Getting Unreal is The Perfect Alternative for Trick or Treating this Halloween #NGFoodie

Since having kids I've been a lot more cautious about what I pass out at Halloween-time to trick-or-treaters. I realize how much junk my kids receive in their baskets and I knew I needed to change up what I passed out to the kids who came to our home.

I had the pleasure of trying out some very tasty goodies while at the Social Luxe Lounge in New York and was pleased to find out how they compared to the candy on store shelves today.

UNREAL™ has unjunked America's favorite candy and has created a product without the corn syrup, the artificial ingredients, and the partially hydrogenated oils. Not to mention less sugar. They've even added more cacao, real caramel (not corn syrup dyed to look like caramel), more peanuts, protein, and fiber.

All this is the product of the UNREAL™ culture. UNREAL™ is building an eclectic mix of people from different walks and experiences. A Kashi guy. One from Google. An interior decorator. A P&G’er. A guitarist from Glaceau. A guy from Mars. An actual Oompa Loompa. A dog named Lola.

 You’d never find these people together in any other company in the world. But it works. Why? Because They’re drawn together by a common mission. To challenge what we’ve come to accept in our food and its effect on our health. To change the way junk food is made here in America and around the world. To unjunk the world™.

To see exactly what I'm talking about, check out the comparison above. M&M's compared to the UNREAL™ UN54. How amazing is this? A superior product with less calories AND only 4 more grams of sugar than an orange. Plus these chocolate candy shell peanuts are amazingly tasty!! My kids couldn't get enough.

By passing out UNREAL™ on Halloween you're not only helping your kids recognize the difference in the candy on the shelves and the ingredients in the candy they're consuming, you're also passing on the awesomeness that is UNREAL™ to parents who might not realize that there's a great alternative to the junk they're used to.

For more information check out the UNREAL™ website and see how you can get UNREAL™ this Halloween! Don't forget to keep up with UNREAL™ on Facebook and follow them on twitter at @GetUnreal


The Noise Girls have yet again put together an amazing giveaway event to tantalize your tastebuds! The Fall Foodie Festival giveaway event starts on October 1st so please remember to hurry back and enter for your chance to win.

And Ozeri has joined in on the fun to offer one lucky reader an assortment of UNREAL™ candies of their own in this giveaway.



Disclaimer: I received a set of UNREAL™ candies for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Keeping Kids Healthy with Great Snack Options {Back to School Special}

Now that the kids are going back to school and the craziness of summer is coming to an end, it's time to start talking healthy snack options!

One of my main concerns with my kids is the fact that they want to snack all.day.long. So I've tried my best to offer a variety of foods to not only keep them open minded about what they eat, but also keep them aware of the colors they eat and trying to make sure they get to every color of the rainbow!

If they're going to snack, they're going to snack the right way. 

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Create a special snack area
In an effort to make sure they are grabbing the right things to eat I've created a shelf on the fridge just for them. And right at their height. They simply open the door, take what they want, and come to me to open it for them.

But I didn't stop at just the fridge... I wanted to make other fruits and veggies readily available as well. So I grabbed a salad bowl and placed my kids favorite fruits inside so that they can grab them when they like.

Let Them Choose New Fruits and Veggies
My son also now chooses one new fruit or veggie every time we go to the store. This last trip he chose mango. When we got home we cut it up and everyone tried it. He didn't really like it but when I blended the rest of his into a smoothie he had no problem drinking it down!

We will also try and be adventurous while at the local farmers markets and try new fruits and veggies that are in season. Most vendors will even offer to give you a sample before you purchase so you know your kids will like it. At the beginning of summer my son wanted to try the figs from a local grower. He had pieces on the ends of tooth picks ready to go for everyone to taste. We went home with a whole bag!

Be Creative

When preparing snacks for the kids be creative in how you prepare them. We recently had a Lego Duplo Party and in an effort to make the food more fun I made some cheese and cracker sandwiches into the shapes of lego bricks.

The kids loved them! And my daughter ate two whole sandwiches. Unheard of in this home.

You can find a lot of great ideas for snack creations on Pinterest, other blogs, and magazines like Family Fun (like these adorable after school snack ideas) and Parents (with their 20 best snacks).

For great healthy snack suggestions check out 20 Healthy Snacks for Kids!

Why Yes, My Son Is In Gymnastics {Creating Healthy Children}

This summer was a fun, and busy, one. We spend most of our time playing wiht our friends, exploring San Diego, and picking up a few new skills.

My son spent one day a week learning a few awesome moves in his gymnastics class. I was impressed and excited to see how quickly he picked up what the teacher showed him. And he had an amazing teacher!

What I wasn't expecting was the reaction I received from others when I told them he was in gymnastics. Now, I'm not talking about my friends or family members, but people I met at the park, or at a restaurant (don't ask me how we got on the subject... the lady sitting next to us was VERY nosy), or at the doctor's office.

While most people would simply say, "Oh, how fun!" others reacted with a distasteful, "Why?!"

Well... why not?

And that's what I'd respond with. Gymnastics is a great way, for boys and girls, to learn the basics of balancing, core strength, motor skills, and flexibility. And I love that my son can now build on these skills as he grows and learns new ones. Not to mention the fact that he was part of a social circle that helped promote physical activity instead of at home on the couch watching cartoons.

Doing an awesome somersault on his own

Here are a few ways that gymnastics skills can help aid in healthy development of kids:

Core Strength and Exercise
Exercise and proper training through gymnastics have a positive effect on a child’s cardiopulmonary/cardio respiratory status and bone mineral density, helping to reduce the risk of serious illnesses in adulthood, such as heart disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes. It can also reduce the chances of childhood obesity by aiding in body composition and the loss of body fat (the healthy way!).

Motor Skills

Gymnastics helps children build a range of motor and coordination skills, and assists in developing a good sense of body awareness.

A young child in gymnastics will learn how to use different parts of their body in difference ways. By participating in gymnastics children have more body awareness, control, and coordination, which can be beneficial to other physical activities, sports, and in everyday life.

Flexibility

Stretching exercises help improve flexibility, allowing muscles and joints to bend and move easily through their full range of motion as your children grow. Kids look for opportunities every day to stretch when they try to get a toy just out of reach, take off their shoes, or do a somersault.

By becoming more flexible, children are less likely to get injured while playing and can perform better at certain tasks and sports. Stretching and improving flexibility can also help alleviate growing pains.  

Don't have time (or the budget) for gymnastics? You can encourage core strength in your kids through fun games and activities. Take a look at this awesome publication from USAGym I found for a few great ideas! I'll be using a few of them with the kids since my son started preschool and our busy schedule can no long allow for gymnastics classes.

Remember to be a role model for your child. If you are active, your child will be active. So get up, head outside, and start playing!

Underweight and an Iron Deficiency?

Last Thursday my daughter had her follow up weight check. If you remember, she fell off the chart at her 15 month appointment and the pediatrician wanted to make sure she was staying on her own curve and not plateauing in weight. Height and head circumference were just fine.

So we beefed up the healthy calories and really focused on structured meals and snacks to make sure she had as many opportunities to eat healthy, caloric foods as possible to keep her on the right track.

And the results?

In six weeks she gained 11 ounces. Enough to keep her on her own curve and out of the 'danger zone' of plateauing on the curve.

But, and that's a big but, the pediatrician wanted to see a bit more of a gain to get her back onto the charts. We'll continue to make sure she's offered a variety of nutritious meals and snacks as well as making sure the foods we feed her are higher in calories.

Now that we've gotten the weight issue taken care of we're fine, right? Wrong.

At the 15 month check up my daughter's iron levels were low. The pedi re-checked the numbers again this time and they're still low. Now we have to  supplement with iron drops. Not easy for a girl who doesn't eat much.

Not only am I now trying to offer lots of foods, I'm also trying to offer foods that I can hide the iron drops in. And this girl eats maybe 5 bites of one thing at a time. Not great when the metallic flavor of the iron supplement needs to be masked by the food or drink it's in.

I still have yet to get a full dose in her. And she needs two doses a day, every day.

Luckily I have an awesome BFF who recommended a few products to try out. She currently uses Floradix Iron & Herbs and loves it. 

I actually first heard of this brand back at BlogHer'11 last year and have even received samples at a few events I've attended over the past few months. I've put a call in to the pediatrician to see if he approves of this alternative.

They even have a kids multivitamin I've heard great things about called Floradix Kinderlove Children's Multiple Vitamin. I might get that as well to start Ethan on something in case he's lacking in nutrition too.

We're also making Green Monsters every day and are considering adding chlorella or spirulina. There isn't a ton of iron in the chlorella or spirulina but it's very easily assimilated. There's also a chewable called Nature's Plus Animal Parade Kid Greenz that I'm looking into as well.

And on top of the supplements I am also watching her Vitamin C consumption as well since it's supposed to aid in absorption of iron. So along with the iron drops I'm also offering orange juice, melon, strawberries, apricots, kiwi, broccoli, tomatoes and potatoes.

I'm going to try my best to get her iron levels up and decide on a course of action. If it's not one thing it's another! So is life...

A positive in this is the fact that my daughter is a smart, funny, and very personable 16 1/2 month old and we are blessed that our problems are ones we can address and resolve. I know that some families aren't as lucky.

Have any suggestions for increasing iron? I'd love to hear them!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. By clicking through to the sponsor's website your are helping support the Simmworks Family Blog. 

Green Monster Smoothies {Breakfast Recipe}

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One of my favorite new ways to get greens into my kids is by blending them up into smoothie form. And this smoothie started it all. Now this is just your basic Green Monster. There are so many different variations of this smoothie and my kids and I love to experiment with what we put in it when we make it.

For some awesome ways to shake up the original recipe check out my friend CB's Green Monster journey over on her blog See Cupcake Run. Just search for "green monster" since I'm not sure how to link to one of her categories. 

Green Monster Smoothie

• 1 cup milk
• 1 ripe, frozen banana, peeled
• 3 handfuls organic spinach
• 1 tablespoon ground flax
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 4-5 ice cubes

Add 1 cup of milk to the blender.

Now add in the chia or flax (if using) and nut butter.

Next, add in the spinach followed by the banana on top.

Blend until smooth.

Add in your ice cubes and blend some more.

Serves 2

Chick-Fil-A's Newest Menu Addition {Healthy Kids Meals}

Chick-fil-A is offering a new Kid’s Meal, which is anticipated to be one of the most nutritious in the country, featuring Grilled Nuggets as an entrée. Compared to an “average” hamburger kid’s meal offered at fast food restaurants, the new Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meal (4-count grilled nuggets, fruit cup and low fat milk) contains almost 60 percent less calories and an estimated 85 percent less fat. The chain also is enhancing its side choices by adding Buddy Fruits Pure Blended Fruit To Go applesauce.

This is a huge step for Chick-fil-A to further expand healthy menu options for families. When we visit Chick-Fil-A for lunch or dinner we always get the same thing for the kids. We order a 4-count chicken nugget meal with french fries, milk and an extra side of fruit. The fries are shared by the whole family (you read that right... a kids meal fry split between our family of four) and the fruit and nuggets are shared between my daughter and son. Now with the addition of the grilled nuggets I'm even more inclined to stop by Chick-Fil-A when we need a meal on the go.

My son recently celebrated his 3rd birthday so for lunch last week I took him on request to Chick-Fil-A. And while I normally don't order chocolate milk I couldn't resist his birthday pleas. So he suckered me into getting him chocolate milk and french fries. But don't worry, his sister made sure to eat all of the fruit we got from our side order. Mommy enjoyed a delicious grilled chicken salad. Full of flavor and no guilt! Their grilled chicken sandwiches are super tasty too. Order it with a wheat bun to make it a tad bit healthier. Or skip the bun all together and go for a lettuce wrap.

We don't usually eat at fast food restaurants but when we do it's at one of two places. And the first place on our list is Chick-Fil-A. Tasty food, healthy choices and great service are what will help keep us coming back time and time again. I don't feel like a bad mommy for letting my kids eat here and I enjoy the options I have too. Have you tried their berry balsamic dressing? YUM! 

An added bonus for the kids is their toy-for-ice cream trade. If your son or daughter isn't into the toy they received (or you just don't want another toy around the house) they can trade it for a kids size ice dream cone. My kids love this and know exactly what to do at the end of their meal.

Have you tried Chick-Fil-A? What menu item do you love? 3 lucky readers will win a coupon good for one free kids meal at Chick-Fil-A. Simply fill out the rafflecopter form below for your chance to win.

Healthy Eating for Kids {eBook Review}

I'm always looking for unique and creative recipes that my kids will enjoy eating, even though they're healthy recipes. When I heard about the opportunity to review the book, "Healthy Eating for Kids", I knew it was right up my alley. These recipes have fun names to appeal to your child's imagination - let your kids tuck into an Edible Forest, devour a Happy Face Snack or dream of turning green when they drink a Hulk Juice.

"Healthy Eating for Kids" was written with the busy family in mind. Most recipes can be prepared in 15 minutes or less, which is less time than you might spend waiting in line for a hamburger and fries.

The recipes in "Healthy Eating" also come in kid-sized portions. If your child is a picky eater and refuses to eat the dinner that you are preparing for the rest of the family, you will be able to whip up a healthy alternative in minutes. On the other hand, if you would like to make a "Healthy Eating" recipe for the whole family, it is simple to do, since it is far easier to multiply the recipe than it is to sort out the portions for just one person.

The book includes 60 fun and healthy recipes in six different categories, including:

• Snacks
• Drinks
• Lunch at Home
• Packed Lunches for School
• Evening Meals at Home
• Desserts

Each recipe is designed to include the vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients that your child needs to stay healthy, strong, focused, and energetic. We've put an emphasis on ideas that:

• Are healthy
• Contain nutrients that are difficult to add to a child's diet
• Fast and easy for parents to make
• Use ingredients that most households have on hand
• Encourage your child to get involved with his or her own nutrition

My son's new favorite snack is one of my favorites from childhood, Ants on a Log. However he prefers to use cranberries instead of raisins. The best part about most of these recipes is that your child can help make the snack with you. My son is in charge of spreading the peanut butter with a spoon and placing the cranberries on top (oh, and he's in charge of the eating too!). My daughter has fallen in love with the applesauce with cinnamon tortilla dippers. She helps sprinkle the cinnamon on the tortillas before we put them in the oven to bake and crisp up. We've substituted whole wheat tortillas and sometimes use pear sauce and apple-carrot sauce as well.

If you are looking for an awesome recipe book to entice your children to eat healthier then I highly suggest checking out Healthy Eating for Kids. You can purchase and download it in PDF format on the Healthy Eating for Kids website or directly from Amazon for your Kindle here.

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

I Have A Pointer {Communication and Development}

No, we didn't get another dog. My daughter has started pointing! And I am loving it. When my son started pointing I didn't realize it was such a big deal until one of my friends (who happens to be a speech language pathologist) commented about it and let me know that it was a good sign that he was developing right on track.

I actually noticed it when I was playing Angry Birds on my smartphone and she kept reaching over from her seat on the couch to try and touch the screen with her little pointer finger. She saw me pointing at the screen (launching the birds) and wanted to do the same! Then on our most recent trip to Disneyland this past week she started pointing at things around her. So we took advantage of her interest and started telling her about everything she pointed at. She might have been overwhelmed just a bit...

It's important for kids under 12 months of age to be watched for signs that they're using their "voices" to relate to their environment. A few things to look for in your infant to make sure that they are on track are listed below. Knowing what's "normal" and what's not in speech and language development can help you figure out if you should be concerned or if your child is right on schedule.

Early Stages of Speech Development
Birth to 3 Months

• Respond to speech by looking at the speaker
• Respond differently to the voice of a parent than to other voices
• React to changes in a speaker's tone, pitch, volume, and intonation
• Respond differently to their home language and another language
• Communicate with bodily movements, by crying, babbling, and laughing
• Attempt to imitate sounds

3 Months to 6 Months

• Exchange sounds, facial expressions, or gestures with a parent or caregiver
• Listen to conversations
• Repeat some vowel and consonant sounds

6 Months to 9 Months

• Begin repetitive babbling (deaf children also start to babble with their hands)
• Associate gestures with simple words and two-word phrases, like "hi" and "bye-bye"
• Use vocal and non-vocal communication to express interest and influence others 
• Saying words like "mama" and "dada" (without really understanding what those words mean)

9 Months to 12 Months

• Understand the names of familiar people and objects (for example bottle, binky, etc.)
• Show their understanding with responsive body language and facial expressions
• Say a few words
• Respond to a firm "no" by stopping what they are doing

There are certain milestones that children are evaluated for at their well-baby visits. For the 12 month visit, pointing, gesturing and waving good-bye along with a few spoken words are great signs that a baby is on track developmentally. Being able to communicate for an infant can be difficult at times because of the lack of a vocabulary. But if you watch your infant closely you can see that they're constantly communicating with you in their own special way. And don't worry if your child hasn't met some or all of the developmental guides listed above. If you have any concerns about your child's development please speak with your pediatrician.

Sources: PBS, Kids Health, ASHA

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