table (far away from their food) and I let them watch a show while they eat. 

And then there's the old favorite, just add bacon.

And here is what you do

I asked my Instagram and Facebook followers to share their tips on helping picky eaters and here is what they had to say. And if you like what they had to say click on their name to follow them (some have private accounts).

marlameridith

Cheese. Lots of cheese.

mombraves

Lots of cheese and breadcrumbs too.

babyboybakery

Butter and parm go on most veggies really well!

ginavon

I make a lot of blended soups that hides some of the least popular veggies and then rough cut those they do like for texture.

lisha_bean

I hide some veggies but cooking things a different way and with different seasonings usually does the trick.

sara_stratford

Puréed veggies in stuff like spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, etc. my picky eater is the worst!!

suzana_h

Cheese on top! Also if I let her play with it for a while..smoosh it, smear it, whatever.. she'll make a huge mess but will eventually be too curious to not give it a taste.

weeklybite

Ketchup!!! I know it's pathetic, but it works every time :-)

karistaskitchen

It takes time for little palates to develop. Serving as many whole foods as possible and the least amount of processed foods will help. Sauces, dipping sauces, cheese, cheese sauces, these always got my kids to try foods they didn't think they liked. Of course now they always want a sauce :(

mamakj

Different utensils to eat the food with! Toothpicks are awesome...making kebabs, etc.

bekahtano

I've found that advertising the weeks meals gets them ready to try a new meal.

victoriajordan

For my step-son who is an extremely pick eater. I'm always finding way to add vegetables he wont eat. When i make spaghetti i chop up zucchini, and add it to the sauce. I will use purees like squash, sweet potatoes when I'm baking cookies, banana bread etc...

How do you help your picky eaters try new things? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment here or follow me on Instagram to add to the conversation.

Happy 2013

I'm the kind of person that makes resolutions. Most of my resolutions revolve around people I love, and I just so happen to love a lot of people.

It has been an absolute gift to have ended 2012 and started 2013 surrounded by family and friends, in beautiful Hawaii.



All of us in one house, feeding, playing, teasing, cleaning up, messing up, laughing, celebrating, and simply enjoying each other. I've been a part of this for almost 10 years and I'm still amazed that this exists, that we're related, and that we like each other (most of the time).



2012 was a great year. I've never felt more sick (first trimester pregnancy kicked me in the butt), and I've never felt more pain (emergency c-section where the anesthesia doesn't totally kick in), and I've never felt more worried (our baby in the NICU),  than in 2012. However, trials really do come hand in hand with blessings and 2012 brought us lots of blessings.

2012 also marked 5 years of blogging for me. Last year I was a pretty bad blogger. Between feeling super sick, homeschooling in Brazil, moving back to California, working full time, and having a baby, I was anything but consistent with my blog. At the same time 2012 brought unexpected professional opportunities. The Travel Channel hired me for 2 episodes, I did some exciting consulting work for Google, I worked at Glam Media for 3 1/2 months doing something I loved, and I wrote some fun sponsored posts on this here blog. 

Do what you love and love what you do. I live by this rule and I plan on living by this rule for a long time. I see real change when I do what I love, and I also see real change when I love what I do, even if what I do is hard.

My resolution for 2013 is to love what is hard. I will love feeding Maria, my picky Maria. I will love making Enzo's lunch in the morning and If I don't love it then he can eat school lunch, lets be real. Oh, and I will love being sugar free. Adios sugar, I relied on you way too much last year but this year I'm ready to feel my best.

I have a good feeling about this new year. It should be a good one.

P.S. Shout out to my brother-in-law Adam who's been documenting this whole trip with his mad photography skills.

Mortadela sandwich

About 500 years ago I lived in a really small coastal town in the Northeast of Brazil with my husband and my two kids. On Saturdays we would go exploring, usually to find a new beach or a new waterfall. If we were lucky we would find both. Saturdays were our sandwich days. My son, Enzo, wanted the classic grilled ham and cheese, or as we call it in Portuguese misto quente. We ate a lot of misto quentes during or time in Brazil, specially because we lived really close to a bakery that made great rolls. Sometimes we would have fried bologna sandwiches, only because I'm from Sao Paulo and Sao Paulo is famous for their sanduiche de mortadela which looks exactly like this. Basically bread and a lot of thinly sliced bologna, like a lot of it. Like, a pound of it. 

My mortadela sandwiches looked this. 

Less meat. A little crispier. Cheese, mayo, and tomato. 

Tomorrow is Saturday. If I were in Brazil I'd probably have one of those sammies and we would probably find a waterfall to admire, swim, relax, and enjoy.

But I am no longer in Brazil. I am in California where we get to hang out with grandma, great-grandma, aunts, great-aunts, and lost of cousins. Waterfalls are awesome but cousins are better. 

We are happy to be back, and when I say we I mean the kids and I. Christian will join us next week. Christian hurry up and get here!

From the time I took these pictures to the time I'm actually posting these pictures it really does feel like centuries ago. 

we....

// Found out I am having another girl

// (the kiddies and I) packed our bags and left Bahia Brazil

// went to Sao Paulo to hang out with my mom and grandma

// (Christian and I) went to Rio de Janeiro to celebrate our anniversary

// (the kiddies and I) took a CRAZY flight from Sao Paulo to Lima Peru, over the Andes, with intense turbulance and I thought for sure we were going to die

// survived that flight and then had another flight to El Salvador and then one last flight to Los Angeles

// met up with my good friend Mariko and her daughter Amaya for a SoCal vacation. We went to Legoland, the San Diego Zoo (waving hi to Kimmie who made it possible) and then spend three magical (for reals, it was the best) days at Disneyland.

// went to Santa Barbara to start cousins camp 2012

// went to Santa Cruz for a week to start on logistics such as health insurance, enrolling Enzo in school, signing a contract on our house, trying to find daycare for Maria, and mostly hanging out with friends

// came to Sacramento to continue cousins camp, plus visit more family, plus eat lots of popsicles

// I started a temporary job in San Francisco. I am now (until October) the curator for Tend. Honestly, I feel like I've won the lottery with this job because I'm getting paid to do absolutely what I love. It's amazing.

And then on Monday I go back to San Francisco and next week Sunday Christian arrives and then in August we move back to Santa Cruz, Enzo starts school, Christian starts school, and before we know it our new addition will be here in November. Busy, but oh so good.

Brazil feels like a distant dream now.

Things were so simple.

We could just fry up some bologna

and call it a feast.

Happy weekend everyone.
Wherever you are.

Gathered

For the past two months we have been living out of our suitcases traveling Western USA and Eastern Brazil. Today, looking back at our two month vacation I can't help but feel like the luckiest gal alive. We have seen so much. And more importantly we have seen so many. My kids saw all 14 of their cousins, both of their grandmas, and all three of their great-grandmas. The picture above is at great-grandma Mimi's house in Sacramento, a little piece of Heaven on earth. In my mom's apartment in Sao Paulo we also made pizza. There was no backyard for us to sprawl at but the company was also good. I'm completely over joyed because my younger sis, Iris, has decided to come live with us in Bahia. Yesterday I was looking a a video of when we were younger, I was 12 and she was 2, and I remembered (not that I ever really forgot) how she was my first baby and how I loved her to pieces. Now she treats my kids like her own babies and she loves them to pieces. Families can be so great.

Early tomorrow morning we depart to Bahia, a Northeastern Brazilian state where the weather is always warm and the food is oh-so-good. We're staying at a vacation rental for a week but it's not really going to be a vacation since we're going to be out looking for a permanent address to finally unpack all our stuff.

Good thing that I'll always have my Christian to keep me company and his pizza making skills to keep a crowd fed. We hope you can come visit us.

Foodie Babies {feeding your child from 0-12 months}

I know that the only people in the world who find food encrusted babies cute are parents.

In particular parents of their own food encrusted baby.

Just give me a second

so I can get this cuteness overdose out of my system.

baby Maria was born in September, about the same time when I started neglecting this blog. Before her arrival I posted a lot about cooking with kids, in particular cooking with my son Enzo. Baby Maria is 9 months old and this is the first post dedicated to babies and food. Sorry it took me so long.

Alas, here are my 2 cents about feeding little tiny humans.

Breastfeeding:

My fave (I wish). I was able to breast feed Enzo no problem for over a year. Baby Maria has been much harder. Early on it was difficult and awkward. Lactation consultants are so great and I highly recommend seeing one or two or three. They helped and they soothed. In Santa Cruz I was able to get help from Sutter Hospital. You can find help by calling your local hospital, they will be able to direct you to a lactation center. Better yet, ask a friend or a mother that you trust for advice. I wish I had done this sooner. If your next door neighbor has kids, chances are that she's had trouble breast feeding. If she hasn't then the next door down from her guaranteed has had trouble. Breast feeding can be really hard and it's good to find a support system. 

Formula:

Enzo never had formula and I'll openly admit that I thought the stuff was made out of poison. I was such a breast milk snob. For the last month I've had crazy nipple infections. It bleeds and cracks and bleeds and cracks and makes it impossible to breast feed. The worst part was the guilt. At first I felt guilty about supplementing with formula and then I felt guiltier for enjoying bottle feeding. Feeding my baby without having blood come out of my nipples is magic called bonding! So, if you're a new mom or a second time mom like me and you need to supplement with formula, oh well, it's o.k. On Monday I went to the doctor again and I am now on 3 different medications to try and heal my nipples. If it happens great if not, oh well, she'll just bottle feed, bottle feed formula not breast milk. I tried pumping but it's impossible. I can't pump and parent two children simultaneously. I started her off with soy-formula  but my doctor recommended not giving her soy so I switched to milk based formula. I buy which ever organic brand is on sale. Do you have a favorite formula brand? I'm new to the formula world.

Solid Foods:

With Enzo I made all of his baby food, daily. It was seriously all I did. I was paranoid about what he ate (still slightly am) and was anal to the core about it. I don't miss that at all. Baby Maria has had store bought baby food. I like Earths Best. However, mostly I just make food for the family and use KidCo Baby Steps Food Mill, with Carrying Case , 1 food mill. If I was planning ahead I would make large batches of puree using the food processor, but no. The Food Mill is cheap, no more than $15, and works great. If you want to go fancy I've heard nothing but good things about Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker. However be prepared to spend close to $150. It's a big investment.

Sippy Cups:

Baby maria can use a sippy cup all by herself. She's been able to for a couple months now. There is only one sippy cup I recommend it's called Tilty and it's genius. I've looked for it at toys R us and Taget but I've only been able to find it online. You can get it on Amazon Tilty Ergonomic 2 Pack Sippy Cups - Makes Drinking Easier for $11.00. Even my 4 year old loves the Tilty. There is really no better sippy cup. 

Snack Food:

There is more to baby snacks than Cheerios. Don't get me wrong, Cheerios is classic but they get sick of it. If I can sit down and help her eat and If I'm not worried about her making a mess I give her fresh fruit or frozen berries. If we're at church or out and about I like giving her freeze dried yogurt and other easy snacks. Here are a couple of her faves (click on individual pictures for more info).

  

Final Word of Advice:

• If you eat it they will eat it. I tried to shield Enzo from eating sugar and I was successfully able to do it for a while. However, Christian loves to bake (yes blame him) and is always making cookies and pies and other deserts. Enzo wanted in, not only on the cooking part but also on the eating part. I haven't given Maria a brownie, yet, but I know that inevitably she will eat sugar. However, kids can be a good motivator to change your diet.
• Ask for help. Ask moms for recipes, look online, go to the library and check out baby recipe books, ask me for recipes I have tons. There are a million (probably more actually) resources for easy ways to make and store baby purees, rescources for places to buy local baby food, rescources such as WIC to help you purchase organic baby food and charts that help you figure out when it's safe to introduce certain foods. Keep in mind that these charts are very American centered. I say this because I know I have Brazilian readers who give their babies cheese before they turn one or introduce other foods earlier. It's good to be informed, wholesomebabyfood.com is a good place to start, but don't be too uptight about it.
•  Relax and trust yourself. Feeding another human is nerve wrecking. If you are breast feeding you need to trust your body and your baby. Babies will not starve themselves. Sometimes babies eat like a truck driver and sometimes they refuse to eat. Take a deep breath. 
• Bleach=fun. Clorox is my best friend. It removes all stains, even those naughty blueberry stains. Eating is an experience like no other. Let them get dirty, it's so fun.

::With You Everything is Possible::

6 years ago today
on a beautiful Friday afternoon in Hawaii

Christian and I were eating our wedding cake.

A couple weeks later we were back in Massachusetts. I needed to finish college and he needed to find a job. He found a part time gig at a local organic farm. Every day he would come home with buckets of fresh juicy produce for me to use.

I barely knew how to cook.

Even though the picture is totally low res and my hand writing is nothing to rave about I'm glad I documented the first cake we've ever made together.

Since then we've moved from the East Coast to Hawaii to California,
made 2 children,
got 2 more MA degrees,
and baked innumerable cakes together.
Not all turned out successful, but just as sweet

Grateful Heart

Today I am thankful for food. Really good food made at Christian's aunts house. Christian's 93 year old grandma woke up at 4:00am to make bread. Christian already made 4 pies (it's only 9:17am). These guys are hard core.

I am thankful for the pleasure of eating with family and friends but even more so I am simply grateful FOR family and friends, whether we are eating or not.

I am thankful for my healthy pregnancy that started in January and for having given birth to a beautiful baby Maria. I am thankful for my 3 year old son who brings so much joy and energy into our home. I am thankful that my mom is living with us. She gave up so much just so that she could come and help me raise my children. I am thankful for my husband. Oh Christian....words will never be able to express the love and admiration I have for this man.

I am thankful for this blog. Yes I am! I am thankful that I have an outlet to express my creativity and share my recipes with you. From the bottom of my heart thanks for your comments and e-mails and for reading my blog.

Announcements

My friend, Gail, did a wonderful photo shoot with my baby last week. This was my favorite picture. I used it to make Thank You cards for all the folks who have brought and continue to bring us meals. The cards will arrive in the mail this week. I'm stoked.

Post-Partum Food

On Monday night our friend Seth dropped by and asked if he could bring us a meal sometime this week. I said "yes" and requested his chow mein. On Monday my friend Melissa brought me dinner and I reminded her to please make her famous rice-krispies treats. My friends are wonderful. They are so patient with me and have brought us wonderful meals all week. Our fridge is full, our freezer is full, and my heart is full.

Thanks friends for all the wonderful post-partum meals.

Would it be too much to ask for recipes too?

Hospital Food Never Tasted This Good

On Thursday we welcomed our second child, Maria Aurea, into our family. I was lucky enough to give birth at a WONDERFUL birthing center. The whole experience was amazing, including the food. It was a little over the top but we took full advantage  of their menu. None of this jell-o none sense. None of this"you eat what we bring you when we bring you" food. At this place I had an awesome menu to choose from and could order any time of day as much food as I wanted.

 

Having fillet Mignon and  NY style cheese cake right after giving birth is the way to go!

The most delicious part of the experience was  holding our new girl. I put up some more pictures of her on my other blog.

I'm participating in the Foodbuzz 24,24,24 meal for this month so visit me again on Sunday when I post our BIRTHday celebration meal. I'm also planning on going to Food BlogHer on Saturday. I have my ticket, now I need to get my energy back. If you're attending the conference look for me and baby Maria and come say hi.

Feira Livre

I'm feeling an urge to blog even though I don't have any new recipes to share with you. Sorry about that but (a)I'm having major issues with my camera and (b) my life until June 12th revolves around finishing my MA thesis so I'm really pressed on time and priority.

Anyway, this picture was taken at our recent trip to Brazil. Feira Livres are street farmer's markets. Each neighborhood has one that goes up once a week. They are very popular in Brazil and here you can get fresh veggies and fruit for REALLY cheap. You also get meat, fish, cheese, clothes, cleaning supplies, a husband (just kidding). It's a riot and it's my favorite place to go whenever I'm home.

The day my sister got married our car got totally lost on the way to the reception. We ended up parking far from the restaurant and having to go through a Feira Livre to find our way. Here's a short clip of a Feira and my little sister on the phone with our brother-in-law telling him that we were lost by the fish stand. I took advantage of the the tour and bought some bananas (not in the video). I arrived at the reception with a bag full of bananas. My grandma was totally proud. My sister, the one who got married, couldn't have been more embarrassed. Good times!