And the Vitamin C in orange juice actually increases the absorption of iron so that if you give your child vitamins or drops, it's a good go-along. Juice is great for kids, watered way down, of course. I don't worry about juice but do worry about the junkfood snacks that are marketed for little ones, the ones with all the additives, colorings, and of course, the sugar. Our kids are very limited in the sugar they have at home. They think a cookie is a whole-wheat cracker, hee, hee! Outside of home, however, I loosen up and let them have the treats offered to them, in small quantities, of course. They get sugar-loaded cookies at church nursery and of course the grandparents love to give them cake and icecream! I try to make sure they have a full belly before these visits so that the sugar won't go directly to the blood stream, lol. Even better than juice is fruit cut up into finger food. They get the nurtients, the water content, and the fiber, plus get to work on their eating skills : ) If a host is offering a rich dessert and wants to include the kids, I often ask if they could have some fruit instead, a banana or something. Works great most of the time.

Geritol (liquid vitamin) is made from Brewer's yeast (by product of beer-industry). I love taking Brewer's yeast since it's a natural food-product, rather than refined chemicals. People give NOW's brewer's yeast thumb-down due to its bitterness, but U of Michigan Medical website stated that for brewer's yeast to be effective, it should be bitter. I mix 1/2 Tablespoon of brewer's yeast with 1 cup of milk, plus 1 heaping tablespoon of buckwheat honey, and it tastes great. It really stabilized my blood sugar, and helped me to lose weight & plus extra energy. I can see why many people report increased energy with vitamins or brewer's yeast (high in B-complex, chromium and selenium). Have been taking brewer's yeast for 1 year .. hair is super thick, at 52-year-old .. it really help with healthy hair. I took Brewer's yeast initially to repel bugs & mosquitoes when I worked in the garden ... but like the extra-energy & less cravings that I kept doing it even in the winter. Folks give brewer's yeast to their pets for shiny & smooth coat of hair, plus to repel fleas. Below is U. of Maryland Medical Center on Brewer's yeast, at $8 per pound, it's a lot cheaper than vitamins & plus help to prevent colds & flu: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/brewers-yeast Below link lists caution if you take medications along with brewer's yeast Brewer's yeast contains a large amount of tyramine, a substance that can interact with MAOIs and cause a hypertensive crisis Source: Possible Interactions with: Brewer's Yeast | University of Maryland Medical Center http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement-interaction/possible-interactions-with-brewers-yeast#ixzz3Zmk9uIfc

Potatoes like acidic soil, and vitamin C is ascorbic acid (a weak acid). Vitamin C pills may dissolve slowly enough that they may acidify the soil immediately under the plant for a while. 1g of ascorbic acid per planting hole won't acidify much, though, and there are cheaper ways to acidify soil. Ascorbic acid is an effective antioxidant and is important for plant growth, but that's why the plants produce it, and potatoes produce quite a bit. Not clear they benefit from absorbing it through their roots. Yes, a with/without experiment with the same type would be the right way to do test this.

I make lots of things from pumpkin, but ripe, so I'm just generalizing on that part, and I'm not sure what ”not quite there” means. Is it fully pumpkiny but not sweet enough? Sweet-ish but bland without yummy squashness? Sour or bitter? I don't know a way to get pumpkiness in, but (duh) for sweetness add sugar. Sugar, molasses, maple syrup, carrots, sweet potatoes... I wouldn't do honey, but if you have some that seems to go with it, try it! More duh, a little sweet will enhance the flavor in savory dishes. A lot of sweet for pie. For cake or ice cream, there's probably enough sugar in a standard recipe, but taste the mix and add more if needed. Sugar can be like salt as a flavor enhancer, so will help with bland too. If it's sour or bitter, sugar can also fix it up, but you'll need to taste along the way to find the balance point. For meh, don't discount salt and pepper. They're so endemic because they do so much! Roasting will help get a lot of flavor in. Cut into planks, steaks or chunks—you can peel before or after, and don't worry about every shred of pumpkin guts. Both skins and guts come off easily when cooked. Coat with a liberal amount of tasty oil and just roast or broil on a baking sheet. You can season or wait. Don't worry if the exposed part looks dry while the color is developing, If your pumpkins behave like the ones I've roasted, it'll still be moist inside, and you can peel off the dry part or cut it in if you're going to mash it. Let me know if you want recipes for pumpkin soups, lasagna, empanads, etc, Pumpkin usually only needs a bit of fat to bind, like butter or cheese. If the flesh seems watery, you can steam (cook) it out, press/strain it, or even cover losely and let the evaporator in your fridge have a go. You can fill anything from ravioli to dumplings to cupcakes that way. Plus, you can add the usual, like oats or breadcrumbs, to make balls, croquettes, crumbles, etc. That kind of thing I don't use recipes for, but I'm sure the group or the ’net has them. Good luck!