Ugh- we have hit the doldrums in the meal and snack selections lately. At snack time the request is inevitably - raisins, meal time, it is pizza with olives. I am looking for ideas on how to freshen up the menu! So my prerequisites for this is they need to be healthy, quick and approved by my 23 month old. I am hitting the internet for some ideas and suggestions (please feel free to comment about your ideas!)
One place I went to was Whole Food Market website for kid friendly recipes. They have some pretty terrific ideas with an easy layout to find what your looking for. I think I am going to try the chicken dippers- my little toddler loves dipping, so I think it will be a hit.
Now - I know there is a little controversy over the similarities between the content and recipes in these two cookbooks, but they both have good ideas. The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine and Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld
(Note: there are a bunch of cookbooks like these two- so I am not going to pass judgement on copyright infringement or who came first, see this article on infringement and quick judgement.)
Sounds tasty! I like that idea you said of mixing ground up spinach in the brownies. Yum! I used to eat a lot of spinach squares which have cheese and egg in them. Those are tasty.
I tried J.S.’s sweet potato pancakes and they were great! My 3-year-old only wants pancakes and waffles for breakfast… every day. The consistancy was a little stickier than normal pancakes but we both loved them. Plus, my 9-month old was able to enjoy the sweet potato puree.
Last night at dinner we were arguing about whether potatoes were related to sweet potatoes. I said that sweet potatoes were actually yams, not potatoes at all. Right?
Yams and sweet potatoes- they are actually two different tubers- totally different, yet taste and even look sort of similar. They are sometimes mislabeled in markets, but it is OK because they can be substituted for each other in recipes like the sweet potato pancakes.
here is a good link to refer to for a good explanation :
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/sweetpotato.html
Does your little one like steamed veggies? Steam up her favorites sprinkle a little cheese over them and serve it over couscous, can be a little messy with the couscous, so you can replace it with rice, it’s delicious and easy. Oh and add a little humus to the end product for an additional flavor.
There is Also chili made easy. (If you’re ok with canned beans) use a can of white kidney beans, a can of black kidney beans, and a can of diced tomatoes. Add chili and cumin to taste and you have a wonderful vegetarian chili. As always top with cheese and your favorite mexican trimmings (sour cream, avocado or salsa)
Note: you can add crumbled tofu to add texture, or ground turkey, both are delicious!
Canned beans are great! They are incredibly affordable and taste fine. I buy canned black beans for burritos and canned white beans / chick pears for hummus.