Recipe Review

From The Joy of Cooking:

Basil Squash Puree (with summer squash)

Squash, chopped
Olive oil
1/2 t. salt
Garlic, opt.

1. Heat olive oil in pan, add chopped squash. 

2. Season with 1/2 t salt and a sprinkle of garlic (optional)

3. Cook covered 6 minutes

4. Drain juices

5. Put back on stove, add basil if you want, and cook another 2-3 minutes or until tender. 

6. Purée and enjoy.

My Review:
Easy to make, smells great, but took a bit longer than the recipe said. It's on my list to keep making, for sure.

Kids Review: 

My 9 month old really really likes it. She gobbles it up. I'm making more today and going to have my 2 yr. old try it.

Vegetable Puree Recipe

From Weelicious.com, Italian Green Vegetable Puree

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup tomato or marinara sauce
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation

1. Place the zucchini and broccoli florets in a steamer pot over boiling water, steam for 5 minutes and allow to cool.
2. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
3. Serve.

8 Ways to Get Veggies in Your Baby/Toddler

Some children love eating vegetables but a lot do not. There are lots of ways to get your older child to eat them, but what about your baby/toddler?

Vegetables are a key part to all of our diets, but particularly for our growing children. It is important to have them eat vegetables everyday (see how much here and here).

When your child is younger (baby, young toddler) and you aren't trying to make them eat their vegetables yet, or if you are trying to do that but can't win every battle (older toddler), here are some ideas on how to hide the veggies so they still get the nutrition they need!

1. Applesauce. Applesauce is a great carrier for pretty much any puree. Try doing a 2/3 vegetable to 1/3 applesauce ratio (a 50:50 ratio can work too).

2. Cheese & Cauliflower are friends. You can mask the taste of cauliflower with cheese. So add cauliflower puree in your mac & cheese, quesadilla, etc. 

3. Pasta Sauce. My daughter LOVES pasta sauce and doesn't notice if there is anything added to it as it has a stronger flavor. If we're having lasagna or spaghetti, I add pureed or minced veggies right into the sauce (certainly doesn't hurt for all of us to have some extra veggies!). I also have my daughter eat rice mixed with some pasta sauce so I add vegetables in with that too.

4. Baked goods. Muffins, pancakes, breads. We've all seen recipes out there for zucchini, broccoli, or carrots added into baked goods. I will have a few of these recipes to share with you in the future.

5. Dips. A 2 year old enjoys dips (warning: they can make quite the mess :o)). So you can give them a dip with veggies/puree mixed in for crackers to be dipped in. Or, they may even eat some veggies if they can dip them in cream cheese or peanut butter. Experiment and see what your child will do.

6. Flavor. Just like with adults, children like flavor. Cook your veggies with a little butter, or a little salt, add a spice, or combine them with other yummy foods, roast them in the oven.

7. Smoothies. Spinach or kale can be mixed into a fruit smoothie without adding any flavor. Take a bit of yogurt or milk, seasonal fruit, and them mix in some vegetables: broccoli, peas, avocado, carrots, and cauliflower all work.

8. Start them early. Get them used to the taste of a variety of vegetables when you are giving them baby food. There is likely to be some vegetable that they enjoy eating!

First Foods/Baby Purees

I don't agree with having baby cereals as their first foods but instead go for fruits and vegetables right away. Homemade baby food is healthier for your child, and is easier than you think. Just taking a little bit of time every few weeks to a month will provide you with what you need. Below are some methods and recipes to help get you started with some common fruits and veggies and a couple of combinations. It's best to get organic to give your children the best nutrition.

- For lumpier/more textured foods simply mash them with a fork or potato masher.
- For smoother foods, put into a blender or food processor and puree, adding water or milk (breastmilk) until the texture you desire is reached.

*A post on storage coming soon.

Sweet Potatoes (two methods):
1. Wash the potatoes but don't dry them, put them in your slow cooker and put it on low. Periodically check them - they are ready when they are soft enough to be mashed (time varies on size and number of the potatoes, but typically 4+ hrs.).
2. Bake at 400 for 30-60 mins., until soft.
Once cool, peel and mash or puree.

Squash (two methods):
1. Heat oven to 400. Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds, and place flesh side down (skin side up) in 1-2 inches of water. Bake for about 40 mins. until skin starts to "pucker" or get bubbles. Scoop squash out of the skin and mash or puree.
2. Wash and peel squash (its not necessary to peel once your baby is 8 months old). Steam until tender. Mash or puree.

Peas/Green beans:
Steam until tender. Mash/puree.
- Plunging hot cooked peas into a bowl of ice cold water is known to help make a smoother puree.

Carrots
Steam until tender. Mash/puree.
(Do not use the water you steam the carrots in to thin out the puree as nitrates settle in the water)

Apple/Pears
Peel, core, and chop fruit. Place in pan with just enough water to slightly cover apples. Boil/steam until tender; be sure to check on the water level and stir occasionally. Mash/puree.


Pumpkin and banana:
Blend 1 can of organic pumpkin with 1-2 banana(s) and enough water to thin it out.

Broccoli and apple:
Steam the broccoli and then blend with 1 chopped steamed/boiled apple. Have a ratio of about 2/3 veggie to 1/3 fruit (1/2 and 1/2 can also work if the mixture is too bitter for your child).

Spinach, peas and pears:
Steam the peas and peeled, chopped pears together. Blend with defrosted frozen spinach.

Organic or Not

As the awareness of pesticides in fruits and vegetables has been spreading, the desire to give our kids the best they can have grows. Below is the list of the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" to help you get started with making the choice between organic or not. Most of us cannot afford to get everything organic, as much as we'd like to. The "Dirty Dozen" list are those produce items that are known for having the highest levels of pesticide residue. There has also been released a list of the "Clean Fifteen", which are the produce that have the lowest levels of residue and so you do not need to buy organic.

These lists help as you start and try to buy healthier fruits and vegetables for your family.  To find more information on pesticides and the testing that has been done, go to the Environmental Working Group website: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/methodology/.


 source: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

Nitrates & Your Baby

Something that I knew nothing about until our first was ready for solid foods and I started research was nitrates. I knew that nitrates are naturally in some foods and that they are added as a food preservative into a lot of processed meats... I also knew that they are not good for you and that you should try and avoid them (I say try because these days with how processed food in America is, it is hard and expensive to do so).  As adults, unless you ingest unusually high amounts of nitrates, we aren't affected by it much.

Nitrates occur naturally in soil and also in some vegetables... most commonly: spinach, celery, beets, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, and cabbage. Spinach has the highest levels and with improper storage they can increase. As these occur naturally they are not a problem for adults, but for an infant starting on solid foods whose digestive system isn't "up to par" it can be a problem. Nitrate poisoning in infants is known as baby blue syndrome as it causes a lack of oxygen. There aren't many reported cases of baby blue syndrome (methemoglobinemia) but it is also commonly known that many cases are not reported. What does this mean for you and your baby?

My recommendation, and the recommendation of many pediatricians and nutritionists, is to hold off on giving these vegetables to an infant under the age of 8-10 months in large amounts. Given the variety of vegetables and fruits that can be given to your child, it shouldn't be much of a problem to avoid them until your baby is older.

The other place for nitrate poisoning that your baby is susceptible to is in drinking water (which most pediatricians recommend infants 6 months and old have some each day), mostly for those who have well water as most public water systems are regulated. If you have well water and are concerned, you can test the water - if it is indeed high (<10mg/L) then you should give your child other water to prevent illness (there is nothing you can do to treat the water - in fact, for example, boiling it actually increases the nitrate levels).

Green Smoothie

I took a recipe I found online for a green smoothie and adjusted it some. This smoothie can make for a great meal for a kid - it has fruits, veggies, and protein. I served this to my almost 2 year old the other day along with a couple of mini banana oatmeal muffins to give her the well-rounded meal (recipe coming soon).

Green Smoothie

1 c. frozen mango chunks
1 banana
1 handful spinach (or other green)
Whole milk plain yogurt

Combine ingredients in blender and puree. There is no measurement for the yogurt as I added some until the smoothie became - you guessed it - smooth. But, I wouldn't add more than a regular serving size of yogurt (1c. for a 1-3 year old). If you still need to "water it down" some, put in a bit of ice, water, or juice (whatever you feel comfortable with). I found though, that I didn't even need the full 1 cup serving. This makes for one large cup or two small ones (like the cup below).

My little girl used a spoon at first but then as it started to melt she started to drink it (she's learning to drink from a cup, so she's not great it yet and this thicker drink was good practice for her!).

Healthy Mac N Cheese

So, like most children, Evangeline LOVES macaroni and cheese. So, to make it a bit healthier I sneak veggies in there... three different ones to be exact. Pureed cauliflower has no taste when combined with anything that has cheese in it and pureed squash has such a mild flavor that it isn't really noticeable. I've made macaroni and cheese with cauliflower and squash in it and served it to Ryan and he didn't have a clue :o) I told him after the fact. I usually add some pureed carrots in too, Evangeline notices if I didn't puree it very well and there are larger chunks... but she just puts those to the side of her plate and isn't bothered by it.

Cauliflower has many health benefits but what I like is its digestive properties - being high in fiber is good for our little girl. The different kinds of squash have various health benefits and are all high in vitamins, but I like that they are low in calories - tons of health boosts for few calories. Winter squash are good for blood sugar regulation (and so diabetes prevention) and summer or yellow squash are known for heart, colon, prostate, and bone benefits. I think we all grew up thinking that carrots are good for your vision, but in reality there hasn't been much study into that - what they are known for are their high antioxidant nutrients and cancer prevention.

I make all of these veggies (and others) and then freeze them in these trays. I pop them out and store them in a zip lock baggie, ready in a serving size whenever I need them. Typically a 6-9 month old should have 3-6 oz. of fruits and veggies a day (and 6-8oz. for a 9-12 month old). Each of the "squares" from the tray are 1 oz. So 3 oz. of veggies are mixed into her mac n cheese. She doesn't usually eat ALL of the mac n cheese in one sitting, but it surely helps get those veggies into her - since she's not really a fan of any yet. Thankfully, she'll take fruit over pretty much anything these days (and we always mix one of these cubes into her applesauce).