Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Nuggets

I have been posting a number of recipes lately that have iron rich foods as main ingredients and this is one of them. Broccoli is high in fiber, vitamin C, iron and much much more! For more nutritional information on broccoli, check out wholesomebabyfood.com's information on Broccoli. Broccoli has a very strong flavor, but this recipe seems to tone down the strong flavor to me. If your little one does not like this at first, try it several days in a row at the noon meal (maybe 4 days in a row), take a several day break and then repeat. I will write more on testing new foods in another blog post one day :)

Overall Review: I sampled this food like I do most when I offer it to Little Joy...and I loved it. I might to make these for my husband and I too next time!! I think the texture (somewhat crispy) took Little Joy slightly off guard at first. This makes a great finger food OR food to use with a fork. I had a bit of trouble getting the right ratio, but honestly you just have to eyeball somethings. I halved the recipe that follows.

Ingredients:

• 1 16-oz Package frozen broccoli, cooked, drained, and chopped
• 1 cup seasoned/Italian bread crumbs
• 1 ½ cups REAL shredded cheddar cheese (I used medium cheddar)
• 3 large eggs or 5 egg yolks (If eggs are in a baked good you do not have to worry about it as much, but if your little one is less than a year are not sure what to do ask your pediatrician or use the yolks only)
• Spices of your choice (garlic, basil, etc--I did not add any this time since I know the bread crumbs I purchase have lots already in them)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside (I used a silpat)
3. Combine all ingredients and mix well. *Add seasonings if you like - garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example. Add a fruit or veggie puree to substitute for the eggs if desired.
4. Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..and place on baking tray.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes.
6. Serve warm - Chop or mash these broccoli nuggets if your baby isn't able to handle bigger finger foods.

Yield: 16 with the half to 3/4 of the recipe.

Serve: Serve warm and mashed up, cut up into bite sized finger food pieces OR if your baby is older give them the whole nugget for them to bite off themselves.

Timing: 8-10 months since broccoli has a strong flavor AND tends to cause gas. If your little one has any tummy issues as mine did, you may want to introduce broccoli later rather than sooner. Be sure to watch your baby carefully as they eat this if they do not have molars. Using this as a finger food is, in my opinion, for the more experienced finger food eater. Even though Little Joy does not have molars, she has demonstrated an ability to (most of the time) bite off small bites from larger foods. I gave this to her as a finger food and also gave her half a nugget to gnaw on. ALSO, she used her fork to pick these up and had a big time!!!

Difficulty: 2 out of 5; simply because it is messy when you make the nugget shapes :)

Epicutie Rating: Yummy in the Tummy---see right side of page for descriptions

Little Joy made a few funny faces with the first bite, but ended up eating two nuggets for lunch!! This was not the first time she had broccoli, we had to try broccoli about a dozen times prior to this before she liked it. Remember...you must preserve!

Ingredients

Cooked and chopped broccoli

Step 3: Combine all ingredients.

Step 4: Shape into balls (or whatever fun shape you decide)

Step 6: Serve Warm (this is after fully cooking and flipping after 15 min)

Served chopped up along with one of her favorites, Turkey Loaf (top of plate)

Braving the first bite.

Initial reaction; I think she was expecting something else.

Second bite...and loving it!

Trying a big nugget...and she handled it fine!!