IttyBittyFoodies nominated (again) for Top 25 Foodie Moms on Circle of Moms

How exciting! IttyBittyFoodies have been nominated once more for the Top 25 Foodie Moms on the Circle of Moms website. Circle of Moms connect moms (about 6 million and counting) together to network and discuss on all things mommy from pregnancy stages all the way up to older kids. Please click on the badge above and vote for IttyBittyFoodies. Just look for our signature logo of toddler hands holding two orange 8 ball squash.

Voting closes June 4th, 2013.  Click here to vote!

THANK YOU THANK YOU once again

Thanks for listening to my Motherhood Musings

Cheryl Collett is a mom on a mission to expand her kids’ palates and IttyBittyFoodies chronicles their yummy adventures. For recipes and other crafty fun ideas, look under HomeMade or check out the best kid friendly places under Restaurant Reviews where the food is delicious for both parents and children. Get the latest updates if you Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ittybittyfoodie

DMoms magazine celebrates moms

Susan O’Brien from Hail Merry – Spring issue of DMoms Magazine

Remember Tiny Dallas? The fabulous mom blog has now morphed into DMoms  (a daily blog and magazine)! Editor Joslyn Taylor, who is so cool she takes her kids to Marfa on vacation (twice) weaves together a magazine that’s full of moms that you can admire and do meaningful work like Sharon Blumberg owner the mismatched shoe company, Chooze and Paige Chenault who holds birthday parties for homeless kids with the Birthday Party Project. We love the mom crushes that gives us a glimpse of everyday life from different women and the tips they share. Ace photographer and friend, Carissa Byers tells us her organizational tips and Erin Mckool, owner of Start restaurant features healthy recipes.

Village Baking Co. – now open everyday

Pastries everyday of the week from Village Baking Co

Looks like the secret’s out about our favorite boulangerie. Village Baking Co is now open for business daily from 7am-3pm. No need to wait for the later part of the week to get your baguette and breads or indulge in a buttery kovign-amman (also available in chocolate too), pain au chocolat or laminated brioche. The bakery is so busy especially in the mornings that the only wait is actually in the line to get your hands on their artisanal baked goodies!

Click here for Village Baking Co.

Till our next Happy Meal!

Cheryl Collett is a mom on a mission to expand her kids’ palates and IttyBittyFoodies chronicles their yummy adventures. For recipes and other crafty fun ideas, look under HomeMade or check out the best kid friendly places under Restaurant Reviews where the food is delicious for both parents and children. Get the latest updates if you Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ittybittyfoodie

 

Happy Hour for your garden – worm castings from Texas Worm Ranch

Vermicomposting

You are more beautiful than you think – yes… really

Motherhood has aged me. I look at the crow’s feet that were never there before, dark circles under the eyes from the lack of sleep, and stray white hairs that I’ve pulled out more often than I care to remember. I’ve swapped my heels for Birkenstocks, thanks to those lovely bunions and walk around with my brain permanently stored in a jar somewhere. I look at my old photos where I was a pretty, young thing and stare at the mirror where not much is perky anymore. Earlier this week, Dove released  their Real Beauty Sketches and it was so poignant and moving, I had to stop myself and watch it again.

Weeknight Recipe – Japanese Chicken Tonkatsu with homemade sauce

Easy Chicken Tonkatsu with homemade sauce

I have menu-itis. It usually happens on a weeknight especially in between homework and carting kids from music to sports and trying to keep an infant happy. I get in a rut over dinner but want something fast. This is when I reach for my Japanese Chicken Tonkatsu recipe. There’s very little prep time and dinner is made while you boil rice. Try it!

A (candy-free) Easter basket from Edible Arrangements

A candy free Easter Basket from Edible Arrangements

We never buy our kids candy for Easter. The countless Easter egg hunts takes care of that. But we do like to give them a treat so when the Easter bunny dropped off this Easter basket from Edible Arrangements, the kids were hopping with joy. Here was a beautiful arrangement of fresh melons, strawberries, and grapes with chocolate dipped pineapple bunnies to boot!

A Scrambled Egg Kit for an Easter basket idea + recipe

Easter Basket idea – Fresh eggs & kid sized Joie cooking utensils

Easter Bunny put on her thinking cap to come up with a healthy Easter gift and put together this beautiful scrambled egg kit. It is simply an assortment of blue hued eggs freshly laid by backyard chickens and the cutest kid-sized cooking utensils from Joie.

Linsanity over Grace Lin

IttyBittyFoodies meets Grace Lin – yes! Linsanity!!

In honor of the Lunar New Year, we’re featuring the works of the American Chinese children’s book author and illustrator, Grace Lin. Her vibrant and beautifully illustrated children’s picture books are a great resource to questions like ”What is Chinese New Year?” and “What is dim sum?”

White Chocolate Mousse with Dark Chocolate Ganache

If you’re staying at home for Valentine’s Day but want to end the meal with a restaurant quality dessert, this White Chocolate Mousse with Dark Chocolate Ganache recipe will give you the best of both worlds. It looks fancy but the recipe is so easy the kids can help make it. I use Ghirardelli Chocolate Baking Bars as they melt nicely but feel free to improvise. The recipe makes 8 glasses so spread the love around and invite friends over.

Village Baking Co. –

(Clockwise) Laminated brioche, almond croisssant, chocolate canelés and pain au chocolat

Like little pigs with their noses to the ground sniffing for truffles, every so often a foodie finds a hidden treasure like we did with Village Baking Company. For months we drove by their baking facility on University Blvd and each time my little piggies hold their noses in the air commenting that something smelt yummy. Then one day, someone propped up a small sign that said “Pastries & Artisan Breads” that lured us right into their small showroom lined with fresh baked breads and pastries. There’s no ‘shop front’ to speak of and you just pull up to what looks like the backdoor to the baking warehouse.

The best gift I received was this carton of eggs

Forest Gump once said “Life was like a box of chocolates”. I see life more like a carton of eggs. We walk about protected only by delicate shell and a false sense of security. We push limits thinking we’re indestructible but one wrong move and we’re falling off the kitchen table and heading for Splatsville.  And as I reflect upon 2012 and my entire life for that matter, I realize the best gift I have ever received is my carton of eggs. Most of us, seldom wake up thinking how glorious it is to be alive. Perhaps if more of us did, it will change our perspectives and challenge how we live. So for 2013, I’d like to cherish my carton of eggs more, whether it’s sunny side up one day or scrambled the next.

Happy New Year! Till our next Happy Meal!

Thanks for listening to my Motherhood Musings

Cheryl Collett is a mom on a mission to expand her kids’ palates and IttyBittyFoodies chronicles their yummy adventures. For recipes and other crafty fun ideas, look under HomeMade or check out the best kid friendly places under Restaurant Reviews where the food is delicious for both parents and children. Get the latest updates if you Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ittybittyfoodie

 

East Hampton Sandwich Company

Southern Fried Chicken and Jack

Four year old Lollo’s favorite ‘burger joint’ is actually the new sandwich shop in Snider Plaza called East Hampton Sandwich Co. I’ve tasted it and the burger patty itself is not unlike many other burger places but we finally figured that it’s the bread that makes Lollo yearn for more. Lines have been snaking out the door at lunch time so if you’ve got little ones in tow, be smart and head there early for lunch or avoid lunch altogether and go in for an early dinner.

Pure Delite Cupcakery

Pikelet and Lollo just tasted four assorted cupcakes from the new bakery, Pure Delite and to my surprise, a gluten free chocolate cupcake emerged as the winner. Pure Delite which opened it’s third US location last month, specializes in gluten free, vegan, reduced fat and reduced sugar cupcakes. In honor of National Cupcake Day (Saturday December 15th), Pure Delite will unveil it’s holiday eggnog flavored cupcake with a gingerbread star called “Yuletide Cheer”.

Get your frock on!

Hey Mamas! A big shout out to Dallas TidBits who are hosting their holiday party at Last Call this Wednesday December 12 from 6pm to 8pm.  Sounds like a fun event just for all you mamas out there who spend the rest of year looking after everyone else in the family. There’s bubbles and

An Eggcellent Kids Party Craft Idea

For months now, Pikelet & Lollo have been anticipating the birth of their baby brother, Googie. They first saw Googie at our 12 week scan where the sonographer mentioned that the baby was attached to an egg sac and one of them added, “like a googie (ie runny) egg” and the nickname Googie was born. Then four year old, Lollo thought it’d be cool to crush egg shells and make a craft for Googie when he arrives. That was around August.

Googie Wonderland!

You may have noticed I haven’t blogged for a while and wondered where I’ve gone. The family has been in “Googie Wonderland” this past month. We’ve been cooking a special original recipe and after 9 months of waiting, our little Googie was born. Pikelet & Lollo welcomed their new baby brother in November and they are in love with him. “Googie”, as in a ‘googie egg’ was a nickname they gave him while he was still ‘cooking inside Mama’s tummy’ but now that he’s out, the name has stuck. So in honor of our sweet miracle baby, we’ve decided to add a new baby to toddler category.

Will you join us in Googie Wonderland!

Till our next Happy Meal, enjoy these cute baby feet!

Candy Patrol – Preparing for the holiday season

Toothpaste Man vs Cavity Man

It’s end of October and as we brace ourselves for the 5 month candy fest that follows from Halloween to Valentine’s Day, we interviewed our dentist friend, Dr Alan Nguyen from North Carrollton Dental, for some advice on tackling this sugary season. Yes, even dentists give their kids candy too. Dr Nguyen and his wife Tiffany have three ittybittyfoodies (ages 6, 4 and 3) so they know how hard it is to let kids enjoy holiday treats without going overboard.

Start Restaurant – a drive thru serving real food

The mommy set are abuzzed with the opening of Start Restaurant. They serve real food and there’s a drive thru? Yes, it’s all true. The new fast slow food restaurant next door to Rusty Taco’s and a few doors from Central Market (Lovers location) had been jammed with mommy vehicles packed with hungry tikes making the drive through not so fast in the first few weeks.

And the winner of the Color in Motion 5k Giveaway Tickets are…

photo courtesy of Color in Motion 5k

Thank you to all that entered the Color In Motion 5K Giveaway! Unfortunately, there’s only one winner… and the two tickets (worth $100) goes to