So when I was leaving for work this morning, my mom asked me what Zyla should have for lunch. My mom, in case anyone was wondering, watches Zyla while I’m here writing, well this blog, for instance.

We didn’t have any leftovers or much in the fridge so I said just give her this frozen quiche from Trader Joe’s made with spinach and I think mushroom. If you remember my post from last week, I’ve since gotten over the egg fear.

Anyway, when I showed her the box, I glanced at the nutritional value info and saw that this personal-sized egg treat had a whopping 460 calories. I thought s%^& that’s a lot of calories. So I said you know what mom, just give her half the quiche.

Well guess what? I just called to check on Zyla and she apparently likes quiche. Not only are 460 calories sitting in her belly right now, but she topped off her meal with one of those containers of applesauce. Unsweetened, thank God!!! So for lunch alone she probably consumed more than 500 calories.

I have no idea what the daily caloric intake for a 1-year-old should be. But I know that—in theory—I’m supposed to have 1,500 a day (or is that on a diet, I forget.) Either way, I’m thinking a 500-calorie lunch for a baby is excessive, no?

We took a giant step forward on the road to eating “real” solids last week when JD actually chewed the tiny piece of Gerber Graduates fruit Puff I gave him instead of choking on it. Since I had broken the star-shaped Puff into such small fragments, I had to place the pieces in his mouth as they were too tiny for him to grasp. (My personal best is breaking one of those tiny puffs into 10 microscopic pieces!) But there was definite chewing.

Emboldened, I immediately bought the wagon wheels for him to try. I placed the wheel on his food tray and waited to see what he would do, betting that the odds were in my favor he would try to shove it in his mouth like everything else these days. Sure enough, he began to gnaw on it, happily smearing the resulting sticky paste all over his face, clothes, high chair and in his hair. Even better, it kept him occupied while I buzzed around the kitchen cleaning up and trying to get his lunch ready.

The next day, we moved on to little bites of the doughy middle of a whole wheat bagel, also well-received. I figure I’ll try some small pieces of soft fruit next, maybe some really ripe banana and peaches. Beyond that, we’re open to suggestions for what worked well for other beginning eaters. Also, does this mean I should be moving into Stage 3 foods?

Most moms I know have at least heard in passing the concerns over the safety of soy-based infant formulas, that phytoestrogens may cause thyroid issues or interfere with proper reproductive growth.

A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics concludes there is no evidence of any harm, which should be of comfort to the many users of soy formula, now a full 20 percent of the American formula market, but moms might be surprised to know that the academy again reiterated that when it comes to formula, soy has no advantage over cow’s milk-based product, not even for colicky babies.

The only cases where they recommend soy over regular is for the “feeding of infants with galactosemia and hereditary lactase deficiency, which is rare, and in situations in which a vegetarian diet is preferred.”

For infants with a documented cow’s milk protein allergy, they recommend an extensively hydrolyzed protein formula since 10% to 14% of these infants will also have soy protein allergy.

What do you think? Moms who chose soy, why did you feel it was a better choice?

The Carnival of Family Life has posted, this week over at Write from Karen.

This week we had two entries.

First off, was mine, about The zero-second rule, or why you shouldn’t eat food off the floor (unless it’s chocolate).

Then, we had Randi’s post seeking advice for helping her daughter outfit her first kitchen, Fantasy kitchen (she’s still taking suggestions).

Karen had tons of entries to plow through, and we appreciate her hosting and sorting through it all!

We’re hosting next week, so wish us luck!

If you have no idea what a blog carnival is or want to know more about this particular blog carnival, check out this post on the Carnival of Family Life’s home blog, Colloquium.

In my continuing effort to find studies that state the obvious, I stumbled upon this one the other day in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Basically, the majority of cereals marketed to children (66 percent) “failed to meet national nutrition standards.”

The study looked at 161 cereals between January and February 2006 and classified 46 percent of those as “being marketed to children (eg, packaging contained a licensed character or contained an activity directed at children).” Fair ‘nuff.

If you ever walk down the cereal aisle in the supermarket (we keep Post and General Mills in business with our Cheerios and Honey Bunches of Oats purchases), you’ll see that the colorful, sugar-based cereals completely overwhelm the relatively healthful ones, which tend to be on the bottom shelf out of birds-eye view.

In other words, my son spots Shrek on a cereal box and he gets very excited. Or Batman. Or SpongeBob. Or Spiderman. Or any cartoon/comic book character.

We haven’t given in yet, but I have to say that Froot Loops are my favorite cereal and S’Mores cereal is my husband’s favorite.

I haven’t bought Froot Loops in years, but that’s mainly because I could probably eat an entire box in one sitting, it’s so addictive. I fear Froot Loops … yet I do love it so. And S’Mores, thank goodness, is rather hard to find. (I’ve been known to sneak in the closet and snag a couple of marshmallows out of it. Shhh! Don’t tell my husband!) And neither of those cereals are finding their way into my kids’ hands.

But, basically, cereal not marketed for children is generally more nutritious, the study said. “Overall, there were important differences in nutritional quality between children’s cereals and nonchildren’s cereals.”

How’s them apples? Doesn’t that seem a bit backward?

And while it doesn’t surprise me at all, it does make me mad.

We wonder why Americans are getting more obese? Sheesh.

Associated Press file photo of a typical supermarket cereal shelf by Dale Atkins.

Given that we’ve talked so much in recent days about the little ones’ propensity for eating off the floor when given half a chance and whether or not that’s a hygenic thing to do (resolution, at least in my mind: Despite what all the experts say, it depends how clean your floor is, what kind of food it is, and if it landed face up or face down), this article from The Daily Mail in Britain caught my attention.

Apparently, the British consumer group Which? tested quipment in its own offices in London and found that keyboards were way grosser than toilet seats, floors, whatever.

They dubbed the diseases one could get from such an icky piece of equipment “qwerty tummy” (look at the top row of letters on your keyboard – q-w-e-r-t-y).

One keyboard was so dirty that a microbiologist ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned.It had 150 times the acceptable limit for bacteria and was five times as filthy as a typical lavatory seat.

When Zyla crawls around, sometimes she’ll find part of a cracker or a morsel of breakfast/lunch/dinner she threw on the ground. She knows the difference between a food item and, let’s say, a pine needle.

This morning she found a coffee bean under the table and handed it to me. She’s good like that. I’m sure some of you may be thinking, “Clean your floor, lady!” We do, but — like life — you can’t get it all.

Anyway, once in a while, she’ll find some and get it in her mouth before I can get to her. Believe me, there have been times when I’ve almost lost the top part of my index finger trying to get something out of her mouth that shouldn’t be in there. Anyone ever get their finger bitten by a baby? Now that’s pain.

I get so upset when I can’t rescue that fallen crumb and then more upset for fretting about it in the first place. But it can’t be that bad … can it?

Eventually, my oldest will move out of the house and into her own apartment. She’s been gainfully employed since January but living at home to save money.

Our basement is filled to the brim with the kitchen gear and other things she brought home after she graduated from college a year ago, all of them bought at tag sales and on sale at various department stores. She acquired a set of bone china as her inheritance in October after my mother died.

When I have a free minute, I mentally set up her kitchen for her: which utensils she really needs to have, which spices, which pots, which staples and which perishables.

Looking for suggestions, though. What worked for any of you?

I love eggs, whether fried, scrambled, in a frittata or omelette. On Sunday morning, I had hard-boiled eggs for breakfast and I gave Zyla the yolk. She crumbled it up in her hand and threw it on the floor.

I wanted to give her the whole egg but the food allergy said to be in the whites made me put it in my mouth instead of hers. Some doctors recommend waiting until baby is 12 months to introduce egg whites, while others suggest waiting two years. I forget what Zyla’s pediatrician recommended.

At any rate, I’m sure there have been loads of things Zyla has eaten that have contained whole eggs. She isn’t allergic to anything thus far, so maybe I should stop writing and go give her an egg.

Photo courtesy of TJN.

The Carnival of Family Life has posted, this week over at All Rileyed Up (Subtitle: I’m not a writer, but I play one on the internet.)

This week’s entry from your humble blog is my creatively titled “Food allergies.” That was my post from last week where I talked about how food allergies can affect behavior and how to try to make sense of it all.

All Rileyed Up dubbed this week’s carnival the Garage Sale Edition, and there’s lots of cool stuff to rummage through. Who knows, you might even find a bargain!

It’s definitely a fun read, even if you don’t get to read all the posts contained therein.

If you have no idea what a blog carnival is or want to know more about this particular blog carnival, check out this post on the Carnival of Family Life’s home blog, Colloquium.