Vegetable Soup and Wrap Up

Lauren’s Veggie Soup
This is a vegetable packed soup that freezes well. I use a giant pot and cook a ton, freeze half in pint containers and enjoy for months!

• 1small bag of carrots, peeled (optional) and sliced
• 1 bunch of celery, chunked
• 2 medium onions, chunked
• 1 small head of cabbage
• 1 15oz can of low sodium normal diced tomatoes
• 8c of vegetable stock
• 3/4c barley, 1c of lentils and/or egg noodles (whole wheat ones are yummy)
• Spices (throw in some dill, parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, whatever! A store brand "zesty" blend is also REALLY good in this)

1. Chop veggies (except cabbage)
2. Place everything but cabbage and barley/lentils/egg noodles in pot
3. Bring to a boil
4. Reduce to simmer, cover, cook all day
5. 1 hr before you want to eat cut cabbage into 1 in strips and add to soup
6. 30-45min before you want to eat add in barley and/or lentils
7. If you want noodles pre cook and add in before eating

Wrap up
This week has been about basics. Those homemade recipes that fill you up on a cool day or that you want when you are feeling ill. Although easy, the foods in the past week have layers of flavor and can be changed and added too easily.

When feeding any of these to a baby or toddler make sure to decrease the salt, cut up and/or puree the food, and let it cool down. I would skip the broth unless your child is a bit older.

Ty loves beef, but only if it is tender, has a lot of flavor, and cold. I usually cook a dish like the ones listed above, take out some beef and veggies an hour before, chop the bits really small and then cool it in the refrigerator. Although Ty has tried broth I never give it to him because of the mess :)

My Weight Loss
This week I lost more than my goal (which is 2lbs a week). Last week I lost, but not as much as I wanted to :( I think it was because we went out to dinner and ordered out (for our anniversary) and had a lot of yummy leftovers which lasted for a while. I am finding it easy to snack at this time of year because of all the fruit available. The farmers market, as well as larger grocery chains, have so much local fruit that tastes wonderful!

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Yet another prep in minutes cook for hours recipe. This is a basic in any household and a good dish for cold days or when you are feeling sick. It freezes well too! Add in cooked noodles, barley, matzo balls, or rice at the end if you want some starch! A from scratch chicken soup recipe will appear at a later date.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, diced
• 3c diced carrot
• 2c diced celery
• 1 large diced onion
• 1T or more of: dill, parsley (I use a lot more), rosemary, thyme, bay leaf
  
• 2 cloves diced garlic
• EVOO
• 8c chicken broth (you may need less)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown chicken breasts in EVOO in a large heavy bottomed pot
2. Add in veggies, onion, herbs, garlic, and pepper.
3. Sautee until fragrant
4. Cover everything with broth and then add about 1 inch more
5. Bring to boil
6. Cover, reduce to simmer, and cook for a loooooong time!

Beef Stew

Beef Stew

This recipe is easy peasy and freezes well. It is another takes minutes to prepare but cooks all day recipe.

You will need:

• 1lb (or more) of stew meat cut into 1cm cubes (or larger if you like)
  
• 1lb carrots peeled (optional) and sliced
• 1 bunch of celery sliced
• 1lg onion diced
• 2lg potatoes, peeled and diced (add more if you would like)
  
• 4c beef broth
• 1 bay leaf
• Any desired spices (garlic, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaf)
• EVOO
• Cornstarch and water

Directions

1. Heat EVOO to medium high in a heavy bottomed pan
2. Add meat and brown evenly on both sides
3. Add veggies and spices
4. Add broth, bring to boil
5. Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook all day
6. Add more broth if it dry out add more broth
7. Once dinner time rolls around add mixture of cornstarch and water to thicken (take out the bay leaf!)
8. Serve with warm rolls, rice, noodles or barley!
   

Other tips:

You can also add 1/2 c of sour cream for a little fo- stroganoff flavor. Put on top of egg noodles for a little more!

Make sure you decrease the liquid if you are cooking in a slow cooker

Add more broth and barley for beef soup!

Product of the day:

The Ergo Baby Carrier

This product is why I can bring Ty to work with me. Since he was 9lbs I have strapped him in this to sleep, look over my shoulder while I work, and shop. Now at over 22lbs Ty is still easy to carry and I can do almost anything with him being held close to my back, side or front. The ergonomic design makes it easy to carry Ty even though I have lower back problems. This carrier is worth the extra cost and will not wear out quickly.

Pic from: http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/

Beef with Adobo Peppers

Beef with Adobo Peppers-The easiest slow cooking recipe on the planet.

This recipe is great. If you can use a can-opener you can make this. It is delicious, SUPER FAST, and leftovers can be shredded and used in any Mexican themed dish. To cook faster keep meat at a low boil throughout the day adding more broth if needed.

Ingredients:

• Giant hunk of beef-use a shoulder roast or another roast beef. You can use cheap beef in this because it cooks for so long
• 1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (look in the international section at your grocery or in the Mexican section). Don't be afraid to use the whole can (small can). They smell very spicy (and can be) but mellow throughout the day.
  
• 4c beef broth
• EVOO
• Salt, pepper (any other spices you want to use, such as cumin)

Super easy cooking:

• Heat enough EVOO to cover a heavy bottomed large pot to medium high
• Brown beef
• Add in broth, peppers (chop peppers if you want), and spices
• Bring to boil
• Lower to simmer, cover, and cook forever (or until you test the meat for your desired temp)

Pic from: http://www.mexcart.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_26

Product of the day:
Aladdin Snack Holder- This handy snack holder has two compartments for easy snacking. For dry snacks only this container easily pops open and shut. It holds a decent amount too!
Pic from:http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9224756&sourceid=1500000000000003260370&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=9224756

Meals that take all day to cook, but only minutes to prepare!

All of the dinners I will be posting recipes for can be prepared in minutes, the catch is, they need to cook all day. Although you could speed up these dishes by cooking at a hotter temperature, letting them cook for hours will bring out the full range of flavors.

Tips for speeding up cooking:
Follow this order when you are prepping your food

Start with the meat!

• Start heating up your pan/pot and oil right away.
• Prep your meat (wash, dry, chop, whatever)
• Season meat
• Start cooking meat in a slightly smoking pot (to sear)

Veggies!

• Wash everything
• Peel everything that needs to be peeled
• Chop onions and garlic, most of the time these go in the pan/pot first
• Chop hard veggies (carrots, potatoes, celery), keep everything separate
• Chop soft veggies (tomatoes squash), keep everything separate
• Wash and chop all herbs right before putting them in the pot.

More tips for speeding up prep time!

• Carrots do not have to be peeled. If you let unpeeled carrots cook all day the skin becomes just as soft as the rest of the carrot and lends some texture to the dish.
• Only thick skinned (usually brown) potatoes need to be peeled. Even these can be left unpeeled if they are scrubbed very well and if they cook long enough.
• Get a sideways vegetable peeler. If you have one you know that these speed up peeling time.
• Get a GOOD knife and keep it sharp. We only own one good knife. It cost us around $50 at Bed Bath and Beyond. It does need to be sharpened every few times that we use it and it can not be put through the dishwasher or even left on the rack to dry.
• Use the right knife for the right job. Use a larger knife for chopping hard vegetables and meats. Use a smaller knife for trimming small amounts of fat or soft veggies. Chop your tomatoes with a tomato knife, or a steak knife. It cuts right through the skin and does not smoosh your food!

A few more tips!

• Fresh herbs are great if you grow them, but cost a lot in the store to buy. If you do end up buying them (or at the end of your growing season) wash them well, de-stem, and dry them, then freeze herbs in freezer bags in individual portions. This brings a fresh taste to your soups and stews.
• Have 2 cutting boards. One for meat, one for veggies.
• Have a bowl for scraps. An empty produce bag also works well.

Feeding babies and toddlers from a slow cooker

• Cool down all food
• cut into bite sized pieces, or puree for the little ones
• skip the broth!
• Don't over salt food when it is in the slow cooker. Instead flavor once it is on your plate
  

Stove vs. slow cooking

• If I am going to be in the house ALL day I use the stove. It is easy to regulate the temperature and easy to cook it faster or slower. But it is not safe to leave the stove on unattended.
• For slow cooking reduce the amount of liquid you use (check your owners manual) and make sure you bring it up to temp (especially if you prepare the night before and put it in the slow cooker in the morning) on high and then turn down to a lower setting.
• Every slow cooker is different. For the first use, at least, be around the house to see how high it cooks on each setting and how well the lid seals and keeps in liquid.
• If using a slow cooker you don’t have to brown the meat before cooking it, but the color and texture of the meat will be better if you do.

Check back frequently this week for delicious recipes!


Product of the day!
Sideways vegetable peeler!



Pic from: http://www.alwaysbrilliant.com/aa/aspx-products/1-7110/2-57490/SC-Froogle/kw-103281/bb/Ceramic-Potato-Peelers.htm

More posts coming!

You may have noticed a lack of posts this week. I am preparing a new format that will start next week. Each week with have a theme, next week’s will be “Meals that take all day to cook but only minutes to prepare!”. There will be 2 or 3 recipes on different days, one day of information, and on Fridays a wrap up of what Ty has been eating. Check back Sunday or Monday for the first blog entry in this format!

Shepherd's Pie, Rice pudding for breakfast, Teddy Puffs

Recipes

Spicing up Shepherd’s Pie

I love shepherd’s pie. This is a dish that might take a little time to make but can be made ahead, baked right before eating, and frozen.

A favorite of mine growing up, shepherd’s pie can actually be REALLY bad for you. Load up those potatoes with butter/cream/milk, only use corn, and use a high fat beef and you are talking an extremely starchy dinner full of fat. Here are some alternatives you can use.

Meat:

• Ground turkey-this can get dry so make sure you put it on the bottom
• Vegetable protein “beef” style- This stuff is great IN dishes (not really by itself). Try this with traditional shepherd’s pie spices or a little catsup mixed in.
• Ground chicken
• Very low fat beef
• Ground lamb- a little more expensive and a tad gamey lamb is lean and healthy

Corn:

• Using a small layer of corn is ok, but Shepherd’s pie does not really offer much in the way of vegetables
• Mix in celery
• Put in a layer of peas, green beans, roasted peppers, broccoli, or just about any other vegetable.
• Mix in spinach with what ever you put in for a little more green to your pie

Potatoes:

• Mashed potatoes with no butter and skim milk, add garlic for a little more flavor
• Brown rice
• Mashed cauliflower/potatoes (see previous blog for recipe)
• Sweet potatoes
• Thinner layer of traditional mashed potatoes

I am taking some liberties on what shep. Pie really is in this next section :)

Mixin’ it up, different spice and food combos:

• Asian: Ground chicken with a little stir fry sauce, green beans, bean sprouts, pea pods topped with thin rice noodles also with a little stir fry sauce
• Tex Mex: Throw a taco seasoning packet in with your choice of meat, roasted red peppers, corn, onions, black beans, top with potatoes
• Indian: Lamb with curry spices, apple, onion, string beans, summer squash, any other veggies that are mixed with a little curry, brown rice, top with a little chutney
• The vegetarian: Vegetable protein mixed with a little catsup, green beans, ketchup, peas, mashed cauliflower
• Italian: Mix up your meat with a little pasta sauce, summer squash, zucchini, brown rice, parmesan cheese.

Ty’s Breakfast Rice Pudding

This is what Ty had for breakfast this morning, it was pretty good.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 to 1/3c cooked brown rice (we had leftovers)
• dash of cinnamon
• Dash of sugar (ty’s did not have it)
• Diced fruit

1. Scramble egg with cinnamon (and sugar) and place into hot non stick pan
2. Let it cook for a few seconds and add in rice
3. Take off stove and add in favorite fruit
4. (Ty’s also had peas in it)
5. Cool and enjoy

This can also be made with quick oats. I have done this at work. Instead of scrambling the egg and then adding the oats, you do it all in the same bowl. You then cook it like a pancake!

Product of the day:

Healthy Times Teddy Puffs

http://www.healthytimes.com/htteddypuffs.htm

These are a totally whole grain (no wheat or soy) product. Although I would classify these as not super healthy, they are easier to grab and more fun than cheerios. All organic, iron enriched, and sugar is way down on the list of ingredients these are a fun and quick snack when you are on the go!

Picture from website above

Blueberry Bonanza, Baby/Toddler chicken, My Fat Butt

Blueberry Bonanza!

My aunt recently posted on face book that she was looking for some fresh blueberry recipes. Here are the ones I sent her, along with the ideas I gave her, in addition to a tart recipe (which I made last night!). Anyone who wants a recipe for something not listed on here, just leave a comment and I will put it in a future post!

Sweet ideas!
-Put some whipped cream on them (or even better blueberry shortcake!)
-Blueberry crumble
-Blueberry pudding
-PIE (you can even use store bought crust and make it super easy)... Read More
-Blueberry French toast
-Fruit Salad
-Make your own blueberry yogurt

Savory Ideas
-Put them on a salad
-Blueberry soup
-Make some sauce for chicken, fish or steak
-Blueberry salsa

Drinks-
-Blueberry cocktail (gin, sour mix, blueberry puree)
-Blueberry lemonade
-Smoothie (yogurt, milk, tofu)

Recipes:

Blueberry soup-

• 1lb of blue berries
• ½ c water
• 1/4c dry red wine
• 1/4c sugar
• 3/4c low fat plain yogurt
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 1t cinnamon
• pinch of cardamom
• pinch of allspice
• 1/3 c sour cream

1. In a small pot boil sugar, lemon, and spices with water and blueberries
2. Boil for 5 min stirring constantly
3. remove and put in blender to puree
4. Cool in refrigerator
5. Stir in wine and yogurt garnish with small spoonful of sour cream (or more yogurt)

French toast
I would actually make blueberry syrup by combining blueberries, sugar to taste, squeeze of lemon, and small amount of vanilla in a sauce pan. Cook and reduce. You can also add this to cream cheese for an awesome bagel spread.

Salsa
Combine

• 2 c whole blueberries
• 1 1/2 c chopped blueberries
• Jalapeno pepper, minced!
• 1 red pepper diced
• 1 small red onion diced
• cilantro to taste (I hate cilantro so I leave it out)
• salt to taste
• 1 large lemon, juiced (you could also use 1 lime instead)

Fish Sauce

1. Combine in a pot

• 1/3 c chicken stalk
• ¼ cup OJ
• ¼ c balsamic vinegar

2. Bring to a boil

3.Add rue (1T cornstarch in water) cook until thicker
4. Stir in 1c fresh blueberries
5. Pour on fish or chicken

Lemonade (yum, yum)
2 variations
1) puree in blender-3 c blueberries, 2/3c sugar, 2c fresh lemon juice. Stir into 3c cold water and ice!
2) This one is the kind the kids I watch LOVE- mix together 3c water, 3/4c lemon juice, 2T cream of coconut, 1c frozen blueberries, 1 sliced star fruit, 1/3 c sugar (or more to taste), ice!

Vinaigrette
Puree 1/2c blueberries, 1 clove garlic, 1/4c red onion, 2T champaign vinegar (you can use white or white balsamic but make sure it is high quality), 1/2t sugar, and olive oil until you get the consistency you like!
I also like to add in parsley, chives, and a dash of cinnamon

Blueberry Tarts

These can be simple or complicated, depending on how much time you want to put into them.

Tart shell

1. Heat oven to 350 (if using store bought cookie dough follow pkg directions)
2. Grease a muffin pan VERY well
3. Cut COLD sugar cookie dough into rounds that are larger than the bottom of the muffin pan
4. Place rounds in pan and push down so the dough has a lip
5. Cook until golden brown
6. Cool
7. Remove from pan

Pudding

1. Make your favorite vanilla pudding (homemade is not that hard to make!)
2. Put in a dash of ginger
3. Cool in fridge

Blue Berries

1. Take berries and mix with a few tablespoons of apricot jam
2. Refrigerate

Putting it all together

1. RIGHT BEFORE SERVING (these will get soggy)
2. Place a spoonful of pudding into tart shell
3. Top with blueberries
4. You can also top with a little candied ginger if you want!

Freezing Cooked Chicken-from baby food to toddler chunks

By far the healthiest way to cook meat is to steam or poach it. I prefer to poach because I don’t have to worry about it drying out or being undercooked (you can leave it in forever). Although some meats are harder to poach, poaching chicken is quick and easy.

To poach chicken cut off any fat on the chicken breast and dump it in a pot of boiling water. Let it cook until no pink remains in the middle of the chicken and you are done! Add your favorite seasonings and you have your firs meal of poached chicken.

Chicken for beginning eaters- you can make baby chicken out of ground chicken that you sauté, but I prefer to poach and then food process the meat. When you put the chicken in the food processor make sure that it is already cut into chunks.

When you prepare chicken this way it does not get a slimy texture. Instead it becomes little granules. You can then take the chicken put it on a cookie sheet and freeze it, making chicken “sand.” I like to prepare it this way because you can then just scoop out as much of this sand as you want, add broth or what ever else you want to, and there you go! You have easy baby food. This way you also don’t have to use a set amount (such as if you froze it in an ice cube tray).

Toddler chunks- Instead of cutting the chicken, poaching it, and then freezing it, I like to poach entire breasts and then shred it. This makes the texture of the chicken more natural and a bit stringy. It is very easy to freeze this way and breaks apart well when you want to thaw.

Ty’s favorite ways to eat quick thawed chicken

When he was a baby Ty liked his chicken

-Mixed with plain whole milk (organic) yogurt

-Mixed in with a little cheddar cheese

-Rolled in with cream cheese

-With a little pepper, paprika, and garlic

Now Ty likes his chicken

-With taco seasoning

-Spicy!

-With stir fry sauce

-Mixed in with squash

My own struggle with weight loss:

If you know me you know I am not a thin woman. Recently Ty and my husband have inspired me to lose weight. I don’t want him to have an out of shape mom who eats a lot of junk food but forces the good stuff into him!

While I was breast feeding I was unable to lose a lot of weight. Each time the pounds started to come off my supply was reduced and Ty would not get enough food. So I kept myself at a constant weight.

Now that I am done breast feeding I plan on becoming a healthy weight with the help of my husband (who has recently become a healthy weight). Each week (on Fridays) I plan to weight myself and see if I dropped weight, met my goal, and evaluate my progress.

You should be happy to know that this week I dropped more weight than my goal! Yeah for me!

Italian Stuffed Chicken, Bread Types, Veggies

Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Tyler is: 12 months old

I have decided to leave out Ty’s menu from now on. It was a little too much work and I am sure that the only one who was interested was hi grandma :)

Recipe:
Italian Stuffed chicken breasts
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 4 small chicken breasts with fat removed
• 1c frozen spinach (or 1 and 1/2c fresh finely chopped)
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1/4c finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (re constituted in water)
• 1/4 c of both parmesan and mozzarella cheese
• Canned or jarred pasta sauce
• Fresh or dried basil, oregano, rosemary, black pepper and salt

Pre heat oven to 400F

1. In a bowl combine tomatoes, garlic, spinach and herbs/salt to taste.
2. Stir in parm. cheese
3. Cut a slit in the chicken breasts to be able to stuff them
4. Stuff veg. mixture into chicken breasts
5. Top chicken breasts with canned sauce and mozzarella cheese
6. Bake in oven until chicken is cooked (use a meat thermometer in the un-sliced thick part of the chicken to know if the temp is right.

Feel free to serve with a side of ww pasta, salad, or steamed green beans with garlic!

Other Information:
Buying bread for all ages:
As you can probably tell from reading my blog I am not a "no" carb. person. Carbs are part of my life, our culture, and are an easy way to incorporate many ingredients into one meal.

I have two rules for bread: 1 use whole grains (sprouted, whole wheat, ect.) and 2 keep it in moderation!

Bread products come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Each one can be cut down for the little ones, topped with foods for the older ones, cut into fun shapes and cooked with.

Mix up your shape and kind of bread to change up those boring lunches!

Try:

• Pita
• Tortillas (big and small, rolled, flat, or baked till crispy!
• Thin wraps
• Naan bread
• Sandwich bread (cut in different shapes, use a cookie cutter)
• Bread pockets (like Pita but thinner)
• Bagels
• English muffins
• Dosa (like a crepe)
• Chapatti (great for scooping up foods)
• Chinese steamed bread or dumplings
• Buns
• Rolls
• Bread bowls
• Crisp bread
• Crackers
• Matzo

Vegetables at every meal
Many Americans do not consume nearly enough vegetables a day. Children and adults should be eating between 3 to 5 servings, AT LEAST, a day. Meaning vegetables should be consumed at every meal and/or snack if possible.

Let’s be honest though, most vegetables are consumed at dinner in a larger quantity, which is fine. Having a salad and a large portion of broccoli can equal at least 3 servings of vegetables if not more.

Adding in vegetables for a snack or some at lunch is an easy way to push you up to that limit.

Vegetables can be consumed for every meal though. Having them on the side, the main part of a meal (such as a big salad), or combined with your food is a great way to eat them. Breakfast is probably the hardest time to incorporate vegetables so here are a few ideas.

Smoothies: Spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, celery, and pumpkin all make great compliments to your morning smoothie. Most of these can be “covered up” with banana or peaches or even pineapple.

Eggs: Spinach, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, and all colors and kinds of peppers are traditional. You can even go a little crazy and make a south western omelet with salsa, corn, and chicken (I know not a vegetable). Or you can try a little crazier and go with green beans, tomatoes, and onions combined with a little mozzarella with a little pasta sauce for an Italian twist.
Try an egg sandwich with vegetables for those meals to eat on the go (perfect for driving if you use a pita!)

Breakfast salad: Chop up tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers. Top with a hard or medium boiled egg and some fresh chunks of mozzarella cheese.

Vegetable soup: Have something warm during those winter months for breakfast. Have a little side of toast and enjoy on those cold mornings. Soup can be frozen in portions in your freezer for quick thawing.

Go non-traditional- No one said you have to eat cereal and toast for breakfast. Eat your favorite leftovers from the night before; warmed up or cold (I love cold leftovers).

Not hiding vegetables (all the time)
There has been a growing trend (brought on by numerous books) to hide vegetables in a child's food. I disagree with this when you are talking about the larger picture. Although adding pureed vegetables is a great way to add EVEN more of that veggie goodness to a child’s meal, they need to learn what a vegetable tastes like.

From their first bites of food children need to learn to enjoy and appreciate the taste of vegetables. Ty’s first food was (after baby cereal) sweet potatoes, then peas, then green beans. We then moved on to some fruits. To this day Ty continues to have vegetables, plain or with a light topping, on the side of almost every meal.

My mother often tells people that my favorite snack growing up was a cucumber. Even in high school and college I would chow down on a whole fresh picked cucumber as a snack (skin and all!). Even today a fresh tomato, cucumber, sliced bell pepper or carrot makes my mouth water.

Keep cheese on vegetables to a light sprinkle, dip to a minimum, sauce light and dressing lighter. Add a little squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of salt and pepper or some fresh herbs. Remember, keep the topping as a compliment to the food, and don’t cover it.

Pumpkin balls, Taco Lasagna, the first 6 months

Date: Thursday, July 9^th, 2009

Tyler is: 12 months old
Today is: A day off with a play date!

Pre-Breakfast: Milk

Breakfast: Pumpkin and granola balls, scrambled egg, blueberries

Morning Snack: Carrots, pears, salmon

Lunch: Packed lunch- Cold marinated tofu, trail mix (baby safe granola, raisins, cheerios), carrots, pear

Afternoon Snack: Blueberries, cheerios

Dinner: Roasted Chicken, carrots, onions, potatoes, watermelon, cream cheese, smoothie

Recipes:

Pumpkin balls

Mix equal parts pureed pumpkin (from a can or prepared from a pie pumpkin, feel free to add in any spices that you would in a pumpkin pie including ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon) and cream cheese (softened or room temp)

Refrigerate until cool

Roll blobs of pumpkin mixture in baby safe granola (use your own recipe or use mine when I post it!) and/or plain quick oats!

This travels well if kept cool!

Work Recipe:

Taco Lasagna

Ingredients:

6 mini tortillas (whole wheat or whole flax are excellent in this), cut into 1in strips

1 jar of salsa (your favorite will do)

1 can of black beans

1c of cheese (low fat, something sharp like cheddar)

1lb cooked taco meat (chicken, beef, turkey with a low sodium taco spice pack added)

3 Large tomatoes sliced

Sautéed or grilled green peppers and onions (optional, but really good for you)

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Spread a light layer of salsa over the base of a large glass baking dish
Place a layer of tortilla noodles on salsa and top with 1/2 of the meat, 1/3 of the cheese, 1 sliced tomato, 1/2 of the black beans, and 1/2 of the pepper and onions mixture

Cover with salsa and another layer of tortilla noodles

Place rest of meat, peppers, another tomato, the rest of the beans, and 1/3 of the cheese on tortillas

Cover last layer of tortillas with cheese, last tomato, and a thin layer of cheese

Cook until the cheese is nice and melted and the lasagna is heated through!

Other Information:

Tyler’s First 6 months

Tyler was a breast fed baby. For the first 6 months of his life he had mommy milk from the source or pumped (with a Medela pump,see more below).

In the hospital Tyler was diagnosed with Jaundice. A common new born ailment that in Tyler’s case probably resulted from trauma during birth and bruising after. The nurses in the hospital recommended that we give Ty formula if his bilirubin levels continued to become elevated. The answer I gave them was “no.” I did not want to give my child formula unless it was absolutely necessary to his health.

We were lucky and my decision turned out to be right. After time in a UV light box, close monitoring of his bilirubin levels and time napping in a sunny spot in our house once he came home, Ty was healthy and never needed formula.

During his first month Ty would often nurse for an hour or more at a time. We found out from his pediatrician that this was because the frenulum on the bottom of his tongue was attaching his tongue to the base of his mouth near his gums. I had this small piece of skin cut when I was in elementary school and because it was traumatic for me, and because this skin was interfering with Ty’s feeding, we decided to have it cut.

The pediatrician cut it for us in less than 10 seconds. Tyler only cried while the Dr’s hands were in his mouth and there were only a few drops of blood. We gave him some Tylenol and within a few days he was nursing in 20min or less!

Tyler nursed, or had pumped breast milk, exclusively for almost the entire first 6 months. Right before he turned 6 months we tried rice cereal (iron enriched!) and he was absolutely ready. He never spit any out, he had no reflex to get it out of his mouth, and he loved it. We then slowly moved on to other foods.

Tyler nursed/had mommy milk until one day before his first birthday. I let Ty wean himself. He slowly gave up one feeding at a time, the last being the morning feeding when he woke up. I never stopped feeding him, I just never forced him to nurse.

Why we chose breastfeeding:

4 main reasons

1) COST- formula is expensive

2) Health- Breastfeeding for the first year is healthier for the infant as well as for the mom (new studies show that your risk of breast cancer is reduced)

3) Convenient- I always had food on me and I had a good pump to get food for when we wanted to go out.

4) I wanted to connect with my baby by breastfeeding

Now look, I am a huge fan of breastfeeding but I realize that some women can’t, and there are those who “can’t” (meaning it is not a medical reason but a life choice that they have made). I think every mother and family needs to decide what they can afford, what is best for their child, and what is healthiest for everyone involved.

Product of the day:

Medela Breast Pumps
http://www.medela.com/ISBD/countries.php

Smoothies, Eggs, Caulilflower

Date: Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Tyler is: 12 months old
Today is: a day at home :)

Meals

Pre breakfast: Leftover smoothie (blueberry, banana, watermelon, milk, tofu, rice cereal, spinach). Ty is teething I think so last night he did not want a lot of solids. I made him a smoothie (see notes below) and he had the rest before breakfast today!

Breakfast: Blueberries, 03 organic scrambled egg with organic cream cheese (makes it have a very smooth texture), onions, tomato and organic spinach.

Morning Snack: Wild caught salmon, organic flax tortilla with sunflower butter

Lunch: Left over ground beef with organic cream cheese, steamed organic asparagus (had previously been cooked and thawed), tomatoes, organic pear

Afternoon Snack: Organic oat cereal, organic cheese, organic pear

Dinner: Smoothie (it has been a tough teething day), sprouted grain bread with cheese and tofu, edamame, organic asparagus

Adult Dinner: Steve and I had dinner after Ty went to bed tonight (many reasons, most of which centered around Mr. Cranky pants getting a tooth). We ended up having a whole roasted chicken with roasted vegetables and a light red wine reduction sauce. I know it sounds difficult and time consuming but whole chickens need minimum preparation to prepare as do roasted vegetables. The only hard part is waiting for over an hour for it to roast! Wine reduction sauce is also incredibly easy and if you make it light, kids will not mind it.

I will be posting recipes, tips and more on roasted chicken at a later date so for now you will just have to do with a photo of my yummy dinner ;)

Recipes:

Smoothies:

Smoothies are especially good for those meals on the go (if you strain them they can be put in a sippy cup or drunk with a straw), for quick breakfasts, and for when your little one is teething.

When making a smoothie

Fruits for smoothies:

• Any fruit can be used but these are great for covering up other flavors. Using frozen is very convenient
• Cherries
• Bananas (peel and freeze old bananas)
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Pineapple

Vegetables for smoothies:

• Spinach (cooked or not cooked is fine
• Carrot (pre steamed)
• Sweet potato (pre-steamed)
• Tomato
• Celery
• Pumpkin

Other things for smoothies:

• Honey (for those tart smoothies and only when the child is old enough)
• Protein powder (for older children and adults)
• Mint (for a yummy chocolate mint smoothie)
• Milk
• Yogurt
• Tofu (silky or soft)
• Infant rice cereal or oatmeal
• Ice
• Chocolate milk mix (in small doses. Look for low sugar/low cal ones)
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, other spices

Work Recipe:

Mashed "potatoes" Cauliflower

The children I watch are mashed potato fiends. They would eat them all the time if they could and their mom asked me to make them some that were healthier than the usual potatoes, cream/milk, butter, and salt. So this is what I came up with

• 1 small head of cauliflower steamed
• 1 large potato (or 2 small) boiled
• Small pat of butter
• Salt
• Skim milk
• Fat free or reduced fat mozzarella cheese
• Garlic powder

1. Combine potatoes, butter, and small amount of milk in a food processor.
2. Process them TOO much (they will be come thick like a paste)
3. Add in cauliflower and process until smooth adding more milk if necessary
4. To thicken the mixture a little add a small amount of the cheese in (all ingredients should still be hot in order for the cheese to melt)
5. Add in the garlic powder to taste as well as salt!

Other Information:

Eggs:

Know your super food. Eggs are awesome sources of protein, vitamins and minerals! But which eggs do you buy? A dozen eggs can cost anywhere from a buck to just under 5. As long as your eggs are kept in moderation (just like everything else) you do not have to worry about gaining too much cholesterol from them.

Standard-Standard eggs are the “normal” kind of egg you see in the store. The chickens are kept in cramped cages and are given a diet that includes antibiotics and chemicals. These are the cheapest eggs.

Free range-These chickens are kept in a large barn and are allowed outside access (although the chickens rarely go outside…more on that in the future).

Vegetarian fed chickens- Are not necessarily free range chickens but are not given meat byproduct to eat.

Omega3 enriched eggs- These chickens are given oils and flax in order to increase the amount of Omega3s in the eggs.

Brown vs. White eggs- This has nothing to do with the nutritional content. It is just the breed of chicken.

Organic-These chickens are free range, but are given a diet of only organically grown grain. They are not given anything (including meat byproducts) to make them grow larger.

So, what do you buy? Well that depends on your price and budget. For Ty we buy Organic, free range, omega3 eggs. We also eat these eggs most of the time but for baking or other projects that need lots of eggs we go with the cheaper standard egg.

Product of the day:

Mini Strainer (Picture from Amazon.com)

This is perfect to place over a sippy cup to strain smoothies!

Barley, Toast, Tofu, Tex/Mex Chicken Bake

Date: Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Tyler is: 12months old
Today is: a 1/2 work day

Menu
Breakfast: French toast, tomato, lettuce, raw onion (Ty loves it!), cream cheese, blueberries (Ty totally flipped out when he saw the blueberries in the fridge), organic whole milk

Morning Snack: Grapes, steamed peas, cheddar cheese, ww crackers

Lunch: Barley Casserole (see recipe below), edamame (we had some left over from yesterday), banana, whole milk

Afternoon Snack: Cold marinated tofu (don’t pass on this one yet, see notes below!), fresh broccoli, a very small piece of cheddar cheese left over from lunch.

Dinner: Burger (no bun), tomato, banana (Ty is in need of a little banana today), raw bell pepper, fruit mixed with cottage cheese/baby oatmeal/frozen fruit.

Recipes:

French Toast
This is an easy and quick way to get some whole grains and protein into your child’s diet.
Ingredients:

• 1 piece of bread (we use sprouted grain bread)
• 1 whole egg (we use organic omega 3 enriched eggs)
• A sprinkle of cinnamon

Scramble the egg with the cinnamon in a flat bottom bowl.
Soak the bread in the bowl until all, or most of, the egg is absorbed
Place toast in a pan pre-heated to medium with a light spray of EVOO
Cook toast until the egg is cooked through and it is golden brown.

You do NOT need to add syrup, sugar, or sweets to this toast. If you start off by feeding it plain, kids will not expect it. If you want you can serve with a dollop of plain yogurt and/or some fresh fruit smashed up on top.

For young children you can keep half for a later meal.

Barley or Brown Rice Casserole:
Amounts listed below are estimates, just make this to taste. It depends what you have around the house and how much you can freeze.

• 3-4c cooked pearled barley or brown rice (follow pkg directions)
• 2c raw ground turkey or chicken (can use more!)
• 1/2c shredded cheddar cheese (or other fairly strong cheese of choice)
• 1/2 to 1 c frozen spinach
• 1/2 to 1c of small summer squash and/or zucchini (I use pre cooked and frozen)
• Handful of mushrooms (optional)
• 1/4 to 1/2 of a small onion grated or pureed (again I use my pre cooked and frozen onions)
• 1/2 c tomato sauce (pasta sauce is fine)
• Dash of rosemary, thyme, parsley, black pepper, oregano

Cook meat in a pan sprayed with a little bit of EVOO till done. There should be no more pink color to the meat. Pour out any fat if there is any left in the pan. Chop meat as you cook.
Add all vegetables into pan along with sauce and enough water to make it look soupy.
Let the sauce simmer on med-low until water is evaporated and the vegetables fall apart (you may have to mash them a little bit with the back of a wooden spoon). Add more water if necessary.
Add to barley, stir in cheese.
Eat!

How to make this grown up friendly: Trust me on this one tastes great just the way it is and you are going to want to eat some. To make it a bit more adult friendly, put aside your child’s portion and spice it up with more freshly ground black pepper and some salt. I also like to use Kroger brand Zesty Blend seasoning. It is sodium free and brings a little kick to your food.

How to freeze: Let it cool down to room temp (putting hot things in your freezer is not a great idea) and spread on a cookie pan. Before you place it in the freezer score it with a butter knife to portion it out. When you take the pan out of the freezer you may have to let it sit for a minute to release from the pan. Then take each portion out, put them in a zip bag, and they can be thawed at any time.

(Ty with his afternoon snack!)

Cold Marinated Tofu (extra firm)
Don’t pass on this one because it is tofu. Tofu is very inexpensive (even the organic kind. I think we pay under $2 a pound), tastes like what ever you put on it, and can be cooked just about any way!
Tofu can be eaten raw and is great that way on a hot day. Marinade tofu in your choice of sauce or seasonings for a few hours or over night. Today Ty’s had cinnamon and soy sauce on it. After our bike ride he was very hot and he scarffed it all down within a few min. The dogs did not get a single bite.

Cold tofu is also great plain with grated ginger and soy on it. This kind needs no marinating at all.

Work recipe!
Tex/Mex Chicken Bake
Easy, simple, and Steve is sure to comment about how I did not bring any home!

Ingredients:

• (For 5 people)
• 5 small chicken breasts, thawed, cut into slices
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 pkg of low sodium taco spice
• 1 small jar of mild salsa
• 1 can of black beans, washed
• 1/2 c cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Rice mixture:
Cook brown rice in chicken broth until rice is soft and broth is absorbed. Use pkg directions
Add a little bit of water and pour in spice package and black beans.
Stir over medium heat until sauce is absorbed.

Chicken:
Heat a large pan over medium high heat
Cook chicken strips, using a little bit of EVOO so it does not stick, until they are cooked through (no pink should remain in middle)
Once chicken is completely cooked add 3/4 of your salsa
Stir chicken and salsa until the salsa thickens a little and sticks to the chicken. This should only take a few min.

Putting it together:
Place rice moisture in the bottom of a large glass baking dish.
Top with chicken, the rest of the salsa, and sprinkle on the cheese.
Bake for about 10min until the cheese melts and starts to turn a little brown on top.

Other options:
Make a homemade salsa instead of a canned one
Add in grilled or sautéed peppers and/or onions
Add corn into the rice mixture
Use low fat cheese on top or omit it completely
Top with flax tortilla chips
Feel free to salt and pepper to taste

Grilled Zucchini Salad

• 2 large grilled zucchinis cut into bite sized pieces (can also be steamed or sautéed)
• 1T each of these fresh or dried herbs: Parsley, chives (optional, best if used fresh), oregano (hot and spicy is yummy in this)
• 1/4 c EVOO
• 1/8 c Champagne vinegar (see note on vinegars below)
• Salt and pepper to taste

After zucchini is grilled combine with rest of ingredients. This recipe can be served hot, room temp, or cold (my favorite!). You can also add red pepper flakes and a BUNCH of black pepper for a kick!

This dish can be a little bland. To kick it up top with a little fresh grated parm. or add in a bunch of fresh tomatoes. You can even add olives (kalamata are salty but great), pine nuts, walnuts, or roasted bell peppers.

The dressing can be used on any variety of steamed or cooked vegetables. Just keep the ratio of oil to vinegar the same 2:1.
Other Information:

Vinegar:
Choice of vinegar: Anytime I use a vinegar in a recipe feel free to replace it with your favorite vinegar. I would avoid using white vegetable vinegar in most recopies because of the extremely strong flavor. Apple cider vinegar is very healthy and can be substituted into just about anything!
Champaign vinegar is a fairly mild and can be inexpensive. It often has a slight hint of vanilla in it and is fairly fruity. It is used to make dressings, vinaigrettes, and marinades

What kind of grains to use?
Once you start exploring the world of “non-white” grains you are going to read a lot of stuff. As with most of our choices in feeding our child, we are using what is best for our little one and our family.

We stayed away from wheat for many months, as is suggested by the AAP and just about any parenting book you read. Instead we used whole flax tortillas or wheat-less sprouted grain bread, such as Ezekiel 4:19.

Flax is packed with Omega-3 fatty acids which is essential to the growing brain (among other things) in babies. If you are breastfeeding and taking a DHA and/or an O3 supplement your child benefits from your elevated levels of O3’s.

Sprouted grain is referred to as a “live-food.” It is made from legumes and whole grains that are not highly processed like wheat flower is. Because the grains are allowed to sprout they have a higher vitamin and nutrient content than those that are in their hibernated state when processed.

Just a note: Sprouted grain bread needs to be refrigerated or frozen until use. I always kept it frozen until the night before when I would break off a slice to use the next day.

Tyler did have some brown rice pasta, rice crackers, and later whole grain crackers that contained whole wheat. Now that he is a year we are trying to stick to the whole grain diet but there are exceptions (that will be discussed in a later blog).

Again, the choice needs to be one that fits into your family. Some of these products are expensive, which is why we mostly just fed them to Ty and did not eat them ourselves.


Product of the day:

Book
How to Cook Everything, By Mark Bittman

This book is a great reference for new cooks, those who “can’t” cook, and experienced cooks alike. It has everything from information on how to buy every food imaginable to how to simply prepare new dishes.

Picture from Amazon.com

Salmon, WW pasta dish, Soy beans!

Date: Monday, July 6th, 2009

Tyler is: 12months old
Today is: a 1/2 work day

Drive to work: Organic whole milk

Breakfast: I forgot Ty's breakfast at home today, so I had to go on the fly at work. For breakfast Tyler had a handful of organic green grapes cut up, some organic mozzarella cheese (from a cheese stick), a handful of Trader Joe's Fiber O's, tomato chunks, cucumber chunks

Morning Snack: Organic multi grain crackers, organic mozzarella cheese, more tomato (the kid is a tomato fiend!), organic whole milk

Lunch:

Salmon (recipe below), edamame beans (recipe below), organic flax tortilla with sunflower butter, organic pear slices, Water (see note on water below). After lunch Ty had some frozen watermelon in a food teether.

(sorry my pics are so washed out, I am taking them with my camera phone. The food above has a lot more color to it!)

Afternoon Snack: Leftovers from lunch :) I made too much. I also gave Ty a few very well washed blueberries

Dinner: Family Dinner! Whole wheat pasta dish (see recipe below), cream cheese (Ty's favorite right now), pear, watermelon (just a little of the fruit), cottage cheese with iron enriched rice cereal (important to feed 'til at least 18 months). Organic whole milk.

Recipes and other information:

Not liking food:
Many children and infants (and adults) do not like new foods. I feel it is important to keep trying these foods even if they have been flat out rejected in previous attempts. I have read before that it takes a minimum of 8 tries before kids learn to like new foods.
My advice is to try a food 5 or 6 days in a row (which can easily be done by freezing food and thawing it for meals), take a few days off, and then try again. Try different preparations, spices, and methods of cooking. Be sure not to completely cover the taste with cheese or sauces!

Edamame beans:
These are a great quick snack, teether, vegetable for a meal and all around super food. I like to buy these organic because they are not that much more expensive than regular edamame beans. You have to be careful because they can be pre-prepared with salt.
To prepare these I steam (more on steaming in a later post) as many bags as I can fit in my giant steamer. Once they start to soften drain them well, put them in a freezer safe container and freeze. After frozen they easily break apart and can be stored in freezer bags.
To thaw and prepare just put them in the fridge over night, or take them out about an hour before eating. You can add any spices, sauces, or cheese (a favorite of Tyler is parmesan or soy on his beans), leave them plain, or even put them in a food teether (see link below) as a fun way to cool down.

Salmon:

Today I did not pre-thaw any salmon, nor was I in the mood to eat a bunch. I made Ty's fish today (more on fish in a future post) with WILD CAUGHT, no salt added, water packed, salmon from Trader Joe's. I simply used extra virgin olive oil, to brown it a little and added Ty's favorite spice blend (which happens to be Emeril's original spice blend). It took under 5min to prepare once the pan was heated up!

Whole wheat pasta dish:

• Cooked ww pasta
• Chopped up zucchini, tomato, broccoli, onions (sauteed in olive oil with some garlic and black pepper)
• A tiny piece of bacon (Ty's first!)
• Crushed pine-nuts
• Grated Parmesan cheese

This dish was fast to make except the prep took a while as did cooking the bacon. Steve and I had the same thing but ours had salt and more bacon in it. I think Steve spent 13min putting it all together after everything was chopped and the bacon was cooked. If you do the prep earlier in the day you would cut down your time making this dinner.

Whole wheat:

If you have not switched your processed wheat products to whole wheat/sprouted grain/ brown rice/flax, DO IT NOW. There is no reason to be eating white bread products. I know it may not taste as good at first (I hated it) but your tastes will adjust soon. Do not buy into the “white” whole wheat products either. Check the labels and compare, ww is much better for you. If you introduce these products early kids will enjoy the taste and will accept these foods.

Organic:

I am only going to touch on organics today. Tyler ate almost 100% organic during his first year. Since we have loosened up a little and will continue to do so. Dairy is the one thing that we will probably continue to feed almost exclusively for his entire childhood. We are also trying to stick to organic or well washed fruit that has skins (fruit skins being an important part of the diet because of their fiber and nutritional content).

Water:

We use filtered water that comes out of our fridge. The important thing here is that Ty ALWAYS has water available to him when he is awake. We have at least one sippy cup of water or ice water on hot days around the house, there is always one at work, and we put one in the car when we go out. WARNING: Be careful about sippy cups in the car during the summer. The water can get dangerously hot. You must bring it inside with you when you leave the car for any amount of time.

We are currently a juice free house. Ty has only had juice a few times as a “cure” for constipation and once when he had a cold, both times prescribed by his pediatrician. Ty did have a mixture of pureed squash and fruit the few times he had to come to physical therapy with me (sorry, but it kept him busy and quiet!).

The reason we are currently juice free (and will remain so as long as possible, and then switch to a diluted juice family) is because there is little nutritional content in juice and lots of sugar (even in the no sugar added and natural juices). All the nutritional benefits of juice can easily be obtained with fresh or frozen fruit.

Product of the day:

Any food teether or baby popsicle holder is great for a healthy safe snack!
http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Fresh-Food-Feeder-Pack/dp/B000GK5XY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1246902986&sr=8-1