My son’s favorite fruit is bananas. But whenever we cut them up for him, the pieces are always sticky and slippery. He gets them all over his clothes and hands, and has trouble picking them up to boot.

Here’s a way you can make the pieces a less messy and easier to pick up.

Pick a banana that’s just become ripe. It’ll have a little greenish tint at the top and the rest of the banana will be all yellow, with no brown discolorations.

Cut the banana into discs that are about half the width of your pinky finger. With your index finger and your thumb, pinch the center of each disc. The banana piece should break into thirds naturally. The edges of these pieces will be much less sticky and slippery than if you cut across the fruit strata with a knife.

Enjoy!

When you wean your baby off the bottle and onto cups, they might stop drinking their milk. If your baby is going through a stage where he doesn’t want to drink the white stuff, how do you make sure he’s getting the calcium he needs?

There are plenty of other sources of calcium, some you might not expect. If you do prepare special foods loaded with calcium, don’t make a big deal out of your toddler eating them. The more pressure they feel from you trying to get them to eat and drink, the less likely they are to do it.

Without further adieu, here are the greatest sources of calcium money can buy:

• Milk
• Yogurt
• Cheese
• Beans
• Tofu
• Orange Juice (you can buy this calcium fortified)
• Beans
• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Sweet Potatoes
• TurnipGreens
• Tortillas

Use these foods in your prepared meals and you’re on your way to success. Some ideas for meals and snacks loaded with calcium are:

• Fruit smoothies made with milk
• Use milk instead of water in cooked cereal, soups and gravy
• Powdered milk has more calcium than regular milk
  • Use two tablespoons or every cup of flour when you bake to calcium fortify your own cooking.
  • Use 1/2 cup and water in every pound of ground beef
  • Use two tablespoons in a cup of casserole
  • Make a cream sauce for vegetables
  • Add 1/3 cup to 2 cups of regular milk to increase calcium by 50%
• Add cheese to everything
  • Mac and cheese
  • Lasagna
  • Tacos
  • Grilled Cheese
  • Vegetables
  • Burgers
• Use leafy green vegetables like spinach in salad, soup and casserole

Make your family’s diet calcium heavy if your baby won’t drink milk. He’ll need every mg he can get.

What secret calcium rich recipes do you make for your family?

Source:  American Academy of Pediatrics

Whenever we take our son out to a restaurant or to see family and friends, we’ve got trouble getting him to eat. There’s always something else going on he’d rather be doing, some toy on the floor he’d rather be playing with. It doesn’t matter if there’s carrots or cake on his plate, he wants out of that high chair.

It doesn’t make matters any easier when people who aren’t my wife and I play with his feet, show him toys, make silly faces or loud noises at him. Yeah, I know I’m no fun, but a kid’s gotta eat!

So what are some keys to keeping your kid focused on his food and letting him be social at the same time?

• Remove all unnecessary distractions like T.V., radio and toys
• Eat with your child. If you’re doing something else, he’ll want to as well
• Encourage other people to save the play for another time and aid his eating by saying things like “Yum! That looks good!” or by playfully feeding him or having him feed them
• If your baby refuses to eat and wants down, let him. Continue your meal. Chances are he’ll notice everyone else is eating and will want back in on the action
• Let him eat like a big boy. Set him on your lap or next to you if he can