Welcome to Tot- terrific Treats

Welcome one and all to Tot- terrific Treats, totally terrific treats for toddlers.

My name is Sam and I am the proud mom of two wonderful boys aged two and three. If there's one thing I am sure all moms can agree on is how difficult it is to get your kids to eat, never mind eat heathy. Looking back, I for one can attest to spending almost an hour each meal of every day trying to get my boys to eat their food. Fortunately, I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home-mom so I actually do have the time. But I can tell you, I would much rather have been doing something else then begging them to eat something. Then it dawned on me that this shouldn't have to be so difficult. And it really isn't! All you have to do is change the way you look at food and basically learn to "cook smart".

Eating healthy

Another aspect I really wanted to incorporate into our meals was to make them healthy meals that actually taste real good. Growing up we never ate fruits and veg. I started off every morning with tea and cookies and even cake. My mom would bake at least three times a week. And guess what I still have for breakfast every morning? Coffee and cookies. A terrible terrible habit that as hard as I try I cannot seem to escape.  I honestly believe that the way you eat as a child shapes your eating habits later on. That is why I want my boys to start eating healthy from now while they are little. Until I had kids of my own the thought of veggies conjured up images of a bland, boring bowl of yuck. But I can promise you it doesn't have to be that way. It all comes down to creativity and the use of just enough of the right spices to tickle those tiny taste buds and before you know it your little one's will be eating out of the palm of your hand, veggies and all!

Cooking smart

So I mentioned "cooking smart". As we strive for the ideal of incorporating all the food groups into every day, you could end up offering your little one a plate of food that it totally overwhelming. Kid's don't like a plate that is filled with food. They would much rather have one thing to eat so they can get done with it and get back to playing. But then how can you incorporate all the food groups? When coming up with ideas for recipes for my boys I always think food groups. I basically want to incorporate meals that are simple yet jam packed with all things good for you, so I try incorporating as many food groups into one meal as possible. Another advantage of this is that kids will more likely eat their veggies if they don't even know it's there. And the best part is, more often than not you already have all the ingredients at home and you can even recycle left- overs to make hearty-healthy meals.

So here's to the start of a brand new blog that promises to bring you quick, simple (even for those who have never cooked before), healthy but most of all Tot- terrific meals. Healthy food can taste real good!