Cranberries and Sugar

Some children will find this too tart. Mine loves it, but he has always liked sour fruits like blackberries and raspberries. My mom often had this for a snack so I picked up a taste for it as a child.

It's healthy, easy and also builds eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills (and just keeps them occupied for a while!)

Ingredients:
Handful of whole, frozen cranberries
One tbsp white sugar

Directions:
Briefly rinse frozen cranberries in a colander under cold water (to take the edge off coldness.)

Place the cranberries in a small bowl and sugar in a separate small bowl.

Pick up the cranberries individually with a toothpick (this is where the motor skills come in!) and swish around in the sugar. Eat. Repeat. The sugar should stick because the cranberries are still dewy from rinsing them.

Note: Lucas tends to pee-pee more at night when he's given these as his last snack, so it may be better during the day :)

Kick-Start

Okay. It's time I try to give this blog a kick-start and attempt to get some things posted in a more timely manner. It's been a busy summer, but now as the pool time and vacations wind down (now if only the heat would!) as we head toward fall, I know my desire to cook is going to go in the opposite direction and I will finally want to consider standing in front of that stove a bit more often.

To try to start things off, I have had a request for ideas for kids' school lunches. After awhile, the usual sandwich, fruit, and drink combo just does not cut it anymore. Kids desire variety just as much as we do, if not more. So if anyone out there with school-age children has some healthy, creative ideas for lunches, please do share!

There are two blogs I would like to share that both have really cute and appetizing ideas for the little ones: Vegan Lunch Box and Cooking for Monkeys. Though the creations on Vegan Lunch Box are, well, vegan, they could still be interspersed or taken piecemeal to adapt to an omnivore's diet. I especially recommend going back into her archives and reading some of her earlier posts. I have followed this blog for years at the advice of my dear friend, Kate. This blog alone made me want to have a kid just so I could pack lunches! Of course, now that I do have a kid, I am not sure how she finds the time to come up with all of these fantastic ideas, but it must be possible. The woman from Cooking for Monkeys has two children and goes to our church. She is a fantastic cook and also has some really great, healthy, super-cute lunchbox art.

Tex-Mex Quinoa Macaroni and Cheese

I have yet to write a blog post about the positive and negative aspects of eating gluten-free (not to mention trying to avoid chicken eggs and soy as well), but one of the challenges I have encountered is trying to come up with good, easy meals that we can cook while on our three-and-a-half week camping/hiking trip out in California next month -- specifically, meals that can be reduced to one or two cooking pots. And, on top of that, finding meals that Elsa will also find enticing. So we have been testing out quite a few ideas around the house and on camping trips closer to home. We found a definite winner that Elsa seemed to love on our last camping trip to Vogel State Park over Mother's Day weekend -- tex-mex quinoa macaroni and cheese. It is easy, it is tasty, it is fairly healthy, and you can cook it in two pots (really, you could probably do with one if you really had to). We are sold. It came out slightly spicy, but Elsa did not seem to have a problem with it. She finished her portion and had seconds.

Tex-Mex Quinoa Macaroni and Cheese
(Makes 4 to 6 servings)

1 box quinoa elbow macaroni

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound ground meat (I used grass-fed ground sirloin)

1 package taco seasoning (I used Bearitos brand, as the ingredients seemed safe for me to use)

Water (however much your package of seasoning says to add)

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies

8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

8 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded

Bring a pot of water to boil, add quinoa macaroni, and boil until al dente.

Meanwhile, saute onion in olive oil until slightly softened. Add ground meat, and continue to cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain liquid from pan and add taco seasoning and water. Cook until liquid has reduced some and is slightly thickened. Add diced tomatoes with chilies and bring to a simmer. Add both cheeses and stir well until melted through.

Once the pasta is ready, drain it and add it to the meat/cheese sauce. Stir well to combine and serve immediately. If it seems to thick, add some milk or heavy cream to thin it a bit (we did not have to do this, though -- the consistency turned our perfectly).

Smoothies

Now that the weather has warmed up -- and because Jarrett and I have started drinking protein shakes most mornings -- it seemed a good time to introduce smoothies into Elsa's breakfast repertoire. Below is a recipe I threw together, but the beautiful thing about smoothies is that you can really play around with them and make them new every time.

Elsa's Breakfast Smoothie

Servings: Approximately 2 child-sized portions

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt

1 banana

1/2 cup frozen berries

1/2 to 1 teaspoon honey

Combine all ingredients together and blend until smooth (I use a handheld immersion blender, but obviously any blender or food processor would do the trick). Pour into cup appropriate for child, throw in a straw, and voila!

Great additions to this would be flax seeds, hemp protein powder, chia seed powder, a few greens, carrots, etc. I plan on playing around with ingredients as the months go on.

Starting on Solids

My neighbor Kendra is looking for tips as she prepares to start her chubby wubby on solids in the next couple of months. Could you all respond with your experiences of those very first meals? Maybe include when you started feeding solids, what your first foods were, did you make/buy/combination, etc.

Our experience:
We started Lucas out around 5.5 months. He didn't really show an interest in solids, but I really wanted to reduce nursings while we were on vacation in Vancouver and in general. We started him off on gerber applesauce and pears mixed with organic rice cereal. Strangely he did not like bananas and even had a reaction to them once in the form of a brief rash.

Lucas was not a huge fan of solids for a while. He was so off and on, I decided not to make most of my food. I ground steamed apples in my baby food grinder (this I would recommend to have on hand - you can quickly mash whatever is on the dinner table - veggies, chili, etc .) Other than that I mostly bought organic jarred food and forgot about it.

Soon he was eating non-pureed foods and this was a better stage for me. I cooked with reasonable amounts of butter, broth and even salt making healthy stuff taste good. He LOVED soups and this is what I would order for him at restaurants before he could even walk. We tended to introduce foods early, like eggs, yogurt, etc. He was a berry monster and would devour mass quantities of blueberries on almost a daily basis.

I uploaded this video of my little angel eating yogurt in the tub at around the age of 10-11 months.

Beets

Christi,

In response to your last post, here is a way to keep beets from going bad. Easy recipe and you don't even have to wash them before baking them. Weird, I know! They'd be good just sliced up with thinly sliced red onion and chunks of feta on a salad. Or just on their own.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Baked-Beets-72861

As far as the kiddies go, I used to puree these for Lucas on occasion. Read up on feeding kids lots of root veggies when they are infants because they say that the high nitrate content depletes their iron levels, but I think it's good for them to develop a taste for them. Lucas is still attracted to them on salad bars and will eat a few bites. I have a picture of him at 5 months looking like a clown with a beet mustache/beard. When I find it I will post it.

Natali

Pumpkin Yogurt

My friend, Shelly, sent out a link to an article in the New York Times that lists the 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating. We won't talk about the bunch of beets I bought from the farmer's market and then proceeded to let go bad in the fridge before I could get around to doing anything with them, but I am trying to eat more of these foods. As a result, I am also attempting to get Elsa to eat some of these, and decided to make pumpkin yogurt using canned pumpkin. She loves it. And, really, how could she not? It tastes pretty much like pumpkin pie filling! Note that this recipe also contains cinnamon, another food off of the list.

Pumpkin Yogurt

1 large (32-ounce) container yogurt (I used vanilla, but will probably opt for plain next time to cut down on the sugar)
1 can 100% pure pumpkin
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
honey to taste (I probably used just around a teaspoon since the yogurt I used already contained some sugar)

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a medium bowl. Set aside the amount you intend to eat immediately (because you won't be able to resist) and store the remaining yogurt in the now empty yogurt container.

Bon appetit!

Lovely Lentils

A friend of a friend posted this recipe (from Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel) as a comment to one of my posts awhile back, and I thought it deserved a post of its own. I made this last week for Elsa, and even though she wasn't feeling well, she still ate a good portion of it. I went ahead and froze the rest in an ice cube tray for meals down the road.

One thing I have come to realize lately is that if the food I am trying to feed Elsa requires the use of a spoon or a fork, it helps tremendously if I give her a utensil to hold onto and attempt to use to feed herself. This skill is proving to take her some time (perhaps due to the fact that I am a neat freak and have had some trouble relinquishing total control over the food during mealtime in an attempt to avoid serious messes and, therefore, she has not had a ton of practice), but she does manage to get food into her mouth here and there. Regardless, I think it makes her feel a bit more involved in the process and more interested in her food. I am looking forward to when she is able to stand stably on a stepstool and actually help to prepare the food she eats.

Lovely Lentils

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped celery
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup split red lentils
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (you can also use water or half water/half broth)

Saute the onion, carrots, and celery in the vegetable oil for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the lentils and sweet potatoes and pour in the broth and/or water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender. (You can also just mashed it with a potato masher and get a great consistency since the veggies and lentils are so soft after cooking.)

Grandma's Oatmeal Pancakes

I made these pancakes over the weekend with the intention of giving Elsa a nice, warm breakfast since she has been sick over the past week or so. Unfortunately, with her sickness has come even more of a decreased appetite, so she did not each much of what I offered her, but ate at least some. Jarrett and I, on the other hand, enjoyed them very much.

This is a recipe handed down from Jarrett's mom, and the pancakes were a favorite of Jarrett's during his high school/college years. They really are quite delicious. I think next time around I might try using brown sugar rather than the regular ole white, granulated variety. We served ours with a variety of toppings -- butter, pure maple syrup, pumpkin butter, and blackberry preserves.

Oatmeal Pancakes

2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups quick oats (uncooked)
1 cup all purpose flour (I used white whole wheat, but have also used regular whole wheat and half whole wheat/half all purpose)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (be sure it doesn't have aluminum in it)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola oil)

1. Pour milk over oats and let stand.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. (Be sure to add the flakes that get sifted out back into the flour mixture if you use whole wheat flour.)

3. Gently stir eggs into oats/milk mixture.

4. Add sifted dry ingredients.

5. Stir in oil.

6. Bake on nonstick or lightly greased griddle until golden brown, turning only once.

7. Serve hot with syrup, preserves, jam, etc.

Variations:
Sprinkle one of the following on the pancakes before turning:
Chopped apples
Blueberries
Dried sweetened cranberries
Sausage or ham

A Very Adaptable Mexican Casserole

Unlike many of my fellow posters, I do not love to cook. While I don't hate to cook either, I often find the process of planning, shopping, preparing, eating (well, that part I love), and cleaning kind of cumbersome, especially with an eight month strapped to me and a two year old lingering. However, I have found a few things make my life much easier. First, easy to remember recipes are helpful so that I don't have to constantly refer to the recipe. Second, I need adaptable recipes so that I am likely to have the ingredients in the house and it isn't the same every time. Next, it is preferable for me to able to prepare something earlier in the day while my children are napping. An ideal recipe should also have steps that my children can help with or snack on during the process. Leftovers are also a must as I try to cook only every other day. This Mexican Casserole fits all of the requirements and Finnan will eat it!

Adaptable Mexican Casserole

Tortilla chips

1lb ground meat

2 cups salsa

1 can of beans (drained and rinsed)

Veggie mix-ins (see below)

2 cups of sour cream

Veggie toppings (see below)

Shredded cheese

1. Crush a layer of tortilla chips on the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish. (Good job for the kiddos- and easy snaking for them as well.)

2. Cook ground meat. After meat is cooked add salsa and beans. At this point, I throw in whatever veggies I have around that sound good- onions (I add when cooking meat), bell peppers (I add when cooking meat), corn, spinach, shredded carrots, etc. When cooked through, layer meat mixture on top of crushed tortilla chips. (My two year old, Finnan, has also started to help me chop. He can't get very far with the dinner knife I give him, but he enjoys being part of the process and will pop a few veggies in his mouth in the process.)

3. Layer sour cream on top of meat mixture.

4. Layer fresh veggies- I use tomatoes and green onions (if I have them).

5. Top with cheese.

6. Cook in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

You can make this dish as basic or complex as you want and as healthy or unhealthy as you want. And Natali's guacamole would make the perfect dip for the pre-meal tortilla snackers!

Dilly Ricotta Dip

Christian loves any food that can referred to as "dip." He loves to dip crackers into this, and I can occassionally coax him to dip steamed carrots.

Dilly Ricotta Dip

1/3 c whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 T minced fresh dill
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in small bowl and stir until creamy.

Mac N Cheese with Vegetables

Here is a healthy, tasty recipe for macaroni and cheese. It is from the Petit Appetite cookbook, which I love. The recipe calls for either broccoli or cauliflower, but I highly recommend the cauliflower. It doesn't really affect the taste and it blends in so that little ones don't even realize it's there.

I always stop after step two, divide the mac n cheese into four containers, and freeze three of them. I never bother to do step 3, although I would if I were serving this a dish for the whole family.

The cheese seems to "settle" a bit in this dish, making it not the most attractive food to serve, but I think the health and taste make up for it. Christian loves it!

Mac N Cheese with Vegetables

8 oz whole wheat macaroni
1 1/2 c broccoli or cauliflower florets, cut into pieces
1 c whole milk
3 c (3/4 lb) sharp white cheddar cheese
Salt, to taste
1/4 t black pepper
3 T freshly grated parmesan cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350. Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat. Turn heat to medium and add pasta and vegetables. Simmer until pasta is tender and vegetables are cooked, 7-10 minutes. Drain and return to pot.

2) In a small saucepan, heat milk over low heat until hot. Add cheddar cheese and hot milk to veggies and pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

3) Pour mixture into 8-inch square dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and bake for 15 minutes, or until bubbling. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Last week was a muffin-baking-kind-of week. So, in addition to the cherry pecan muffins, I also made some whole wheat blueberry muffins. This recipe is based on Cook's Illustrated's Best Blueberry Muffin recipe, with some changes -- the most important being the substitution of King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour. The beauty of this flour is that it bakes just like all-purpose flour, so you can use it with ease in all different recipes. I love blueberry muffins, and I think these are fantastic. All other partakers seemed to enjoy them as well, including, of course, Elsa.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 to 16 muffins

3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, defrosted and drained of excess liquid
1 Tablespoon flour

1. Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a standard 12-muffin baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

3. Coat defrosted and drained frozen blueberries with 1 Tablespoon of flour.

4. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the grated lemon peel.

5. Beat in one-half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one-third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again, be careful to beat until just incorporated to avoid overbeating. Fold in the berries.

6. Distribute muffin batter equally among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick or bamboo skewer to make sure the centers of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve slightly warm.

Chicken-Zucchini Casserole

I made this casserole from a recipe from the cooking magazine, Cuisine at Home (February 2010 issue), intending for it to serve Jarrett and myself multiple meals last week. We ended up being less than impressed with the dish, Jarrett more so than I, so the leftovers seemed much less than desirable. I am not a big fan of chicken thighs, I have found -- I prefer white meat -- so I think that was a big problem for me. And I think the actual casserole part of the casserole appeared, at least, too eggy for Jarrett (if you do not already know, Jarrett has a strong aversion to eggs). Jarrett struggled through it for one more meal, but I then ate it (sans chicken) for lunch nearly everyday last week, and I actually thought the flavor of the zucchini-rice mixture improved with age. I was pleased to find out that Elsa actually loved it, and we ended up sharing it all week. So if I were to make this again, I believe I would most likely use cut-up chicken breast (or leave the chicken out altogether), would probably used brown rice, and would make it more for Elsa than anyone else!

All-American Chicken-Zucchini Casserole
Makes 8 servings

For the zucchini mixture:
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup dry basmati rice
8 cups chopped zucchini (2 1/2 lb)
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced

For the Cheddar mixture:
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (5 oz)
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, divided
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Kosher salt and black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Bring broth to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add rice, cover, and reduce heat to low; simmer until liquid is absorbed, 20 minutes.

3. Combine zucchini, onion, water, and garlic in a large saucepan; cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until zucchini is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and lightly mash zucchini mixture.

4. Stir together eggs, Cheddar, sour cream, milk, 1/4 cup Parmesan, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, Tabasco, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl.

5. Add the cooked rice along with the zucchini mixture to the Cheddar mixture in the bowl. Spoon the combined mixture into the prepared baking dish.

6. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet; saute until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes on each side.

7. Arrange chicken on rice mixture in the baking dish. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and the remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs; sprinkle over the chicken and rice in the baking dish.

8. Bake chicken and rice until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees when tested with an instant-read thermometer.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

These are a hit at our house with all three little ones, ages 1-6; perfect for dipping in yummy sauces, if you're so inclined. Here's the basic recipe:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 T. vinegar (ie., buttermilk)
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch size pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put milk and vinegar in a bowl.
3. Soak chicken pieces in milk mixture for a few minutes, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place well coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or so.

We have a dairy allergy in the house, so I leave out the cheese and they're still great. Also don't have Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. The original recipe called for butter instead of the milk mixture, but again, allergies, and that also seemed an unnecessary caloric addition. Beaten egg could also be used as the pre-breadcrumb step. Another trick if you like them crispy is to bake them on a cooling rack so the heat is distributed evenly.

Hope you enjoy!

ps- my husband just made fun of me about this picture because of the meager amount of food...so I'll clarify that this is the 12 month old's plate :)

Cherry Pecan Bran Muffins with Flax

With a dreary, rainy day well set in, what else was I to do but bake muffins? The following recipe is an adaptation of the one posted on a blog I read fairly regularly, Pinch My Salt. Both Elsa and Jarrett deemed them quite tasty, and I think they will make an excellent breakfast/snack option this week. Obviously you will only want to feed these to your child if you have already introduced nuts into their diet.

Cherry Pecan Bran Muffins with Flax

1 cup oat bran
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup dried tart cherries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with butter, nonstick baking spray, or paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together oat bran, flax seed, and boiling water; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. When the oat bran/flax mixture has cooled, whisk in the egg, milk, oil, and brown sugar. Pour wet bran/flax mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon until just combined. Fold in the chopped cherries and pecans.

3. Divide batter evenly between the twelve muffin cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!

I present to you a guest post by my friend, Valerie, who lives in North Carolina, and is eight months pregnant with her third little boy.

When our son was about 2 1/2 years old, we wanted eating plain cooked broccoli (my husband's favorite choice for vegetables, thus a very frequent side dish at our home) to be a fun and enjoyable experience instead of coaxing and bribing.  So we started to have "broccoli races."  Everyone at the table gets a piece of broccoli on their fork, someone counts "1, 2, 3, GO!" and we all eat our broccoli at the same time.  When we're done eating, of course we display our open, empty mouths to the whole table.  The goal is for everyone at the table to finish, not necessarily to finish first.  My boys love this game and it turns any "blah" food into an exciting adventure.  We still use it for broccoli, but we also use it when we're learning to eat a new food.

Another game we play to make eating fun reveals the depraved mentality of our boys.  This game is called "Don't eat me!" and my son invented this game when he was almost 4 years old.  Sometimes our food talks.  It usually talks in a high pitched squeaky voice and says something like, "Please don't eat me!  Whatever you do, don't eat me!  Please!" At which point the boys gleefully take a bite of the food and laugh as the food screams "AHHHHHHhhhhhhh!"  The scream fades away as the food gets swallowed.   My boys, now ages 6 and 3 1/2, LOVE this game!

Note: Due to the high "giggle factor" in these games, it could pose a small choking hazard, so be attentive and chose foods that are appropriate to your child's chewing ability.  For example, don't play these games with a bowl full of grapes.

Individual Pizzas

This is a relatively easy dinner and a great way to involve kids. I prepare the pizzas with sauce and cheese and let Lucas top it. This time I pressed a clove of garlic on top of the sauce and went easy on the cheese because Lucas has the sniffles.

I used:
Mama Mary's pizza crusts (deli section of grocery store, near Boboli)
Greenwise organic tomato sauce (one little can makes about 5 pizzas)
Shredded Mozzarella

Toppings:
Broccoli (my new favorite pizza topping - and can you believe my phone text dictionary does not recognize this as a word?!)
Pepperoni
Sliced olives
Thinly sliced purple onion (the only topping Lucas avoided)

Guacamole Lunch

Last summer, Lucas and I had this for lunch about once a week. We took a break from it for a while and last Friday when I made it I remembered what a great toddler lunch this is! It is just a very basic recipe, but tasty. I like it because I can whip it up in less than 5 minutes.

I often break up the tortillas into bite-sized pre-dipped pieces and Lucas just picks them up. It is also on my list of allowable foods to hand-feed Lucas while he plays because it is green and has omega-3s.

This recipe makes a substantial snack for toddler and mommy and there are enough leftovers to make your husband happy with an appetizer when he gets home.

Recipe:

necessary:
2 avocados
1 small lime, juice of (I like it quite limey - you may want to reduce this)
salt, to taste

optional:
1-2 T onions, minced (I usually add as much as I think Lucas will tolerate)
chopped tomatoes
black pepper
dash of cumin

Half the avocados and remove the pit by striking it with a knife and wiggling it out. Score the avocado all the way to the skin into cubes. Scoop out and mash in a bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients and serve with soft pitas or tortilla chips.

Still a Favorite

As I mentioned in a comment on Alison's pot pie post, I believe Elsa is going through a phase of texture anxiety when it comes to food. She will put something in her mouth -- like a cannellini bean, for instance -- barely bite down on it (if she even gets that far), and then immediately thrusts the offending food out of her mouth with her tongue and into her fingers, where she then usually smashes it and examines it closely. She will not eat unmelted cheese as of late because of this issue, and basically anything of substance that is not in the form of -- or on -- a carbohydrate, she turns her nose up at before even really giving it a try. She will eat certain fresh, cut-up fruit, but it depends on the day. Right now bananas and apples have the green light. I am sure many toddlers share this aversion to various textures, but it is quite frustrating when I spend the time to cook something for her and then she either spits it out or throws it on the floor (will I ever break her of this?!?!).

With hopes of getting something slightly more nutritious than bread and crackers into her, I went back to a broccoli and cauliflower puree, also from the aforementioned Feeding Baby by Joachim and Christine Splichal, that she loved months ago. She still loves it. She will not for the life of her put a steamed broccoli floret into her mouth, but she loves this puree. Apparently I just need to puree everything. But, then again, should she not just get used to all of these new textures?

And here is something that threw me for a loop this evening. If I covered bites of the chicken pot pie in the broccoli and cauliflower puree, that was okay for the most part. Who would have thought that I would be hiding food with vegetables. Things could be worse, right? So, without further adieu, here is Elsa's beloved veggie puree.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Puree

Makes 2 cups

1/2 pound broccoli florets, cut into 3-inch pieces

1/2 pound cauliflower florets, cut into 3-inch pieces, core trimmed away

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth, plus extra for pureeing, warmed

1. In a medium saucepan with a steamer, bring 2 inches of water to a boil.

2. Add the broccoli to the steamer, cover, and steam for 3 to 5 minutes until the broccoli is bright green and tender. When done, refresh the broccoli in ice water. Remove broccoli and drain.

3. Repeat the steaming procedure with fresh water for the cauliflower. Steam 5 to 7 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Remove the cauliflower from the steamer and set aside. Do not refresh it in ice water.

4. Melt the butter in a saute pan and saute the broccoli and cauliflower for 1 minute.

5. Combine the broccoli and cauliflower in a blender or food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until smooth. Add the 1/2 cup broth to the mixture and pulse again until smooth. You may need to add a little more broth, depending upon the consistency of the puree.

6. Serve warm or at room temperature. Freeze leftover puree that won't be eaten the next day.

Snack Plates

Lucas, age 3

One of Lucas's favorite forms of sustenance are his beloved snack plates. They are served before nap and before bedtime in his bedroom. And because of the snack plates, I rarely have trouble starting his nap/bedtime routines.

A friend of mine from Japan, Rumiko, stressed the importance of presentation when preparing food. Everything should be beautiful. And these simple plates always put a smile on Lucas's face. He eats foods he would normally shy away from like raisins and walnuts because they are packaged with an organic granola bar or yummy dried mango.

Lucas has several guidelines that we must follow when preparing his snack plate:

1) It must include three or more foods.
2) Rarely will he let a plate slip by without a yummy carbohydrate.
3) Sometimes a bowl of cereal will be accepted as a substitute.

My own guidelines:
1) If it's bedtime I go easy on the fruit. Too hydrating.
2) Everything is usually healthy in some regard.

Ideas include:
Dried fruit
Nuts
Pretzels
A granola bar cut into bite-sized pieces
Cheese
Apple slices (can act as a toothbrush if necessary :)

Lentils

Elsa seems to favor lentils, which is actually a good dietary discretion on her part. I made a spinach and lentil soup over the weekend, taken from Terry Blonder Golson's cookbook, 1,000 Lowfat Recipes. I intended this to be more for me and Jarrett, but wanted to attempt giving some to Elsa as well. She liked it okay, but not as much as another one of our standby recipes, which will follow this one below. Jarrett and I, however, thought it was quite good, so it might be something to try for the entire family. I pureed this soup with an immersion blender as a final step, as Jarrett and I tend to prefer most of our soups pureed. You could also easily substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth in this recipe to make it a vegetarian (vegan, even!) dish.

Spinach and Lentil Soup

Serves 5

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onions

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

One 10-oz package fresh spinach, washed and trimmed of tough stems

1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked through

7 cups reduced-sodium, defatted chicken broth

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over low heat. Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are soft and golden. Add the cumin, coriander, and paprika. Stir and cook until the aromas intensify.

2. Coarsely chop the spinach. Add it to the saute and cook until it wilts.

3. Add the Tabasco, oregano, lentils, and broth to the pot.

4. Bring the soup to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered for about 50 minutes until the lentils become very soft.

5. Stir in the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes more. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Elsa's more preferred lentil dish comes from Joachim and Christine Splichal's cookbook, Feeding Baby. Several friends and family members who have witnessed Elsa eating this concoction have commented on how disgusting it looks. Forget how it appears -- I've tasted it myself, and it's actually quite good. And if I can get Elsa to eat something with lentils, carrots, and shallots, it can look as disgusting as it gets. The recipe makes quite a lot, so I usually scoop the remainder in serving-size portions onto a sheet pan lined with wax paper. I then simply cover it with another sheet of wax paper and freeze it. Once frozen, I simply transfer the frozen clumps to a freezer bag. It reheats easily either on the stovetop or the microwave.

Green or Brown Lentils with Carrot and Shallot Puree

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups lentils, rinsed and picked over

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon minced shallot or onion (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, combine the broth and lentils and bring to a boil. Add the carrots and shallot. Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are tender. Drain and reserve the liquid.

2. Transfer the lentil mixture to a blender (I used a handheld immersion blender) and pulse until smooth, slowly adding the reserved cooking liquid.

3. Serve immediately. Freeze leftover puree that won't be eaten the next day.

Pot Pie!

No, what you are seeing is not staged. That is indeed a two year old piling peas onto his spoon.

I have been serving pot pie to my little cowboy weekly for about a year. He has yet to grow tired of this creamy, crusty, vegetable and meat filled dish. "Pot pie" was his first two word combination. His love for pot pie has even extended goodwill to other vegetable filled dishes. This weekend he picked up a pea from his pasta and said, "Pot pie!" I conferred that yes pot pie had peas and he gobbled up all the peas in the dish.

My pot pie recipe is an adaptation of Chicken Pot Pie IX from the website allrecipes.com.

Pot Pie

1 lb. of chicken or turkey breast (cooked and cubed)

3-4 cups of vegetables (I use a mix of carrots, celery, frozen broccoli and frozen peas)

1/3 cup butter

1/2 onion, chopped

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 9-inch pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Add vegetables to a saucepan, cover with water and boil until cooked (abut 20-25 minutes)

3. Drain vegetables. Add chicken to vegetables.

4. In saucepan, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until in thickens.

5. Place vegetable-chicken mixture in the bottom pie crust. Pour liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several slits in top of pie.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Note: When served hot the filling will ooze out of the slices.)

Enjoy!

Easy Whole Wheat Shells and White Cheddar with Broccoli

Last night I decided to cook a box of Annie's Homegrown Organic Whole Wheat Shells & White Cheddar that I had on hand. I made it according to the directions on the box, adding the optional two tablespoons unsalted butter for a richer flavor and simply for the addition of the good fat. In an attempt to get some vegetables into Elsa's little body as well, I also steamed some broccoli (about the equivalent of one broccoli crown) and then pureed it and mixed it in with the macaroni and cheese. The result? A decently healthy meal and a very happy Elsa. Whereas I cannot seem to get her to eat plain steamed broccoli as a fingerfood, she ate this without fuss and continued to sign for "more."

Delicious Oatmeal

We are blessed with a wonderful pediatrician. Dr. Herrmann loves to share articles and information on all sorts of parenting topics, including nutrition. A while back she gave us a recipe for quinoa, which I learned is a "pseudocereal" alternative to more common cereals such as wheat or oats. I thought it sounded good, so I went to the Farmer's Market in search of this new grain. I found it without much trouble, but it seemed really expensive, so I decided to adapt the recipe using steel cut oats instead. I also made a few other changes, such as increasing the blueberries and using golden raisins. The resulting purple oatmeal has been a hit with Lily since I first gave it to her.

Delicious Oatmeal

1 c steel cut oats

3 c water

1 c apple juice

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t allspice

1/4 c dried cranberries

1/4 c dried apricots, chopped

1/4 c golden raisins

1/2 to 1 c frozen blueberries (or 1/4 c dried blueberries)

Combine the apple juice and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the steel cut oats, the fruit, and the spices. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes, or until the oats are of desired consistency.

I like to let this cool and spoon leftovers into an ice cube tray to freeze. I cover the tray with a piece of aluminum foil, freeze it, and then dump the cubes into a freezer bag to save for later. I pull out two or three and thaw them in the microwave for a quick and delicious breakfast.

Old Reliable

For the first recipe posted to this blog, I will lean on the old reliable recipe for mini banana apple bran muffins from one of the cookbooks I turn to quite often, The Petit Appetit Cookbook, by Lisa Barnes.


If you are looking for a healthy, yummy muffin recipe for your child (or yourself!), I highly recommend this recipe. I have made these several times, and Elsa is quite the fan of them, though I have to be careful not to over serve them, as she does become bored after awhile. As a word of warning, I realized the second time I made these that I actually made them incorrectly the first go around by mashing all three bananas and mixing them into the batter rather than mashing just one and slicing the others to place atop the batter once poured into the muffin cups. Regardless, they were still tasty, and I usually forgo the slice on top now, as Elsa usually won't eat it anyway. I also make these in large batches and freeze them, simply defrosting them by throwing them in the microwave for 30 seconds or so prior to serving. You can make them in mini or regular size, and they make for a fantastic, healthy snack or breakfast item -- or even served as a side to a lunch or dinner meal.

Mini Banana Apple Bran Muffins

Makes 24 mini muffins or 12 regular muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oat bran

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3/4 cup applesauce

3 medium bananas, 1 mashed (about 1/2 cup) and 2 sliced

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (the recipe calls for light, but I only had dark on hand, and they turned out fine)

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 regular muffin cups.

Combine flour, bran, baking soda, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Melt butter and combine with applesauce, mashed banana, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Add flour mixture to applesauce mixture and stir until just blended. The batter will be lumpy and very moist.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling two-thirds full. Place banana slice on top of each muffin. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Cool muffins on a wire rack for five minutes before removing from pan.

A New Blog

This blog has been an idea in the back of my mind for some time now. As my daughter, Elsa, grows before my eyes, I continue to struggle with how to nourish her to the best of my ability. As I am sure is the way with all parents, I feel the stress and aggravation that comes with taking time to cook healthy, wholesome meals for Elsa, only to have her toss them over the side of her highchair as if I just offered her something she could just never bear to allow touch her tastebuds. One day she will love a food; the next day she will completely turn her nose up at it. So this is the place I hope us moms can share ideas and information regarding feeding our children a wide variety of healthy food. This can be in the form of a favorite recipe (an original concoction or one from a cookbook), words of wisdom from experience, or general philosophies in the way of nutrition.

If you would like to become a contributor to this blog, please leave a comment or send an e-mail to helms.c@gmail.com, and I will happily add you to the list of contributors.