Question of the day:
You’ve gotten me hooked on Green Monsters! I was wondering if you have any advice for me, a stay at home mom of a one year old. How do you keep J busy in the kitchen while you cook, or do you prep during naptime/night time?
Aren’t Green Monsters the best!?
In regards to J, he is at an age where he is still very curious of his surroundings yet stays by me closely. I try not to do a lot of cooking with him around my ankles as this could be potentially dangerous, but he keeps busy by rearranging the pots and pans, playing with the dry items in the pantry or he is busy playing with his own toys. Luckily our kitchen is connected to the family room and we spend 99% of our time in both of these rooms. It makes it very easy for me to keep an eye on him. I also do a lot of prep work while he is eating in his own high chair. I make sure I talk and sing to him while I am chopping – apparently he loves my pitchy tone! 😉
I do remember when he was younger and was just starting to walk – I would put him in his high chair and give him his own set of spoons, cups and other non-dangerous kitchen utensils to play with. Amazingly this would keep him entertained for a long time and I was able to get a lot of cooking/baking done this way.
I suggest to try incorporating your child in your kitchen. Although boundaries need to be set, like around the oven, but make it fun and exciting for your little one! Rearrange your cupboards so non-dangerous items are on the bottom for him to explore with. I know this means more clean up work for us moms, but when they are exploring new environments and touching new items they are learning and developing. Let them go wild and have fun with them!
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The Clean Eating Mama 
I've always kept my Tupperware or other plastic ware in a bottom cupboard so my kids could play with it while I was in the kitchen. Now that they are 8 and 11, they actually like cooking with me!
Green Monsters are a huge staple in my house! I've mixed them with everything from berries to apples to (gasp!) cooked beets–all are delish in my mind! And to answer Leah above, NO you don't taste the spinach (though if you cooked it first, I bet you would). :)And J is too, too cute. Wish I had jammies like those! 🙂
Aww J is absolutely adorable!! I bet you get a lot of people telling you that.Can you taste the spinach in Green Monsters? I love spinach but only when it's cooked or baked into something. Raw spinach has such a weird taste to me, and I always have to mix it with other greens in salads.
Too cute! I used to do the same thing with pots, pans, and tupperware! And then make music with spatulas! My mom did dishes all afternoon while I was napping, I'm sure!I'm sure it can be tough with a little one to make magic in the kitchen. I'm lucky that my puppy is mesmerized by the idea of food dropping…she just stares and prays the whole time!
He is so freaking cute! You make me want one of my own (which is totally unrealistic for my situation right now! haha)
you guys do such fun things together, just wondering what you did during this most recent hiatus?
I have yet to let Lu get on a chair or stool and help me but when I'm working with something that couldn't hurt her I do hold her and she LOVES it. She has her own little drawer full of plastics that she LOVES to play with while I cook. TOO cute!
Stainless steel pots and pans around little ones equals danger. In your last pic of J I see a glass pot cover behind him which can obviously break. Please be careful! How abut blocks, puzzles or books?