Today, Sara Cabot of Little Lettice offers a primer on brown rice:
“Brown rice is healthier than white rice so it’s good to start your kids early on it. Brown rice is brown because the grain is wrapped with a layer of bran that is stripped away when rendering white rice. So, white rice is just starch, while brown rice is the starch plus fiber from the bran. Brown rice tastes nuttier than white rice, and also takes longer to cook.Today, Sara Cabot of Little Lettice offers a primer on brown rice:
“Brown rice is healthier than white rice so it’s good to start your kids early on it. Brown rice is brown because the grain is wrapped with a layer of bran that is stripped away when rendering white rice. So, white rice is just starch, while brown rice is the starch plus fiber from the bran. Brown rice tastes nuttier than white rice, and also takes longer to cook.
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Betsy Block, mother of two and author of The Dinner Diaries, where Block chronicles the challenges of feeding a family. Then go ahead and nominate yourself or a friend!
Today, Kate shares a recommendation for a cookbook that provides inspiration for baking projects with her daughter:
“I have loved to bake for as long as I can remember. Cooking - dinners, real meals, nutritionally well balanced and all miraculously ready at the same time - isn't necessarily my thing, but baking is one of my refuges. My mother started me on simple sugar cookies and carrot cakes when I was in preschool, and I've carried the love - for the flour, the sugars, the whiff of vanilla, the hand-feel of kneading dough - through my life until now, when I can spend weekends with my own toddler baking.
Kids can get a bad rap; presumed to be whiny or on the brink of tantrum, and I was reminded yesterday during a meeting with the folks over at Daily Grommet (an in depth look at them is forthcoming on this site) of how appreciative I am when people: a) trust my judgment about my kid, and b) welcome children without the aforementioned presumptions.
The busiest travel holiday of the year is fast approaching, and today 
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Karen Kostigen, fortuitous owner of Zia Clothing Outlet in Belmont. Then go ahead and nominate yourself or a friend!
As someone who loves and relies on the convenience of online shopping, it’s probably surprising that grocery delivery isn’t part of our routine. But following my post about Stop & Shop’s overhaul, Peapod asked whether I’d be interested in evaluating their service, and as a one-car family eager for less errands, it seemed worth investigating. Here’s what I found during my online reconnaissance mission:
Today, Kate reports on the Children's Museum of Maine:
“Most of us Bostonians have been to the big museums - the Boston Children's Museum, the Museum of Science, the Museum of Fine Arts - but New England is home to many smaller museums that have charms particular to their size and location.
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Susan Dorson & Amy Weitzman, two local moms on a mission to save their community library and provide parents with an eco-friendly, affordable shopping option via The Little Fox Shop. Then go ahead and nominate yourself or a friend!
Opportunities can emerge in unexpected ways, and shortly after reporting about Care.com last year, they approached me about freelancing. I’ve written a lot of nuts and bolts family care articles for them, and more recently have written about some very interesting child development and child care topics. Check out my column on understanding why children lie and how to work through this normal part of childhood development.
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Sharon Chase, mother of two and professional vocalist and party-throwing princess. Then go ahead and nominate yourself or a friend!
Today, Heather shares a yummy recipe from her Triplets, Moms, & More newsletter:
“My 5-year-old daughter Emma just loves to bake - and of course eat - chocolate cake. I’m happy to encourage culinary activities, but can do without the messy cleanup and irresistible leftovers that somehow find their way straight to my thighs. Subsequently, we really like this 5 minute chocolate cake in a mug recipe. It’s not necessarily decadent but more than satisfies, and it makes for a nice play date activity.
On Tuesday I attended Seventh Generation & the Environmental Working Group’s panel on chemicals and kids. And my friends, I must admit that the first 20 minutes of the panel left me feeling depressed and hopeless. But as the evening proceeded, so improved my perception that personal power and positive action on this matter are, in fact, attainable. Below is my recap of the event, including concrete ways that parents can take charge of their family’s environmental health.
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Carol Band, mother of three and nationally syndicated parenting humor columnist and book author. Then go ahead and nominate yourself or a friend!
After 10 years of academic conferences, it’s probably no surprise that this past weekend’s BlogHer Boston conference felt revolutionary. Fun, energizing, and replete with interesting content, people, good food, and an affirming obsession with Twitter (I'm @bostonmamas...), I highly recommend that anyone interested or experienced in blogging attend this conference in the future. Here’s my wrap up of the event:
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Anna Bensted, mother of two, executive producer of WBUR’s Inside Out, and impromptu open house thrower for hundreds of Harvard undergraduate students. Then go ahead and nominate yourself or a friend!
Today, Heather shares tips on handling biting behavior:
“Adie, my sweet 17-month-old daughter, has been tagged with a new nickname: Piranha! To our dismay, she is a biter and we all have fallen victim to her chompers. In an effort to nip this problem in the bud, I have sought the advice of teachers, childcare providers, child behavior specialists, and fellow moms of biters. Here are some tips for handling biting behavior:
Today, Kate reports on local kid's resale shop Frida Bee:
“Everyone knows that new parents are showered with baby clothes - onesies, booties, pajamas, playsuits - all adorable, many inappropriate to the season, all quickly grown out of. Everyone also knows that the gifts dry up as the baby becomes a toddler, but that the need for new clothing and shoes continues unabated as your little one grows like a beanstalk.