Toddler Tuesday: I'm in Love

    As far as almost-2-year-olds go, I guess Meghan is exhibiting normal toddler behavior when it comes to eating.  But that doesn't make it any easier.  Last night for dinner, she had a variety of foods to choose from, many that at one time or another have been her favorites:  cheese, rice, avocado, beans, and red peppers.  She ate some of the cheese and declared she was "All done".

Me:  Are you sure?
Meghan:  All done.
Me:  You don't even want to finish your cheese?
Meghan:  All done.
Me:  What about the beans?
Meghan:  ALL DONE!

   Okay, I got it.    I usually wait to offer her fruit until she's finished with all the other foods to discourage her from filling up on the fruit.  I think if she had her way she'd eat only fruit.  Isn't there such a thing as a fruitarian? So even though she adamantly told me she was finished with her dinner, she was happy to eat a bowl of grapes as dessert to her not-eatten dinner.
    We are visiting my in-laws right now and her Poppy nervously asked, "Does she often not eat anything for a meal?"  I guess that depends on how you define often.  More than once a week?  Probably.  What's a mom to do?  Just grin and hope that her child doesn't grow up to be a meal-skipping anorexic.  I can't force the kid to eat and I'm not going to resort to offering her unhealthy foods so she'll get more calories in.  Quality is much more important than quanity in my eyes.  She's growing and happy so I think we're doing okay. 
  That doesn't mean that I don't get incredibly happy when I find something that she loves and will happily eat.  That brings me to the topic of today's post.  (Sorry about that drawn-out intro.)  I am completely, head-over-heels in love with Gena's Avocado, Chocolate, and Sweet Potato Pudding. 
  
Side Note:  If you haven't checked out her raw food blog, you need to.  I am not a raw foodist, but know that it can be extremely beneficial to incorporate raw food into our diets.  And everything I've tried from her site has been delicious.

   Remember how I told you Meghan's not so big into orange veggies?  It's difficult to get her to eat them at all.  This was not difficult to get her to eat.  She loved every bite and immediately asked for more when she finished her first bowl.  I totally admit that while pudding is usually thought of as a dessert, this was more like her main course for lunch.  She wasn't eating much of the other things I offered her, so I decided to go ahead and let her try the pudding I made earlier.   She gobbled it up so quickly and enthusiasticly that I knew this would be a new go-to dish.  A bonus is that I love it, too.  With the simple sugars that come from the dates, I think I'll use it more as a dessert than a main course, but won't feel bad if it's the main course once in a while. 

   As I mentioned before I am at my in-laws so don't have access to my regular picture-editing software, so these pictures might not be the greatest, but I still want to share Meghan eating her pudding. 

Let me try this stuff....

Woah, this is good.

The enthusiastic bite!

Messy baby. :-)

Toddler Tuesday: Thank Goodness for Smoothies

    If there is one thing I've learned about toddlers, it's that you always have to be on your toes.  Once you get comfortable and think you have things figured out, everything changes.  Meghan goes through stages where she eats a lot and then stages where she hardly eats at all.  Despite how much she is eating, I have always been able to count on her eating some sort of vegetable and fruit throughout any given day.  It may not always be as much as I would like, but I stay relaxed as long as she gets some of the good stuff in her.  She really tested my ability to stay relaxed about her eating, however,  during the end of last week.  Suddenly, without warning, Meghan started refusing just about anything plant-based.  She didn't want fruit, vegetables, or beans.  The second day after this started, this is what she ate:

breakfast:  plain yogurt (I tried to sprinkle it with a little granola and blueberries and she was NOT happy)
lunch:  cheese
dinner: butter

   I'm not kidding.  There is no exaggeration here.  For dinner, all she wanted was the butter.   She had a plate of delicious food in front of her, but she just pointed to the butter that was on the table and would not relent until that's what she got.  I tried to put it on bread for her.  Oh, no, Mommy, that is not what I meant.  I just want to stick clumps of butter in my mouth plain.  GROSS!  I will admit, at this point, I was starting to stress out.  What if this becomes a constant trend and all she wants is dairy products?
    There is one thing that she usually will not refuse: smoothies.  The next day after her all-dairy day I turned to the smoothie to help rectify the no fruit or veggie situation.  The great thing about smoothies is that you can make it super healthy and it still seems like a treat.  They are great for breakfast and Meghan also regularly eats them for snack.  They are especially nice if you need breakfast on-the-go.  When we need to get somewhere early in the morning, I make a smoothie the night before, put it in her straw sippy cup and refrigerate it, and then in the morning she gets her breakfast in the car.
    For Meghan's smoothies, I start with plain yogurt (the flavored kind has way too much sugar!), milk, and then add whatever fresh ingredients I have on hand.  Here are a few recipes if you need help getting started:

                                    ^^^Notice Meghan's empty cup in the background. :)

Mom's Emergency Super Smoothie
For when your little one isn't eating her fruits or veggies!


1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 milk
1 small handful fresh blueberries
3-4 strawberries
1/4 cup cubed cantaloupe
1 small handful fresh baby spinach
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed meal
1 Tablespoon honey (preferably raw)
3-5 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender (I use my Magic Bullet) and blend until smooth.
This makes enough for 1 large or 2 small smoothies.  I usually fill Meghan's cup and then drink whatever is leftover.
Tip:  When using spinach in a smoothie, it's best to not put the spinach in first.  

      

Meghan's Favorite Smoothie 
This is Oh. So. Good.  

1/4 cup plain yogurt

        1/4-1/2 cup milk (depending on how thick you like it)

1 banana

2 heaping Tablespoons peanut butter

1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed meal 

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Makes 1 large or 2 small smoothies.  Meghan likes to hog this one--she loves it!

     I am happy to report that Meghan seems to be getting back on track this week with her eating.  Today for lunch I pulled out an avocado that I knew was going to go bad if we didn't eat it up soon.  Eating avocados before they go bad is never a problem in this house, but with Meghan's fruit and veggie strike there are a few they are on the brink.  I was nervous as I cut it into chunks and served it to her, but knew my girl was back when she exclaimed, "Mmmmmm, 'cado!"  Here she is gobbling it up:

                                                  

   

   I know the last closed-eye picture isn't great, but I wanted to show the empty tray.  She ended up eating an entire half of the avocado, and I was a happy mama.  I'm glad that I have learned that refusing a food one day doesn't mean she is never going to like it.  There are many vegetables that she refused multiple times before deciding she likes them (cauliflower and asparagus included) and it isn't uncommon for her to change her mind multiple times about liking a certain food.  The best thing you can do is continue to offer a variety of healthy foods--eventually your little one will eat (and enjoy!) the good stuff.  In the mean time, sneak it in a smoothie!  

Toddler Tuesday: Broccoli Bites

   If your toddler or even older child is reluctant to eat her veggies, I encourage you to try these delicious nuggets.  Even though Meghan will eat plain broccoli, she eats much more when it is in this form.  I first started making these for her when she was around 10 months old; I would just cut them into small pieces.   The best thing about these yummy broccoli bites is that they are so versatile.  Your whole family will enjoy them and they are great for both meals or snacks.

Broccoli Bites
Adapted from www.homemadebabyfood.com 


1-10 ounce package organic frozen broccoli (fresh steamed broccoli may work, I have just not tried it)
1/2 cup whole grain bread crumbs*
2 whole organic eggs (if your little one is not eating egg whites yet, use 3 yolks)
1 cup shredded organic mild cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon kelp (optional)
1 tablespoon ground flax seed meal (optional)

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat a baking sheet with olive oil or spray with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Step 2:
Cook broccoli according to package directions and chop into small pieces.

Step 3:
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs.

Step 4:
Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix until well incorporated.  (You may have to use your hands)

Step 5:
Shape the mixture into 1 1/2 inch nuggets and place on the baking sheet.  Cook for 20-25 minutes, flipping the nuggets over half way through the cooking time.

Serve warm.

Vegetable Croquettes and Quinoa-Watermelon Salad with Citrus-Basil Vinaigrette

    How's that for a mouthful of a title?  Last night's dinner was just a vague idea in my mind that I kind of made up as I was going along.  I started with a basic kid-friendly dish that I wanted to use--a slight variation of a vegetable croquette recipe from Super Foods for Babies and Children and expanded my meal idea from there.  While visiting with my sister-in-law last weekend she told me about a watermelon salad with fresh basil she'd sampled at Whole Foods.  I thought I'd like to try to make something similar so at first that was my plan.  Then I realized we wouldn't have a protein in the meal, so thought I'd try to make the watermelon salad with quinoa and beans. It sounds like a weird combination, but it worked.  I actually had the leftover salad, cold, for lunch today, and liked it even better than I did last night.  The flavors really developed overnight and it was delicious.  It would be a great cold salad to bring on a picnic or to a potluck.
   If I ever have a meal with a lot of busy-work type prep, like chopping vegetables and such, I try to start it early so I don't have to do it all at once.  I started the croquettes while Meghan was napping so all I needed to do at dinner time was bread and saute them.
 
 Vegetable Croquettes
2 potatoes
1 small head broccoli florets
1 vidalia onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. butter
1/2 cup grated carrot
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
~3/4 cup Whole wheat flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, plus 3 T. wheat germ (optional)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups breadcrumbs, plus 2 T. ground flaxseed meal (optional)
coconut oil for sauteing

I love the idea of these vegetables being the basis for our main course!

Step 1:  Scrub the potatoes and cook them in a large pot of salted boiling water for 20+ minutes, until tender and ready to mash.  The original recipe calls for the potatoes to be peeled. If you feel compelled to peel your potatoes, go for it, but I see no reason to peel off the nutrients!
~Meanwhile~
Steam the broccoli for approximately 4-5 minutes, until it turns bright green.  (Don't overdo it)  Chop the steamed broccoli into small pieces.   Saute the onion and garlic in the butter for about 2 minutes. Add the carrot and continue for another minute or so.

Step 2:  Drain the potatoes, mash them, and then mix in the cheese.  Add the broccoli and onion-carrot mixture and combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3:  Form into burgers.  You should have 12.  At this point, my burgers went in the fridge for later and I began making the vinaigrette.  I will continue with the croquette recipe, though, for continuity's sake.

Step 4:  Put your flour mixture, beaten eggs, and breadcrumb mixture in three separate bowls and create an assembly line.  

                                 

Step 5:  Coat each croquette with seasoned flour, dip in the egg, then the bread crumbs, back in the egg, and then a final coating of bread crumbs.  Saute in the coconut oil until golden brown.  

                                 

I knew we wouldn't eat all 12 of the croquettes, so I froze some of them before sauteing.  

                               

Citrus-Basil Vinaigrette

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 T. apple cider vinegar 

juice from 1 large orange

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

In a small bowl, mix together oil, vinegar, and orange juice.  Whisk until oil and vinegar emulsify.  Add basil and salt and pepper to taste.  

                                   

Set aside--you will use half for the quinoa salad and half to drizzle over the croquettes.  

Quinoa-Watermelon Salad

1 cup rinsed quinoa

1 3/4 cup water

2 cups cubed watermelon

1 1/2 cups cooked navy beans, or 1 15 oz. can, drained and rinsed

1/2 recipe of Citrus-Basil Vinaigrette dressing (see above)  

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Stir once, and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow quinoa to steam for an additional 10 minutes (do not remove lid).  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together watermelon and beans.  When quinoa is ready, allow to cool for a few minutes and then add it to the bowl and stir to combine.  Add 1/2 of the Citrus-Basil Vinaigrette dressing and stir to coat evenly.  Add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  May be served warm or cold.  

I started each plate with a bed of romaine dressing, then added the croquettes and drizzled them with the remaining dressing.  I also placed the salad on top of the romaine.  Add extra dressing as desired.  

I loved all the summertime flavors in this meal.  It's a keeper!  

  

Toddler Tuesday: A Healthy Dessert without Sugar

  Hello friends---toddler Tuesday is back!  We had a fabulous weekend with my brother, sister-in-law and niece in Chicago.  Now after a hectic month of traveling we have a few weeks off.  This has been one busy summer, but I love it.  

     On my mind today is sugar.  I didn't think very much about how much sugar I was eating until 2005.  Before then, I may have looked at nutritional labels for a calorie count or fat content, but really thought the most detrimental thing about sugar was that it gave you cavities.  I figured if I was diligent enough about brushing my teeth, I'd be okay.  Then in fall of 2005 my face was breaking out more than usual.  I went on a trip to my brother's house to spend a week babysitting while they went on a vacation.  My sister-in-law left food and recipes for me to follow--we even had fun desserts.  On this trip, my skin, which was already bad, got even worse.  

     When I got home I started doing research trying to figure out what I could do to calm the breakouts.  I found a book called Acne Messages that taught me to take a look at my lifestyle, the type and placement of my breakouts, to figure out the cause.  Treatments are useless until you find the cause.  I was surprised that the author suggested diet can be linked to breakouts. Everything I'd heard prior to reading this book was that studies have shown no correlation between diet and acne.  The author pointed out, however, that the reason it is difficult to show such a correlation is that the same foods don't cause the same reactions in everyone.  This made sense to me. 

     After looking at the lists of foods the author suggested can trigger acne in certain individuals, I thought about my diet.  Sugar was one of the listed offenders, and I realized I had a lot of sugar in my diet.  I also realized that on my trip to my brother's, I ate even more sugar than usual.  Many of my sister-in-law's dinner recipes included sugar, and we had sugary desserts nearly every night I was there.  

    The only way to be sure if it was sugar causing my breakouts, however, was to try an elimination diet.  I decided to cut sugar out of my diet completely.  I read labels and didn't eat anything that had added sugar for the next week.  No breakfast cereals, salad dressings, etc.  You'd be surprised how many things have sugar once you start looking.  By the end of the week, my face was noticeably clearer.  I continued the no-sugar for the next week, and my face was completely clear.  I was shocked and elated to have found the cause for the break-outs!  

   After this I was much more cautious about how much sugar I ate, and while I didn't completely eliminate it from my diet, I ate substantially less. Then in 2007 my mom got cancer.  Through my nutritional research, I discovered more and more about the detrimental effects of sugar.  It turns out that excess sugar consumption is linked to several major diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and adult-onset diabetes.   Sugar is also an immunosuppressant, meaning it weakens our immune system.       

    After learning more about the horrible effects sugar can have on our body, I decided that it just wasn't worth it.  Since then I have been on a quest to find ways to curb my intense sugar cravings without refined sugar.  

     When Meghan was born, I knew I wanted to give her every nutritional advantage I could.  That has included limiting her sugar consumption.  At 21 months old, she's yet to have a piece of candy.  Her sugar consumption has been limited to a  few tastes of my ice cream that I was eating during a weak moment and a few bites of an oatmeal raisin cookie.  I don't give her the commercial fruit yogurt that's been sweetened with sugar; she gets plain that I sweeten with fresh fruit.  Instead of the regular sweetened applesauce, I buy her unsweetened and put some cinnamon in it for her.  Her first birthday cake was sweetened with pure maple syrup.  She doesn't know the difference and has learned to appreciate the natural sweetness of things like fruit and honey.  

   I have recently discovered a lovely blog, Choosing Raw, and found the most wonderful dessert recipe I have tried in quite a while.  I am seriously excited about this discovery.  She calls this fantastic treat "Banana Soft Serve".  This is a great name as it does resemble soft serve ice cream.  But get this:  it only has ONE ingredient.  How's that for whole food eating?  Just ONE simple, lovely ingredient.  A frozen banana.  All you have to do is freeze a banana (or two or three...) and put it in your food processor.  (Don't have a food processor?  Get one!  Even if it's just for this recipe.  Get one.)   

                                          

Let the processor run for about 5 minutes (or less), until you get a creamy, ice cream-looking substance.  

                                        

That's it.  You have a delicious dessert, without any added sugar or other yucky ingredients, in 5 minutes!  I have had this three times now; twice I ate it plain. like so:  

                                        

It is also good with a little chocolate topping.  I made the chocolate topping with 1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 T. agave nectar.  Very yummy.  We made this at my brother's this weekend and my sister-in-law and I both agreed that it would also be delish with a crunchy topping, such as nuts or granola.  

                                      

This is a dessert that I can feel good about serving to Meghan.  I don't want her to ever feel deprived of good food; my goal is for her to develop a palette that can appreciate and enjoy naturally sweet foods. We shared a bowl of this last week and she loved it.  I know she doesn't feel deprived so far.  :-)  

Carefree lunches

   As I mentioned yesterday, we just got back from a two-week vacation.  We are barely going to get unpacked before we will be back on the road again as we are heading to Chicago for the weekend.  With such a short time between trips, I'm keeping lunches simple this week.  Meghan started out with a bowl of organic peas with a some butter.  (I used frozen so I just had to heat them up in the microwave for 30 seconds)  She ate the entire bowl--she really likes peas.  Here she is enjoying her first course:

   While she was eating her peas, I prepared her a classic grilled cheese sandwich, with a little sprinkle of kelp.  Kelp, or seaweed, contains nearly 30 minerals so I sprinkle it on certain foods whenever I can.  Just a healthy little add-on to boost the nutrition of a regular old grilled cheese.  Here's my kelp container:

I bought an empty spice container with a sprinkle top and buy the kelp from the bulk section of the health food store.  Here's the sandwich before I put it in the panini press.  (Using the panini press is so much easier than a pan!)  The swiss cheese I used was so holy I needed to use two pieces.  

And here's the grilled cheese:

Meghan only ate half of her sandwich, so I helped her out and finished the second half.  Last, she had three handfuls of organic grapes.  She was eating them faster than I could slice them in half!  

My easy lunch was the leftover quinoa salad from last night. 

 So yummy and very satisfying!

I have a confession to make:  I love Starbucks.  Love it.  I crave their yummy coffee drinks a lot, but try to only get them occasionally.  It's that darn sugar.  Grrr.  Anyway,  I was craving one after putting Meghan down for her nap.  Since my daughter was sleeping and slipping out to Starbucks was not an option, I decide to make my own, somewhat healthier version.  I wanted to make a Frappicino (sp?) style drink of blended coffee, but once I got all of my ingredients in the magic bullet, I didn't have room for 

ice! 

So instead, I just had an iced coffee drink.  I am sipping it now and it is yummy.  Here's what went into it:  1 cup coffee, 1 cup soy milk, 1/2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 T. agave nectar.  It turned out not too sweet with a subtle chocolate flavor.  And no refined sugar like the kind I would have gotten at Starbucks!  I made more than I needed, so the extra was put into the fridge.  

Well I am off to get the less fun things accomplished during the rest of Meghan's nap.  Tonight I am going to make my first attempt at grilled pizza.  I'll keep you updated on how it turns out.  

Hiatus Over

     I took a break from my food blog for various reasons over the past months.  I wasn't sure when I'd get back to it, and then something weird happened to me in the last few weeks.  I've found myself thinking as if I'm blogging.  It's really strange- as I'm eating or preparing a meal, I find myself thinking about what I'd write about it, actually writing the blog in my head.  I guess that was my sign that I ought to get back to the food blogging thing.  So, here I am, ready to jump back in with no particular plan in mind.  I really don't know what format I'll use; I'm not going to make any promises or declarations, but I will say that I feel like I want to do this everyday.  We'll see if that motivation continues or is just a passing fancy.
   We just got back from a two-week vacation last night, so today there was not much food in the house.  We did have some eggs and an unopened package of shredded cheese, so Meghan and I had cheese omelettes, with a little milled flax seed sprinkled in there, for breakfast.  On a side note--why is it that organic eggs last so long?  I buy local organic eggs and the expiration date on them is always like a month or more away.  It seems like in the day when I didn't buy organic or local eggs they didn't last that long.  Weird.  Anyway, Tim left for work before we were up, but I don't think he had anything for breakfast.  Hopefully he didn't stop at McDonald's.  
    There was no hope for lunch, so a trip to the grocery store was in order.  We got back shortly before it was time for Meghan's lunch, so I didn't have much time to prepare her food.   It was a quick and easy lunch day for Meghan.  I started out with about a 1/4 cup of frozen green beans.  Frozen veggies are so quick and easy, they've been a staple in Meghan's diet.  I feel good about serving them to her because in many cases they can have more nutrients than the "fresh" variety in the grocery store since the veggies are frozen so quickly after they are harvested.  Often the "fresh" veggies are traveling such a far way by the time they get to your local store they've lost a significant amount of nutrients.  So, I popped the grean beans in the microwave with a little water for 30 seconds and they were good to go.  Here she is enjoying her first course:

  This picture shows quite accurately how she feels about green beans.  Eh, they're okay.  She ate them, though, so I can't complain.  After this picture, the battery on my camera died. (You know that two-week vacation I mentioned?  We took over 500 pictures.)  So for the rest of the meal you will just have to rely on mental visualization.  After the green beans, I gave her some shelled edamame (again, frozen).  She loves her some soy beans.  I munched on a few of them, as well, because at this point I was getting a little hungry, too.  Next was a slice of bread with Vermont Monkey Business peanut butter.  This peanut butter was something we found at a little store on our vacation.  I thought it sounded so interesting--natural peanut butter with raisins and banana.  It sounds good, right?   Well, it is.  BUT.  This store had a convenient way of not putting price tags on things.  We didn't even think about it; I just assumed the pb would cost $5-6.  Wrong.  It was an $11 bottle of peanut butter!  It's good, but not that good.  Anyway, her last course was some honeydew melon.  I'm not sure what I was thinking buying a silly honeydew.  It's not in season and it really wasn't that great.  Meghan ate it, nonetheless.  She loves, loves, loves fruit.
   After Meghan went down for her nap, I could devote a few minutes to my own lunch.  I decided on a Tomato-Spinach sandwich with sliced strawberries for dessert.  Here were my ingredients:

Oat Nut bread, baby spinach, a tomato, baby swiss cheese, and some Veganaise (vegan mayo).

I love warm sandwiches, even in the summer, so decided to use the panini press for this one.  I love my panini press!  Here's the sandwich before the panini press:

And here was the final result:

I couldn't fit the whole tomato on the sandwich, so I had the extra slices on the side with a tiny bit of sea salt.  Yum! This was a great lunch.
  When Meghan woke from her nap, we shared a lovely smoothie for a snack.  The ingredients were:  5 strawberries, a handful of honeydew chunks, three heaping tablespoons of plain, organic yogurt, and a tablespoon of raw honey.  It was delicious and Meghan hogged most of it.  Here is Meghan enjoying her smoothie:

    For dinner I bought a few thinly sliced, skinless, boneless, chicken breasts and a bunch of asparagus for the grill.  Don't you just love grilling season?  It's so easy and grilled food tastes soooooo good.  For the chicken I did  a simple marinade of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, and dried thyme (I didn't measure; just put in what seemed like a good amount).  I marinated it for about 2 hours before grilling.  The asparagus was the usual:  drizzled with olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.  Here's the chicken and asparagus on the grill:

  For another side dish, I prepared an Italian Quinoa Salad.  This turned out really tasty, so I'll share my on-the-fly recipe:

Italian Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups cooked or 1- 15 oz can (drained and well-rinsed) Great Northern beans
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed), chopped
2 T. pine nuts, toasted
1 large handful fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard

Bring the vegetable broth to a boil over high heat.  Add quinoa, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and leave cover on for 10 more minutes.
In a large bowl, carefully combine quinoa, beans, tomatoes, basil, and pine nuts.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, and mustard.  Drizzle oil mixture over the quinoa and mix until evenly coated.  Serve warm.
Yield:  6-8 servings.
Here's the complete dinner:

     As you can clearly see and read, I am not eating vegan (or even vegetarian) lately.  I am somewhat nutritionally confused.  I've been reading nutrition books with conflicting messages and trying to figure out where I stand. Right now my view is "everything in moderation".  My nutrition journey is continuing to evolve and I know I will figure out the healthiest path, eventually.
   Okay, so I don't think I'll be writing this much everyday.  I guess I was feeling overly ambitious after my long hiatus.  More realistically, I may write about one meal everyday.  We will see.

Toddler Tuesday: Healthy Add-Ons

Is it Tuesday again already?  Yikes.  We went out of town Thursday for the Easter weekend, so this blog hasn't been in the forefront of my mind.  Then I remembered...Toddler Tuesday!  I have to blog on Tuesday if no other day, right? ;-)  Since we have been traveling, I haven't exactly been preparing creative meals for Meghan, so I thought this installment of Toddler Tuesday would be about healthy ingredients you can often add to the food you are already feeding your toddler.  Even if these ingredients aren't part of a recipe or food you are preparing, they can be sprinkled on or mixed in without much change to the taste or texture of the original (in most cases).  We all know that every mother worries that her toddler is getting enough of all the vital nutrients that will affect his growth and development. These healthy add-ons have many of those important nutrients and are simple to add into your toddler's diet.

Flaxseeds
I was first given the idea to include flaxseeds in Meghan's food when she was still a baby.  She was around 7 months old and had only been on solid food for a month.  Her digestive system was having difficulty with the transition and she experienced some awful constipation.  A lactation consultant advised me to add flaxseed oil to her food.  I tried that, but the taste was too strong for her.  (Have you tried the oil?  I can't blame her-it is STRONG!)  Later I discovered flaxseed meal and started adding that to her food and I now add it to my food as well.  Flaxseeds are a great cure for constipation because they have a high fiber content.  Meghan gets some flaxseed everyday and is now quite regular.  Flaxseeds are also high in lignans, a powerful antioxidant that helps keep immune systems strong.  Another benefit is that flaxseeds have a substantial amount of ALA essential fatty acids (Omega 3s).  I sprinkle flaxseed meal in Meghan's yogurt or smoothie, add it to her cheese omelette,  use it as part of a coating or breading for many foods, and try to include it in muffins or other baked goods.

Blackstrap Molasses 
This is a sweetener that is actually good for you.  Really.  Blackstrap molasses is the byproduct of the process of turing sugar cane into table sugar.  Guess where all the nutrients from the sugar cane go?  Not into the table sugar, that's a safe bet.  The dark, sticky liquid called blackstrap molasses gets all the good stuff and the good stuff includes iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, and potassium.  If you have a toddler who doesn't like meat (or is a vegetarian) or you don't think drinks enough milk, blackstrap molasses is a great way to add extra iron and calcium into her diet.  You can add this sticky liquid into a variety of foods, including yogurt, oatmeal or other whole grain cereal, cooked whole grains, or baked goods.

Kelp
If you have a toddler (or spouse!) who only likes a limited number of foods, kelp is a great add-on to offset any deficiencies that may result from that lack of variety.  Kelp is a marine plant with many nutritional benefits.  You can buy it, usually in the bulk foods section, of any health food store.  I bought a small salt  shaker for my kelp so it's easy to sprinkle in any dish.  Kelp is a great source of iodine, vitamin A, niacin,  calcium, iron, and protein.  You can easily add kelp to most any foods, but I especially love to sprinkle it into a vegetable stir-fry or casseroles.

Wheat Germ
The wheat germ is a small part of the wheat kernel that is removed during the processing of whole wheat into white flour. (They always take the good stuff out!)  Wheat germ can be used as a natural supplement as it is rich in many beneficial nutrients, including B vitamins, calcium, fiber, iron, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, protein, and zinc.  Wheat germ can be used much in the same way as flaxseed meal.  You can also use wheat germ to replace up to one half cup of flour in your baking.

These are just a few healthy add-ons you can start using that will help you rest easier that your toddler is getting the nutrients he needs.  Do you have any more healthy add-ons to add to the list?  Please include your ideas in the comment section!

Toddler Tuesday: Spinach Nuggets with a Fun Yogurt Dipping Sauce

    I was rereading part of Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron and she lists the "Super Green Veggies" as kale, broccoli, greens, brussels sprouts, asparagus, swiss chard, okra, peas, and spinach.  She suggests that babies and toddlers (and the rest of us, too, I suppose) should have at least one serving of vegetables from this group everyday.  I have to be honest and say that Meghan only eats three of those vegetables on a somewhat regular basis (broccoli, asparagus, and peas) and she definitely doesn't get at least one serving a day.  I was inspired to try to accomplish this feat, however, and decided to try to create a kid-friendly recipe that included spinach.  I include spinach in my own cooking all the time, but Meghan doesn't usually want any part of the leaves.  This recipe for spinach nuggets was a success.  The nuggets were crispy and tasty.  These are perfect for a toddler, but would also be great for a healthy snack for older kids.  I was able to do all the prep and get them into the oven while Meghan watched Sesame Street.  They cooked in the oven and were ready by the lunch time.  While they were cooking I decided a fun dipping sauce would be appropriate, especially since Meghan seems to love dipping her foods lately.  With just a few simple ingredients, making the sauce is quite easy, and Meghan enjoyed "helping" me.  You can make the dipping sauce, or just use ketchup. :-)

Spinach Nuggets


1/4 cup sliced almonds*
2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach
1 1/2 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs, divided
2 eggs
1/4 cup flaxseed meal**
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar, but any kind will be fine)

*If you haven't introduced nuts to your toddler yet, try to substitute extra bread crumbs.  I started introducing nuts at age 1 with Meghan and haven't had any issues.
**If you don't have flaxseed meal on hand, you can use extra breadcrumbs here as well.  Flaxseeds are nutritional powerhouses, though, so I highly recommend you keep flaxseed meal on hand.  It's easy to sprinkle in to most any recipe or snack.  I currently use Bob's Red Mill brand.

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Place the almonds in the food processor and process until they turn into a fine crumb.

Step 2
Add the two handfuls of spinach and pulse until you have a green crumb-like mixture. Set aside.

 Step 3

Whisk the two eggs in a small bowl.                                                                                        

Step 4
Add the spinach-almond mixture, 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, the flaxseed, basil, oregano, and cheese and mix until evenly incorporated.

Step 5
Place the remaining cup of breadcrumbs in a small bowl.  Using your hands, form a small portion of the spinach mixture into a ball and roll it in the breadcrumbs until it is fully covered.

Put it on the cookie sheet and press it down to form a nugget shape.  Repeat with remaining spinach mixture and breadcrumbs.  You should end up with 15-20 small nuggets.

Step 6
Bake for 25 minutes, turning the nuggets over halfway through the cooking time.  Allow to cool and serve.

Yogurt-Thyme Dipping Sauce


1/4 cup yogurt*
1/8 cup tahini (sesame paste)
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 avocado
1 tsp. dried thyme

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

*I used full-fat yogurt as fat is extremely important for the developing brains of babies under 2.  If you have an older child, you may want to use low-fat or non-fat yogurt.

Here is Meghan enjoying her nugget.  Please excuse the crazy-baby hair.  She was in a I-don't-want-to-keep-my-bow-in kind of mood.  She ended up enjoying the dip a little too much and eating the rest of it with her hands. I didn't mind since the ingredients were healthy.

Later in the meal when she was having her peanut butter banana "sandwiches" (cut a banana length-wise, spread with peanut butter, put it back together, and slice), she decided to dip those as well.  Gross, but whatevs.  

Since there was a nice, big batch of nuggets, I froze them.  I put two nuggets each into small plastic bags, and then put those inside a ziplock freezer bag.  These will be simple to pull out and pop in the microwave for a quick veggie side or snack.  

Toddler Tuesday: Cheesy Broccoli, Rice, and Beans

  I thought I would dedicate my Tuesday blogs to toddler food.  Feeding a toddler is a challenging task as their taste memories are so short.  One day Meghan will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a certain food, and the next day act like she has never tasted something so disgusting.  Since I am always looking for new ideas, I thought I would put out there some of the healthy meal or snack options that have worked for us.
    I only cook meat once a week (at the most) so that is how often Meghan is offered meat.  She often refuses it when I offer, so it is not unusual for her to go weeks without any meat.  Because of this I am careful to prepare foods for her that provide the nutrients she would normally get from meat, such as protein and iron.  I try to include a variety of whole grains, vegetables, beans, legumes, and fruit in her diet.  For dinner she typically eats what we are eating.
                                                        This was her lunch yesterday.

In typical toddler style, she ate each part separately, picking out the beans and eating those first, then the broccoli, and finally the rice. This is a well-rounded meal that is packed with nutrients. The rice and beans together provide a complete protein, the beans are a good source of iron and fiber, and the broccoli is, well, a super food. Oh, right, the cheese.  That makes it taste better.  Here's the basic "recipe",  but you can't really call it that. ;-)

Cheesy Broccoli, Beans, and Rice

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/4 cup steamed broccoli florets, chopped to toddler size bites

2 tablespoons cooked white beans (I used canned organic navy beans. If you use canned, organic usually has less salt)

2 tablespoons shredded mild cheddar cheese

Place rice, broccoli, and beans in a small microwavable bowl.  Top with cheddar cheese.  Microwave for 10-30 seconds, until cheese is lightly melted.  

Yield:  1-4 toddler servings, depending on your little one's appetite