Katie Ryan O'Connor
Katie never quite appreciated the work that went into feeding kids until she had to do it herself, first as a nervous new mom — Can a baby really nurse for 20 hours straight? You betcha! — and now as an older and hopefully wiser mother of three. But whenever she feels like getting dinner on the table is an obstacle on par with getting a 2-year-old out of her Christmas tights on the hottest day of the year, she thinks of her own mother who managed, somehow, to simultaneously raise nine kids and cook at home nearly every night. In her own kitchen, in southern Westchester, she has since discovered the beauty of two things she swore she'd never serve HER children: frozen waffles and five-minute fries. So along with her journalist husband and mac-and-cheese zen master, Katie feeds a picky 5-year-old, a try-almost-everything-once 3-year-old, and the easiest to feed, at least simplicity-wise — a 5-month-old baby. Their 10-year-old German shepherd mix is the only adult in the house who likes a messy eater.
E-mail Katie Ryan O'Connor at kmryan@lohud.com
Entries written by Katie Ryan O'Connor
- February
- 8
Most parents know about the recommendation to switch kids to 2 percent milk after the age of 2, the idea being that they get the same amount of nutrition with less fat and cholesterol. Many pediatricians further recommend going to 1 percent or fat-free milk after the age of 5.
Given the country’s obesity epidemic it makes perfect sense.
We never made the [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on February 8th, 2009 | 5 Comments »
- January
- 4
I’m sure the last thing you want after over-indulging this holiday season is another cookie recipe, but this proved so delicious and so wonderfully easy to make with kids, I thought I’d toss it out there so you can make one last batch before swearing off sweets in your 2009 diet.
From Gale Gand, buttermilk as [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on January 4th, 2009 | 1 Comment »
- November
- 23
What’s not to love about Thanksgiving?
A nice big turkey, pumpkin pie, football, family, more pumpkin pie, all those great leftovers, OK the last slice of pumpkin pie if no one else is going to take it…
It’s one of my favorite holidays. Everyone celebrates it, there is no mad rush to the mall because you forgot [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on November 23rd, 2008 | Post a Comment »
- November
- 16
Now what could all those things possibly have in common?
A Tuesday afternoon at the car dealership, naturally.
I was just reading Hema’s great post about the healing power of ginger and it reminded me of a conversation I had recently with a fellow mom as I waited on an oil change.
We were both in the service-area [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on November 16th, 2008 | 2 Comments »
- October
- 26
Great idea by Amy for mixing healthy with fun (and gross!) this Halloween. Â It got me thinking, what’s the best low-GI, pre-trick-or-treating dinner you can think of to counterbalance all the sugar they are about to consume? (I know how I feel when I eat a lot of sugar on an empty stomach, ugh.)Â Â I think [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on October 26th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
- October
- 11
Whenever I have a little free time — you know, all those vast hours of uninterrupted space and time afforded mothers of small children everywhere — one of my favorite things to do is check in with a few of my favorite food blogs.Â
I’ve come across a great new bookmark — Chocolate and Zucchini by French foodie, [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on October 11th, 2008 | Post a Comment »
- September
- 21
My enduring love of reality TV is not something I’m particularly proud of, but I always find in between all the horrifying preening and only-in-America emotive TMI, there is something useful, OK maybe just interesting, to take away.
Consider Tim Gunn of Project Runway. Have you ever encountered a sweeter, more calming figure? Watching him, hand [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on September 21st, 2008 | 1 Comment »
- September
- 4
I don’t know about you but it’s only Day 2 of the 2008-2009 school year and I’m already sick of making lunches.
Probably not a good sign.
It doesn’t help that over the summer we switched to a new daycare-slash-preschool for the two little ones that provides snacks, not lunches. (Our previous one offered lunch, not snacks.) [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on September 4th, 2008 | 2 Comments »
- August
- 10
Colleague and foodie extraordinaire Liz Johnson has a great reader-submitted recipe for zucchini pesto on her blog, Small Bites. It looks like a slam dunk for veggie-averse kids — go Montebello mom Daniela Sepulveda! I’m going to try it this week and report back. And since we’ve been talking so much about eating cheaply and locally, this could be a hit [...]
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on August 10th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
- August
- 9
The Wall Street Journal just had a short story about organic frozen kids’ meals. Mixed reviews from their tween and teen testers. Check it out here.  (Personally, I want the whole Jetsons experience of pressing a button on my fridge and making a tasty, nutritious meal for the kids fly right onto the table.)Â
Posted by Katie Ryan O'Connor on August 9th, 2008 | Post a Comment »