Trying to feed toddler can be a trying adventure ... they like it today, throw it on the floor the next! About 8-9 months months ago, Ivan was less than impressed with any protein sources I presented so I came up with a match made in heaven ... dark meat chicken & Ritz crackers!

TO MAKE: Combine 1 beaten egg, about 1/2 sleeve crushed Hint of Salt Ritz crackers with 1-1.5 lbs of ground chicken. Form into patty's and cook on a skillet with olive oil.

combine crumbled Ritz, chicken & beaten egg before placing in the skillet

I keep patties in the refrigerator or freezer and warm in the microwave for approx 25 seconds for meals as needed. Sometimes I cut the patties into strips, or just serve in bit size squares ... Ivan loves them!!

Located in Columbus, Ohio, I choose to buy grass-fed and free-range organic chicken that can be found from both North Market Poultry & Game (they seem to always have dark meat chicken ground on hand) as well as Oink Moo Cluck Farms (I've only sourced from here twice and have liked the meat ... it seems to have more white meat in the ground mixture which makes the patties a bit more firm). Oink Moo Cluck is regularly found at neighborhood farmers markets such as: New Albany Farmers Market & Clintonville Farmers Market and their website says they deliver!

Enjoy!

At Ivan's 12 month well check our Nurse Practitioner (who is not a mother) said, "OK, no more bottles, he can drink milk now"

Well, doesn't that sound EASY! I opted for unsweetened vanilla almond milk in place of dairy milk (we make a special effort to make sure Ivan is getting good fats by cooking with Olive Oil and feeding him avocados, etc). The first few days he seemed slightly bothered he didn't have a bottle, however, I kept his night time routine (which included a bottle) on schedule. The first few weeks he LOVED his "Ba-ba" and looked forward to it, but shortly after he only drank half and was more occupied with reading a few books rather than rocking with his bottle.

It took about 8 weeks in total (from his 1 year birthday) to the day I packed up the bottles ... As a new parent I often hear how every child will develop on his/her own time and not to get too caught up in milestones ... this was just a prime example of that in practice for us! I'm trying my hardest to nurture his development, while allowing him to be a baby just as long as possible!!