Food for Little Tummies: Spinach Cheddar Fingers

When I posted some recipes great for little ones doing Baby Led Weaning a few weeks ago, I forgot to include my favorite go to snack for Cai; Spinach Cheddar Fingers!

I think I mentioned a while back that at his nine month appointment Cai's hemoglobin was a little low. His iron levels were just under normal. I'm happy to say that at his 12 month visit, they were just above normal, so although we still need to watch, he's doing well (And as a braggy side note, both times he had to have a finger stick, he didn't make a peep. My tough little baby!) Anyway, we made sure he was eating lots of iron rich foods like spinach and whole wheat, and this is one of the ways we did it.

I don't use a very precise recipe, and I change it up a little every time I make it, but here are the basics...

Ingredients:

• Spinach, finely chopped. about 1/2 c.
• 1 egg
• 1/4-1/2 c. shredded cheese, I usually use cheddar.
• Spices, I've added curry and cumin
• Baking mix, I use Arrowhead Mills Sprouted Grain mix.
• I've also added breast milk and a bit of raw milk

Basically, you add ingredients until you get the right consistency. I start with the first few ingredients, then add baking mix until it's just thick enough to form little finger shaped pieces without it sticking completely to my fingers.

I evenly space them out on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet and bake at 350. They are so easy and yummy enough that I sometimes sneak one myself!

Food for Little Tummies (Baby Led Weaning)

I've mentioned on the blog before that we've decided to do baby led weaning (BLW) to introduce Cai to solid foods. This meant that we skipped purees and rice cereal and went straight to solid foods. In the beginning it mostly looked like Cai shoving food into his mouth, tasting it, experiencing the texture, mashing it around a little bit, and spitting it back out, but as he has grown, it now looks like a small person eating food (and it's super fun to watch).

I just wanted to share a few of the recipes that have worked for us (nutritious and easy for little hands).

 Breakfast Hash
This was a go to meal for me in the end of IVF and the beginning of pregnancy when I was trying to eat lots of protein, but with just a little bit o tweaking, it's been great for Cai too. I made enough for us to share

INGREDIENTS:

• Potatoes, cut into grabbable sticks
• Fresh herbs (I used basil and rosemary and scallions)
• Shredded cheese (I used parm. and cheddar)
• Eggs
• Milk (we use raw milk)
• EVOO
• Sausage (optional depending on your baby. Cai doesn't do well with sausage skin, so I either take the skin off or leave it out)

DIRECTIONS:

• Brown potatoes in hot skillet with EVOO.
• If you're using sausage, add that next and cook until brown.
• In separate bowl, scramble eggs with herbs, cheese, and a splash of milk.
• Add eggs to skillet and use spatula to scramble all of the ingredients.

Farmer's Market Pizza

I won't bother posting a recipe for this, but I was super proud of this recipe. I used all ingredients from the farmer's market, my own potted herbs, and a local farm. Everything was pesticide free. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Brick oven chabatta bread
• Farm fresh mozarella
• Tomato sauce
• Fresh basil
• Fresh rosemary

Strawberry French Toast

Again, I won't post a recipe for this one, because I'm sure you know how to  make French toast, but basically I made French toast and then spread cream cheese on it and added strawberries.

INGREDIENTS:

• Bread (I think I used some of my dad's homemade sourdough bread)
• Egg
• Cinnamon
• Milk
• Cream cheese
• Strawberries, sliced

Sweet Potato Fries

Not only did Cai love them, but Steve did too. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Sweet potatoes, cut like fries
• Coconut oil
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Curry

DIRECTIONS:

• Toss cut sweet potatoes in coconut oil and spices to taste (we liked ours with a mix of sweet and savory spices)
• Spread onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• Bake until soft enough to chew.

We have loved BLW (and so has Cai). It can be messy, but it's so much fun to watch your little one explore foods. And so far, Cai loves everything we've given him except artichokes. Yay for not being a picky eater!

Autumn Roasted Veggie Soup: PCOS Friendly

I'm this close [ ] to being ready for fall. I am, however, fully ready for all things pumpkin. So when I saw this recipe for a savory pumpkin and veggie bisque, I was ready to try it. I almost never follow a recipe exactly though, especially for soup, so mine looked quite a bit different (and still PCOS friendly), and I thought I'd share!

Autumn Roasted Veggie Soup



Ingredients:

• 4-5 organic carrots, peeled and chopped (mine were pretty skinny)
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (Okay, here's the truth: One of the "sweet potatoes" that I grabbed was not a sweet potato. It may have been a white sweet potato, but I'm not entirely sure. It had the same look and texture inside and out of a regular sweet potato, but it was white instead. I didn't realize this until I got it home and sliced into it, but it tasted yummy)
• 1/2 a Vidalia onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 small cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 can of pureed pumpkin
• 2 cups of organic vegetable broth
• 2 cups of water
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• approx. 2 tsp. cinnamon
• approx. 1 tbsp curry powder
• approx. 1/4 tsp. grated ginger (I buy fresh and keep it in the freezer)
• approx. 1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. raw honey (Note: This is not recommended for pregnant women, but I 1.) wasn't worried because it was being cooked and 2.) like to break the rules.)
• 1/4 c. organic whole milk (if, like some women with PCOS, you choose not to eat dairy, you could use coconut milk instead)
• sour cream or Greek yogurt for garnish.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Drizzle olive oil on pan. Place carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, and garlic on pan. Top with another drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Veggies before roasting

3. Roast vegetables for 20-25 minutes, checking and stirring midway.

4. Fill medium pot with vegetable broth, water, and pureed pumpkin and place on stove on low heat.

5. Remove roasted vegetables from oven and add to broth. Add spices (I put the approx. amounts I used, but season to taste), salt, and honey and cook on low-med. heat, uncovered for 15-20 min.

Veggies after roasting

6. Remove from heat. Using a stick blender (you could also use a regular blender), blend soup to desired consistency. Add milk, stirring to blend.

7. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream as garnish.

Smoothie Saturday: Raspberry Apple Ginger

Ooh, this smoothie was one of my favorites so far!

 Ingredients:

• 1 Organic Pinata apple (or any apple, but I fell in love with this kind this week)
• 1 c. organic frozen raspberries
• A few small pieces of frozen avocado for creaminess
• 1/2 c. water
• Spinach (I didn't use much this time because I didn't have much left)
• Grated frozen ginger

Again, I put it all in the mixing cup and blended with the stick blender. Because of the raspberry seeds and because the apple was fresh, this wasn't quite as smooth as the smoothies I normally make, but the flavor was incredible!

The combination of the sweetness and tartness from the apple and the spiciness of the ginger made this super refreshing!

This smoothie also made just enough for me this time. Katie wasn't home, so I didn't make enough for her.

This is the apple I used. I found them at Wegmans this week. They are a large and beautiful variety from Washington called Pinata (I don't know how to make an ~ on blogger). They are tart and sweet with a hint of tropical flavor.

The sweetness of the apple allowed me to forgo any added sweeteners this time; no honey or sucanat. That's a win in my book!

What are your favorite smoothie in add ins?

Smoothie Saturday: Mango Spinach

Mango Smoothies are my favorite, but I made this one a little differently this time.

Ingredients:

Organic frozen mango (a little over 2 cups)

Organic coconut oil (about 1/2 tbsp)

Organic spinach (a small handful)

Organic coconut water (amount depends on the consistency you want)

Raw local honey-not pictured (about 1/2 tbsp)

Frozen ginger grated, to taste

Ground cinnamon, to taste

Like I said before, I use a stick blender, so I layer my ingredients in the mixing cup.

 As I mentioned above, I made this a little differently this time. I didn't use yogurt, which I usually use (I was out). This time I used coconut oil instead. Coconut oil is supposed to help with digestive health, and since I was still dealing with some gurgles from my stomach bug when I made this, I thought it would be a good addition.  Actually, both coconut oil and raw honey are supposed to be anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial.  I always put ginger in my coconut smoothie, but I thought that could help with my tummy troubles too. The spinach was for the folic acid.

My only complaint with this smoothie was that it was a little salty. I'm pretty sure that was because of the coconut water, which I've just recently started using in my smoothies. In the future I won't use so much. This recipe made two smoothies, and I shared with my sister. She didn't think it was salty at all, so it might have just been me.

 Other than while I was sick, I think I've been doing a pretty good job eating healthy breakfasts lately. This week I rotated between smoothies, Greek yogurt, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs.

What does your healthy breakfast consist of? Any good ideas for me?

Smoothie Saturday: Kiwi Strawberry

Happy Monday!

Now that I'm preparing my body for a baby, I've got an extra incentive to make better choices in the way I eat and exercise. I've been making some changes the past two weeks in the what I eat, specifically avoiding things with white sugar and gluten. I'm not cutting things out altogether, just trying to slowly cut back.

For example, I'm trying to only eat grains (outside of oatmeal for breakfast some mornings) to one meal a day. And even for that one meal, I'm trying to choose a gluten free grain. I've eaten some brown rice pasta and some quinoa for example. My lunches have been heavy on fruits and vegetables with some nuts, Greek yogurt, and cheese here and there.

I'm not a big fan of greens, but I'm trying to add more to my diet in little ways, specifically spinach because of how high in folic acid it is. One of the ways I'm doing that is by drinking green-ish smoothies for breakfast, not every morning (, but a couple times a week. This is great because it's filling and tasty and a sneaky way to eat things that are good for me.

I thought I'd share some of the recipes I've been using, and the new one I tried this week is a kiwi strawberry smoothie.

INGREDIENTS

• about a cup of organic frozen strawberries 
• 2 fresh organic kiwi
• about 2 tbsp. of  Greek yogurt (you could also use dairy free almond yogurt)
• a handful of spinach
• organic coconut water (I used Coco Libre brand)
• 1/2 tsp. sucanat or your preferred sweetener

DIRECTIONS

• Remove strawberries from freezer and let them defrost slightly for a few minutes. I find frozen fruit blends better and gives that coolness we like in smoothies, but if you use it fresh out of the freezer, especially strawberries, it's too hard.
• I use a stick blender (I have a turquoise Cuisinart and I love it because it's useful and pretty The other great thing about using the stick blender is that it's so easy to clean up. You just rinse the blades and stick the cup in the dishwasher.), so I put all of the dry ingredients and the yogurt in the mixing cup then add the coconut water. The amount of coconut water changes depending on how thick or thin you like your smoothies. Regular water would work fine,  but I like the added nutrients of the coconut water.
• Blend with blender until it reaches the desired consistency adding water or more sweetener as desired. I found I needed to add more sucanat to this one than the other flavors I make because it was so tart.
• Pour into glasses and add a big thick straw. This made about 10 oz. I think, and I shared with my sister rather than drink the whole thing.

Do you have any smoothie recommendations? I'd love to hear about them!

Easy *Fake* Apple Dumplings

When everyone went home after our big Pre-Thanksgiving feast this weekend, we had a ton of leftovers. But of course, when Lauren and I were craving leftover apple pie, we discovered that all we had left was pumpkin pie. The craving was a strong one, so I set about to make us something fast, yummy, and apple-y.

Thus, Easy Fake Apple Dumplings were born. I'm sure I'm not the first person to do this, but just in case I am, I thought I'd share what I did.

Easy *Fake* Apple Dumplings

Geez, I feel like I'm advertising Great Value brand.

Ingredients: 

Refrigerated crescent dough 

2+ apples sliced (I used granny smith)

Cinnamon

Sugar

Nutmeg (optional)

Butter

Brown Sugar

Directions:

1. Prepare apples. Peel and slice into small pieces, then toss with cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg to taste.

2. Open crescent roll package and unroll crescent triangles. Place about a spoonful of apples in the center of each triangle.

3. Roll tip of triangle up over the apples then pull sides up and over and pinch to close. This doesn't have to be pretty.

Dumplings should look something like this.

 4. Place dumplings on a cookie sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper for easy clean up) and put in the oven at the temperature given on crescent roll package. I think mine said 375. Bake until golden brown.

5. For the sauce, I melted about two and a half tbsp. of butter in the microwave. Then I mixed in brown sugar and cinnamon, and grated some nutmeg in. I didn't measure, I just kept mixing and tasting. I probably used about 2/3 of a cup of brown sugar. After I mixed it, I stuck it back in the microwave to make it a little smoother. If you want more exact directions for a sauce like this, I would recommend looking up the directions for the sauce for monkey bread.

 6. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and sauce drizzled on top!

 We REALLY enjoyed these. And two each was just enough to be satisfying but not overly filling.

Have you used crescent dough for anything other than making crescent rolls?

Things I've Tried from Pinterest: How to Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Baggie

This pin is a delicious and simple concept. Make a small amount ice cream in a plastic bag. No ice cream maker necessary. The recipe came from 2 Little Hooligans.I've tried it three or four times.

What I used:

• Everything the recipe called for.
• I made a cinnamon ice cream by adding cinnamon.
• Chocolate version by adding cocoa
• Coconut version by adding coconut extract.

What I like about it:

• No ice cream maker needed.
• I can make a single serving of ice cream, no need to feel like I'm overeating or having to freeze the rest.
• I know what's in it. Simple straightforward ingredients.
• It's totally customizable. I can try new flavors all the time.
• It was kind of fun to shake the bag up.
• It's yummy.

Concerns:

• Messy: One of my Ziplocks leaked getting salty water everywhere. Even when it wasn't leaking the condensation was everywhere.
• Melts very quickly.
• You can't make a large amount using this method.
• It's really cold shaking that bag!
• It uses a lot of salt.

I would definitely do this again, and I look forward to trying more flavors!

Things I've Tried from Pinterest: Skinny Pizza Rolls

This is a great concept.Skinny pizza rolls from Dashing Dish. A quick and easy after school snack as yummy as Totino's Pizza Roles, but with far fewer calories, and homemade!

What I used:

• Wonton wrappers
• Store bought pasta sauce, Prego I think
• Shredded cheese, whatever I had handy
• Fresh herbs like rosemary and basil

What I like about it:

• The original recipe says they are only 30 calories each! How can you go wrong?
• They were yummy!
• I knew what was in them. No mysteries about "cheese product" or any other unknown ingredients.
• They are totally customizable. I think I may have even added a bit of spinach when I made them. You could easily make different types with bacon bits or sausage or pepperoni pieces. In fact the orginal recipe uses pepperoni, so my version must have been even lower in calories! Score!
• They lend themselves to being vegetarian. I made them at a time when Steve wasn't eating meat. They were a great snack that we could both eat.

Concerns:

• They were very time consuming to make.
• They were a bit messy.
• They weren't super filling.
• I don't usually have wonton wrappers on hand.
• I couldn't use the whole wonton wrapper package in one shot and many of them were wasted because I didn't use them again.

I will definitely try this recipe again. I might try freezing them next time to make them a faster snack. They were definitely yummy!

Things I've Tried from Pinterest: Chocolate Frosting Shots

This idea intrigued me; Chocolate Frosting Shots. Basically, the concept is dairy free, gluten free chocolate icing using coconut milk. The pin comes from ChocolateCoveredKatie.com. I've tried it twice and plan to try it again.

What I used:

• Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
• Vanilla
• Powdered Sugar
• A Touch of Thai Coconut Milk

What I like about it:

• The obvious. It's a dairy free alternative. 
• It's easy, with simple ingredients I usually have in the house.
• It's yummy and rich.

Concerns:

• My results with it have not been consistent. I don't know if it relates to the temperature of the coconut milk or what, but it has turned out differently both times.
• It's almost too sweet and rich. In order to get a good consistency, I have to add a ton of sugar and cocoa.
• The consistency is not the same as regular frosting. It really is more like a mousse.
• You have to prepare ahead by keeping the coconut milk in the fridge. 

Like I said, I plan to try this again, but unless I am specifically making cupcakes for, say, my cousin who is lactose and gluten intolerant. I would possibly use it as an actual mousse with a ton of whip cream on top. I definitely would have a glass of milk with it!

Puppy Treats (Yeah, I'm that dork)

I made homemade dog treats. I don't know what exactly possessed me, but I made up my own puppy treats. I checked out some existing recipes from Allrecipes.com and a couple from Pinterest, then combined the elements I had and was comfortable feeding my puppy.

I simply mixed together outs, flax seed meal, peanut butter, honey, Polaner Allfruit-black raspberry, and some vanilla yogurt until I got a consistency I liked. I originally intended to make them bone shaped or at least use a round cookie cutter to shape them, but it was late when I made them, and I was eager to be done. Plus, Finn really likes to play with his treats before he eats them; throws them in the air and chases them around the room.
So instead, I made them into little bite sized balls and baked them at 375 until they were golden brown.

Finn loves them! And actually, so do I; I would make cookies from this same recipe, haha! Finn really does love them though. We've been trying to teach him to roll over, and as of yet, this is the only treat he will do it for without urging. In fact, all I have to do now is hold one of these and he lays down and rolls over! It's quite entertaining.

**Note** As I typed this, my wonderfully puppy decided to roll in something dead, or at least I assume so because he certainly smelled like it. So he just received his second bath in three days. Gross.