The All About Eating series is still chugging quite along. Not as quickly as I’d hoped, actually, but I am on vacation so I guess that makes sense! So, bear with me and keep checking in because I still have several great products to share and some totally awesome giveaways.

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out the giveaways that end tomorrow night.
Sentimental Silver Personalized Tiny Tag
$30 Avon Shopping Spree from Marjorie Hintalla
MomDot Big Eye Dummies Giveaway

I’d love if you could help spread the word about the Giveaways Galore Mr. Linky at The Shopping Mama. Please send out a quick tweet or post my button on your blog. Thanks so much!

Now, get your link on!

I’m pleased to share the amazing expertise of Sue Adair. As the Director of Education at Goddard Systems, Inc., she has some very helpful advice for teaching our little ones healthy eating habits.

The topic of children and healthy eating is on top of mind for many families these days. It’s no secret that obesity in children (and adults) in our country is at an all-time high. In fact, in a recent study, researchers found that almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese.

Both at school and at home, it has become crucial to teach children how to eat healthy foods and live a healthier lifestyle. As a parent, you can make a difference by giving your child a solid base from which he/she can make healthy choices for life.

Here are a few tips on how you can help your child grow healthy and strong:

1. Set a good example and reinforce good choices. Children learn from their parents, so it is no surprise that they are likely to mimic your food choices. Be a great healthy-eating role model. If children see others eat healthy foods, their curiosity will be piqued and it will lead them to try new foods.

2. Introduce fruits and vegetables early. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the items I think make the biggest impact. They are nutritionally dense and in season a good buy.
The earlier you introduce children to fruits and vegetables, the more likely they are to enjoy them and to choose them as a healthy snack between meals.

3. All in moderation. If a child receives healthy meals throughout the day it is OK to occasionally allow “fun” snacks. If you withhold fun foods, it may cause cravings that lead children to sneak or hoard non-healthy foods. Just make sure to watch the sugar and salt content of foods as children do not need large amounts of these ingredients in their foods.

4. Mix it up. From fruits and vegetables to lean turkey – encourage your child to eat a variety of foods to help him get the nutrients he needs from every food group. Give your child various textures and consistencies, which not only encourage healthy eating, but also makes the experience more enjoyable and unpredictable.

5. Dairy. Dairy products such as milk and yogurt (or dairy substitutes) are essential for children- they need them grow and strengthen bones.

Simply put, nutrition is important to your child’s overall health. Fostering good nutrition habits helps children maintain a balanced life, not only physically, but also socially and emotionally.

About Sue Adair:
Sue Adair is Director of Education for Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI), the franchisor of Goddard Schools. As an expert in early childhood development and learning, Sue oversees teacher training and early childhood education programs for 330+ Goddard Schools across the United States. In her 21-year career in early childhood education, Sue has taught multiple age groups ranging from infants to Kindergarten in both private and corporate child care settings, and has seven years experience as a school director including several years at The Goddard School for Early Childhood Development in Blue Bell, PA. You can visit Sue’s blog at: http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/

Toddler Boy helping prepare brownies for a Father’s Day picnic at the in-laws. And by helping I mean “dirring the chocit” and licking the spoon.

I know what you’re thinking. A leather bib? How’s that work? Let me tell you, it works amazingly well. Mally Bibs, the original leather bib, are super cool and have the perfect combination of style and function.

About Mally Bibs:
Our dream to design a better baby bib that thousands of people use and enjoy has become a reality. We believe baby bibs should be fun to wear for babies and toddlers, easy to clean for mom and dad, and always look great while cutting down on laundry and helping our environment.

My favorite Mally Bib features:
* Reversible: One side of the bib has an adorable, colorful leather design and the other features two coordinated colors and a pocket to catch falling crumbs
* Washable: EASY! Seriously simple and fast. You just rinse and wipe the bib clean after use, let it dry and it’s ready to go at your next meal.
* Cute, cute, cute: There are over 50 adorable patterns to pick from and each is just as fabulous as the next.

With the Fourth of July approaching, this adorable Stars and Stripes is just too perfect.

And, if picking a favorite bib weren’t already difficult enough, you can even customize and design your own bib – very cool! Plus, Mally Bibs recently launched the personalization option. You can now add your little one’s name to the pocket of your bib!

Baby Girl received the adorable, edgy Hearts/Bones bib. It is so stinking cute. The colors are bright and vibrant and the stitchwork is impeccable. I knew this bib was different when I opened the packaging and smelled the leather. I just love that smell. The bib is very thick and sturdy. It closes behind the neck with a magnet. The magnet is very strong and stays put when Baby Girl pulls at it. You can also move the magnets along the neckline of the bib for a tighter fit around the neck, if necessary.

As you can imagine, when feeding a new eater like Baby Girl, you’re bound to make a mess. I’m fairly certain more food ends up on her face, her hands, and certainly her bib than in her mouth. After one meal I have to throw a traditional cloth bib in the wash. It’s simply far too dirty to realistically use for multiple meals. That’s why I was so eager to use the Mally Bib and see how it really cleaned. Baby Girl obliged and made a total mess eating sweet potatoes. I simply ran the bib – yes, the entire bib – under the faucet, wiped it clean and it was good to go. It cleaned so easily and looked as good as new. Mally Bibs even gaurantees that everything will wash off your bib!

Here are photos of the bib dirtied and cleaned, literally minutes later:

Mally Bibs are offered in two sizes: Baby fits little ones 6 to 36 months and Toddler is 25% bigger and is ideal for kids aged 1 through 4.

To Buy… The Mally Bib gets a big thumbs up. I love the way it looks, I love that you can simply wipe it down after a meal and it’s clean and ready to go, I love that it will stand up to years of wear and tear because, well, it’s made of leather.

Or Not to Buy… I had to think long and hard to come up with any sort of “complaint” about the Mally Bib. And, this might be user error, but I sometimes get Baby Girl’s hair caught in the magnet when I put the bib on her. For use on young eaters, it might be easier to put on the bib if the closure was on the side rather than the back.

Shop! Mally Bibs are $32.95 for baby size and $38.95 for toddler size and can be purchased at http://www.mallybibs.com/. Mally Bibs is offering a generous exclusive discount for free shipping that is good for one week only! Use the code SHOPMAMA at checkout for free shipping on your entire order.

Connect! To get all the latest news from Mally Bibs, become a fan on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

** Giveaway Closed. Congratulations, Alissa!**

The All About Eating series is chugging right along, and today I’ve got a sweet shop to share and a great giveaway to help you feed babies. Sprout Boutique has THE cutest burp clothes and baby gear and it’s all totally affordable.

My favorite part is the simply gorgeous fabrics, but I also love that the Sprout burp cloths are so versatile. They are big and soft enough to be a little lovey, small enough to throw in a diaper bag, and can be used to wipe and wash dirty faces.

In addition to a huge selection of ready to ship burp cloths, Sprout Boutique also offers security blankets and crib-sized blankets. I just LOVE this mod trees pink blanket backed with uber-plush brown chenille. Seriously, does it come in my size? No? But, it is available in both a security blanket (17.5 x 20 inches) and crib blanket (33 x 39 inches).

Shop! Sprout burp cloths are only $7! Seriously, you can barely buy the gorgeous fabric for that price, let alone a quality-constructed, super cute ready to use burp cloth.

Win! Kelly of Sprout Boutique is generously offering one winner the choice of TWO beautiful burp cloths.

How to Enter: Check out all the sweetness at Sprout Boutique and leave a comment here with your favorite item in the shop.

Bonus Entries - leave one comment for each you complete:
* Leave a comment on a non-giveaway All About Eating series post and let me know which post in a comment on this giveaway. (Only one entry, please.)
* Follow The Shopping Mama on Twitter and Tweet this: Just entered to win TWO Sprout designer burp cloths @TheShoppingMama All About Eating series http://tinyurl.com/n3qtbu #giveaway
* Follow The Shopping Mama
* Subscribe to The Shopping Mama in a reader or email
* Post the All About Eating button on your blog
* Blog about the All About Eating series, including a link to http://www.theshoppingmama.com/ for FIVE bonus entries into every All About Eating giveaway.

Fine Print: Please leave a valid email address in your comment so I can contact you. If you prefer, leave a comment and then send me an email. Open to International mailing addresses! Contest ends 11:59 pm July 8. Winner will be chosen via random.org and has 48 hours to respond or the prize will be awarded during a live giveaway.

Happy Father’s Day to The Shopping Dada!

I’m very excited to introduce Victoria from Life Starring the Kids and Me with a great post about what it’s really like to prepare food for young kids. If you’re not familiar with Victoria or her blog, you really should be! She has great product reviews, generous giveaways and host of the Friday meme, Mommy Confessions. So, enjoy this awesome visit from Victoria, leave a comment and then head over to her blog to check it out.

I have a confession…I hate cooking, I am really just not one of those people who enjoy cooking or who gets a sense of accomplishment out of it. But, that being said, with two little kids (ages 2.75 and 1) I need to provide healthy food for them; if I weren’t a mom I would live on microwave dinners, but since I am a mom the kids health and eating habits take center stage. So, here are a few tricks I have worked out over the years to make sure that the kids (and hubby and I) eat pretty healthy meals while I don’t have to cook a lot.

* I am a big fan of veggies; canned, fresh, frozen, anything and everything. They are easy to make and healthy. Steaming some frozen veggies for dinner? Add more than your family will eat that way you have the next day’s lunch portion all ready to go. Cooking some corn on the cob? Throw extra ears in the pot for a sweet, healthy snack later (that’s right corn on the cob as a summer snack, especially if it is hot outside and the corn in cold).

* Make your own unhealthy foods like chicken nuggets, pizza, French fries, and more. Sure, it is easy to buy the pre-made stuff, but it is almost as easy to make your own (and it is healthier!) There are simple and easy recipes online and kids are always a fan of these types of food, they don’t care if you buy it or make it. Just remember to make enough for leftovers…if you are going to cook it might as well last for more than one meal.

* If I HAVE to cook I like it to be more fun than a chore…so I usually involve the kids or make wacky food. Ellie, my oldest, loves to sit on the counter and build with the spice containers and Eve, my youngest, likes to wack stuff with wooden spoons. Involving the kids gets them into cooking, helps passes the time for me, and encourages me to cook more. I also make wacky food: purple pancakes, colored scrambled eggs (NOTE: stay away from brown scrambled eggs they just don‘t look right), shaped sandwiches, anything that I find fun to make and that the kiddos find fun to eat.

* Leftovers, leftovers, leftovers. Have I mentioned leftovers? I really like being able to cook one day and not have to cook the next day…it’s like a buy one get one free sale. Veggie lasagna, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, veggies, pizza…all are easy meals that leave tasty leftovers.

The one meal of the day I do have a problem with is breakfast…in the morning I just don’t feel like cooking and it kind of feels weird to be giving my kids leftover pizza or veggies (they aren’t in college yet LOL). I usually settle with cereal (the kind that has the least amount of sugar…no Fruit Loops here) or waffles.

So what about you? What are your easy cooking tips and tricks?

Two winners to announce this morning.

The SmartMom Jewelry Gift Set goes to #84 of 200 entries.
Marin tweeted!

Out of 192 entries, the BabyLegs winner is #54.
Blakesmom is a subscriber.

I’ve been thinking of re-organizing the way I notify / announce winners. I still plan to send an email to winners but don’t like writing “new winner” posts every couple of days. Any bright ideas? I’m thinking of perhaps a post that I link on the sidebar that I update when every giveaway ends. What do you think?

Hope you have a great weekend.