This is the last week of my Piccolini Perfecto Pasta creations. Please take a look at my previous two recipe posts for ideas on how to create a delicious rainbow of flavors and nutrients using Barilla's Piccolini vegetable pastas. The third and final recipe includes the Mini Rotelle (aka mini wagon wheels), wonderfully made with spinach ...

All through September at our school we talked about apples: red ones, yellow ones, green ones, little ones, big ones and everything in between! Now that October is upon us and Halloween is just two weeks away, it is time for our next topic of ... pumpkins! The teachers are talking all about those happy round orange friends we see every ...

Last week I introduced my latest pasta passion--Barilla's Minature Piccolini veggie pastas! I also shared one of my own creations using the Mini Pipe Pasta. This week, I have a new recipe using different vegetables and a different sauce. These pasta dishes are a great way to incorporate vegetables into your picky eater's diet! ...

Every 6 months or so, I like to recap and review popular posts and the topics that seem to be most important to our readers. In addition, I carefully comb through recent reader comments to make sure that questions are being addressed and people are able to get the answers they are seeking. Today's post will do just that, so please join me in ...

This week I would like to share my most recent love affair with food for little ones: Barilla's Piccolini Pasta with Veggies! Each box of pasta ''contains 25 percent pureed fresh in-season vegetables.'' There are three different types that Barilla currently makes, shown below: From top to bottom: Mini pipes made with carrots and ...

If you have been reading this blog since its inception three years ago (the first post was published October 1, 2008) then you will know that when I began writing my weekly posts, I was working in a home-based birth to 3 program. It was that experience that prompted me to contact ADVANCE with the idea to create a speech and language therapy ...

This week I am sharing the yummy food secrets of a wonderfully creative woman, wife and mom who I met through a mutual close friend several years ago. Rebecca has two little girls, ages 2 and 4, and loves to cook for and with her family. See below to read how the Food Network and ''Dora the Explorer'' have helped to shape the way she ...

This week instead of a recipe, I would like to share a fun lesson that expands on the apple theme from last week's recipe post. This is a lesson I created and implemented with my occupational therapist colleague and is an imaginative mix of communication and sensory-enriched activities! The Story of Johnny Appleseed The lesson began with a ...

This week I am highlighting the secrets of a family I know well:  My dear brother and sister-in-law and their two adorably delicious good eater children! If any of you had a chance to watch the Mangia Baby Video Series, then you had the opportunity to see my delightfully sweet niece and nephew in action. They are amazing eaters and ...

Here are two quick and easy recipes you can do now at the beginning of the school year to help you jump right into the swing of things! Puppy Chow This is a yummy treat that can be made easily in the classroom or at home with little ones. You can easily replace the chocolate chips with coconut, raisins or another type of dried fruit. ...