Finner Winner Chicken Dinner!

I grew up eating well. Translation: everything was cooked with butter, cream, salt and sugar. My mom made yummy food and cut no corners. I wish I could blame my sweet tooth on her, but I know that's just in my genes (I keep blaming those poor little guys, don't I?). My dad's got a pretty big sweet tooth, too. It's amazing that I wasn't a chubby kid, too. However, I've chosen to do things a little differently with my son. I've even had some friends refer to me as The Sugar Nazi. I guess I'm just of the belief that my son has his whole life to eat junk... I'd just like him to not do this before all of his teeth have come in. ;)

With that, that doesn't mean he doesn't have sugar, salt or yummity-yumm-yumms in his diet here or there. Here are a few ways we "cheat" or cut corners so that he can still enjoy a sweet treat or a meal without jeopardizing his teeth, health and habits:

• Vanilla Milk
• Starbucks has these yummy little organic milk cartons from Horizon that are chocolate or vanilla flavored in a convenient little box that Finn very quickly figured out how to delightfully squeeze/squirt/spray all over both himself, me and the car seat. One cup of this is 150 calories and 22 grams of sugar, made from low fat milk. Because Finn is still under 24 months, he still gets whole milk. I've figured out that mixing a half packet of Truvia and 2-3 drops of vanilla extract result in the same thing that Horizon offers, only with zero sugar and the same amount of calories. We treat this as a special drink, just like we would something from Starbucks, meaning he doesn't get it very often.
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• Annie's Bunny Snacks
• These little gems just fell into my cart at Target. I mean, like, several boxes of them. ;) I just don't know how it happened! We are fans of the Bunny Grahams, Cheddar Bunnies and Bunny Graham Friends. These range from 130-150 calories per serving, which means almost 30 little bunnies in my mouth (I think Finn thinks he can fit that many in his mouth at once, too.). These are comparable to Teddy Grahams, but are made with organic ingredients and have just a little less sugar. According to my sister (after throwing a handful in her mouth),"... those things are the bomb-dot-com!"
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• Celery Salt
• I am convinced this stuff is magic. I had some in my cabinet from a weekend of Bloody Mary's, and decided to one day sprinkle some on a medley concoction I was throwing together for Finn's lunch. And the kid ate it up. I think he would have licked the bowl out if he knew to. I add less than 1/16 of a teaspoon to tomatoes, black beans, avocado, rice and green onions. Not only does celery salt have no calories, but it has less than 25 mg of sodium in that quantity. Now the Bloody Mary's it was originally intended for... they have a little more... wonder if I have any tomato juice...
• Reduced Sodium and Sugar Free Alternatives
• With America sort of becoming more health conscious in the mainstream food market, there are more options now for items that have not only less fat, but reduced sodium and no sugar (made with sugar substitutes). This includes string cheese, crackers and snack cookies. There are a variety out there, so you just have to look for these designators on the box.

Like I said, we still have some lapses (especially if Finn and dad are alone... Finn now recognizes the Chips Ahoy package and says "cukie!" -- BUSTED, Rob). And I definitely want to know what other mamas out there are doing/did with their man cubs to get them to eat and eat well... Holla 'atcher momma!