I recently read a post on Mercola.com (the nutrition/progressive Dr. who I think is great…as does Dr. Oz) about foods that are banned in other countries but of course, legal in the U.S.
A lot of important (and sadly, scary) stuff here. Most notably for parents I think is the element of farmed salmon – linked to everything from ADD to cancer and food additives like artificial coloring and preservatives.
I’ll leave it at that and let you draw your own conclusions…just read.
For all my Colombian readers or anyone who wants to try (or already loves) genuine Colombian food, The Intercontinental at Doral is hosting guest chef Rafael Suarez for one week of fabulous cooking.
Directly from Bogota, Chef Suarez will present some of his favorite dishes from July 15 to 21 including Colombian specialties from the country’s various regions. The event will take place at the hotel’s Armillary Grill – see invite below. You are welcome to try to use the 10% off code from the Beacon Council.
Is anyone other than me spending a TON of money on little fruit/veggie squeezies like these, these or these?
They are such a great resource – you can throw them in your bag and they last forever. Good little snack without a ton of sugar, carbs, artificial x/y/z, etc. Also well-portioned – instead of your kids “fishing” in a bag of goldfish for 20 minutes until they’re full and have no room for your gorgeous but less-than-goldfish-delicious baked Cod with vegetables dinner, they get just enough to warn off crankiness and leave room for meals.
When I first started buying these (about four years ago), they were around $1/squeezy. Even then, it seemed expensive but I was a new mom and they filled a major need. We stopped using them for a while but my second is now 18 months and I’m in that world again. The prices have climbed quite a bit…Even in the last six months I’ve seen them go from $1.29/pp to $1.59.
So, I’ve tried to find a way to circumvent this ludicrous pricing.
Enter “make squeezy at home project”. First step, get a personal blender (using/cleaning the huge blender for a 3 oz smoothy is seriously time prohibitive). I bought this one – less than $15, not perfect but works for what I need.
Second step, Obsess over “make your own squeezy” pouches on Amazon for a few days. Add/remove items from your basket, then pull the trigger. I Have done the work for you. Here are the few I debated on and why I made my final selection.
First is the Squooshi pouch. Clearly the cutest, but also the most expensive and the comments referenced the interior pouch curves getting dirty which makes sense.
So, final decision – I went with the Little Green Pouch. Good price, seemed to fill all of my needs, and Daily Candy gave it an award so it must be good 
Filled up two little pouches with my concoction, put one in the freezer and one in the fridge (and gave my little one some of the smoothy which he loved)! BOTH were a success! I took the freezer one with us to music class so he could have it afterwards and it was perfectly “slushy” a few hours later.
For my second batch, I am going to use some yogurt to thicken it up – it got a bit watery in the fridge and am considering putting in Quinoa (though I would use those fast…grains and bacteria are friends after a few days).
I know I’ll still buy the crazy expensive ones to throw in my purse, but I’m hoping I don’t need to buy anywhere near as many. If they want a snack at home or we need snacks for the car, I’m going homemade all the way!
The old Bond Street space in TownHouse South Beach has now been filled by a stylistic club/bar serving food as well. A powerhouse team is behind this locale, let’s all hope for the best! I’m not sure if a lounge concept fits into my lifestyle anymore ( I can barely stay up for drinks after dinner and can barely wait to eat dinner, so stopping for drinks beforehand never seems to happen), but you never know. Either way, when you’re using a babysitter for nights on the town, there is no hit or miss – these places better be good!
I may try it out and will udpate if I do (with a babysitter worthy or not judgement). See Press release and pix below.
MISTER WOLFE ARRIVES AT TOWNHOUSE MIAMI
The Creative Pop Up Bar Offers Sophistication, Style and Substance
Mister Wolfe, in the former Bond St. Lounge, is the natural evolution of the traditional bar and lounge. Enticing and intimate, Mister Wolfe is sophistication through simplicity for the savvy crowd who gets it, been there, and craves an alternative.
Mister Wolfe is familiar yet fresh. Max Pierre, owner of Arrive Miami, AE District Concept Gallery and CMO of Public School, a contemporary menswear private label; Erik Yehezkel, former nightlife director at the Delano; and AE Collective, one of the leading DJ management and booking agencies, bring you Mister Wolfe. The exceptional DJs offer an eclectic and continually progressive range of music rooted in quality. With its stylish new build-out, Mister Wolfe is not just a place or persona; it’s an ideology to bring a new perspective to nightlife and entertainment.
Much more than a bar, Mister Wolfe delivers great food through the culinary expertise of Nuno Grullon, owner of Ironside Cafe, and responsible for the first all organic menu at Metro Organic Bistro. Passionate about all natural and local, Grullon adds a delicious dimension to social eating by bringing his philosophy across the bridge. The bar program serves signature cocktails like the Wolfe Bite and Townhouse Secret, along with wine, Champagne and a full bottle list. Mister Wolfe draws a diverse crowd from the social set to the cultural influencer looking for something as simple as good food, good people and good music.
Mister Wolfe at Townhouse, 150 20th Street, Miami Beach, FL 33139. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.,Friday and Saturday 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., and Sunday 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. The kitchen serves until 1 a.m. daily. www.mister-wolfe.com
I’ve been through quite a few recipes for my kids. They are really picky eaters. I go back and forth beating myself up between, “you shouldn’t obsess about food so much and just give them whatever and they’ll probably be healthier on their own and accept more variety” and “you shouldn’t let them snack so much, need to be more ‘Bebe-ish’ and give them anchovies all the time” and “you need to make each meal and snack healthy and get those veggies in them or they’ll eat nothing but french fries and ice cream, be morbidly obese, get diabetes and cancer and you’ll fail completely as a mother.” Oh and not to mention my 4 year old and 1.5 year old like completely different stuff. As does my husband (a steak and potatoes guy) and myself (a relapsed vegetarian forced into eating organic chicken because I can’t continue to make myself delicious veggie entrees that no one else eats).
Similar issues to what every mother deals with…or at least that’s what I tell myself. Good times for all.
Anyways, the real winners are when you find recipes that are easy to make, not overly complex in flavor but taste good, and healthy. Enter Spinach Balls. Found them on the website Picky Toddler Recipes. I changed her recipe up a bit (see my version below) and they were a big hit with my toddler – got two lunches and a snack out of them! Then I found my husband sneaking them in the middle of the night as well!
So, here they are…good luck
Ingredients
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 cups whole wheat Italian seasoned bread crumbs (Whole Foods has a good version)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3 eggs, beaten
**I found the mix a bit dry, so I added some EVOO – Probably a tablespoon or two to make the balls stick better.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl combine spinach, stuffing mix, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, black pepper, Italian seasoning, melted butter and eggs. Shape into walnut-sized balls and place on a baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through and browned.
Last night, Lenny Kravitz and art dealer Vito Schnabel partied it up at the hottest Tuesday night party in Miami: Favela Beach at WALL Lounge.
The Brazilian-themed, soiree had revelers partying into later hours than usual as they celebrated the Miami HEAT victory in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. While Lenny said “no” to the booze he and a few friends enjoyed the company of several woman at a private table. Vito Schnabel, who parted ways with Demi Moore last year, was spotted across the lounge dancing with friends and ordering bottles of Champagne for the ladies.
During my pregnancy, I became somewhat obsessed with figuring out the mercury in fish and debating what was good/bad/other.
Now that my kids like fish, I find myself using this app even more. For $.99 it’s an excellent way to protect yourself from too much mercury and protect the fishies from becoming extinct (also tells you if they’re endangered when you look up the species).
A friend recently sent me this NY Times article by famed author and columnist Frank Bruni entitled, “The Gift of Siblings“.
I related to the piece both as a sibling and as a mother of siblings.
His piece revolves around the following quote, “Siblings are the only relatives, and perhaps the only people you’ll ever know, who are with you through the entire arc of your life,” the writer Jeffrey Kluger observed to Salon in 2011, the year his book “The Sibling Effect” was published. “Your parents leave you too soon and your kids and spouse come along late, but your siblings know you when you are in your most inchoate form.”
He goes on to discuss closeness with your siblings and varying degrees of geographic distance, philosophical and ideological differences. Bruni theorizes that more siblings often equals more closeness (i.e. one of four moves away you still have three nearby). And unfortunately, life these days has made it much harder to have many kids. Costs are astronomical and cultural changes – such as many of us starting the process later in life – hinders the multiple child family format.
A lot of this rang true for me. I am one of four children and will most likely stop at two myself, which sometimes makes me sad. Our lifestyle just makes it almost impossible to have more and I sincerely hope my two boys will remain close through their lives!
No matter your history/future, it’s a good read…
What is it about sippy cups that makes them so totally imperfect? It’s as if a whole category of baby product makers said, “hey – let’s fu** with parents and make this product super ineffective, hard to clean, inherently non-working as soon as you lose one itty bitty part, and super spillable to create puddles of liquid on furniture, clothing and most especially handbags.”
Well MISSION ACCOMPLISHED you sippy cup satans, they are (almost) all horrible. Since I’ve spent so much $ on this ridiculous challenge, I thought I’d at least share with you all the FEW that are acceptable as well as the few that are, in the words of my 20-something sister, “Miz”.
These Tommy Tippy’s may be my favorites. Yes they DO have an insert – annoying, but it’s white instead of clear (shows up in dishwasher) and it’s not teeny (harder to lose). They have good flow, and a cute little cover (ATTACHED) to flip over when on the go.
Old Faithful – the Playtex First Sipster. Yes, there is an annoying insert, but we have so many of them because they are inexpensive, we can always find one. Something about that double-hole flow seems to work for kids at every age. And the handles are a great bonus. Definitely NOT the best for on the go, but for my money, these are the at-home best.
This NUK is a great option for early sippers – no insert YAY, but a bit of a slower flow so probably doesn’t work past age 3 or so. No cover, but it doesn’t seem to be too spilly.
This Baby Cie is actually a water bottle, but my 18 months old already loves it. It’s a WINNER for on the go and stays cold!! As long as it’s twisted shut (warning), it won’t spill. Great to have one, but definitely too expensive for your go-to-need-10-versions at home sippy cup. Best part, it’s metal so it’s eco-friendly and BPA free!
I hesitate to recommend this cup because it’s RIDICULOUSLY expensive and has a straw (those never work and always get lost), but The Kid Basix sippy is pretty indestructible. You can throw it, drop it, bang it, chew it, whatever and it stands up to the abuse. It has a plug for no-spills and keeps water cold.
If your kids don’t like handles, this Munchkin is a nice inexpensive option. Again, no insert which is good for home – not great on the road. Slow flow though.
And the not so good….
On the other side of Munchkin, you have the Might Grip Straw cup. I Highly dissuade anyone from buying a lot of straw cups, as our straws ALWAYS get lost, damaged, or somehow I just can’t figure out how to plug them back in. Additionally, that long narrow spout is a great breeder for bacteria, dirty dish water, errant food, whatever (in my non-medical opinion).
The First Years Take and Toss. Don’t be tempted by the price/no inserts, you’ll toss more than you take. They are SOOO spilly and the plastic is really cheap (my kids chew the tops). If you want to buy in bulk, go for the Munchkin Twist Tight. Still not perfect (don’t bring them in your bag), but they spill less, which means less of those, “my top popped off and there is now water all over the laundry you just dried” incidents that happen with the Take and Toss.
Oh CamelBak – I used to love you and hate writing this, but your kids bottle SUCKS. Again…the straw. So many parts to it, everytime I put it back in, it still leaks. I’ve bought three of these (don’t ask), hoping they would work because the size is so perfect but they ALWAYS spill and the again, our straws always get lost or damaged. So sad.
I’ve become a big fan of OXO, but this cup may be the exception. It claims to do a million and one things which is always a red flag for me (just do one thing perfectly, please). If you drop it (or your kids do), the pieces inevitably fall off. The valves are complicated and I have trouble putting them in.
Shopping & Nigel Barker (the sexy & snippy photog from America’s Next Top Model). Both good things. Check out this weekend’s event at Merrick Park!
