Blueberry – Pear Smoothie

Back to smoothie-making for me! I have gotten so much use out of that Sili Squeeze I got to be able to easily feed my 1 year old smoothies. Definitely got my money’s worth out of that one. He absolutely loves smoothies and loves using it! Except for the fact that I still am not at the point where I can just give it to him and walk away or else he would just squeeze it eeeverywhere! So I still just hold it for him but it’s still way more convenient than using a spoon or just a regular cup and straw.

This smoothie isn’t just for babies and kids…I thought it was delicious too! Make a whole blender full and you could share it with the little ones 🙂 And since there is kale in it, even though it looks and sounds so unappetizing, you really don’t taste it so it is super healthy too!! All I could taste was blueberry, pear and yogurt goodness! I used 100% pure pomegranate juice for my liquid, which also has many health benefits.

 

How to make:

 

Blueberry-Pear Smoothie

– 1 Pear

– 1/2 Cup Blueberries

– 1 Stalk Kale

– 1/2 Cup Yogurt (When making this for my son I used Stonyfield YoTot Whole Milk Blueberry Yogurt)

– 1/2 Cup Pomegranate Juice

– Handful of Ice

Make sure to wash off fruit and kale. Peel and core the pear. Add everything to the blender and blend well adding more pomegranate juice if you need more liquid.

This tastes so amazing! I really think that blueberry and pear is a great combination! If you have younger babes, check out my Blueberry-Pear baby food puree on my Homemade Baby Purees page. I made this a while back when my son was still itty bitty and he loved that combo even then too!

Enjoy!

 

Whippersnappers

 

Easy Grab Pancake Muffins

Breakfast was so simple when doing baby cereal. I would usually add something to it like a fruit or veggie puree to give it something extra. But either way, it was so easy, simply because it was the same thing every morning. I would switch up what puree I added but it was always the same thing, baby cereal. I didn’t have to think twice about what I was giving my little guy for breakfast. Now that I’m making actual breakfasts every morning instead of doing baby cereal it has demanded a bit more creativity. Now it’s, “Oh yeah, what am I making Sawyer for breakfast?!”

I really feel like I should switch it up so I try not to give him the exact same thing every morning. And yet, at the same time I want something really easy that I can quickly prepare for my demanding child that gets his “wake up and I want breakfast now” attitude that he gets from his mom 😛

These pancake muffins make 12 muffins and are super simple to just zap in the microwave in the morning! Boom…just like that you now have some ready to go breakfasts.

How to make:

 

Easy Grab Pancake Muffins:

Use:

-2 Cups bisquick (or any pancake mix would probably do! Or if you have a favorite homemade recipe)

-1 Cup milk (I used whole milk since they were for my 1 year old)

-2 Eggs

-1 Tbsp coconut oil (make sure to melt down if it’s solid so that it mixes in well)

-Handful of chopped spinach

-Add-ins of your choice (Ideas: blueberries, strawberries, cheese, bananas, sausage, cinnamon, sweet potato…)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix together bisquick, milk, eggs, coconut oil and chopped up spinach. I used a fairly good amount of spinach and my son either loves spinach or can’t tell at all that it’s in there! If you are only going to use one add-in you could add desired amount now. If you want to use multiple different add-ins to switch up each muffin then add them in separately once in the muffin tin. Once your batter is ready pour it into your muffin tin. I used silicone muffin liners. Now add a little bit of whatever add-ins you would like. This time I chose to use blueberries, banana and cheddar cheese (each for separate muffins). Bake for about 12-15 minutes.

That’s it, super easy! Add a bit of syrup after heating if you’d like.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Whippersnappers

St. Patrick’s Day Food for Kids!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

Sawyer and I have our green on today and it is the most beautiful day here! It’s 82 degrees and sunny out now so we are definitely going outside as soon as Sawyer is up from his nap! I absolutely love holidays! For many reasons, but for one I love to really get into it even when it comes to food! Having kids is the perfect excuse to go all out even more! So today for St. Patty’s Day we have already had a very fun and festive breakfast and lunch! This morning I made green Shamrock pancakes, which were a huge hit! Then for lunch we went all out green! Luckily, with green there are tons of healthy options! Making green yummy and desirable for kiddos is a whole other story! Check out what I did 🙂

 

Green Spinach Shamrock Pancakes

What? Spinach? I didn’t say spinach! Psst…don’t even mention the spinach part because you don’t even know it’s in there! I added quite a lot even and you could hardly tell!

 

 

How to make:

(I quartered a Bisquick recipe since I was only making pancakes for my 1 year old. This made 2 good sized pancakes for me).

-1/2 C Bisquick

-1/4 C milk

-1/2 tsp Baking Powder

-A few spinach leaves chopped real fine

-Green food coloring

Mix everything together thoroughly and pour onto a skillet over medium heat. I attempted to make shamrock shapes but wow, that is way harder than it looks! I’ve seen people make some real elaborate things with pancakes and I am now giving them more props than ever because I could hardly make a shamrock shape! No biggie…all tastes the same!

Yum! Like I said, a huge hit with my son! He was begging for more after every bite!

 

 

St. Patrick’s Day Lunch

Everything Green!! I knew that veggie macaroni and cheese would be perfect for today! Plus, my son gobbles it up every time!

 

Veggie Macaroni & Cheese:

-Elbow macaroni

-Veggie Puree ( I used broccoli/cauliflower/spinach puree. Find out how to make broccoli/cauliflower puree on my Homemade Baby Purees page.)

-Small amount of Velveeta cheese

-Avocado oil

Boil pasta per the package instructions. Drain and pour back into pot while still on a low heat. Add veggie puree, cheese and avocado oil. Let everything heat up while stirring until everything melts together. That’s it!

 

I also used peas, shamrock shaped kiwi slices, cucumber and crackers.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

 

 

Whippersnappers

 

The Art of Hiding Vegetables in Kid’s Food

My son is actually a surprisingly good eater for being 11 months old. However, he has become more and more questioning when it comes to vegetables lately. I think the most frustrating thing is that one day he will LOVE peas! Love them! Eat them like blueberries (his current favorite!)! And then the next day completely refuses peas. Not only spit them out, but shakes his head back and forth crazily until they fling out of his mouth. Which he thinks is so funny by the way. For being only 11 months old this child is smart and I mean smart! He will take a pea and pretend to put it to his mouth with his eyes on me the whole time. Then slowly reach back and drop the pea down his shirt.

So yes, that’s what I have been dealing with. While it usually just makes me laugh I’ve also realized that I really need to get some vegetables in his diet more regularly instead of just when he feels like he is in the mood for them. With some experimentation I have come up with some ways to get veggies into my little guy’s diet without him even noticing!

 

Here are some ideas for hiding vegetables into some other favorite foods:

 

Veggie Baby Cereal

This one is obviously just for babies rather than toddlers or older children. But for those babies still eating baby cereal, this is an awesome way to add some veggies. Simply prepare the baby cereal as directed and then add some veggie puree! For some homemade baby food ideas check out my baby food puree page HERE.

There are certain things like carrots or squash that my son used to love but now absolutely will not eat it. So I will add it to his cereal in the morning and he gobbles it right up. I also like to mix in fruit purees a lot of the time in his cereal but when he is needing some more veggies or to just mix things up the veggies are great too.

Some good veggie purees to add to baby cereal are:

-carrots

-pea/spinach

-broccoli/kale

-sweet potato

-asparagus

 

Veggie Macaroni & Cheese

I like to make a very simple macaroni and cheese using velveeta and it is super simple and quick to whip up on a moments notice. The only thing is that macaroni and cheese is not really the healthiest option. So I figured I would try adding some veggies to make a really yummy food healthy too! What I didn’t expect was for it to actually taste so great! For my first time trying this for my son this is what I made:

Pea – Spinach Macaroni & Cheese

-pea/spinach puree

-elbow macaroni

-1 Tbsp coconut oil

-velveeta cheese

 

To make the pea/spinach puree, steam desired amount of peas (I used frozen this time) for 20 minutes. Add a handful of spinach and steam for about 10 more minutes. Rinse after steaming and let it cool for a bit. Add it all to the blender and blend well. Add water to smooth out if needed. You can make as much as you want. I like to make veggie purees in bulk and freeze the extra in glass jars.

Cook elbow macaroni as directed. Drain macaroni and put it back in the pan and back on the stove on a lower heat. Add desired amount of velvet cheese (depends on how much cheese you like), 1 Tbsp coconut oil and about 4oz of pea/spinach puree (I had frozen my puree into 4oz jars). Let warm until cheese and everything is all melted together and stir well.

That’s it! It was so good! I’m not even kidding, I was even sitting there eating it! My son devoured this without even giving a thought as to there being peas and spinach in this!

You could use other veggie purees too. Broccoli puree or butternut squash puree would work especially nicely. Again, you could check my baby food purees page for recipe ideas.

 

 

Spinach Grilled Cheese

This one is pretty self explanatory. My son loves grilled cheese sandwiches so one day I just tried adding some spinach to it and he didn’t even seem to notice. This goes for other sandwiches as well such as deli meat sanwhiches, tuna or paninis.

 

Fruit & Greens Smoothies

Smoothies are the perfect way to get some greens into their diet without them even noticing! I even do this myself! I am not a super huge fan or spinach or kale but I add them to almost every smoothie I make because you can’t even taste it and yet it adds so much nutrients!

HERE is a recipe for my Oranges & Greens baby smoothie.

HERE is another great baby smoothie recipe – Blueberry/Banana & Greens.

 

I hope these ideas help you as much as they helped me!

ENJOY!

 

Whippersnappers