Baby and Toddler Skills, Full of Veggies Lasagna, and A Cute Drinking Mug That is Neither Glass Nor Plastic

Making sure we are doing all we can to stimulate our children's growth with new skills and activities is one of the main focuses of parents today. Luckily, there are many free and wonderful resources in which parents can easily find new and fun activities for quickly advancing babes. Here are some go-to websites and articles:

Baby Center:
games for babies
activities and games for toddlers

National Network for Child Care:
Activity suggestions for 1 and 2 year olds

Parents Connect:
17-month-old fine motor skills
19-month-old gross motor skills

Recipe:

Full of Veggies Lasagna

A healthy hit, this recipe is a crowd favorite that was perfected by my mom in an attempt to please her two vegetarian daughters. One of the keys to it being a meat-lovers favorite is the fineness of the veggies (which a food processor works great for), so that they end up resembling the meat that typically comes in lasagna.

Ingredients
Mushroom Mix
1 Tbsp. butter or Earth Balance
1 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 lg minced garlic cloves
6 oz. finely chopped cremini mushrooms
2 lg organic carrots, chopped fine
2 lg stalks broccoli, chopped fine
½ lb organic spinach (2 cups), chopped fine
2 tsp. Italian herb mix
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sherry or 1 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar + 1 1/2 Tbsp. water

Cheese Filling
16 oz. lowfat ricotta cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
½ cup Romano cheese
¼ cup Italian parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Sauce
1 jar tomato and basil pasta sauce
½-1 cup red wine

1 small mozzarella ball, grated (keep separate)
1 box lasagna noodles (uncooked)

1. To make Mushroom Mix: Melt butter in large frying pan, wok, or saucepan. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and spinach, and stir, until veggies are mixed. Then add Italian herb mix, garlic powder, salt, and sherry. Cook until vegetables are soft, stirring often.

2. To make Cheese Filling: Mix all the ingredients together in a small to medium bowl. Set aside.

3. To make Sauce: Mix wine with tomato sauce and set aside.

4. To make lasagna: Use a 3-quart glass casserole dish and layer in ingredients as followed: Sauce to cover bottom, noodles (break to fit), 1/2 mozzarella, ½ Mushroom Mix, ½ Cheese Filling, noodles, 1/2 mozzarella, ½ Mushroom mix, ½ Cheese Filling. Pour the remaining Sauce over the layers.

5. Cover with foil and bake at 375F for 35-40 min., or until noodles are soft, with cookie sheet underneath to catch drips.


Product:

Non-breakable cup for kids

Moving from the sippy or spout cup to a real cup is an exciting time for all. Your child will gain more hand-eye-mouth coordination and more confidence with every sip. Offered by ForSmallHands.com this enamelware mug is petite, colorful, and fun, and a steal at $2.75.

"Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve." -Roger Lewin