Banana Porridge

If you want easy---this is IT....Banana Porridge!   This is my go to breakfast for my kids and has been since they were both about 15 months old.

Ingredients:

• Ripe Banana
• 1/2 Cup Quick Oats 100% Oats Oatmeal
• 1 Cup Water (or Milk)
• Dash of Salt

Steps:

1. Cut the banana into small pieces (I usually cut it lengthwise in an X and then slice horizontally making small triangle pieces.  Place in a large cereal bowl.
2. Add oats, water and dash of salt into bowl.  Stir to combine.
3. Microwave for two minutes.
4. Remove from microwave and allow to stand for at least 5 minutes (so it can thicken).
5. Serve...watch out its hot!

Yield:  I split this between my 21 month old and 3 year old and its JUST enough for them both so---two hearty toddler servings.

Note:  I have also used applesauce and cinnamon vs bananas and even strawberries too!

Timing:  As early as 9 months if they are good at chewing

Difficulty:  1 out of 5; easy as it gets!

Epicutie Rating:

Little Joy and Little Asher:  YUMMY IN THE TUMMY!  Sometimes Little Joy gets tired of having it day in and day out but she always gobbles it up and then sometimes says "so tomorrow we will have something new" :)

Broccoli Orzo

My friend made this for Little Joy and I one day because her Epicutie, Little Kate, LOVES it. We agree and even my texture picky Little Asher loves it two, with some lower dairy alterations of course. I love it too; I always enjoy a serving at lunch when we make it.

Try this. Try this. Try this.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked orzo
• 1 to 2 large bunches of fresh broccoli; alter amount to your taste
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (Parmesan cheese doesn't bother little Asher like most cheeses)
• 1/4 cup sharp cheese, shredded (I substituted one slice of sharp veggie slices so Little Asher could try it) more or less to your taste
• splash to one tablespoon milk (we used almond milk)
• dash pepper

Steps:

1. Prepare orzo according to package instructions
2. Steam broccoli and finely chop
3. Mix all ingredients together
4. Serve warm

Timing: 9 months as long as the ingredients have been introduced alone first to determine allergies.

Storage: 3 to 5 days in the fridge. I don't recommend freezing this.

Tip: You can boil the broccoli with the orzo to make this even easier and less clean up. I opt to steam because a) I have a steamer and b) steaming retains more nutrients than boiling. But we are mommys and sometimes we just have to focus on saving time.

Difficulty: 1 out of 5. Other than a purée this might be the easiest recipe I have posted!

Epicutie Rating:

-Little Joy: Yummy in The Tummy; Every time my friend or I has made this for Little Joy she eats it up fast!

Little Asher: Yummy in the Tummy; I was surprised little Asher loved this because he does not like the texture of broccoli; thats why I chop it up real fine. And he loves it. It tastes like broccoli so it's texture not taste. The first time I made this he ate so much I had to cut him off!!

I love to eat this too so it's on put short list now!!! Thanks to Little Kate's mom for letting us post and review the recipe!

Apple and Butternut Squash Soup

We had a big snow a few days ago (more is headed this way) and nothing says snow to me than homemade soup.  Of course, I look for any reason to make soup.  This simple recipe comes from a 2011 issue of Parents magazine; the cut out had slipped to the bottom of my pile!

This is on the fall/winter short list, the whole family enjoyed it!  It was easy, healthy and delish!

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes (approx. 3.5 cups)
• 2 medium apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth

Steps:

1. In a large pot, heat oil on medium heat.
2. Add carrots, celery and onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes or until tender and starting to brown.
3. Add squash, apples and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until squash is tender.
4. Cool slightly.
5. Puree soup in batches using a food processor or all at once using an immersion blender.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Yield:  Six adult servings.

Timing:  9 months; its like a puree so it should be easy to serve up to baby.  Just be sure to test these ingredients separate first to ensure no allergies.

Difficulty: 2 out of 5; the hardest part is peeling and cutting the squash.  It is VERY easy as far as soups go and it does not require a lot of attention while it cooks--which is always good for me!

Tip:  Chop everything but the apples earlier in the day or the night before to save time at dinner prep time.  This time of the day is always the most chaotic for me...kids waking up from naps (sometimes too early), daddy coming home, making dinner, kids getting hungry, etc.  So anything I can do to save time and minimize chaos around dinner time is great!

Nutrition Facts:  For those of you counting, 185 calories, 6g protein, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 88mg calcium,

Epicutie Ratings (see left side of page for descriptions)

• Little Joy: Yummy in the Tummy; Gobbled up a whole bowl without stopping.  She's been pushing back on foods and feeding herself every since her little brother has joined our meals.
• Little Asher: Yummy in the Tummy; Fussed every time I put the bowl down to take a bite of my own soup!!  I decided to feed him because I thought a liquid soup would be a catastrophic mess!

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe was inspired by the greatest chef I know, my mother. It's simple yet scrumptious. Soup soothes the soul on a cold day, we love soup! Soups can be difficult for young children not only because of the broth but because of all the varying textures. However, I am happy to report both my epicuties loved this simple soup, even the texture adverse Little Asher!
Ingredients:
-4 medium carrots, finely diced
-4 celery stalks, finely diced
-1/2 to 1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
-2-4 tablespoons olive oil (could use butter instead or half butter, half olive oil)
-1/4 cup flour
-10 1/2 cups chicken stock (more or less depending how much broth you want; I used Knoors chicken stock concentrate and loved it)
-Store cooked Rotisserie chicken, per cooked (this was left over from dinner a few nights before)
-Wheat egg noodles (amount depends on how many noodles you like)
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-Frozen peas (amount it to your liking)
Steps:
1) Heat oil in large stock pot and add onions, carrots and celery. Sautée until all veggies are soft.
2) Add flour and cook for two more minutes.
3) Gradually add chicken stock until boiling.
4) Add coarsely chopped chicken and uncooked noodles, bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer until noodles are cooked to al dente
5) Add salt and pepper to taste.
6) Add frozen peas and cook for 3-5 more minutes.
Serve: We used kitchen scissors to coarsely chop the soup and removed the majority of the broth for Little Asher. We cut the noodles up slightly for little joy but gave her broth!
Yield: oh way too much. Like 10!!!!
Timing: 9 months. Everything was super set and easy to gum with very few teeth, especially if you coarsely chop it.
Difficulty: 3 out of 5; I only give it what high of a rating because the chopping can be time consuming. Minus the chopping this is a one. Tip: chop the day before or earlier in the day when kiddos are sleeping.
Epicutie Rating:
Little Joy: Yummy in the Tummy; "mmmm mommy thanks for dinner, I love it" followed by her cheese ball smile.
Little Asher: Yummy in the Tummy; He polished off two bowls, which totally surprised us!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Spinach and Brussels Sprouts Marinara

This is a MIRACLE RECIPE! As I mentioned, I have been reading “Eat to Live” by Joel Fuhrman, and I am trying to make major changes in our diet, one of which is to make sure that we greatly increase our green vegetable intake.

I originally made this recipe with no intention of putting it on LTY because I didn’t think that Little Frances would touch it!  If any of you have read the book, you know that I took a few liberties with his recommendations (namely I added salt and a little bit of parmesan cheese), but between that and the recipe, we managed to get Little Frances to GOBBLE, and I mean GOBBLE down Brussels sprouts! Amazing.

Not only that, this recipe is so easy, I cannot say enough good things about it. Try it, try it, try it!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• 14 ounces baby spinach
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onions, chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can no or low salt chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Dr Fuhrman’s VegiZest or other no-salt seasoning

Steps:

1. Steam the Brussels sprouts and spinach for 8 minutes, or until the Brussels sprouts are almost tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat the water in a large pot and water sauté the garlic and onion until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the Brussels sprouts and spinach, chopped tomatoes, and VegiZest.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

Miscellaneous:

• Since I do not have VegiZest or another no-salt seasoning (I have ordered some for future use), I just used a little bit of salt, some pepper, onion powder, and a dash of cayenne pepper.
• I only had frozen spinach and Brussels sprouts, and it turned out fine.  I used much less than 14 ounces since frozen spinach is more concentrated than baby spinach.
• Although the recipe doesn’t call for it, and is also not recommended, I did sprinkle a little bit of parmesan on this for added flavor.

Timing: If you used a no salt seasoning, this can be introduced as early as 9 months, as long as it is will mashed or pureed before serving.

Difficulty Rating: 2 out of 5!!! It dirties two pots, that’s the only reason it gets a 2.  Its really so simple and fast.  It’s the perfect side dish.

Epicute Rating: Yummy in the Tummy! <----- See left side of the page for descriptions.

I believe the word I am looking for is shovel!  Look at Little Frances go!

Cinnamon-Maple Quinoa

In an effort to try to incorporate more easy, healthy grains and side dishes into my normally “one pot dinner” mix, I have had been making a few quinoa dishes.  I have to say, we are not loving quinoa, even though it has a fairly mild taste.  I thought that I would try a breakfast recipe with quinoa and change things up a bit.  We love breakfast and love making things sweeter... however, it was still not a big hit!  However, we try to share our failures here on LTY as well as our successes, and you might have better luck with your epicutie!  This recipe comes from Double Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup sweet potato puree (We do not have sweet potatoes where I live so I used pureed butternut squash and I think a carrot puree would also work.  If you do not have any of the above, try a 1/2 cup of applesauce.)
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup light vanilla soy milk or milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 teaspoons pure maple syrup divided, for garnish
• 6 teaspoons chopped or ground walnuts or almonds, divided for garnish

Steps:

1. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa in cold water and strain in a fine colander or cheesecloth.
3. Add the quinoa to the boiling water and reduce heat to a simmer.
4. Cook for 12 minutes, uncovered and remove from heat.  Let sit covered for 5 minutes.
5. In a separate pan, melt the butter.
6. Stir in sweet potato puree, 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup, milk, cinnamon and salt. 
7. When the quinoa has finished cooking, stir in the sweet potato mixture.
8. Divide into bowls and top with a teaspoon each of maple syrup and nuts.

Yield: 6

Timing: If you leave out the nut topping, this recipe can be given as early as 9 months, with the nut topping, 12 months as long as the nuts are finely ground and your epicutie has no nut allergies.

Miscellaneous:

• Rinsing the quinoa is very important!  I left this step out when I first made this recipe because I was not sure how I would strain it, but I had to throw away my entire first batch because it did not turn out.  The second time, I used a sturdy paper towel in my wire colander and that worked well.
• I ground the nuts since I still do not feel comfortable giving Little Frances nuts that require a lot of chewing.

Difficulty: 2 out of 5.  Its pretty easy, but you have to dirty two pots.  I hate dirtying two pots and it takes a while.  Also, this is not a quick breakfast recipe and is more work than I like to do early in the morning.

Epicutie Rating: Somewhat Yummy! ----See left side of the page for descriptions.

Epicutie Frances was willing to try many, many bites of this at first, so by our LTY standards this one is Somewhat Yummy.  I think she ate so much because I told her it was like oatmeal, and she loves oatmeal! However, she seemed to really hate it the more she ate it.  She even gave it to her dad and said “Here Daddy, throw away” when she saw that her dad was emptying his bowl.  It would also like to add that this recipe got a big ole’ sourpuss from her mom and dad!

Turkey and White Bean Chili

This is one that I found in The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook.  While I am definitely not putting Little Frances on the South Beach Diet, this recipe looked like one that she might enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb turkey cutlets, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 (15 oz) cannellini beans. rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 oz) can Mexican diced tomatoes
• 1 cup lower-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
4. Add turkey, chili powder, and cumin; cook, stirring often, until turkey is no long pink inside, about 5 minutes.
5. Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Timing: This can be served as early as 9 months, however in certain cases I would wait until as late as 12 months depending the broth you used or your babies teeth and comfort in chewing meat.

Difficulty: I would give this 1 out of 5 – especially since I cheated and used already made rotisserie chicken that I bought from the grocery store!

Miscellaneous:

• If you don’t have white beans on hand, almost any bean will work with this versatile dish.
• Consider topping with a sprinkle of cheese, onions, or even avocado.

Epicutie Rating: Somewhat yummy! --- See left side of the page for descriptions.

Little Frances gobbled up the first few bites, but even after that she was still receptive to my encouraging her to eat it!

Ground Chicken Mini-Pizza Burgers

I cannot remember how I came across this recipe (with modifications), but it met all my criteria for a good meal – healthy, not too many ingredients, and easy for little ones to self feed with, so I thought I would give it a try!  And as a BONUS, it’s a combo of two of Little Frances’ favorite foods – pizza and hamburger.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground chicken (although any ground meat will work)
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of marinara or pizza sauce of your choice (divided into two 1/2 cup portions)
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 3 dashes black pepper
• 2 dashes garlic salt OR 1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used garlic salt)

Steps:

1. Pour 1/2 cup pizza sauce in bowl and combine with bread crumbs, cheese, pepper, garlic salt or powder and Italian seasoning.
2. Add ground chicken and mash together for 2-4 minutes to insure that all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
3. Spoon mixture into a 12 serving muffin tin.
4. Make an indentation into each pizza-burger with the back of a spoon..
5. Use the remaining pizza sauce to evenly fill the dents in the pizza-burgers.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees; cheese and sauce will be bubbly.
7. Remove pizza-burgers from the muffin pan and set on a paper towel to let any fat drip off.

Yield: 12 pizza-burgers

Timing: This one is tricky.  According to some baby food makers, all of the ingredients can be introduced as early as 9 months, however with all of the spices, I would not have given it to little Frances until she was 12 months so I will mark it as both below and you should use your best judgment.

Difficulty: 2 out of 5, easy peasy, especially if using premade marinara sauce.

Miscellaneous:

• I made my own bread crumbs by putting brown bread into a chopper.  I have to do this with any recipe that calls for bread crumbs since you cannot buy them where I live.  Usually I season them with Italian Seasoning, but as this recipe already had a tablespoon of Italian Seasoning. I didn’t do it.
• In addition, I thought that the recipe as is, called for too much Italian Seasoning so I only used half a tablespoon.  I find a little bit of it goes a very long way.
• The next time I make this recipe, I am going to add 1/2 cup butternut squash to the mixture along with 1/4 cup milled flaxseed.  I bet it would be just as good and be even healthier!
• I also have not found a bottled marinara or pizza sauce that I like where I live so I always just make my own.  Its so easy!  Just put a 26 oz jar whole, peeled tomatoes in a blender with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup carrot puree (optional), 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, a pinch of cayenne powder and blend.  Then add 1 bay leaf and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes.  Its super easy. For this recipe I just skipped the bay leaf and didn’t cook it because I knew that it would cook for a while in the oven.

Epicutie Rating: Somewhat Yummy --- See right side of the page for description

I think Little Frances would like this better if served first thing.  She is usually not as receptive to new foods when she has a tummy full of foods she already likes, although the first couple of bites she seemed to like it.

Also, don’t forget about our fundraiser for Kai!  For a donation of ANY AMOUNT (even $1), you can be entered to win a 13 cup Kitchen Aid Processor!  For details, click here:

• http://littletummyyummies.blogspot.com/2011/11/help-kai-and-win-13-cup-kitchen-aid.html

Roasted Vegetable and Red Lentil Soup

As you may have read from a few posts ago, we welcomed epicutie Asher to the world about 3 weeks ago.  Friends (some people we knew, some people we did not know) blessed with dinners for the past few weeks.  While there were many dishes that we loved, I wanted to highlight this one brought to us by Rachel.  Epicuite Joy was I-N L-O-V-E with this dish, as was I!!  I am posting this before I personally make this dish, but it was too good not to share now.  I will try to make it with a few of my own alterations when I am back into the swing of cooking as a good Little Tummy Yummies author should.

Ingredients:

• Approximately 4.5 pounds of your choice of vegetables (red onions, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, parsnips, carrots etc.; Rachel used butternut squash, sweet potatoes, red onion, carrots and a bit of tomato)
• half a head of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chermoula spice mix (OR Rachel did a combination of cumin, tumeric, and paprika adding up to 2 tablespoons)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 6 1/3 cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup red lentils

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Peel and cut all the vegetables into even cubes. Place in a large bowl with the olive oil, spice mix, salt and pepper then combine.
3. Pour into a roasting tin and roast slowly for an hour or two until tender. Turn them from time to time. You don’t want the vegetables to brown and go crisp.
4. Puree or mash up veggies slightly (depending on what texture soup you want).
5. Pour into a big pot
6. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
7. Add red lentil and bring the soup back up to the boil then let it simmer for 15 minutes or until the lentils are cooked/tender.
8. Serve warm.

Timing:  I think this could be served as early as 9 months depending on how much you puree the veggies.  This does not require teeth.  Use your judgement and remember to always introduce foods individually first.

Serve:  We ate this along side a salad and bread.  Little Joy enjoyed the soup along side some turkey loaf (my go to), although this soup could stand alone for a little one.

Potential Alterations in the Future:  When I make it, I will try adding some red wine vinegar and dijon mustard.  I had a friend, who is a great cook, suggested always adding these two ingredients to lentil soups.

Epicutie Rating:  YUMMY IN THE TUMMY--see right side of page for descriptions

Little Joy ate THREE kid sized bowl fulls and she even fed herself!!!  Although it was messy, it was wonderful to see her scarfing this down!

Butternut Squash Fries

Who doesn’t love fries???  I know I certainly do!  And I love butternut squash, so this recipe is a win-win for me, its so good.  This is a great side to almost any meal, although we have a great suggestion to pair it with below.  Its also one of the earliest finger foods that you can start your baby on!

Ingredients:

• butternut squash
• seasoning of choice, such as salt, season-all, or my personal favorite, Tony Chachere’s

Steps:

1. Peel the butternut squash with a vegetable peeler.
2. Slice the squash into fry form. For the bulb part, make sure to scoop out the seeds.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and lay the squash pieces as a single layer.
4. If your baby is very young (at least, less than 8 months), set aside a bit of the unseasoned butternut squash, and season the rest for your family.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, turning the fries over at the halfway point.

Timing: Without seasoning, this can be introduced as early as 6 months.

Meal Suggestions: Consider pairing with salmon, which is so easy to make!  Simply sprinkle the salmon with the seasoning of your choice, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Timing of fish introduction varies, but I started Little Frances on salmon at 9 months.  Click HERE to gather more information to make your decision.

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

Little Frances loves these two together!

Also, don’t forget about our Fundraiser/Giveaway. For a donation of ANY AMOUNT (even $1), you can be entered to win a 13 cup Kitchen Aid Processor!  For details, click here:

• http://littletummyyummies.blogspot.com/2011/11/help-kai-and-win-13-cup-kitchen-aid.html

7 Grain Bread

Yet another recipe submitted by my friend Heather.  I give the bread SHE made a 5 of 5 stars, but mine was not nearly as good!  I do not have a bread maker so it takes several attempts at making the bread from scratch to get it right so I am posting this recipe exactly how she sent it to me (using the bread machine).  My family and friends still enjoyed the bread, but it was really dense and did not rise well; the flavor was still there though!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 c water
• 1/2 c Grape Nuts or other 7 grain cereal, like Kashi
• 1/2 c rolled oats, blended finely in a mini-food processor (or oat flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 T molasses
• 3 T olive oil
• 3 1/2 c bread flour
• 1 pack active dry yeast

I mix all these together in a bread maker first on the dough setting, but if you don't have one, you can start by hand: Heat water to 130 degrees, add to cereal in large bowl, let stand 10 mins. Add yeast, oat flour, salts, molasses, and oil. Beat well. Cover, let stand 15 mins. Slowly add bread flour, and beat until smooth. Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and springy about 5mins, adding flour if necessary. Grease another bowl, place dough in bowl and roll until greased on all sides. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Here, either take dough out of bread maker or bowl and do the following (or you can just bake whole thing start to finish in bread maker and skip dough cycle): Grease 9 x 5 inch loaf pan or 8 or 9 inch round cake pan. Turn dough onto lightly floured board. Punch dough down and shape it into loaf. Place with smooth side up into pan. Cover and let rise again in a warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 25 to 30 mins, until loaf is golden. Remove from pan immediately and cool on rack.

Yield:  One loaf

Timing:  This is just bread so as soon as your little one has eaten grains with no issues and can gum foods, this is perfect.  I would say about 9 months

Difficulty:  5 out of 5; not using a bread machine makes this very time consuming, but I still think its worth it it's YUMMO!

Epicutie Rating:  YUMMY IN THE TUMMY--see right side of page for descriptions.
I had to make Little Joy stop eating this stuff.  She has taste buds like her Daddy.....BREAD :)  She used to hate bread now it is her best friend---go figure!

Easy At-Hand Blueberry Muffins

A few weeks ago we were coming off of a week long family illness and I had not been to the grocery store in ages… our cupboards were bare!  I had no idea what I was going to make my family for breakfast since I was down to one egg, had no yogurt, and very little milk.  Thankfully I remembered this easy recipe from my Wild About Texas cookbook (one of my favorites!), and I was able to prepare something for the whole family.  The great thing about this recipes is that you probably already have every single ingredient on hand.  I always make certain to have frozen blueberries in my freezer for this and other recipes. 

This recipe is not what I would classify as “healthy”, but it is a healthier alternative to most blueberry muffin recipes and certainly less fatty than what you would buy in the store.  I like to make this occasionally when I am in the mood for something really sweet, like chocolate chip cookies.  This still satisfies my sweet tooth and is much better for me than what I would have normally eaten!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup blueberries (I always like to add a few extra.  I love blueberries!)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in egg and milk.
4. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until moistened.
5. Fold in blueberries.
6. Spoon batter in to 10 well-greased muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. (I just add the frozen berries.  I do not bother to thaw them and it works fine.)
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Yield: 10 muffins

Timing: I would use your best judgment, although I think that these could be given as early as 9 months considering the eggs and milk are mixed and cooked. 

Storage: Refrigerator for 1 week, freezer for up to 2 months.

Difficulty: 1 out of 5!  These are so, so easy.

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

I know you are thinking… of course Little Frances loved them! Who doesn’t love blueberry muffins?  Actually she has been such a picky eater since her molars have been slowly, slowly, slowly coming in.  She has even been turning down sweets, so I was delighted with how quickly she gobbled this up, and kept asking for more.  I didn’t think she would ever get full! Her happy face says it all.

Chicken and Apple Balls

 

I found this recipe in The Healthy Baby Meal Planner and it looked like fun!  These healthy and delicious balls would work well for a variety of ages.  They make a great meal for your baby, and healthy snack for any older children.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons light olive oil, and extra for frying 
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
• 2 chicken breast fillets, cut into chunks
• 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme or sage
• 1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled (from 1 year)
• 1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs, may substitute 1 cup of oatmeal
• salt and freshly ground pepper (from 1 year)
• all purpose flour for coating

Steps:

1. Cook chicken chunks in skillet on medium high heat until cooked all the way through.
2. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a pan and sauté half of the onions
3. Peel and grate the apple, squeeze out excess juice with your hand
4. Combine all ingredients into a food processor, and pulse until well mixed
5. The mixture should be nice and pasty and stick together fairly well.  Roll into golf sized balls.
6. Fill pan with light layer of olive oil and bring to medium-high heat.
7. Lightly coat balls in flour, and pan fry for approximately 5 minutes.
8. Finished product!

Yield: Between 20 and 25 balls.

Timing: If omitting the above mentioned spices, this could be given as early as 9 months.  12 months if using all the spices.  The apple and chicken balls are very soft, and can be easily mashed in your babies teeth.

Misc: Whenever making any type of meatball or loaf that calls for breadcrumbs, I usually substitute it for oatmeal.  It tastes just as good, and it’s a little healthier!

Storage: I have saved half of the apple and chicken balls for the freezer (before coating with flour), where I will keep them up to one month in air tight Tupperware.  The balls that I have already cooked up will stay in the fridge for one week.

Difficulty: I give this a 2 out of 5!  There were a lot of little side steps before you get to the final mixture, but they were easy… even for me.

Epicutie Rating: Not so sure I like it… yet! Little Frances is coming off getting her first set of molars which has made for much pickier eating that usual.  However, I was encouraged by the several bites that she took, and I will try this again tomorrow.

Leftover Legume Loaf

Not going to lie, reading this receipe from "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron I thought "ew". Then I reminded myself, that there are many foods I like and others hate and vice versa, so I decided to give it a whirl especially considering it is a nutrition packed lil loaf! Leftover lentils in my fridge from the last time I made Bananas and Lentils compelled me to make this as well!

As I have mentioned in several previous posts, lentils are a fabulous source of fiber, protein, iron and many other nutrients. Check out wholesomebabyfood.coms nutritional information on legumes/lentils/beans.

This was the first time I have prepared anything for Little Joy with Wheat Germ and I was excited a) to finally find it in my grocery store and b) to finally get to use some!!! Wheat Germ is fabulously nutritious...it is a great source of iron, folic acid, protein and more. Again I encourage you to Check out wholesomebabyfood.coms nutritional information on Wheat Germ and Wheat and Baby Food.

Allergy Alert: Wheat is a common allergen so be careful as you introduce anything containing wheat. Some publications recommend waiting to introduce wheat until 12 months, others 8-9 months and even others...earlier. As always, when in doubt always consult with your pediatrician.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked legumes/lentils (I used red lentils; for information on cooking lentils check out this "How-To" cook lentils site)
• 1 cup wheat germ, ground nuts or whole grain bread crumbs (I used wheat germ)
• 1 cup liquid such as milk, soy milk or tomato juice with no salt (I used milk, I may try tomato juice next time I make this)
• Seasonings: parsley, powdered or minced garlic, onions and other seasonings (I used two dashes garlic powder, about 2 tablespoons diced onion, dash of basil, tiny bit of thyme....basically I made it up as I went along)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients throughly
3. Place mixture into a loaf pan (I greased mine with a tiny bit of olive oil)
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until firm
5. Serve warm as finger food

Yield: One loaf; see photos

Storage: Refrigerated for 3-5 days and frozen for up to 1-2 months. Let me remind you, this is not scientific--just how I plan to store my "supply"/

Difficulty: 2 out of 5, this is super fast and easy especially if you are using left over cooked lentils from another recipe.

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

I was shocked but Little Joy LOVED this nutrient packed loaf...wow. Goes to show I should not underestimate her "sophisticated pallet" (as my mother calls it). I hope she continues to like it, this will be a go to for me since I always have left over lentils!

Ingredients

Step 3: Place Mixture in pan

After baking

First bite...I just knew she would not like it...

Washing it down...

But going back for more....This epicutie loved it!

Steamed Asparagus

Asparagus, not a food many people enjoy but yet it is packed full of iron and fiber. Iron rich foods have been the theme lately, so it made sense to test something asparagus related. For more nutritional information on asparagus, check out wholesomebabyfood.com's asparagus page.

As I mentioned in my Creamy Asparagus Soup post, I was shocked that Little Joy loved the plain steamed asparagus but not the soup. As a general rule, the more flavor packed something is, the more she seems to like it; not so in this case!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound asparagus with bottom inch of stalk cut off (I would do less if you can if this is the first time your little one has tried this)
• Seasonings if desired (My mother is a cooking expert and she recommends no seasoning for asparagus since it has a strong flavor on its own)

Steps:

• If using a steamer, steam according to the directions with your appliance
• If using a metal colander and boiling water (see post "No Steamer, No Problem") then steam until tender; about 15-20 minutes
• Serve warm and chopped into finger food/bite sized pieces
• OR puree adding water to thin as necessary

Yield: Depends on how much you steam.

Storage: Fridge for 3-4 days; I would not recommend freezing.

Difficulty: 1 out of 5; super easy and a great nutritional side item for lunch or dinner

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

Little Joy surprised me by gobbling up 4 stalks at one meal. Maybe it was because it was new, maybe it was just a good day but either way I was so excited. My husband and I love steamed asparagus, so this is a great family side item for us!

No pictures, sorry guys!!!

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Asparagus, not a food many people enjoy but yet it is packed full of iron and fiber. Iron rich foods have been the theme lately, so it made sense to test something asparagus related. For more nutritional information on asparagus, check out wholesomebabyfood.com's asparagus page.

I wanted to try this particular recipe because it was not just PLAIN asparagus; I thought that would ease Little Joy into it. However, as you will see in the epicutie rating, she was not a fan. Oddly, she loved plain steamed asparagus; I was shocked! Just because this epicutie does not like it does not mean yours wont, so try it out and let us know what you think!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen asparagus or 1 pound fresh (diced and with an inch or so of the "bottom" of the asparagus removed because it can be tough)
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup fat free plain yogurt
• 1/2 cooked and diced chicken breast

Steps:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add onion and sauté until tender.
3. Add asparagus, chicken broth, basil and garlic powder and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until asparagus is tender.
5. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt and chicken.
6. Purée in batches in a blender (I used a chopper because I do not have a blender)
7. Serve warm

Yeild: TONS

Storage: Fridge for several days. I lost track of time and forgot to freeze this, so I am not sure how well (or not) it will freeze--sorry readers!

Timing: I would recommend 8-10 months until your baby has any gas or tummy issues in which case maybe 12 months would be better. After you puree this it is pretty thin so even babies with few teeth can eat it.

Difficulty: 3 of 5 since it over all took awhile between chopping everything, simmering and pureeing. It was not a difficult recipe just time consuming.

Epicutie Rating: Sour Puss--see right side of page for descriptions

I am actually sorta glad Little Joy did not enjoy this dish because I was worried people would think I was exaggerating about Little Joy thinking most every food was "Yummy in the Tummy". I suspect the yogurt is what she did not like. Little Joy does NOT like the brand of plain yogurt I bought this last time. We attempted this food several times and with each attempt she liked it less and less. BUT as I said in the introduction---she LOVED plain steamed asparagus. Clearly it was not the asparagus flavor she did not like. Just because this epicutie does not like it does not mean yours wont, so try it out and let us know what you think!!!

A random note here...I recommend trying EVERY food 8-12 times over the course of a few weeks before "giving up" for a while. Remember, all foods are new to our little ones so it is natural that they will baulk at a few things. By "giving up" I mean, taking a break for a month or so before trying the food again or trying a new preparation of it. Our tastes buds are constantly evolving. Remember.... persevere, persevere, persevere.

Step 2: Sauté onions until tender

Step 4: Allowing to simmer

Step 5: Adding cooked chicken and yogurt

Before pureeing

Step 6: After pureeing

Just seeing and smelling this made her make a strange face.

SOUR PUSS!!! LOL!

Salmon with Carrots and Tomato

It isn’t very often that two pen pals get together (less than 2 times in three years to be precise)!  So when we found out that Little Joy and Little Frances were going to have the opportunity to finally meet, we mamas wanted to make something extra special to commemorate the occasion!  As a rule, we try not to make things that are very fancy on this blog, but sometimes it fun to experiments and I love to celebrate a special occasion with food.  :)  I have been wanting to try to make fish, so I decided to try our luck with salmon.  I found this recipe in The Healthy Baby Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel.  Like most fish, salmon is filled chock full of essential fatty acids (EFA), also known as omega-3s.  EFAs help fight off many diseases are important for brain development… some people say they can make you “smarter”.  You can find more about the health benefits and hazards of fish here.  Some fish may contain high levels of mercury, which can lead to mercury poisoning, however salmon is not generally considered hazardous.

Ingredients:

• 4 pen pals :)

• 2 1/4 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
• 5 oz salmon filet, deboned
• 1/2 tablespoon milk (or enough to cover the salmon, see method below)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped.  To eliminate this step and make the recipe easier, you could also purchase a can of petit, diced tomatoes and measure out just under 1 cup.

• scant 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated – i.e. do not pack the cheese into the measuring cup, there should be a lot of air cushion.

Steps:

1. Steam the carrots for 15-20 minutes, or until carrots are tender. 
2. Place the fish in a microwave dish, add the milk, dot with half the butter, and cover, leaving an air vent.
3. Microwave on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until fully cooked.***See below for alternative cooking method
4. Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan, add the tomatoes, and sauté until softened and slightly mushy.
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir in the cheese until melted.
6. Mash the cooked carrots in the tomato mixture. 
7. Drain the cooking liquid from the fish, remove the skin, and double check that there are no bones.
8. Flake the fish and mix with the carrots and tomatoes.  You can also blend these two for younger babies or babies with no teeth.

Miscellaneous: I really like kitchen gadgets and so I try to get a couple every few months.  I bought this microwavable dish on Amazon.com for $6, and it has come in handy for several recipes.  If you do not own a microwavable dish with a vent, you can always cook the fish in the following way:

1. Place the salmon in a pan.
2. Pour over enough milk to cover the entire fish.
3. Simmer for 4 minutes or until cooked.

Timing: Fish can be introduced as early as 9 months, however as with any food, consult with your Doctor first.  The carrots and salmon break up quite small and so even without chewing this recipe (in my opinion) is safe for babies who are using their gums to mash, however, if you ever in doubt, puree!

Storage: Store in the fridge for up to two days.  This recipe makes quite a bit, so I could consider halving the recipe if you think that you will not be able to use it all in that time.  I would not freeze this recipe.

Difficulty: 4 out of 5.  This may be difficult for those with little cooking experience, and it also has several ingredients and steps.  I will be on the hunt for simpler fish recipes to try out!

Epicutie Rating: Yummy In The Tummy! Both Little Joy and Little Frances gobbled this one up!  They loved it.  Little Frances enjoyed it so much, Kelly suggested that we make a new rating called Yummy In The Tummy to the Max.  Even though this recipe was a little bit more complex than other recipes, it was worth it to see our girls enjoying the new flavors so well!

Little Joy clapping for JOY she loved this recipe so much!

Little Frances grunting for MORE! 

Our Epicuties!