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.