Recipe Archive

These recipes are a mix of baby, toddler, older child, and adult meals.  You know your child's chewing experience and level.  Please make your best judgment and always ALWAYS supervise your baby/toddler when she is eating. If a recipe calls for bite size pieces, it is a good rule of thumb to cut it into a shape and size that does NOT match a child's esophagus. 

Mini-Pizzas
[Posted on 2/14/12]

For a batch of sauce, mix together the following:
1 - 6 oz can tomato paste
6 oz water (just fill the empty paste can)
2 Tablespoons of your favorite Italian seasonings mixed (I use equal parts dried oregano, parsley and basil--add yours to taste)
1 teaspoon sugar

To store in the freezer, just pour into a Ziploc freezer bag and seal out all the air. It should last a few weeks. If you want this just for mini pizzas, store in portioned snack baggies for easier thawing.  You don't want to thaw and refreeze the sauce.  And, I wouldn't store it in the fridge longer than a week.

For the pizzas:

1 Whole Wheat English Muffin
2-3 Tablespoons homemade pizza sauce
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh spinach
1 Tablespoon finely chopped broccoli florets
1/3 cup Low Moisture, Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat the broiler in your oven. Split English muffins and place on cookie sheet. Top with pizza sauce and vegetables, and warm in the oven for a few minutes (2-5 depending on how quickly your oven heated up).  This helps the veggies cook and soak into the sauce.  Then add cheese and broil until cheese is melted.  Yields 1 serving.  Serve with a side of fresh fruit cocktail.


Other kid-friendly ideas to improve your pizza:
Finely shredded zucchini
Chopped mushrooms
Fresh sliced tomatoes
Whole wheat mini-bagels
Whole wheat pita bread
Chopped turkey sausage (sweet Italian isn't too spicy for kids, but check sodium content!)


Baby Berry Parfait
[Posted on 1/17/12]

4 oz Vanilla Greek Yogurt (Vanilla is less bitter than Plain, but if you want to try Plain, more power to ya!)
3 Tbs berries of your choice (I use frozen blueberries, raspberries, and finely chopped strawberries)
1 Tbs crushed Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal (or any favorite whole grain cereal)

Stir berries into yogurt (crushing them to really spread the juices). Layer fruited yogurt and cereal, and top with extra bite size berries.


Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
[Posted on 1/14/12 for a toddler meal]
2 apples (sweet ones work best!)
1/2 cup prepared oatmeal 
1/4 tsp cinnamon


Cut apples in 1 inch pieces, and steam until soft (about 4-6 minutes).  Prepare 1/2 cup oatmeal* with whole or breast milk.  When apples are soft, let them cool a few minutes, peel, and chop into bite sized pieces. Mix together 1/2 cup apples, oatmeal, and cinnamon, and serve with a cup of milk. You will have another 3/4 - 1 cup apples to save for another meal. Use within 3-4 days.




Cucumber & Cream Cheese Sandwich
[Posted on 1/12/12 for a toddler meal]
2 slices Pepperidge Farm Very Thin whole wheat bread (easy for toddlers' little mouths)
1 Tbs plain cream cheese (1/3 less fat)
2 Tbs chopped Cucumber (Cut about 1 1/2 - 2 inches off your cuc)

Peel, then chop the cucumber into smaller than bite size pieces.* Spread cream cheese evenly on one side of each piece of bread, then layer the cucumber pieces in sandwich, and cut into fun shapes or sizes your child can pick up.  Serve with a side of fruit (quartered or halved grapes go well with this light meal) and water or milk to drink.

Omelet Scramble
[Posted on 1/10/12 for a toddler meal]
1 handful of spinach leaves, sauteed over medium heat until wilted (no need for cooking spray or fat, the
     spinach's natural moisture will suffice as long as you toss continuously), then chopped
1/2 slice of low sodium, thick cut deli turkey, torn into bite size pieces
1 whole egg*, whisked with about a tablespoon of whole milk (low fat milk over age 2)
1/2 slice of white American deli cut cheese (or other favorite cheese)

Spray pan with non-fat cooking spray, and scramble all ingredients over medium heat until eggs are fully cooked.  Serve with a side of fruit and water. All that's missing is a whole grain. Catch up on that at the next meal or snack!


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