The Great Breakfast Debate

Mornings with a toddler are never easy, but the breakfast debate is what I dread the most.

Whether it just runs in her genes, or is just part of being a preemie, my 3 1/2 year old daughter has never been good at gaining weight.  When she was about 12 months old, and switched to cow's milk, our pediatrician recommended that we start giving her a Pediasure drink each day.  The Pediasure wasn't meant to be a meal replacement, but an additional caloric factor. 

What started as a bedtime snack became a routine in the morning,too.  That's right, two Pediasure drinks per day.  If you're unfamiliar with Pediasure, it's a thick milk-like drink with added vitamins & minerals, comes in a 6-pack, and typically runs about $9-14 in price.  It averages out to be $1.90 per 8-ounce drink, and my daughter consumes two 8-ounce drinks per day.  No, insurance doesn't cover it. 

These Pediasures have become a breakfast norm, sometimes with food, sometimes alone.  Mornings in our house are chaotic for a number of reasons.  I work part-time, so only 2-3 mornings a week do we get up against nature (that means with an alarm clock) and rush to leave the house.  The other mornings, we wake lazily and take our time facing the day.  Breakfast ranges from "here's a breakfast bar with your Pediasure" to "you're eating at daycare but here's your Pediasure" to "Daddy made pancakes and eggs, after you drink your Pediasure!"  We never know what the little one will be craving, but sometimes her cravings make me want to run into the street screaming. 

How can we make breakfast enticing, healthy, and fast?  Well, if M&Ms and marshmallows were good for us, my problem would be solved.  Since they're not, I'm going to borrow my dad's dehydrator and attempt a good trail mix.  My daughter loves dried bananas, apples, and blueberries.  I'm going to try mixing those with roasted, sliced almonds rolled in cinnamon sugar and a handful of Kashi O's (like cheerios, but minus the high fructose corn syrup).  On days that I need to bribe her, perhaps throwing in a few chocolate chips will work... but even with milk I think this will be yummy. 

Or at least I hope, because one more morning of "Honey, we're out of waffles, what else do you want?" leading to 6 open packages, mom's late for work, and a tantrum isn't good for my sanity!

First round with DIY Laundry Detergent

I posted earlier about making my own laundry detergent, and I spent 2 weeks searching for ingredients and recipes.  Unfortunately, 99% of the recipes I found called for Washing Soda.  I have looked in every store I've been into in the last few weeks (and some I just happen to drive by) but with no luck.  So, I decided to play around with my own recipe.  This is what worked for me, keeping in mind that I have naturally VERY hard water, thus a water softener.

For a small test batch, I mixed:

• 2 Tablespoons Borax (20 Mule Team)
• 2 Tablespoons Baking SODA
• 1/4 bar of Fels-Naptha Laundry Sopa (Measured soap to be 4 inches across, cut 1 inch off and shredded)

I mixed all the finely ground particles together and added 2 tablespoons of the mixture to the washer, medium load.   I did 3 medium-large loads, all came out great!  I don't yet have enough for a whites load, which will be the real test, but so far so good.  I have a 10-year old top-loading machine with agitator, and I use about 1/4 cup vinegar + 1/4 cup water as fabric softener.  If you have an HE washing machine, I would suggest starting out with less detergent - maybe 1 Tablespoon per load. 

Based on what I paid for my materials, cost is $0.09-$0.14 per load.  Is this cheaper than commercial detergent?  Not by much, depending on which brand you buy.  Is it safer for the environment?  I don't know.  Does it contain fewer chemicals all around?  Yup.  It would be even better if an organic castile soap were used in place of the Fels-Naptha, but the FN was much cheaper for me to experiment with.  

Being a child of the 80's, I was excited about this recipe and my feat.  My best friend - just as excited.  My mom, grandma, and aunt - they laughed at me and said "Why bother?"  I'm guessing its a generational thing, but this is just something I've always wanted to try!  Is it completely about being frugal, or the environment, or fragrance-free?  Not really....  But life continues.  Happy washing!