She'd rather eat an ice cube - Ovaltine Banana Smoothie

Not a success - Naya took two sips, opened her mouth wide in horror, then asked for an ice cube. Even I'll admit to a strange aftertaste:

Banana Ovaltine Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 ripe banana (frozen or not)
1/3-1/2 cup skim milk or soy milk
1 tablespoon ovaltine
2 teaspoons non-fat vanilla or plain yogurt
1 scoop of non-flavored or vanilla whey protein powder (optional)
Preparation:
Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Makes 1 smoothie.

I shall persevere - one of my friends swears by ovaltine-based breakfast smoothies for her kids, and I think there may be something there!

Creamy Orzo and blah blah bland but at least no one got cut :(

Today's attempt to wean the girls off of Annie's Organic Peace Pasta - Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms, and Red Peppers, from a site I won't name since I'm finally understanding that its recipes are hopelessly bland! I left out the red peppers, but since they were bell peppers, I don't think that would have improved the dish significantly enough for it to be more edible. The girls won't eat it, so I'm left with a large wok full of leftovers, and not enough chili garlic sauce in the world to get through it.

On a side note, I bought Duralex bowls and plates recently - supposedly 2.5 times stronger than regular glass - and I put in a bowlful of the pasta and set it on the counter. I was in the other room changing Naya's diaper, Lani in the kitchen playing at the table, when I heard a tinging sound. Assuming Lani had thrown toys on the ground, I ambled over to the kitchen only to find her looking stunned at the table, and the bowl shattered on the counter and all over the floor. THANK GOD she wasn't closer, or Naya wasn't in the room! Law. Suit. Lani also noted that "it's good Naya wasn't here" which was a purely sweet and thoughtful thing. She's still trying to milk it for all it's worth though, describing how she assumed a crash position when it happened (doubtful), and how it was like a windshield (how does she know what to say to freak me out more??)

Day One: Get your toddler to eat breakfast

Normally, Naya will only reliably eat one thing for breakfast - cold pizza. Because apparently she's already a college student. The rest of the meals aren't so tough, fortunately. In my quest for breakfast alternatives . . . smoothies! Today was a Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie - since Daddy has hooked the girls on ice cream-based smoothies (a/k/a milkshakes), I've had some misses in the past with trying to get her to eat these, today was mildly successful! I think for some reason the frozen fruit made it taste much less yogurt-y than usual.

Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie (estimates - made 2 servings):
1/3 c. yogurt
1/2 c. milk
6 frozen strawberries
1/2 c. frozen pineapple
1/2 frozen banana

Next time around - may add honey for some extra sweetness, although Naya didn't seem to mind, and might try to add in some wheat germ or ground flax seed for extra nutrition. Lani still wouldn't touch it knowing it was ice cream-free, but I'm still labeling this - SUCCESS!