Baby Food Part 3: Toddler Food

Toast with jam: delicious but messy

I know every toddler is different, and mine seems to to really different as you will see in the list of foods he loves below, but I figured I'd give a quick run down of the foods that Parker loves (and hates). Although he is a pretty good eater, he has his moments, and in those moments I need a list like this. Hopefully I can help just a bit with feeding your "opinionated" toddler.

I have also found that if I can get him to eat a bite or two of whatever I am serving somewhere other than his high chair (sitting on the floor, while holding him, sitting on the counter), he will eat the rest sitting in his chair. Luckily, a pretty healthy meal can be made of bits and pieces of things he does like- today he had half an apple, some cheese, crackers, and tomatoes for lunch, for example.

I have just found in the last few days that he loves smoothies, so this is a God-send. You can hide anything in a smoothie. I was nervous to give him a cup with a straw, being that I hate messes (haha welcome to toddler years Amy) but if you take the non-spilly part out of a sippy cup and the smoothie is, well, smooth, it can be drunk that way just fine. With no mess. Score one for Mommy.

Likes:
Peas
Corn
Tomatoes
Pasta
All fruit
Avacado
Crackers
Cheese (we are going slow with dairy, but so far so good!)
Sweet and Sour Cabbage
Beans
Lentils
Rice
Ketchup
Plum Sauce
Sweet Potatoes
Ham, Spinach, Cheese Stata
Tuna on crackers
Toast
Stuffed potatoes
Tomato Sauce
Omellette
Smoothies
Potato Vegetable Cakes
Chicken Pot Pie
Pancakes
French toast

Will Tolerate (Sometimes):
Chicken Fingers
Poached Chicken
Zucchini
Hard boiled eggs

Hates:
Broccoli (we may have to try it in a smoothie soon- I'll report back)
Onions
Yogurt

One Year Ago: Creamy Vegetable Soup

Two Years Ago: Not much was happening in March... sorry?

New Tag: Cook Once Eat Twice

I have added a new tag to some previous posts, and to this new one. Cook Once, Eat Twice. It could be called Cook Once, Eat a Bunch of Times but that was too long.

I love it when I can use up leftovers in a new way. It makes meals so quick and easy. So why not plan meals to have left overs to re-invent the next night? I'm not talking my step mom's classic "casserole". Growing up when we were having "casserole" it meant leftovers mixed into rice and warmed up in a casserole dish.

So today's recipe is a roasted vegetable puree that can be made in to many other meals. Or just mix a little into whatever you are making- I mixed some into Bolognese sauce last night and nobody was the wiser. Since Tyler doesn't read this blog (because he says "he lives it"), it's still our little secret.

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE PUREE

Adapted from Sweet Potato Chronicles

The vegetables and their amounts are a rough guide- use which ever vegetables you like, but ensure they all have roughly the same cooking time. 

To peel celery root, use a knife to take off the outside 1/4-inch all around the vegetable- the skin is too tough to use a peeler. The squash and sweet potato aren't peeled as the skin adds more fiber and nutrients, and it get soft in the oven and pureed anyway.

• 2 carrots, scrubbed and chopped into large pieces
• 1 medium celery root (celeriac), scrubbed, peeled, and chopped into large pieces
• 1/2 medium butternut squash, scrubbed and chopped into large pieces
• 1 large sweet potato scrubbed and chopped into large pieces
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped into large pieces
• 1 large onion peeled and quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• olive oil
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large, or 2 small, baking sheets with parchment paper or foil. If using foil spray with cooking spray. Toss all vegetables with a good drizzle of olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Arrange on baking tray so that they are all in one layer. Roast until golden brown on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Stir the vegetables on the tray and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes- until vegetables are golden and cooked through. Allow to cool on the tray 15 minutes.

Peel garlic cloves and discard the peels. In two or three batches, puree vegetables with enough stock to just cover them in a blender until smooth- use water if you run out of stock. Puree can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days, or frozen in smaller portions for up to 4 months.

ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP

Add enough water or chicken stock to vegetable puree above to get it to the consistency you want for soup. Heat and serve. With grilled cheese would be nice.

SAUSAGE AND KALE PASTA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLE SAUCE AND FETA

Serves 4

Some white kidney beans would be a good addition as well. Or to make this vegetarian, replace the sausage with beans.

• 500 g dried pasta
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 onion, cut in half and sliced thinly
• salt and pepper
• 2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 small bunch kale, washed, ribs removed, chopped
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• roasted vegetable puree
• tomato sauce

In a large pot of salted boiling water cook pasta to al dente and drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, butter, onions. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to break up onions into individual strands. Cover for 5 minutes. Remove lid and cook onions, stirring occasionally, until just slightly caramelized. Remove onions from pan and set them aside.

Heat same pan to medium high heat. Add sausage and break up into small pieces with a spatula while it is cooking. Once sausage is cooked through and browned, add kale. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add 2 large ladles of roasted vegetable puree and the same amount of tomato sauce. Stir until heated through. Add pasta and feta. Stir to combine. Add enough pasta water until the sauce is the consistency you want. Serve with a little more feta crumbled on top if desired.

Potato Vegetable Cakes

Parker is a year old today! We are having his birthday party on Saturday and I have a (hopefully) delicious dairy-free chocolate cake planned. I'll let you know how it turned out.

My newest discovery in the kitchen is quinoa flour. Other than in the baby food post, I haven't talked about quinoa, have I? It's very healthy and a source of protein- read all about it on Wikipedia. I only care about all that stuff if it tastes good. And it is really delicious. It's nutty, and you can use it in place of rice as a side dish, in a salad, or now as I've discovered as a flour substitute.

I read a post about zucchini bread made with quinoa flour at Goodlife Eats and I was intrigued as I am trying to find different sources of protein for Parker as he is off beef and pork for the time being as part of the dairy allergy thing. I had a recipe for these potato and vegetable pancakes sitting on my counter for the last week, but I thought I could make them healthier. First off, they used Egg Beaters and packaged hashed brown potatoes. I prefer to use non-packaged food whenever possible; cracking some eggs and shredding some potatoes isn't a big deal. I added more vegetables to the original recipe, and then experimented with quinoa flour in place of the white flour called for.

As I said above, I'm not going to use something if it doesn't taste good, BUT if it tastes just as good and is way healthier, why wouldn't you make the change? Quinoa flour is going to be a staple here. I wouldn't substitute for it in baking, as baking has to be so exact, but for things like these vegetable cakes it's a no brainer. It really easy to make. I just put some quinoa in my Magic Bullet and whirred away. You could also try a blender, spice grinder, or food processor. I wouldn't recommend a mortar and pestle, however. This was my first thought, but after three minutes of grinding and no flour to show for it, I ditched that idea. Unless you are sitting outside your hut while your husband hunts for dinner and you have nothing better to do, use an electric option.

One Year Ago: Moroccan Chicken and Eggplant

POTATO AND VEGETABLE CAKES

Makes 10 servings, 1 serving = 2 cakes

These can be frozen easily by layering them between waxed paper. Parker likes these plain, but I like them with a topping- salsa, tomato sauce, pesto, or ranch dressing would all be good. The veggies can be changed up to use whatever you have lurking in the crisper, and the spices can also be swapped out to suit your taste; curried potato cakes would be good, southwest spices would work, etc. A food processor makes quick work of shredding the veggies.

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 4 eggs
• 2 medium potatoes, grated
• 1/2 large zucchini, grated
• 1/4 head cauliflower, grated
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

To make quinoa flour, place quinoa in a Magic Bullet, blender, spice grinder, or food processor and pulse until ground to a flour consistency. 

Set a large non stick pan to preheat over medium high heat. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, vegetables, salt and pepper to season, mix together well, ensuring there are no dry flour streaks and all vegetables are coated.

Drizzle pan with a little olive oil. Pack batter into a 1/4 cup dry measure and drop into pan. Press lightly with back of measuring cup to spread batter- you don't want them too thick. Repeat with as many as will fit in pan without touching. Cook to golden brown on both sides. Cool on baking rack if not eating right away.

Baby Food Part 2: Textures

I knew when Parker was around 8 or 9 months old that I should be starting him with some finger foods. I was very nervous about this. I reviewed baby CPR online, then I gave him a quarter of a Cheerio (actually, a Nutrio- Cheerios for babies). He cried like was trying to alert the neighbours of a crime. I fished the offending food out of his mouth before he inhaled it and we tried again in a couple of days. He then worked up to half Nutrios, then whole ones.

Does this count as a finger food?

I also started leaving some larger pieces of food in his purees and giving him some soft foods to eat with his hands- banana, cooked sweet potatoes, avocado. Now, as I mentioned in the previous post, he won't eat anything off of a spoon. Except oatmeal, actually. It took me a while to figure out what to give him that he could eat with his hands but it would still be really nutritious as lots of it end up on the floor. Any fruits and veggies, raw or cooked if they are hard, are a go, cut into small pieces. Also we discovered he loves butter chicken and Thai coconut chicken. Usually now we give him small pieces of whatever we are eating, so I try to plan meals with this in mind. He also LOVES these muffins.

Below is a what he ate yesterday, for example, and then some recipes that Parker loved. Bonus: they are good for the grownups too. Hopefully this helps anybody reading this who is completely confused as to what to feed the baby.

NOTE: Parker is still waking up in the night for a bottle, although we working with a (amazing!) naturopathic doctor to wean him off of formula altogether and he slept through the night last night finally! You may notice that there is no dairy in his meals- we suspect he has a dairy sensitivity, so we have eliminated dairy for the time being.

Breakfast 9 am: 1 cup Berry Oatmeal, 1/4 peach, 1/4 banana water from sippy cup
Bottle 10:30
Lunch 2:00: Barley Risotto (offered, he only ate 2 bites) + bottle
Bottle 6:00
Dinner 8:00: 1/2 cup roasted vegetables, some canned tuna, 1/2 a tomato, handful Nutrios, water from sippy cup
Bottle 9 pm

BERRY OATMEAL

Makes 3 baby servings

I made another double batch today and froze some in a muffin tin in 1/2 cup servings. When frozen, pop them out of the muffin tin and store in an airtight container. You could also change up the fruit to make different flavours i.e. grated apple and cinnamon, pumpkin with pumpkin pie spice, peaches, etc

• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp molasses
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 cup frozen berries
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 2 egg yolks

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add oats, simmer until water is almost all absorbed and oats are cooked. Add molasses, ginger, flax, and berries. Stir until berries are thawed. Add egg yolks, bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Mash berries with back of a spoon or potato masher (some oatmeal will get mashed too, that's ok). Store any uneaten portions in fridge up to 2 days, or freeze. You may need to add some water to leftovers when reheating as it will thicken.

PUMPKIN PIE FRENCH TOAST

• 2 slices whole grain bread
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk or water
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• butter for pan

Mix eggs, milk or water, pumpkin, and vanilla in a shallow dish. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Soak bread in egg mixture for 30 seconds each side. Melt a little butter in the pan, add saturated bread. Cook until golden brown, flip, and cook same on other side.

ITALIAN VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

Adapted from Everyday Italian

Makes 6 side dish servings, or many more baby servings

Leftovers are good to toss into pasta. Vegetables can be changed up depending on what you have.

• 2 medium potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 carrots, scrubbed clean and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 fennel bulb, thickly sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced into large pieces
• 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper
• 1 large zucchini, cut in quarters and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 ripe tomatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch thick sliced
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Toss both types potato, carrots, fennel, onion in a large bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper to season. Spread in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Layer zucchini, then tomatoes over vegetables. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, season with salt and pepper. 

Mix together breadcrumbs, Parmesan, dried herbs in a small bowl. Top vegetables with this mixture. Bake 40 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Baby Food Part 1: Purees

Parker's first solid food!

Parker will be a year old next week. As all moms say, I can hardly believe it. I didn't think I was going to write anything about baby food, but lately since Parker no longer wants to eat anything off of a spoon I have had to get more creative with making him food. Of course, I turned to the Internet and cookbooks for ideas, so I figured I'd share what worked for me and maybe it will help another mom (or dad!) who is panicking because all of a sudden their child won't eat any of the purees stashed in the freezer.

Baby food is really easy to begin with, to be honest. Start with steaming single vegetables, puree them, freeze them in ice cube trays. The hardest part, for me anyway, is getting over your fears that the kid is going to choke to death. I had to tell myself lots of times that everybody obviously goes through this, because do you know any adults who still only eat pureed food? Me neither.

These are a few books that were really helpful with baby food info and recipes. Each book has it's own merits, and I think it's good to read a few in order to get different points of view and form your own opinions on what to feed your baby. For example, the author of Sprout Right doesn't believe in giving your baby meat or wheat until after 12-18 months, but Better Baby Food (and the public health unit) recommends meat as a first food.

Better Baby Food 2nd Edition by Daina Kalnins and Joanne Saab. Endorsed by The Hospital for Sick Children. Great info on breastfeeding, lots of great recipes for toddlers, a few recipes for 6-12 months.

The Baby's Table by Brenda Bradshaw and Lauren Donaldson Bramley. Mostly recipes, tons of great recipes for 6 months and beyond.

Sprout Right by Lianne Phillipson-Webb. Good info on breastfeeding, eating well during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, choosing a baby formula, a whole chapter on baby poo (yes, really) organic and natural foods, more complex recipes.

And just in case that is not enough info for you, here are a few websites that I used as well:

Sweet Potato Chronicles
Weelicious You can see recipes by age or type (i.e. puree) on this blog
Baby Center
Cooking with My Kid Recipes for toddlers and up, but I have found some great recipes on here for just me and Tyler too
Today's Parent
How to Be a Dad Not food related, but hilarious
Distracted Daddy Also not food related but really funny. Dad blogs are funnier cause the dads aren't in the trenches 24/7 methinks.


I learned a few things in the first few weeks of starting Parker on solid food:

•  A blender or Magic Bullet does a better job of getting things smooth than your food processor or a potato masher. 

• Be careful not to give your baby all "binding" foods. I started Parker on rice cereal, squash, bananas, and applesauce, all of which cause constipation. Sorry little dude.  

• When starting to transition from really smooth purees to a little chunkier textures, whole wheat couscous is a good start. It takes 5 minutes to make, its tiny, and easy to mix into any vegetable puree. 

• Most fruits you will peel, but you can leave the skin on pears and puree them raw if they are really ripe. Also if you are cooking down apples for applesauce the skin can be left on as it will soften and puree nicely too.

• Save the water you use to steam or boil vegetables in the fridge for up to a few days to use to thin out purees or to make baby cereal. Perhaps the extra nutrients are negligible, but every little bit counts I think.

• Mix up flavours by adding spices from your spice cabinet rather than adding them to the whole batch while it's cooking as you would normally do, as most recipes make a ton of food (for a baby). Parker loved cinnamon, ginger, Chinese 5-spice, and curry powder. Beware of garlic powder, especially if baby spits up a lot. Garlic breath does is not becoming of a baby.

• You know how asparagus makes your pee smell? It makes baby pee smell too. Just a warning.

• Blending potatoes makes glue.

I have really started to think about how to get the most nutritional bang for my buck with making Parker's food, which has carried over into what I make for me and Tyler too. If the baby is only going to eat a few bites, I want to pack as much good stuff in as I can. So apart from the single ingredient purees (which you can always combine to make different dishes when you defrost them), here are a few simple recipes that Parker loved and are super healthy. These are recommended for 8 months and up.

One Year Ago: Freezer Meals, Mexican Pizza

LENTIL STEW

Adapted from Sprout Right

Makes about 3 cups

Author's note: For toddles, you can serve this puree as a sauce for noodles. It's wonderful on it's own, mixed with rice, or served as a soup for mom and dad with extra lentils and stock.

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups water or no sodium vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 3 carrots, scrubbed and chopped small
• 3 stalks celery, chopped small
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Mash or puree to desired consistency.

CHICKPEA STEW

Adapted from Sprout Right

Makes about 3 cups

• 1 1/2 cups water or no-sodium vegetable stock
• 1 can (14 oz/398 ml) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Mash or puree to desired consistency.

BABY QUINOA

 Adapted from Sprout Right

Makes about 3 cups

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped

6 spears asparagus or green beans, chopped (snap off tough ends and discard)

1 small bunch kale, chopped after removing ribs

6 pitted prunes, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until soft, 30-40 minutes. Add a bit more water if needed to thin out, mash or puree to desired consistency. 

BEEF AND VEGETABLE STEW

1 lb stewing beef, cut into small pieces

2 carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 small head broccoli, chopped

1 small head cauliflower, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 stalk fresh rosemary

Place all ingredients in a pot and add water so that everything is just covered. Cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer until beef is very tender and pulls apart easily with a fork. Remove rosemary stalk (all the leaves will probably have fallen off). Mash or puree to desired consistency.