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!