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Weening my daughter off her bottle seemed like a never ending battle. She actually drank out of a bottle until she was almost 2. I tried from the time she was about 14 months to get her to drink milk out of different sippy cups. I tried the soft ones, ones with tops like a nipple, different colors, different characters and different brands, I even tried the Avent sippy cup top on her bottle base. It seemed like it would never end. I kid you not we collected 20 sippy cups over that 10 months.
Water was not a struggle, but milk certainly was. If I took her bottle away completely she refused to drink milk at all. She would go days with out milk and I would start to freak out. I would think "What is nutrition in a 1 year old without milk"? So, I would give her back the bottle for fear that she would... I don't know what I was afraid of. So, this went on for the better part of a year. Finally, one magical day in a ritualistic fashion we told her that the baba was going bye bye and took her to the trash and we threw them away. (Of course I took them out and washed them and saved them). But, the fact that there was no turning back was clear to all three of us (including a very uncertain Daddy). I told her she was a big girl and she would drink everything out of her big girl sippy cups.
I was determined to stand strong on this and convinced myself that she was just being stubborn and eventually she would give in. To make sure she was still getting good nutrition I made sure she had plenty of dairy in the form of quality yogurt, cheese and healthy homemade yogurt ice pops. Well, after 3 months she was still refusing milk in her sippy cups. I decided I needed to do something.Sugar, cocoa, water, vanilla extract and salt. I can pronounce every one of those ingredients and I am very happy to drizzle a little in her milk each day and just like her momma, she drinks every last drop. Happy toddler, happy momma!
Enjoy!
With love from our Kitchen Table to yours! XO
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Check out these homemade versions of popular convenience foods. Click on the image or link to open in a new window.
Homemade Chocolate Syrup
makes about 2 1/2 cups
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder (in the baking aisle)
1 cup cold water
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
In a cold medium saucepan whisk together salt, sugars and cocoa until they are combined and there are no lumps. Add water and whisk to combine. Turn heat to medium and bring a boil, whisking frequently.
Reduce the heat to medium-low whisking occasionally. Allow the mixture to simmer until it has slightly reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into a mason jar and allow to come to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate.
Enjoy!
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oh my gosh, i think i could drink that sauce!
ReplyDeleteI know Caralyn. It is so good on everything. Even in my coffee.
DeleteOh those popsicles looks so inviting... Yes, kids, they make us creative...:)
ReplyDeleteIndeed they do. Thanks for coming by Marina!
DeleteThe chocolate syrups looks luscious. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbara. She keeps me thinking. The syrup is incredible on everything too!
DeleteOh, I'm so sorry you had such a hard time getting her off the bottle! I know how it feels, although both my kids did fairly well (son, better than daughter) and were off by 12 months. We did have a period where our daughter was not drinking much milk either and it drove me CRAZY! But finally, after about 2 weeks she took to it and has been fine every since.
ReplyDeleteNow if we can conquer a few other things that she is stubborn about, I would be very happy.
DeleteI'm also familiar with the struggles of a toddler, as my daughter is 4 now. Glad she's adapted.
ReplyDeleteYou're timing is perfect, I'm needing a chocolate syrup today, can't wait to try this out!
ReplyDeleteOh YUM! Why would anyone buy storebought when they can make this?!!?! My sister refused to drink milk also when she was a baby, but she loved chocolate milk. So that solved that problem. :) Great ideas for getting that calcium and protein to your young one.
ReplyDeleteI hated milk growing up too - I would drink chocolate though! I hated even having milk in my cereal!
ReplyDeleteI cannot thank you enough for posting this recipe. My daughters love to drink chocolate milk as their treat. I stopped giving it to them, b/c I could not stomach some of the chemicals/ingredients listed. This is wonderful! Thank you again and many blessings to you and yours! Have a great Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI get sick from chocolate milk in the store and Hershey syrup but this homemade chocolate I don't its weird.
ReplyDeleteNot weird at all, you could have a reaction to any of the "other" stuff in the prepackaged syrups.
DeleteI have to tell you that I stumbled on this recipe by accident while googling copycat Hershey syrup recipes. Let me tell you that your recipe, by far, makes the best tasting syrup for chocolate milk or ice cream that I ever put in my mouth. I have made it 3 times aleady and today I am making it again and doubling the recipe! Thank you so much for coming up with something that truly IS better than Hershey's syrup! - Karen
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot to tell you. I pinned your recipe on Pinterest too. The world needs to know there are much more delicious alternatives to the syrup in the store!! :) - Karen
ReplyDeleteHow long is the life of syrup if refrigerated correctly?
ReplyDeleteI believe the proper answer is 2 weeks in the fridge.
DeleteHowever, I personally have kept it for months. As it is made with sugar, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla, I feel safe keeping it as long as I need to. Hope that helps.
Any idea on calorie count as opposed to Hershey syrup???
DeleteThank you so much for this awesome recipe. My 3 years old son is very happy with the results and Daddy is happy for this chocolate alternative syrup. We use it with milk, over ice cream, mocha capuchino and evrything in between so it last for almost two weeks. Well I guess you get it, we love it!
ReplyDeleteHappy cooking from my kitchen to yours!
Thank you so much for this recipe. My 3years old son love it and Daddy is happy with this alternative of chocolate syrup. We use it to do chocolate milk, over ice cream, mocha capuchino, with waffles well I guess you got the idea. It last us not even two weeks, we are a family of six.
ReplyDeleteHappy cooking from my kitchen to yours!