It seems like no matter what we do, time always seems to get the best of us and a disadvantage of that can be putting ourselves on the back burner. Wellness and self care should be just as important and that should involve a breakfast, even if it has to be quick, that’s healthy and your body deserves. 

Here are a few items I regularly fix for myself or feed my family that takes a little bit of time to make and has a whole lot of nutrition.

Hydrate First! 

Try to start the day with some warm lemon or key lime water. 

Warm up those systems and get your body hydrated and prepped first and foremost. Here are some benefits of warm lemon water. 

Fruit 

Always my favorite healthy fast food. 

A bowl of berries, 2 or even 3 bananas, some season pears or apples or peach and mango slices. Add some raw nut butter for added protein and healthy fat. 

                                       

Toast 

One of my favorite quick and nutritious meals. You can make it sweet or savory and can take it with you. Sitting down and taking the time to eat is better for your digestion, but for transparency purposes, toast 

can go on the road with you. I prefer sprouted or spelt wheat bread over “bread” that’s bleached, nutrient zapped and replaced with artificial dupes, or has a way too long list of ingredients.

Photo by: Deryn Macey (@runningonrealfood)

Favorite recipes:

Almond butter honey or maple syrup

-topped with chia seeds, hemp seeds, or fresh berries 

Avocado w/sea salt and pepper, or hemp or sesame seeds

-topped with Roma tomato slices or red onion if time permits 

Chia preserves 

Butter 

**Whether you eat eggs, or don’t eat eggs like myself, that’s neither here nor there. I know I can find nutrition elsewhere without eating an animal by product and the mister and children eat eggs. So you can 

boil and eat your eggs or skim over. 

Hard boiled eggs 

Crack and pack and ear on the go. 

I don’t eat eggs, but when the kids occasionally do, they always opt for hard boiled eggs. 

Waffles or Pancakes 

Nature’s Path waffles and cereal. 

I love that the ingredients are much better than conventional cereals, dyed with fruits and veggies and made with less sugar. 

Now for homemade, you can make extra one morning and freeze them for later. Then, homemade pancakes can be nutritious and quick. Make and freeze later French toast we’ll help as well. 

Here’s my favorite vegan recipe: Here

Light and Fluffy Vegan Pancakes by The Pretty Bee

Smoothies

Make little baggies the night before and have them ready to blend and go. I love smoothies for summer mornings, but in the colder months, I’d rather have them for an afternoon snack. 

Add in plant based protein from chia or hemp seeds, or even powder.

  

Yogurt 

W/ granola and fruit. 

I like the So Delicious brand for yogurt (unsweetened) and then add honey or agave to your liking, fruit (berries are usually my go to and then some granola (homemade or store bought. Pay attention to ingredients). 

                                   

Oatmeal 

I prefer stove top, but if you are going to use prepackaged, check those ingredients. We want oats, real cane sugar; you can add your own cinnamon, pumpkin spice, minced apples, peaches or strawberries etc. 

My favorite fall oatmeal 

Muffins

Bake ahead of time and grab and go. The options are endless: banana, chocolate zucchini, carrot, apple, berries. 

Photo by: Eiliv-Sonas Aceron (@shootdelecious)

                                  

Trail mix

Mix up some raisins, Gogi or mulberries, with 3/4 of your favorite bits. Tons of healthy fats and packed with protein and will give you a steady bit of energy for the morning. 

My fav mix is raisins, pumpkin seeds, almonds and walnuts, and vegan dark chocolate mini chips. 

These are go-to meals for my family and I and don't be afraid to tweak it to fit your taste buds or satiety level. 

-Natasha

Natural Hair Care for Kids with Gryph & IvyRose.

I’m always eyeing bath time and hair products for the kids that are natural, smell great and accommodate Nate’s gluten allergy. Throw in vegan, and it’s a win win for all. 

This month I had the pleasure of being gifted items by Gryph & IvyRose. It seemed like the perfect timing because I was ready to purchase fresh new scents for the kids. And having something they could all use on their skin (from baby on up) and aroma is neutral, so that's a plus. upon receiving my products, I appreciated Gryph & IvyRose's swift and personable customer service, and they won me over with their ingredients. They are vegan, gluten free, cruelty free, and made without parabens, sulfates, and phthalates (these ingredients can be harsh to the skin and can irritate the endocrine system). They offer vitamins and elixirs, additional bath and body products, and probiotics, but due to the kids sensitive skin and tummies, and Nate's eczema, their shampoo and detangler seemed like the best fit for our family. 

The Daily Embrace Shampoo and Conditioner has a very soothing scent and since the herbal blend includes lavender, I wasn’t surprised. The orange extract is very noticeable as well, and it’s a plus that it’s refreshing and boosting with cleansing and antiseptic properties. Sounds like a plus for putting all the babies to sleep in a calm and rejuvenated mood. I love me a good lather, so the pearl-like sudsy lather was mama approved and didn’t leave my little ones textured hair feeling stripped or lack luster. I was able to finger detangle their hair, and after rinsing, their tresses were shiny, manageable and even the baby’s hair that usually doesn’t curl much on the sides, had curl definition. A little goes a long way, so no need to get heavy handed to get a good cleansing of the scalp. Though this is a 2-in-1 product, I still followed up with a rinse out conditioner. The fact that it was moisturizing, detangled their hair to an extent, and defined their curls and coils, highlighted the conditioning part mentioned.

The product recommends, "Massage desired amount into hair and scalp,
let set for 1-2 minutes for maximum result and rinse thoroughly,' which the kids did with their bubbly mohawks. 

The Get-A-Detangler is easy on their kinky  curls and give their hair slip with no residue or a greasy touch. The real test is when I used it on my daughter’s hair, since it has real length to it, versus the boys hair, and her fine density and high porosity hair, loved the leave in. With her hair in sections, it helped me keep her hair moisturized and detangled for styling. With less time on my hands, getting her hair detangled in less than 10 minutes was amazing and very convenient. For some reason, I feel like it smells more like cucumber than pomegranate. Either way, it smells like the perfect cool and crisp scent for summer!

Applying the detangler to my son's hair as a leave-in before his styler. 

Now my only concern is the price for my budgeting mamas and families. I look at it as a self care investment for little ones and if we can make purchases for our skin care, nails and so on, for us adults, a little luxury one a week for the little ones is not so bad at all. 

Noah's super moisturized, hydrated, and defined curls with the detangler and a natural styler. 

So if you’re looking for luxurious products for your babies and little ones to treat them to  spa-like experience with green standards in kind, Gryph & IvyRose is definitely worth the buy for your home or as a baby shower gift.

They can be found at www.anthropologie.com and their own site, GryphandIvyRose.com where they are currently offering 15% off their bundles. 

-xo Natasha

Easy way to get children to eat fruits and veggies.

Gone for a minute now I’m back...ok, alright, let’s talk kids, food, and kids eating whole foods. Now I think we’re all aware now of the whole paycheck health grocery store, but I’m referring to whole foods as in foods with no processing or refinement; think farm, to store, to table. 

I’ve mentioned the elimination diet for Nori in the past, but from 2 years of age, we have gotten her to eat a very wide variety of fruits, grains and veggies. Though she may not like every single veggie (asparagus and mushroom are a def “eww”), our rule is try it before you knock it. 

As for Nate, I made everything I could steam, roast and purée for him and once it was time to chew everything he had an aversion with texture. From 1-2 he had a smoothie for breakfast 90% of the time because he wanted NO oats, pancakes/French toast/waffles, eggs, toast...anything textured. I felt like I was lost and he was going to starve (mom guilt), but I didn’t give up on him. 
**Even if you can only get them to eat fruits, there’s tons of vitamins and minerals they can get just as they would in veggies. 

For Nori to still love her healthy foods at school with onlookers and probably unfiltered words, I started to invest in cookie cutters, food pics, fun lunch notes by @lunchbox_love and silicone muffin cups. I wanted her to know and show her class mates, she enjoys eating those/these foods and healthy food can be fun and delicious! The same lunch tools and approach has helped get Nate to eat cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, kale, hummus and on. 

Noah is starting to eat some finger foods (he does not like anything wet so we have to feed him most fruits), but he loves to try everything (greedy butt) and ya starting to want to feed himself; cute but messy! 

I truly believe adding colors, different shape and textures and tools perfect for little hands, has made a world of a difference. And again, I don’t send Nori to school with almonds, avocado wraps, fruits galore and crinkle cut veggies to be made fun of (parents on a Food Network post made those claims and more). I want her to feel confident in her food choices when there’s colorful wrapped foods around her too: Gogurts, pouches and cookies (obviously these companies know shapes and colors have a psychological effect on the foods children eat too). 

But beware, I have mentioned Nate having  food aversions, but older children can develop them as well! Some of the foods Nori use to love and want are now resorted to, “no thank you’s”, and a screwed up face. She literally just wants rice and beans with avocado or pizza. I made roasted chickpea wraps for dinner and she hated it and Nate told me four times he loved it and I was the best mommy for making that for him! You win some, you lose some. But I won’t give up on her, never have, and you shouldn’t give up on your little one! Be mindful that some children can have sensory  sensitivity to foods and moderate to severe 

picky eating can be linked to anxiety or even depression. 

I share my lunch packing meals on my lunch account my  @packedandloaded and @kids.eat.in.color, @mylittleeater, and @babyfoodideas  (don’t let the name fool you, ideas are ideas). Even my friends over at @planterbox have tons of meal ideas. 

Remember, do your best, try to get them to help plan, wash and prep and even pack their meals, use colors and shapes, dips and spreads, and encourage them to try and don’t try to force it down their throat (pun intended).

Make healthy strides for you and your little one and if you try any of these tips with your little one or want to share your uphill little eater’s battle, I’m all ears! 

-XO Natasha