Giveaway – 2 Tickets to Color in Motion 5k Run

photo courtesy of Color In Motion 5K

Ok this looks like a fun event to get messy, keep fit and help a good cause. Color in Motion 5k organizes 5k races across the country and will be in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl Fair Park on November 17th 9am. All you need to do is show up wearing your freshest whitest clothes and by the end of the race, you’ll be covered with bursts of color (note color is washable). This is not a race where you need to be the fastest. You and your family can jog, run or take a leisurely stroll. Just have fun!

3rd Annual Texas State Veggie Fair

photo courtesy of Texas State Veggie Fair

It’s time to get your green on at the 3rd Annual Texas State Veggie Fair which returns to Dallas on Sunday, October 21, 2012. We visited last year and loved the simpleness of it all. It was a gathering of families, vegetarian or not (we’re not) with lots of food, live music, carnival games and art at grassroots level. No big fanfare but good wholesome fun and definitely not as crowded as those at Big Tex. Last year 2500 attendees packed Winfrey Point, a reason why this year’s location is at the 46 acre, Reverchon Park near Turtle Creek.

It’s apple season – make a crisp or a pie!

We always think of September as apple season! Lollo’s school likes to start off  parent night with a serving of applesauce made by all the kids. This month we’ve been branching out from our usual suspects and discovering some of the New Zealand apples like the sweet and crisp, Envy apples. I also tried my hand at ‘baking’ an apple crisp … sort of.

And the winner of the MetroCooking Dallas Giveaway is….

Ah! The moment you’ve been waiting for! Thank you to all you readers who entered the MetroCooking Dallas Giveaway! IttyBittyFoodies loved reading all your kid foodie restaurant favorites. Thank you for sharing our blog on your facebook too! We are pleased to announce that our winner is Katherine Johnson! You’ve won two prize tickets to MetroCooking Dallas! Katherine’s kids eat gluten-free and here are some family favorites she shared with us! Congratulations!

My kids eat gluten-free so eating out is a little bit more limited for them. Nonetheless, we love these local child-friendly spots: Rafa’s (Tex-Mex very casual on Lovers Lane near the Tollway); Shinsei (great sushi for three of us and my son who doesn’t yet appreciate sushi loves their salmon, fried rice, edamame, chicken skewers. We always get a great meal there and they are nice to the kids too!; at Toulouse on Knox we love sitting on the patio with the kids for steak and frites. Souffles are delicieux!; Finally, at Company Cafe (on Routh near Katy Trail) offers a gluten-free menu, great outdoor seating at picnic tables and the kids can play with their chalkboard or run around on the Katy Trail while we eat and converse.

If you didn’t win, you can still buy tickets at MetroCooking Dallas. Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook to keep up with the latest kid-friendly restaurant reviews, foodies products, recipes, travel destinations, other cool stuff we love & fun giveaways!

Till our next happy meal!

Last call to enter MetroCooking Dallas Giveaway – with Paula Deen & Bobby Flay

Paula Deen & Bobby Flay at MetroCooking Dallas

Dallas folks! Listen up – this is the last call to enter to win two (2) tickets to one of  the biggest cooking and entertainment shows, MetroCooking Dallas. The two day show on September 22-23, 2012 features Paula Deen & Bobby Flay as well workshops and demonstrations from our own Dallas-based chefs. The drawing is on Monday September 17th 2012 at noon where I’ll announce the winners. All you need to do is to tell us your fave kid friendly restaurant in the comments section HERE. There’s a chance for bonus entry if you share it on your Facebook. Check out details here.

Till our next Happy Meal! Good luck!

Mom Made Foods

School is back in full swing and so are play dates, soccer runs and music lessons. We’re recently discovered Mom Made Foods and tested the USDA organic children’s meals out on a play date.  Created by Virginia mom, Heather Stouffer (no relation to Stouffer’s frozen food), Mom Made Foods is a quick-prepare frozen food line of snacks and meals to sustain little tummies in between their busy schedules.

Giveaway to MetroCooking Dallas – featuring Paula Deen & Bobby Flay

Paula Deen & Bobby Flay at MetroCooking Dallas

Listen up foodies! IttyBittyFoodies is giving away two tickets to MetroCooking Dallas, one of the biggest cooking and entertainment events this year. The weekend extravaganza features two titans in the celebrity chef arena, Paula Deen and Bobby Flay as well as our own Dallas-based James Beard affiliated chefs including Stephan Pyles, Tre Wilcox, Richard Chamberlain, Bruno Davaillon and Abraham Salum. MetroCooking Dallas will be held at the Dallas Convention Center, September 22-23, 2012.

Bowery – Eat Good Dogs

Decor by John Paul Valverde from Coeval Design

Hot dogs are my personal weakness and the newly opened Bowery in Uptown serves them just the way this Mama likes them; with Champagne cocktails. Whether you like a classic Chicago dog or something more high brow with wagyu or foie gras, rest assured that all the sausages are hand-made, grass fed (where applicable) and organic; the buns are baked daily.

MadPax – Love these monster backpacks!

Lollo with the Nibbler size & Pikelet with Full pack – ready for school

“Three parts funk, one pound of punk, a dash of dare and tad of turbo.” The tag sounds like a description of a Mad Max movie but MadPax co-creator Tina Huber is talking about her fierce styling Spiketus Rex, Bubble and Later Gator backpacks. Bring it to the Thunderdome or bring it to school, kids and gamers are coveting this latest backpack innovation.

Peanut Butter & Co + Foodie Freebies from Central Market

Foodie Freebies from Peanut Butter & Co. & Central Market

This week I picked up a jar of peanut butter from Peanut Butter & Co. and got another jar of peanut butter and a loaf of Mrs Baird’s Whole Grain White bread for free! A bargain for $4.49 from Central Market with a $7.11 savings! Peanut butter is a great source of vegetarian protein and since we’re about to start school, it’s time to stock up.

Stuffed 8 Ball Squash with Bacon and Panko Crumbs

We are in love with 8 ball squash, the round little zucchinis that are the size of a billiard ball. We are so enamored with it, IttyBittyFoodies’ uses them as their signature avatar. You may need to hunt for them at different grocery stores but you can definitely get them at the Dallas Farmers Market at the Lemley’s produce stand. Here’s an easy and quick recipe for dinner I recently did for White Rock Lake Weekly. The stuffing can be made ahead and then baked in the zuccchini on the night that you plan on eating. And they are so cute, they naturally make for an awesome presentation and will be a conversation starter at dinner time.

Hilton Anatole Staycation – the last hurrah!

Vacation essentials – Trunki’s and Family Bingo

School is round the corner but we’re hankering for a last hurrah so we checked into the Hilton Anatole for a Summer at the Anatole staycation weekend. We’ve never considered a staycation until we had kids. The ease of packing light, not traveling too far as well as saving extra pennies on airfares or gas money now makes sense.

Three Lions Truck – get some English grub during Olympic fever

IttyBittyFoodies have Olympic fever and we’re tucking into some English fare from Three Lions Truck, a new food truck which debuted in March. It may be hot but it didn’t stop us from hanging out at parking lot of Sigel’s  on Greenville the other night for our share of fish and chips and hearty meat pie.

IttyBittyFoodies Celebrates 2 years!

Happy Birthday to IttyBittyFoodies blog! You may have noticed that as the blog grows older, it’s getting bigger with fun new sections. First get on the move with Pikelet & Lollo in our new Travel section which has taken us to Telluride and summer road trips to San Antonio and Lockhart in the recent months. There’s StyleSurfing which is about all the non-food stuff we love like Back to School Chooze shoes and even something for Beefcake with the launch of Kale Naturals skin care products. Also take a squiz at our favorite books whether they are recipe books like Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook which is a compendium of their last 20 years to Funny Faces, which makes breakfast fun 365 days of the year to some of our fave kid books like the Donut Chef.

Taco Ocho in Richardson

Order and pick up at the counter

The IttyBittyFoodies have discovered the joy of tortas, the Latin American version of the baguette that is so popular on the streets of Mexico City. We recently lunched at the Latin-inspired Taco Ocho in Richardson where the menu features eight tacos, eight tostadas and eight tortas.

Honeycomb Ice Cream with Chocolate Mint

Ol’ fashioned honeycomb ice cream

There’s nothing like homemade ice cream and this Honeycomb Ice Cream with Chocolate Mint does not require any special equipment – aside from a hand mixer. The recipe uses old fashion ingredients – eggs, cream, some honey to provide natural sweetness and chocolate mint to add a refreshing touch. Chocolate mint is sometimes hard to come by so feel free to substitute with regular mint or spearmint. I’ve found chocolate mint plants at nurseries such as Calloways or Redentas but I’ve not seen it at a grocery store.

The Pearl in San Antonio is a foodie’s gem for the non-chain-restaurant tourist

Crabcake sandwich from Sandbar Fish House and Market

San Antonio is best known for the Alamo and it’s Riverwalk but non-chain restaurants are hard to find in these touristy parts. And then we discovered The Pearl, a gem of a destination featuring a farmers’ market, a variety of great restaurants and shops and home to the American Institute of Architects in San Antonio, Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio and Aveda Institute.

Asian Shrimp Toast

We love easy entertaining and this Asian Shrimp Toast recipe is perfect for summer play dates and early dinners. The little appetizer sizes are great for IttyBittyFoodies ready for nibblies before dinner. It can be made ahead and served at room temperature. We like to use baguettes but I’ve also used not-so-fresh bread for this recipe.

Back-to-School CHOOZE 100% vegan shoes

It’s only July but Pikelet (my soon to be 1st grader) has picked out his new shoes for school.   Ever since he received his new fashion forward and 100% vegan CHOOZE shoes, he’s smitten with the idea of how cool he’ll look on the first day of school.

Shiloh in her CHOOZE

IttyBittyFoodies aren’t the only mini fashionistas fascinated with the line. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt has been seen sporting the camouflage Scout shoes all over the world on her vacations.

IttyBittyFoodies made it – Circle of Moms Top 25 Foodie Moms 2012

You may recall last month there was fierce competition among 270 food blogs vying for the honor of being one of the Top 25 Foodie Moms 2012 by Circle of Moms. We’re pleased to announce that IttyBittyFoodies made it – right at No 24.  Huge thanks to loyal readers, family and friends who read and support our itty bitty blog. Circle of Moms just released interviews with the Top 25 Foodie Moms and you can read the exclusive IttyBittyFoodies interview HERE!

Last but not least, please take a moment to check out Erin Blinn’s portfolio. She has been taking photos of our IttyBittyFoodies for years now. Not only does she take beautiful photos, she’s very fast and captures them well.

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