SMORGASBORD: The new vegetarian . . . Free pancakes . . . Dog dicer

The new vegetarian

It’s a familiar refrain. One day a child’s favorite foods are chicken tenders or pizza with pepperoni, the next day the same kid swears off meat — forever — and cannot be persuaded otherwise.

Cookbook author Laura Washburn faced the same overnight conversion with her daughter, 10 at the time. Despite having several cookbooks under her belt, however, Washburn found herself unsure what to cook, she writes in “Vegetarian Food for Kids: Nutritious and Delicious Recipes for Healthy Children” (Ryland Peters & Small, $19.95).

Her project to educate herself on a balanced vegetarian diet for children, plus find recipes that would appeal to a child and offer enough variety to ensure proper nutrition, led to the book.

Her recipes can provide ideas to families with young vegetarians in the house, whether the entire household is dedicated to the diet, or whether, like Washburn, you suddenly find yourself the mom of someone you don’t know how to feed.

Free pancakes

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and IHOP restaurants will celebrate National Pancake Day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, with the restaurant offering a free short stack of its famous buttermilk pancakes to each guest. In return, diners will be asked to leave a donation for MeritCare Children’s Hospital.

Last year, IHOP served 4 million free pancakes on National Pancake Day, with donations to children’s charities topping $2.5 million, exceeding the fundraising goal of $2.3 million. IHOP seeks to raise $2.7 million this year.

This is the seventh consecutive year IHOP restaurants nationwide have participated in the event.

Dog dicer

Kids love hot dogs, grapes and carrots, and parents who need a quick snack or meal option know they are a common go-to solution. But cutting them into bite-size pieces is difficult and they can present a choking hazard for small children.

Enter the Dog Dicer from Yellow Brick Enterprises, a simple, lightweight slicer, shaped to fit a single hot dog (regular or bun-length), multiple grapes or carrot, that cuts the food into 48 half-moon- shaped, bite-sized pieces, all in one quick motion, thus reducing the risk of choking.

It is available for $9.95 online at http://dogdicer.com/.

Tags: life, updates, food, smorgasbord