Not-Spicy Asian Peanut Sauce Recipe for Kids

For those of you following the blog, I am asking for a little patience.  We are in the process of moving and life is more than hectic right now, please forgive the short post, or any delay that may occur with next week's post.  Once we get settled into our temporary housing, (we will be moving again in 3 months), I have lots of wonderful posts and additions to the blog that I am really excited about!

Okay, now that I got that out of the way, I want to share a new recipe I tried and adapted for our family.  As I have mentioned previously, I have been having some difficulty with my now 1 year old's (Ahh, I can't believe he's one!) eating.  Although, I haven't had to deal with concerns about Isaac's weight gain, it has been very stressful for me as a mom.  I have had to give myself little occupational therapy pep talks every day.  Things like, "You can't feed him pizza every night for dinner."  I am very grateful and pleased to say that Isaac's eating has been steadily improving.  Not to keep harping on it, but the Basic Strategies I lay out really are my guide and what I kept relying on with Isaac on a daily basis.  


When I was at my wits end about a week or two ago, I knew I had to sit down and do a meal plan for the the whole family that would challenge Isaac just enough, but not too much that he would refuse to eat. I love to do meal plans, but with the all the chaos of moving, it just  hasn't been happening a lot lately.  I finally got it together but was nervous about one dinner in particular -- Asian night.  I had planned on making egg rolls (store-bought), brown rice, and shrimp stir-fry.  There wasn't any preferred food in this meal for Isaac and I wasn't sure how to incorporate one, especially since he only had a few foods I would consider preferred.  Then it dawned on me to make a sauce, separately.  I wasn't sure if he would respond better to the dry rice or a wet texture.  Isaac likes a lot of flavor and peanut butter (see my note below on feeding peanut butter to kids under 2) so I thought I would try an Asian peanut sauce, problem is they are virtually all spicy, really spicy. I adapted a recipe I found on Good Earth Peanuts.  This recipe is extremely forgiving, so feel free to experiment and use what you have on hand.

Asian Peanut Sauce


3/4 cups of peanut butter (I used Jiff, but I think natural would work well, too)
3 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sesame oil (I think you can skip this unless you use natural peanut butter)
1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of hoisin sauce (optional)
1/3 cup of water


Whisk all ingredients together and then heat slowly over a low heat, stirring frequently.  Add more water or vinegar if you would like a thinner consistency.  Also, if you use a sugar free peanut butter, you may want to add 1-2 tbs of brown sugar.


Seriously, this is so easy and tasty.  As you may have realized, I am not providing you with sophisticated gourmet recipes (I wish I had time for those).  The recipes I share on this blog are easy to put together and hopefully get you thinking a little out of the box when it comes to what you are having for dinner.  I want to inspire you to try something new or different with your kids!


As for our dinner, Isaac devoured the sauce mixed in with his brown rice, and even ate some shrimp.  It was a good night for him (and me too)!  I do have to admit, Sam struggled through this dinner and didn't care for the peanut sauce very much, despite his love of peanut butter. He ate enough though, with a lot of encouragement.  You never know how it's going to go, until you try!


I know people might question me on giving Isaac peanut butter before the age of 2.  In a nutshell, (sorry, can't pass up the pun) I have given peanut butter to my boys before the age of 1 because we don't have a family history of food allergies.  I introduced it slowly and am careful to how thick it is when they are young because it can be a choking hazard.   Some research shows that there is no evidence of reduced risk to allergies by waiting to introduce foods when a child is older.  Of course, you should always discuss these concerns and any questions you may have with your child's doctor.  


If you are new to meal planning or looking for more inspiration Modern Parents Messy Kids has a whole series dedicated to the ins and outs of planning ahead. 


What do you think, going to give Asian Peanut Sauce a try?  Follow me on Facebook so you can keep track of other yummy recipes I share on my page!

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Picky Eater Tip: Put it on a Stick!

Try serving foods on a stick!  From left: grape/cantaloupe/pineapple skewer, strawberry lollipop, and baked potato/broccoli/cheddar cheese mini kebab.  

This is the second post in a regular series I have started, Picky Eater Tips.  Click here, if you missed the first tip.  Although this tip is great for "picky" eaters, all kids will enjoy it.  Kids love to eat food on sticks!  I have to admit, I enjoy it myself.  In this post, I will show you how to use sticks when you are stuck in a rut in the middle of a meal, as well as some fun meal ideas. 


I have a bag full of "tricks" that I use to jump-start a kid's eating when it has stalled half way through a meal or if it hasn't really gotten started at all.  All of these tricks serve the same purpose -- to shift focus.  So many times kids, especially toddlers, dig their heals into the ground over not trying something just on principle.  They don't even know why they don't want to try something and then you're in a power struggle.  (Warning: this may be hard to hear...)  Your kid will win this power struggle, so try not to go there.  Once the battle over eating begins, the focus often becomes winning the battle, which means not eating.  When you see this happening, you need to change it up. 



One way to do this is to use a toothpick to eat.  My husband just did this the other day with Sam.  (By the way I almost fell over, he came up with this all on his own! I was so proud!)  Sam had some fresh cherries for a snack that I had sliced off around the seed.  He refused them immediately, which I had expected.  My goal was to get him to just try one, since this is something he typically refuses.  I offered a few encouraging sentiments, "Sam, could you try one bite? It is okay if you spit it out.  They are sweet and soft."  Then, a few minutes later, "How about a lick?  Aren't they a beautiful shade of red?"  I was distracted cleaning something up (my fault for trying to multi-task when he needed more attention).  Then my husband said, "I have a fun idea, why don't we eat them with toothpicks?"  Sam had never been given a toothpick, I would have felt uncomfortable with that up until now (he's nearly three).  Sam was immediately interested.  My husband, got his own toothpick and demonstrated.  With a little encourgement and safety instruction Sam ate 10 pieces of cherries happily!  Sam did great and I was really happy, but I would have been pleased with one bite because that was progress.  Keep in mind that touching, smelling, or just kissing the food may be progress.  It is a process, don't be discouraged if your kid doesn't eat 10 bites of whatever food you are working on.  


A few days later we had cherries again and he hesitated, he did ask for the toothpick again, which I was okay with.  It may take him a little while to get comfortable with this food, as he didn't eat as many the second time out.  Of course this is such a novelty right now, and he is three, so he wants to do the same thing over and over.  

Besides using toothpicks, try lollipop sticks and skewers (if your kid is older, I still wouldn't trust Sam with one of those).  The point is to get creative and make it fun for them.  Obviously, you are a little limited with what foods you can stick on a stick, rice and cottage cheese won't fit the bill.  But, once you start to think about it, a lot of foods could go on a stick.  Here are some more ideas:


meatballs
tofu
cheese
shrimp
most fruits and veggies (i.e. mushrooms, peppers, apples, pears, melons, etc.)
any meat (chicken, lamb, beef, pork, etc.)
noodles
polenta (the baked kind that hold it's shape)
breads


It would be fun to plan some meals around this stick theme, too.  If you are going in with something you know they often refuse, then give it to them on a lollipop or make a kabob with a few other things you know they like.  I have a few meal ideas for you:

• In the picture I have a mini-kabob with baked potato, cheese, and broccoli.  You could call this a baked potato bar on a stick and give some sour cream to dip.  

• We had this awesome pretzel chicken (seriously you should try this) a few weeks ago and it would work great on skewers.  

• Cubed, breaded, tofu on toothpicks with marinara sauce.  

• Bake mini meatloafs onto lollipop sticks.

Are you still looking for some more inspiration?  The Kitchen Daily has a great round up.

Sometimes it's the smallest things that make the most difference.  I believe that's true when it comes to improving a "picky" eater's diet, too!  All of the little changes you start to make will add up to big changes.

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Cooking with Your Kid: Quiche, Made Your Way

Quiche is a perfect, light, summer dish that is very forgiving and versatile.  I love to cook anything that requires you to throw everything into one pot or bowl and stir.  Also, you can serve it up for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and it reheats well for leftovers.  We had it for dinner last night and I knew it was a bit risky for my kids.  Sam always needs some encouragement to eat some of his scrambled eggs (quiche is basically scrambled eggs in a pie shell) and Isaac has refused eggs several times all together.  I did serve it with fruit, so they would have a preferred food, and I knew they would gobble up the crust (who can blame them).  I added a seasonal ingredient, fresh from my mother's garden, swiss chard, alongside a diced tomato!  I know I may be losing some of you here, swiss chard, for kids?  Yes!  I really feel strongly that there doesn't have to be "kid foods".  Our little ones are capable of eating more than pizza, chicken nuggets, and fries...BUT only if we give them the opportunity to.  I will admit that I was really pushing the envelope with the swiss chard, but I took a few precautions to give the boys the best chance of eating and enjoying our quiche.  Read on to see how I approached success at our dinner table, as well as the recipe for this yummy dish!  

The first step was getting Sam to help me cook, which is never a problem.  As I have stated in previous posts, kids often feel invested in the meal when they help prepare it.  I had even more motivation last night though because I wanted him to interact with the swiss chard, so I had him help me chop it up.  Now, I have him touching this new food!  Next we smelled it, which also helps children feel more comfortable with new foods. Smelling a food also gets it up close to their face, you know by their mouth, where we ultimately want them to put it.  I made sure to chop it up very small.  No, not to hide the food in the quiche, but to keep the taste from being to overwhelming in one bite or risking a long stringy piece that the baby could choke on.  Also, Sam may have passed on the food altogether if he got a big piece because that texture can be overwhelming for him.  Not to say that I won't eventually use larger pieces, but I will work them up to this. Once all the food was chopped up, I asked Sam to scoop it up off the cutting board with his hands into the pot (little pieces of it got stuck all over his hands).  He made a few comments about his hands being dirty, which I acknowledged but didn't dwell on.  I gave him a wet paper towel to wash his own hands off.  Lastly, I sauteed the  greens in olive oil and chicken stock to mellow the flavor.

Sam helping me cut up the veggies.  Don't worry, he just has a butter knife!

While the quiche was cooking I turned the oven light on so he could occasionally take a peek and he stood at a safe distance while I pulled it out of the oven.  I was trying to keep him involved in the whole process.  I decided to give Sam a whole slice (as opposed to chopping it up in a bowl for him) and showed him how to use the side of his fork to cut it.  I was hoping this independence would spur his eating on even more.  He was excited, telling his Dad, "I made this quiche!"  He took 3-4 bites, eating well, and then stopped.  Sam asked, "Can I have more crust?"  He had eaten all of his off the top.  I told him, there was crust on the bottom of his quiche.  He calmly said, "I want more of the top part."  To which I replied, "Maybe once you have some more of the quiche."  Sam said nothing and started playing with his utensils.  I let this go on for a while, since I was dealing with Isaac (I'll get to him in a minute).  I realized Sam was stuck in a rut and may not eat any more quiche.  I wanted to change things up a little to get him interested again.  I looked at his plate and saw that I had given him too large of a piece.  I took some off and said, "I think we have too much on here."  Then I coarsely chopped the rest up for him and loaded up another bite onto his fork.  I laid it down so he could feed himself.  He took the bite and I gave him some praise, letting him know how happy I was that he was eating some more.  We took a few bites together and he ate what I felt was a good portion for him.  It wasn't his best, but he did okay.  I didn't encourage him to eat all of it because I want him to recognize his own hunger cues and respect that he had already pushed himself a little.

Now, Isaac is a whole different story.  He is having a lot of trouble eating a large quantity or variety of foods.  We are making progress, but it is slow.  I knew he would finger feed broken up pieces of the crust so I started with that. For Isaac, he needs to see and begin eating something he enjoys before he tries something foreign and non-preferred.  This is something I have learned through trial and error over the last few weeks.  Once he had started on that I tried to fork feed small bites of the bottom of the quiche to him.  My thought was he will get some crust and some egg.  Then, I would work up to bigger pieces of just egg.  That plan fell flat, despite my best efforts.  I tried to stay calm, but was getting very frustrated with the constant batting away of my hand approaching his mouth!  I put some small bite sized pieces right onto his tray in hopes he would start to finger feed them himself.  He wasn't.  Now, he was starting to get fussy and I was officially frustrated.  I took a breath and turned away to talk to Sam.  A minute later, my husband said, "Hey, he's eating the quiche."  I was elated that he was even trying it.  He continued on to eat a small portion, then allowing me to put small pieces into his mouth along with him feeding himself. My husband kept small pieces coming on his tray and I made sure to say "yeah" and clap for the bites he was taking.  He didn't eat what I would consider a lot, but he ate a lot for him!  That's all I can ask for.

The point here isn't to share every detail of my dinner, but to get you thinking about ways you can increase the variety of foods your kid eats.  Also, this isn't as cumbersome as it sounds.  Being aware of challenges you may face and being armed with small tricks will allow you to manage meals better.  Most of the interactions I described only took a few minutes.  I hope this gives you some food for thought.  Are you inspired to try something new with your kid?

Alright, on with the recipe!  You really have a lot of room to play around with quiche.  It can be made with 4-6 eggs and a large variety of veggies and proteins taste great.  I used swiss chard, tomato, and mozzarella/parmesan cheese (wish it had been goat cheese) because it is what I had on hand.  I really liked this combination and will definitely make it again.  Be creative and try some new combinations.

Quiche, Made Your Way

1 pie shell (I used store bought, but more power to you if you want to make from scratch!)
5 eggs
1 cup of milk (half and half or heavy cream will give a creamier texture)
1 cup of cheese (I used part-skim mozzarella and fresh grated parmesan)
2/3 cup of cooked swiss chard
1/2 cup of diced tomato
1 tsp of thyme
1 pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper

Whisk eggs, seasonings, and milk together.  Add cheese and veggies.  Mix well and pour into pie shell.  Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes.  The cook time may vary depending on what you add to it.  It is that simple!

This quiche can be made with just cheese as well.  If you load in lots of extras you may need to add less cheese so that it all fits.

Here are some ideas if you need some inspiration: shrimp, ham, sausage, bacon, turkey, onion, spinach, mushroom, broccoli, sun-dried tomato, capers, and zucchini.

Overall, I think this was a success at my kid's table, I made sure to make something that was more preferred for both of them tonight for dinner.  Let me know what quiche you are going to try!

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Blueberry Corn Bread

It is Memorial Day Weekend and while we pause to remember the brave men and women that have honored our country, we naturally want to eat that which symbolizes Americana.  Cornbread, is one of the first things that comes to mind.  Of course, I wanted to up the nutritional value, and with fresh blueberries purchased at the farmer's market, I was inspired!

Now that Isaac is nearly 10 months old, I am really starting to move him onto table foods and many of our meals are revolving around what he can eat with us.   Soft fruits and vegetables, and  breads and muffins (i.e. zucchini bread, banana muffins, etc.) are perfect transition foods for your baby, once they are chewing and managing  soft melt-able foods well.  I wanted Isaac to be able to eat small pieces of cornbread with us, so I pureed the blueberry's before mixing them in. By doing that, he wouldn't get any large unexpected chunks that he could potentially choke on.   If you aren't feeding a baby, you could place whole or chopped berries into the bread, but the puree makes the bread sweeter and also looks very pretty.

I'm happy to report that it worked wonderfully well as a recipe.  I had never heard of blueberry cornbread and thought naively that I had a novel idea. I can hear some of you laughing now, obviously, as my Google searched proved, this is not a novel idea.  However, I didn't see anything with a puree in it, which is perfect for a baby and is just as good for the big kids and adults. I do have to admit that this wasn't a big hit with Isaac, in fact it wasn't a hit at all.  He is just coming off of a bad stomach virus and is slowly getting back into eating.  Cornbread is a little coarse by nature and crumbles everywhere, so Isaac was a little overwhelmed by the texture  It was very frustrating to go through the trouble and have him not eat it, but I have to remind myself that teaching a child to eat is a process!  I still think cornbread is a great idea and I will try it with him again soon, maybe with some melted butter on it.   Yes, try and try at least 12 times applies to babies, too! 

As far as Sam was concerned I didn't want to "trick" him with the puree, which would have been hard to do anyways with the sharp contrast in colors.  He was busy in his sandbox and not interested in helping me make these, so I made sure to point out that the corn bread had blueberries in it, especially because blueberries are really hit or miss with him.   He loves most anything related to bread and gobbled them up.  Again, because he liked them so much I highlighted how good the blueberries were that were in the bread.  If you think your kid might pass on them definitely try to get them involved in cooking these with you.

Silicone Mold for Muffins

I made my cornbread in a mini-muffin tin and a  kid-tray of larger insect shaped muffins (see above).  I knew Sam would love eating a butterfly so I did this just for fun, don't feel like you need to purchase something like this.  Although, this could be a great hook to get your kid to try something they normally wouldn't.

I left some of my muffins plain.  The blueberry was an experiment after all.

Blueberry Cornbread

adapted from food.com

• Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
• Total Time: 35-45 minutes
• Serves: 10
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup honey 
• 1/2- 3/4 cup of pureed blueberries*
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup applesauce or 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise (I used the mayo)
• *Add as much or little blueberry as you want, there really is no rule.

Directions:

1. 1
   Combine dry ingrients and mix.
2. 2
   Combine wet ingredients and mix.*
3. 3
   Slowly pour wet ingredients into dry and fold in gently. Take care not to over-mix.
4. 4
   Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (adjust to your oven) if using an 8x8 pan.  15 minutes for muffins. 12 minutes for mini-muffins
5. 5
   Let cool and cut into 20 squares or remove from muffin tins.
   
   
   *If you want there to be a swirl in your cornbread pour blueberry puree in while almost done folding wet and dry ingredients.  If you want to pour puree on top of the bread and use a butter knife to swirl through.  If you are using a mini muffin pan pour a small dollop on top of each muffin and stir through with a toothpick.  

Some Tips on Improving Your Kid's Eating:

• Kids of all ages may have some difficulty with the texture of cornbread, as Isaac did. A different texture like this, can catch them off guard, and then they may refuse to eat it.  As you present cornbread to your kid, try to describe what it is going to feel like in their mouth, when they take a bite.  You might say something like, "This bread falls apart very easily so little pieces will go all over your mouth and might fall on your lips and chin.  The little crumbles melt quickly and are easy to chew."  If your kid seems nervous, you might say something like this first, "Let's try a little bite first, with some butter on it."  By taking a small bite, the texture won't be as overwhelming, initially.  Also, the butter will change the texture a little, making it less harsh.  This tactic can apply to any new or non-preferred food you are giving your kid.  

• As I have mentioned before, I am not a big fan of hiding food as purees in other highly desirable foods. It is necessary in some instances, and is appropriate in some recipes like the Blueberry Cornbread.  Since Sam liked the blueberry cornbread so much, I took the opportunity to use this as a door into eating fresh whole blueberries:
• I served Sam fresh blueberries the next morning along side his whole grain bagel, which he initially ignored.  It had been quite a while since he had them since they are so tart our of season.  I nonchalantly asked him to try a blueberry half way through our bagels.  He nonchalantly replied, "I am eating my bagel."  I gave him another reminder a few minutes later, to which he said, "I don't like blueberries."  I ignored this statement and calmly grabbed the cute little green carton of berries.  I looked in to the carton and acted like I was searching for something.  I knew I had his attention.  Then, I said, "Hmm, I wonder, if I can find a little baby blueberry in here?"  What a surprise (sarcasm), I did!  I pulled it out and put it on his plate, saying, "Oh, look at this cute little baby blueberry.  I am going to find one and eat one too!"  Next, I pulled one out for me and said, "Okay, let's eat this little baby blueberries." And, we did!  Notice, I didn't ask him if he wanted to eat it, I just set it up as an assumption (of course, he still might have said no). The blueberries were so sweet and ripe, I was fairly certain he was going to like them.  I then continued our little game, finding little boy, mommy, and daddy, blueberries.  In all he only ate 5 blueberries, but that was a success.  In fact, if he had only eaten one it would have been a success.  I will try and build on this the next time we have blueberries, trying to get him to eat more with less effort. However, he may very well refuse the next time, and if he does, I will try again. 

There were a few things that I think made this experience really successful:  I was giving him my full attention, we ate it together, and I remained calm.  I was prepared to be disappointed, but not discouraged!

The example above is just one example.  My hope is that you get the idea of what I was doing and adapt it to your situation with your kid!

Enjoy the grilling, swimming, and hopefully blueberry cornbread.  Happy Memorial Day! 

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Grate It: A Twist on Veggies and Fruits for Your Baby, Toddler, and Kid

Lightly Salted Rice Cake with Peanut Butter and Topped with Shredded Apple

Recently, I have come across a few different sites that recommend grating your kid's fruit or veggies. Mostly, this seemed to be a "trick" tactic to get the nutrients in undetected.  As you know by now, I am not a fan of "tricking" our kids into eating their fruits and vegetables.  I know that may make life harder in the immediate circumstance, but putting the work in now will teach your kids to enjoy the foods they may be avoiding throughout their lives.  Regardless, the whole grating thing got me thinking...  If you have a particularly picky eater this may be a good jumping off point for fruits and veggies as it certainly minimizes any overwhelming texture they may encounter.  Of course we want them to experience the texture, but for some kids that may be too much in the beginning.  I am not recommending that you hide the grated food, have them help you shred a fruit or veggie for a dish or snack you are preparing and talk about how it feels, looks, smells, etc.  Trust me, they will start to respect that you are being honest with them and will reward you with trying some.

Yesterday, I gave grating fruit and veggies a test run on both my boys, baby and toddler.

For the Toddler (will work great for Big Kids, too):
Sam ate a rice cake (a favorite food) with peanut butter spread on it, and then grated apple on top. He eats a lot of apples, but I struggle to get him to eat the skin.  This is a tough one, literally, for toddlers.  The texture can be difficult to break down and they will often give up on it.  The skin of the apple holds most of the fruits fiber and more vitamins and minerals, so it is important to encourage eating it.  Grating the apple with the skin was a solution to my problem!  As I was hurridly getting lunch together Sam quickly noticed that something different was going on.  He asked me what I was doing and I told him that I was grating an apple just like we do with the cheese.  He was very curious.  Getting lunch together was a real fury today, but in the future, especially with some lesser favorite foods, I will have Sam help me grate the food, which I am sure he will love doing.  Sam has had the peanut butter and rice cake snack many times, so I thought he might get upset that I had changed it up (a 2 year old loves predictability).  Also, since I knew the grated apple was a little risky I made sure to pair it with something he really liked to make him comfortable.  As I finished grating I told him what I was planning on doing and made one for myself, too.  I served raisins along side and he ate it all, quickly, and I really enjoyed it too!  I would normally serve something like this for a snack, but we had just come from a library group that gave him a small snack so I knew he wouldn't need to eat a very large lunch and nap time was looming!

You could also try grating carrots, pear, potato, fresh beets, sweet potato, parsnips, cucumber, yellow squash, brussel sprouts, onion, and garlic.

Here are some ideas on ways to incorporate your shredded fruits and veggies into a meal:

• Place on top of crackers
• Mix with cream cheese or hummus and use as a dip (I am thinking carrots-onion-cream cheese, mmm!)
• Add to home-made or store bought soups
• Mix in with pasta
• Add in to gravy, sauces, dressings
• Place on top of a salad
• Make your own slaw out of carrots and broccoli stems

Coincidentally, (really it was a coincidence!) I came across a dinner recipe at One Hungry Mama, that grates brussels sprouts in a one-pot dish, it looks fabulous.  This is an example of how I am going to try and incorporate one of Sam's non-preferred foods into our meal.  I can't wait to try it!

                   Tips:

• I will use this experience as a stepping stone for Sam eating the apple skin. The next time we try an apple this way I will try to include even more pieces with skin and make sure I point it out to him and then discuss the texture while we are eating it.  The next time he has apple, probably in a day or two, I will present it in a different way, so that he is comfortable with different textures and doesn't begin to rely on only what is predictable and feels safe.  I also cycle through buying different varieties of apple, with each trip to the store comes a different bag of apples (i.e.: gala, red delicious, granny smith, etc.)  If you want more information on presenting food in different ways, check out my post Try and Try at Least 12 Times. I am sharing this because I want you to think about ways to bridge the gap between refusing a food and eating a food.  It is a progression that takes time.

• In case your interested I use all natural peanut butter with no sugar or salt added.  Sam loves it because that is what he is used to.  On occasion, he has Jif and since he has always had the more healthful version, he doesn't give me any qualms about switching back to the natural stuff.

For the baby:
I had a stroke of genius (which doesn't happen often) and used a microplane (see in picture above) to grate fresh zucchini and strawberries into his cream of wheat.  This worked so well, I wish I would have thought of it sooner! I like cream of wheat as a transition food, it is loaded with texture and cooks up in seconds.  This was Isaac's first bowl of it and I wanted to make sure to add something sweet into it because it does lack flavor!  If you've never made cream of wheat, you just boil water or milk and mix in the cream of wheat.  I used 1/3 cup of water and 1tbs plus 1tsp of cream of wheat (these directions are on the box).  Then whisk quickly and frequently or you will get a lot of lumps.  The strawberries (about 2) and zucchini (about 3 tbs) cooked up nicely in a minute and all together it couldn't have taken 5 minutes.  I had enough leftover to heat up for breakfast in a day or two.

The same fruits and veggies I listed above are great for a baby, too.  However, you would need to make sure you cooked the carrot and went a little light on the onion or garlic.  You could try mixing them into their baby cereal, mashed potatoes, or oatmeal.  

Let me know if you have any ideas for grating fruits or veggies! Has anyone tried this before?

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Cooking with Your Kid: Paella with Roasted Red Pepper

So I wasn't planning on posting anything about tonight's dinner, but it was such a success I thought it would be helpful to share it.  As a result of this impromptu nature, I was only able to grab a last minute picture of the finished product.  I hope you will forgive me and chalk it up to me still getting my blogger legs underneath me!

I am going to share the recipe for this Paella, which I made up as I went.  That means there are no hard and fast rules here, because I don't really even measure.  I am pretty comfortable in the kitchen and just add what seems right.  Then I do a lot of tasting along the way to make sure I am on the right track.  I was really pleased with how this turned out and it was very simple.  

I wasn't sure Sam was going to help me cook tonight, he was busy playing and I thought I might just take the moment to pull dinner together quickly and with less mess.  As I was pulling out the ingredients, I paused as I grabbed the jar of roasted red peppers.  I wanted to add them in the paella, but new it was risky.  Would Sam shut down the whole meal if all this stuff was mixed together even though he likes everything else in it?  He had barely been exposed to it in the past, so I decided to put my money where my mouth was and have him help me cook!  He was happy to help and the first step was dicing the roasted red peppers. I pulled a large pepper out of the jar, commenting on it's size and texture.  This is my first hook in getting him interested, most kids are naturally curious when the pressure of having to eat is off.  I gave him a butter knife and helped him hold it correctly, and then put my hand on top of his to show him how to dice it up.  It didn't take long before he said "I'll do it by myself now," which of course was fine.  Now I have Sam touching a new food, great, another step closer to getting him comfortable with the peppers.  Honestly, I would have been satisfied if he didn't move beyond this point, sometimes these things take time.  Since things were going so well I asked him what the peppers smelled like. He took a couple of sniffs and didn't answer (he was still busy cutting).  Because he took a smell I took this as a good sign to move a little further and said, "Maybe we can give a piece a kiss?"  Again, not much interest because he was still cutting, but I gave a little cube a kiss and then held it up for him and he followed suit.  Terrific!  We were doing great.  The therapist in me pushed a little further because he was receptive.  I took a piece and said, "Look, Sam, Mommy is chewing a piece."  I know this is gross, but I left my mouth open so he could see what it looked like to chew it.  This helps them see and hear if it is crunchy, how hard it is to chew, and how I manage it in my mouth.  Ultimately, your kid will feel less unsure of what to expect when they take a bite.  Sam stopped cutting and watched me intently for the few seconds it took for me to chew it, and then he said "I am going to have a piece."  Yeah!!!  He proceeded to eat 3 more pieces and I was a proud Momma. I know I just went into a lot of detail here, but I thought it was really important because I want to illustrate to you how it's a process.  This whole interaction was only a few minutes.  

When the meal was presented to Sam he dug right in, scooping up bites with the roasted red pepper mixed in.  I was sure to say, "I really liked that you ate something new! I am proud of you!" However, I didn't go on and on about it because I want him to understand that we expect him to eat what we are eating, end of story!

The peppers were something new for Sam.  Maybe your kid already likes peppers?  Maybe a pepper is too big of a leap?  Try some of these strategies for a food you would like to expose your kid to.  Be patient with your child and don't expect too much.  

Paella with Roasted Red Peppers:
Serves: 4
Cook Time: 15 minutes or less!

2.5-3 cups of cooked brown rice (prepare in chicken broth instead of water for more flavor)

2 large roasted red peppers, diced (fresh or frozen peppers are fine too)

I large can of chicken, shredded 

20-25 large uncooked shrimp

2tbs of oil (I used olive)

3/4 cup of frozen peas

1/2 tsp of turmeric (adds the characteristic yellow coloring)

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 tsp of onion powder

2 tsp of oregano  

Salt and pepper to taste

Place shrimp in a bowl and add seasonings.  Heat oil in skillet and begin cooking shrimp.  After 2 minutes add chicken and continue cooking until shrimp is nearly pink all the way through.  Then add rice, peas, and roasted red peppers to pan.  Stir well.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until heated through and peas are defrosted.  This should only take about 2 minutes.

*I like to drizzle the a little more olive oil and some more seasonings to the finished product. 

Tips:  

• Add sweet Italian sausage in addition to or instead of shrimp or chicken.  
• I use minute rice and cook it in the same pan I will use the shrimp in to save on clean up and time.
• Throw left-over chicken instead of canned if you have it in the fridge anyways.
• Pre-cooked shrimp or any other seafood is a great substitute.  Traditionally paella is made with a  variety of seafood.  

Most of the recipes I am going to share with you are meant to be adjusted to whatever you have in your cupboard, very easy, and something your kid can help you cook.  Overall, I would give this meal a B, it isn't the best paella I ever had, but it is good, home-made, and satisfying.  There are many blogs with restaurant quality recipes.  In fact, I stumbled across one today,  www.dashandbella.blogspot.com.  The blogger is a pastry chef and shares the most incredible recipes that she has cooked with her kids.  She, like myself, doesn't believe in "kid food".  I am taking a different angle here at Your Kid's Table, as I want to give you quick and easy recipes that help encourage your kid to try new foods.  Of course, if you are up for it, I think it is great to try more involved recipes.

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Fish for Kids: Tilapia - How to Cook it!

Tilapia, quinoa, and mixed veggies for all!

In case you haven't figured it out by now I am a little bit of a foodie.  I love food and trying new things to eat. I guess I should since it's my job to get kid's to eat more!  I love fish, but I know many of you don't feel the same way, so I am presenting you with Tilapia!  If you haven't heard of this fish, it is mild tasting and relatively inexpensive.  My kids eat this and other parents have told me that they have a lot of luck with this fish in particular.  Of course, my hope is that you will be expanding the variety of food you eat as well. Remember, monkey see, monkey do!  Your kid needs to see you eating it to give it a try!

I buy my Tilapia in a large frozen bag that has individual frozen fillets in it.  The best part is that if I forget to pull these out to defrost, I can just stick them in a bowl of water for 20 minutes at the most and they are ready to cook.  This simplifies things for me, but if you prefer fresh fish you shouldn't have a hard time finding it.  Most stores carry this now and the fillets will likely be larger so you can cut them into strips for fish sticks, if you would like.

Normally, I put 2-3 fillets in a non-stick skillet with 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of olive oil.  I let them cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side and top with a little lemon juice and Parmesan cheese.  This is my favorite way to eat it, but I also want to expose Sam to a variety of cooking methods, textures, and variety, so I changed it last night.  I wanted to give the exact instructions for the cooking-phobics because it is so easy! Feel free to add and omit spices to your choosing.  Here it is:

3 Tilapia Fillets

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

1-2 tbs of butter or olive oil

1 tsp of onion powder

1 tsp of ground mustard

1 tsp of Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, and spices together in a shallow bowl.  Pat the Tilapia dry.  Place fish in the bowl and press mixture into the fish, coating all sides.  Put on a non-stick griddle or pan and cook for 3-5 on each side, depending on thickness of fillet.  

You could also dip the fillets in egg, mayo, or honey mustard before placing in the breadcrumbs, which will give it a thicker coating.  These would also work well on a sandwich.

Sam helped me by shaking in the spices, this wasn't an exact science, so I just monitored to make sure too much didn't go in.  He also patted the fish dry and pushed the breadcrumbs into the fish.

I left one half of a filet plain so that Issac could eat some with us.  Quinoa was our side dish.  If you haven't heard of this, it is a Peruvian grain that is high in nutrients and protein.  It has an interesting texture and is very tasty.  I boiled about 3/4 cup of this in chicken stock to give it more flavor and then drizzled olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic into it.  

Sam really loved the quinoa last night.  About 6 months ago he wasn't that interested in eating this, even though he had many times as a baby.  I think as he got older the texture started to throw him off a bit so he rejected it, but I just kept on presenting it and eating it in front of him.  It didn't happen over night, but last night he asked for seconds!  

As for the veggies, they usually need some encouragement.  Last night we pretended they were little white and green trees (cauliflower and broccoli) and chewed it up like bears (biting really hard because these veggies are a little tougher).  I made sure to give him smaller pieces that wouldn't be too much to handle, but after eating those he surprised me and grabbed a big piece of cauliflower off his Dad's plate and ate it.  I was really proud of him for eating so many, this was a big improvement for him!

Now that I am starting to transition Isaac to table foods, I try to have him eat what we are eating as much of the time as possible.  He is in the very early stages of table foods (8 months old) so it is still fairly limited.  Tilapia works perfect though as a transition food.  I mashed some of the fish into his defrosted, home made broccoli and sweet potatoes on the left, as you can see it is pretty thick.  I also put some small flakes aside for me to feed him individually.  The Tilapia is so soft that it is very easy to chew and he really liked it.  He also tried a taste of quinoa, but this texture was still a little too much for him to handle.  You can grind the quinoa up in a food processor and freeze, if you want.  Although Sam usually loves this fish, he didn't go crazy on it like he usually does, which is okay, but with Isaac eating it he had some extra motivation and we needed that last night.  He took particular notice when we praised Isaac for eating the fish and then wanted to imitate so he could get praised!  Praising another child can be very powerful motivation to a kid.  

Some other factors that made the meal successful:

• I was a little organized ahead of time.
• Sam helped me cook the food and was thus invested in it.
• We sat down and ate together once everything was ready. 

Do you have any Tilapia recipes you would like to share?  Have you had any luck with this with your kid?  Would you give it a try?

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Cooking with Your Kid: Pumpkin Waffles

Cooking with your kid is a great way to get them interested in eating their meal and introducing new foods.  When we give our kids something new to eat it often just shows up on their plate, looking totally foreign.  They don't know where it came from, what it is going to feel like, smell like, or taste like.  Some children are adventurous and just dig in, but many are tentative and are just too unsure to give it a go.  When your kid helps you prepare the meal, they get to see where it comes from, what is smells like, and might even get to taste and feel it too.  These interactions can really help set the stage for a successful meal because they are often interested and have invested something in it.




If you are Type A, like me, heed this warning: it may be very messy.  They may mess something up.  And that is okay!  Mentally prepare yourself for this going in and try to let go of the control of having it be perfect.  I have to remind myself of this everytime I cook with Sam!

Sam mixing the pumpkin waffles.  He does a pretty good job for a 2 year old!

If you aren't comfortable in the kitchen, there are many fool-proof recipes you can get your kids involved in (see pancakes below).  For that matter it doesn't even have to be a recipe, they could help you assemble a tossed salad or make scrambled eggs.  The idea is just to get them involved, be part of the process, interacting with the food!  


Cooking with your kid offers countless benefits as well, such as bonding time with you, and teaching learning concepts such as following directions, measuring, and fractions.  Your kid will also learn the value of being helpful and that their help is appreciated, which will increase their self-esteem and sense of self-worth!

Most weekends Sam cooks pancakes or waffles with his Dad.  I like these pumpkin versions because they up the nutritional value and are a different color and texture from the regular pancakes/waffles.  Both versions are a little denser and more moist.  They are sooooo good, even if you aren't a big pumpkin fan.  I like to top these with sliced bananas and maple syrup!  


Pumpkin Waffles 


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
3 teaspoons baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon nutmeg 
1 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 pinch salt 
2 eggs 
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 
1 cup canned pumpkin puree 
1 2/3 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled 


Directions: 1.) Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in large bowl. 2.) In a second bowl, add eggs, sugar, pumpkin, milk, and butter; beat well. 3.) Gently fold in the flour mixture. 4.) Cook according to your waffle iron directions. 5.) I do these in my belgian waffle iron and it uses about 1 cup batter and takes 4-5 minutes to bake. 6.) They come out a nice deep, golden brown. 7.) These are great with a little bit of syrup, but would also be great with honey butter.

Read more at: Food.com


Pumpkin Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour1 tablespoon sugar1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1 egg, lightly beaten1 cup buttermilk1/3 cup canned pumpkin1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted1 tablespoon unsalted butterMaple syrup (optional)Fresh raspberries (optional)

Directions: 1.) In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Add egg, buttermilk, pumpkin, and melted butter; whisk to combine. 2.) Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon unsalted butter; swirl pan to coat. Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart into skillet. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges; turn. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute more. If pancakes brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium. 3.) Repeat with remaining batter and unsalted butter. Serve warm with syrup and raspberries.

Read more at: Parents Magazine

If waffles from scratch is a little daunting try making Pumpkin Pancakes from a box mix (also from Parents Magazine), it doesn't get easier than this:

Mix 1 cup buttermilk pancake mix, 2/3 cup lowfat milk, and 1/3 cup canned pumpkin. Makes 8 3-inch pancakes.

Tip:  Pumpkin is often only available in large cans and you may only need 1/3 of a cup, depending on the recipe.  I take the leftover pumpkin and freeze it in 1/3 cup increments for future use.

Measure and Freeze Pumpkin

The waffles and pancakes freeze great so think about doubling your recipe.  They pull apart easily from the freezer and you can pop them right into the toaster frozen, and no one will be the wiser!

The consistency of these waffles are a great starter food for babies transitioning to table foods, as well.  You can also give them to babies frozen, it will slowly defrost as they are eating and it will feel great on their gums.  Just make sure they are chewing their foods and feeding themselves with their fingers before you try this (usually around 8-9 months, although it may be later).  

If you are looking for more inspiration, follow me on Pinterest, I have lots of yummy recipes pinned your kids will enjoy (and all kinds of fun stuff for kids).

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