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Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 27 (Persimmon)

June 4, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch27

The Lunch

Today for lunch Theodore had persimmon, black bean, chicken, and avocado taco on a Non-GMO blue corn taco shell (Garden of Eatin), a dried fig and oat ball, and sweet potato fries. My kids LOVE beans so the taco was simply my White Bean Taco recipe using black beans instead of white and adding chicken. I ate the taco topped with some of my Homemade Ranch Dressing, and let’s just say I probably would have funneled that into my mouth if I could have!

The Persimmon


Persimmon is a fruit that looks similar to a tomato. It is orange in color and could very well be mistaken for a tomato if it wasn’t cut. When you cut it open, it isn’t seedy and has the texture of a dry cantaloupe. It is mildly sweet, and very tasty! I eat it as is, and so do my kids. The only thing with a persimmon is that you have to be sure it is ripe before you try to eat it, unless you want to taste something extremely bitter! I always leave them out on the counter for a day or two just to be sure. When it is ripe it should be bright orange. Persimmons are rich in dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, vitamin c, and beta carotene. If you have never tried them it is time to get on the persimmon train! Theodore was unsure of persimmons the first time he had them but has since started liking them! We don’t get them often because they can be expensive but since we like to get different fruits at the grocery store every week they do end up in our cart from time to time.

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 26 (Homemade Ranch!)

June 3, 2014 by Dana

toddlerlunch26

The Lunch

Today Theodore had steamed asparagus, carrots, homemade ranch to dip, watermelon, grapes, shredded chicken from our dry rubbed whole chicken last night, and a potato/zucchini “muffin”. For some reason he is still unsure if he likes watermelon, so I cut it differently to see if he would try it. I think it is the seeds he is not too fond of, but I tried anyways. If cutting it a different way doesn’t work, I’m going to make some pops out of it and then I KNOW he will like it! Once he gets a taste for the flavor then maybe he will eat it as is. Christian (the baby) LOVES watermelon, and so do I so I’m sure Theodore will come around soon.

The Ranch


I have talked about the ingredients in Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing before, and if you didn’t see the post here it is. Overall the ingredients are a mix of highly refined unhealthy oils, MSG in a few forms, and abbreviated preservatives. Definitely not a product I would feel comfortable feeding my family! I make a few different dips for veggies, but my Homemade Ranch is the best one! The spice mix I use can be used in a number of ways, so making it up ahead of time never hurts. I also just used this mix on my Dry Rubbed Whole Chicken, and I’ve also used it on potatoes. I haven’t tried this spice mix on anything that it didn’t taste great on!

One other notable thing is I do not use mayo as a base for dressing as it is GMO and contains soybean oil and preservatives. I’ve found organic sour cream to be a great alternative!

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 25 (How To Get A Perfect Dippy Egg)

May 31, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch25(2)

The Lunch

Today Theodore had a dippy egg “flower”, Ezekiel bread for dipping, homemade shoe string fries, mushroom and eggplant, and strawberries. I can’t tell you the last time I made dippy eggs. For some reason my husband got us an over-abundance of eggs at the grocery store so it has been an “eggy” week. I’ve been on Instagram a lot lately and have been seeing a lot of #nomnompaleo posts featuring beautiful dippy eggs! Although this one isn’t quite as beautiful as hers, it was perfect in real life. Even though I haven’t made dippy eggs in a long time, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!

The Perfect Egg


When I was younger the only part of the dippy egg I would eat was the middle. I always thought I didn’t like the taste of the whites that way, but the reason I didn’t like them was because they weren’t seasoned!! You MUST season your eggs! I love a lot of cracked black pepper on mine as well as a pinch of kosher salt. I season the kid’s eggs a pinch too because let’s face it… egg whites are bland!

The second step to the perfect dippy egg is cooking it low and slow. Do not be afraid to let your pan heat up for a few minutes on low before you even start, and do not be afraid of butter! If you don’t use butter I would recommend olive oil as that gives a nice taste as well. I highly recommend taking your time on the heat up. Keep your burner on low, crack your egg into your pan, and let it do its thing. When I see it starting to get white around the edges I take my spatula and push it together a bit, as I don’t like it to be all over the place. When it is entirely white on the bottom take your time, flip it, and turn your burner down. This is when I put my burner on warm (I have electric) because the pan is already hot. I give it just a minute or two on the other side and it is done! After I took it out of the pan I placed the cutter around the center and got my lovely flower. Of course I scarfed down the edges of the whites! 🙂

The shoestring fries were left overs from yesterday but they were still delicious today. I sent them in my 1st grader’s lunchbox, and Theodore got the rest. All I did for these was peel 6-7 potatoes (I used red because that is what we had), drizzled them with olive oil, and tossed them with 1/4 tsp onion salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, threw in a pinch of kosher salt, and cracked a generous amount of black pepper on top. I baked them at 350 degrees until I saw them getting golden around the edges. I’m telling you, these tasted JUST LIKE the seasoning on the frozen fries you get at the grocery store, but without the GMO oils and other additives they like to throw in those products.

On a side note we are taking a trip this weekend so sticking with our unprocessed routine might be a challenge. I’ll be sure to update that on Monday! TGIF!!

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 24 (Mayo-Free Egg Salad)

May 29, 2014 by Dana

toddlerlunch24

The Lunch

Today Theodore had red plum slices, raspberries, mayo-free egg salad on Ezeikel bread, popcorn (organic non-gmo), and cheddar cheese roosters. He LOVED the egg salad sandwich which surprised me because sometimes he is weird about eggs.

The Mayo Issue


Let me simply start by saying MAYO IS NASTY. Growing up my mom hated mayo, so it was not something I ate until I was well over 20 years old. Thank You Mom!!! My mom always said she hated it because there are eggs in it? Not sure what that was about but she probably should have hated it because it is highly processed, and it uses genetically modified soy. It also commonly contains “natural flavors” which we have no idea what those are, and contains preservatives that are abbreviated (EDTA). Not to mention, homemade mayo IS NOT WHITE! It is yellow. Therefore, we know there is something Hellman’s isn’t telling us about this product.I can say I’m never consciously touching store bought mayo again, no matter how many fancy slogans Hellman’s uses on their packaging!

I don’t feel the need to make homemade mayo because we don’t use mayo that much and I have found sour cream to be a really easy alternative. Here is the recipe I used for the egg salad. Mix all the ingredients together and you have a great mayo-free egg salad.

  • 2 hard boiled eggs
  • 1 Tbsp sour cream (yes, I use organic)
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper
  • kalamata olives (optional)

 

 

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 23 (Raw foods and Supporting Candy Companies Not Using Artificial Dyes)

May 29, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch23

The Lunch

Today Theodore had carrot sticks, strawberries, raspberries, dye free organic jelly beans, and mushrooms/eggplant over whole wheat penne with my classic alfredo and herb sauce.


I was just reading a write up from the John Hopkin’s about cancer prevention and one thing they mentioned was consuming  more raw foods. When we cook foods they loose nutrients, therefore the more raw foods we eat the better. I’m making an effort with my whole family to keep this in mind when preparing meals. While this is not anywhere near a raw foods blog, I think it is important to mention things like this for everyone to keep in mind. Not only are there health benefits to raw foods, they take less time to prepare and are “fast food” in my opinion. It is a win-win all around!

The Jelly Beans

My husband came home from our version of “Whole Foods”, The Healthy Grocer. He had allowed the kids to pick out a special treat… organic dye-free jelly beans! It was a special occasion, we were going camping for the Memorial Day weekend. I think it is important to seek out companies not using dangerous ingredients in candy and support what they are doing. After all, nothing will never change about our food supply until we change the companies we purchase from. Here is a link to the jelly beans he got. They were really good and I will definitely purchase from them again for other special occasions!

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 22

May 27, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch22

Today we have a simple lunch of leftovers and fresh fruits. Theodore had raspberries, grapes, avocado, white bean taco leftovers on a blue corn tortilla, and kalamata olives to try. He has never had any type of olive before because we usually don’t have them on hand. I got them specifically to make hummus so I thought it was a good opportunity for him to try something new. Olives are super salty so I wouldn’t allow him to eat a lot of them but I knew they were a flavor that was completely new to him. I was afraid he was going to think they were a grape and get upset but luckily he didn’t!


I got the super cute food picks on Amazon and I thought they were a good idea until Theodore was so occupied with talking about them that he didn’t want to eat his food! All he wanted to do was carry around his “monkey pick”. I still love them though! 🙂

Here is a link to the picks

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals Tagged With: Toddler, toddler meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 21 (Unrefined Superfoods)

May 22, 2014 by Dana

ToddlerLunch21

Today Theodore had mushroom “meatballs” on whole wheat spaghetti (i’m working on that recipe now), a frozen “carrot cake” pop, mango, blueberries, and one of my Red Palm Superfood Cookies. I have to say this is a lunch packed with nutrients and lasting energy for a growing toddler who is on the go.

The Cookie Struggle


Of course he went for the cookie first, which I feel fine about, I would too! There was a bit of a struggle after that because he wanted another cookie. I calmly told him no, and took the rest of the cookies out of his sight. He cried a bit more and walked away from his lunch. I don’t make a big deal about food issues like this because I know later in the day when the cookie struggle passes he will get hungry and come back to his food, which is exactly what happened. Right now he is sitting at the table eating the rest of his food.

On a side not we are going away for the Memorial Day Weekend and I am looking for some real food marshmallows. Anyone know of a good brand?

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals, Uncategorized Tagged With: Toddler, toddler meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 20 (And How To Choose The Best Store Bought Bread)

May 21, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch20

It is raining today here in Pennsylvania so I looked through my pantry and decided it was a perfect day for tomato soup and grilled cheese. Although this meal is simple, the quality ingredients used to put it together are really what set it apart from a meal containing canned soup and traditional store bought bread. Did you know Campbell’s uses high fructose corn syrup as the second ingredient in their tomato soup? This is one reason I never purchase store bought soups, they contain the cheapest, most refined ingredients and are very likely GMO (containing either soy or hfcs).

The Soup


I can put this soup together in about 10-15 minutes from start to finish. The best thing to remember about making your own tomato soup is that tomatoes are acidic so you will need a bit of something sweet to balance out the acidity. I use pure maple syrup to do this instead of refined sugars. You will also need some seasoning and salt (unless you are using  a salted tomato product). You will also need to know how to make a roux, which is just butter and flour. It is that easy! I’m going to be posting my recipe later today and will link it to this post

The Bread

Most store bought breads are a health nightmare. If you haven’t read my post “Are Trans Fats Hiding In Your Bread” I would recommend reading through it. What I hate about store bought bread is the tricky marketing they use. Just because it says 100% whole wheat, 12 grain, or whole grain doesn’t mean it is a quality product that isn’t hiding a ton of GMO and highly refined ingredients. They are also loaded with preservatives because if you haven’t noticed they don’t go bad!  Almost every single big name brand is doing this, so if you are regularly purchasing loaves of bread off of an unrefrigerated shelf in the grocery store you may want to rethink that purchase. There are some great alternatives out there but you have to search for them and read ingredient labels (look in the freezer section of the “organic” section of your grocery store). Here is what to look for when choosing a good store bought bread:

  • No preservatives
  • No GMO ingredients (soy, corn, hfcs)
  • No refined grains (bleach and enriched flours)
  • Something that will go bad if not frozen or refrigerated!

The Cheese

In short, no we don’t use Velveeta, American cheese slices, or any other “cheese-like” products. It is also best to buy cheese in blocks as the shredded kind contain additives, specifically cellulose to prevent caking. If it doesn’t have to be there, then I don’t want to eat it.

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 19 (Toddler Power Lunch!)

May 20, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch19

I like to call this a Toddler Power lunch because it is packed full of nutrients and awesome foods! Theodore had my Maple-Dijon Grilled Salmon, skillet red potatoes with garlic, and a Squooshi filled with a green “Apple Pie” smoothie. Here are the ingredients in the smoothie that I blended with my Masterprep Ninja. It is perfect for blending apples and spinach for kids because it gets the smoothie pretty smooth considering the ingredients.

Green “Apple Pie” Smoothie

  • 1/2 red apple
  • 1/2 cup spinach
  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp almond/peanut butter
  • dash of cinnamon

This recipe is great for smoothies or freezing for pops and is really tasty! If your putting this in a pouch for a younger child I will warn that it isn’t that thick so they might need one of those Choo Me spouts if you don’t want a mess! They come in the Squooshi Starter Kit or are sold separately on Amazon. Here is a link to those items.

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals, Uncategorized

Toddler Lunch: Day 18 (At The Park)

May 20, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch18

I am posting this for yesterday because I never found time to finish it yesterday. We went to the park with our friends Kelly and Kaden and I threw these things into Theodore’s LunchBots container so he could eat his lunch there. There were a lot of other babies/toddlers there playing so he was too busy to actually sit down and eat, but he did grab a few bites while playing.


Often times I hear from parents how they are just so busy they don’t have time to feed their kids good food. I think part of it is being in denial about what is actually in our food, and the other part is not realizing what the ingredients actually are. With summer fast approaching I know I will need to have “on the go” food for all 3 kids ready to go.  We have a few weekend trips coming up and we will be going to the park or pool all summer so there will be a lot of meals eaten outside of our home. I like to keep things simple and resort to fresh produce and high energy snacks for situations like this.

I know if I don’t bring something the choices there will be highly processed junk. If I have something already prepared for them the temptation to give in and allow them to have those things won’t be there. “Fast Food” to us is nothing more then fruits, vegetables, and maybe a cheese stick or a homemade fruit and nut or granola bar. If I have the bars made ahead of time (they only take 5 minutes to make anyway) I can have something ready to go in a minute or two. In Theodore’s lunch above you see my Fruity Nutty Oat Squares, which are raisins, dates, almonds, and oats. These are perfect for on the go and the kids love them!

 

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 17 (Breakfast for Lunch and Why Betty is Busted!)

May 16, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch17

Theodore had some eggs left over from breakfast, and I was working on my pancake recipe, so it seemed pretty natural that he would have a “breakfast for lunch” type of meal. I usually make mini pancakes for him when I make pancakes and I always have to put them away quickly or he will keep coming back and grabbing more out of the kitchen!


His mini pancakes are my Whole Wheat, Apple, and Oat recipe that I just posted today. If you want to make pancakes that you can feel good about feeding your kids these are it! He also had a fruit mix of mandarin oranges, blueberries, pineapple, and blackberries along with some carrots.

The Food Nightmare that is Bisquick

You know I really hate when food companies market things as “real” or “good” when they know they are using a concoction of refined grains and trans fats. Betty Crocker’s Bisquick Original is NO exception. If you’ve been using this mix to make pancakes or any other meals for your family, you need to see these ingredients!

Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean And/Or Cottonseed Oil, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Dextrose, Salt. Contains Wheat Ingredients.

So let me get this straight…. because Americans have become so lazy we can’t put flour and leavening agents together, Betty Crocker has to do it for us. We all know when Betty gets her hands on things she adds refined grains, partially hydrogenated oils (TRANS FATS!!!!), and GMO ingredients (soy, cottonseed oil). To make matters worse Betty is a big fat liar so she has to use clever marketing to keep us coming back for more “real” stuff. Betty is officially BUSTED because now we know the truth. Sorry Betty, you better go back to writing cook books, or better yet, don’t because we don’t support companies who use crappy ingredients and lie about it.

RANT OVER! 🙂

On another note, if your considering switching to one of the other Bisquick varieties or another brand don’t waste your time. I looked over the ingredients in most of them and they are all refined and GMO. It is way to easy to make your own to even justify buying products like this. Until we stop buying these products from companies using harmful ingredients, like trans fats in pancake mix, nothing will ever change about our food supply!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 16 (How to Choose the Best Store Bought Hummus)

May 15, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch16 Is it seriously Thursday already? This week is flying by! For lunch today Theodore had baked pita strips with hummus, Hasselback potatoes from dinner last night, broccoli, watermelon 123’s, and pineapple chunks.

The Broccoli Struggle

I’ve mentioned before Theodore doesn’t like broccoli. I was feeding the baby broccoli so I put some in Theodore’s lunch as well because if I don’t attempt to serve it, he will never try it. He didn’t eat it, however he didn’t cry, scream, or refuse to eat the other foods in his lunch so that’s a win! I will continue to try to get him to try broccoli and I’m sure it will be served again soon.

The Hummus


I think store bought hummus is one of those foods that can go either way. Most brands do use highly refined and likely GMO canola or soybean oil so I would recommend staying away from hummus that contains these ingredients. Although hummus is a healthy dip, when you add canola or soybean oil it becomes a genetically modified, highly processed, unhealthy dip. We recently found the brand Cedars, that is Non-GMO certified and uses sunflower oil and olive oil. This is a company using quality ingredients that we will definitely support by purchasing their hummus! I would also use caution when choosing a store bought hummus because I have seen labels claiming to be using olive oil when in fact there is more canola oil then olive oil in the product. Another reason to read all ingredient labels!

The Pita

I’ve seen a lot of Pita recipes floating around on Pinterest, so they are on my “to try” list! I’ve also heard they are super easy to make so I will be updating on that soon. For now we use Food for Life Ezekiel pitas which are loaded with naturally occurring vitamins and minerals and even include lentils and carrots. They contain no preservatives or additives of any kind and all of the ingredients are recognizable. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I  LOVE their products! On the flip side I have seen brands, like Sahara, turning a simple Pita into a food nightmare by using preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, and refined flours.

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 15 (How to Get Your Toddler Eating Fish!)

May 14, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch15

Todays Lunch: Mushroom and Flounder cakes, apples with almond butter and raisins, raw cashews, and peas.


Fish is one of those foods that toddlers either love or hate. With many health benefits, it is a great food to introduce early in life! My kids have been eating fish since they were babies, so the earlier you introduce, the better! Often times, we think of fish as “adult food” or only feed our children processed fish sticks or shapes. The problem with the processed versions is they have tons of additives that take away from the fish being good for us. The brand Mrs. Paul’s slogan is “100% Whole Fillets” which sounds like a great option. However, here are the ingredients:

Ingredients: Alaska Pollock (Fish, Sodium Tripolyphosphate to Retain Fish Moisture), Bread Crumbs (Wheat Flour, Sugar, Salt, Yeast), Water, Vegetable Oil (Cottonseed and/Or Canola, and/Or Sunflower, and/Or Soybean With Tbhq and Citric Acid As Preservatives), Wheat Flour. Contains 2% Or Less of: Wheat Flour (Enriched With Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Salt, Soybean Oil, Modified Food Starch, Salt, Sugar, Wheat Flour, Extractives of Paprika (Color), Dextrose, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Spice contains Fish (Pollock), Wheat. Manufactured On Equipment That Also Processes Other White Fish.

While this ingredient list is one of the better I’ve seen there is one HUGE red flag, Cottonseed Oil. I recently talked about cottonseed oil in my post about Non-Dairy Creamer, and my rule with this ingredient is if I see a company using it I NEVER purchase from them again. Cottonseed oil is highly refined and cheap. It is high in saturated fats and low in monounsaturated fats. Companies claiming they may be using one of the three are almost certainly trying to throw you off by putting a few other oils in there that aren’t as horrible for your health. Cotton crops are also sprayed with high levels of pesticides which could end up in the oil. All the way around, I would NEVER feed my children cottonseed oil!

I also see the letters TBHQ, an abbreviation for Tertiary Butylhydroquinone. Any abbreviated preservative is a red flag because I want to feed my children food, not science experiments! TBHQ is linked to a TON of issues and side effects ranging from nausea or hyper activity in children to damage to our DNA. Sorry, but no thank you on that note Mrs. Paul’s!

I also see soybean oil and modified food starch, both likely sources of GMO’s, which we also stay away from.

Toddlers and Fish

If your toddler has decided they don’t like fish, here are a few things to try:

  • Vary the type of fish you are trying to serve
  • Vary the way you are trying to serve, for instance try cakes
  • Pair with other foods your toddler likes
  • Put into casseroles or other dishes where fish isn’t the main ingredient

How do you get your kids interested in fish?

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 14 (And why to avoid HFCS in popular ketchup brands)

May 13, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch14

For lunch today my toddler got to try something new… Mozzarella Sticks! He said “What is that?” when I put them on the table but soon enough he realized how delicious they were! I used my Whole Grain Mozzarella Stick recipe that I just posted today and they are awesome. I highly recommend trying them! I also served a “baby orange” aka mandarin orange, whole grain pasta with a tad of butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and ketchup for dipping the mozzarella sticks.


The most note-able thing about this meal is the ketchup. I think ketchup is something we are so familiar with that we have never actually stopped to check the ingredient list. Almost ALL ketchup contains High Fructose Corn Syrup, a highly refined and likely genetically modified sweetener that is cheap and abundant. We do stay away from any products that contain HFCS, so standard ketchup is not something we purchase. Our bodies are not capable of processing HFCS the way we do regular sugar and it has been linked to obesity, depression, heart disease, diabetes and many other health issues. Dr. Mark Hyman has been leading the crusade against the use of HFCS in processed foods, and here is a link to his website further explaining the dangers of HFCS. I have linked this before and cannot stress enough how important it is to avoid this ingredient! We do limit ketchup consumption as it is still a processed item, but we buy an organic brand that does not contain HFCS. I hate to use this word because people are sick of hearing it, but it is all about moderation with the ketchup!

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals, Uncategorized Tagged With: Toddler, toddler lunch, toddler meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 13

May 12, 2014 by Dana

Toddlerlunch13

Today for lunch was sweet and spicy chili with whole grain corn bread duckies and cheese butterflies for dipping. My toddler loves chili and often asks me to make this. The shapes made it fun and different for him so he enjoyed that! I served the chili with blueberries and some whole grain pretzel sticks. He finished the blueberries first, and asked for more. As happy as I am that he loves fruit I do try to get him to finish everything before getting more of one particular item. If I didn’t stick to this rule he would probably only eat the fruit everyday!


This morning we also had oatmeal pancakes, a recipe I am working on to share right now. I have been on the hunt for the best pancakes for a while now, and I might have found them! Will be experimenting with the recipe this week so hopefully I will be able to share that soon!

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals Tagged With: Toddler, toddler meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 12 (Peanut butter and honey rolls!)

May 9, 2014 by Dana

todder12

In spite of calling out Smucker’s I decided to show them how to really make a peanut butter and honey sandwich without the crust! To make these fun peanut butter and honey rolls I simply got a whole grain Ezekiel tortilla, spread peanut butter on half of it, then spread honey over top and used a pizza cutter to make strips. If you want to do this it is super easy, just make sure your tortilla is warm or it could rip.


I always give the same disclaimer when I use peanut butter. Check ingredients! Make sure your peanut butter doesn’t contain partially hydrogenated oils aka trans fats. A good quality peanut butter should not have more then 1 or 2 ingredients. Choosy moms DO NOT choose Jiff!

He also had mandarin oranges, blueberries, carrot sticks, peas, and a mix of raw cashews, raisins, and a few little pieces of chocolate my husband got me for mother’s day. My husband sure does know me because he came home with a few great chocolate bars! I have been on the search for a good quality chocolate that does not contain soy, and he found some! The brand is called Equal Exchange Chocolates. Almost ALL chocolate contains soy lecithin and most of the time the soy is GMO. When I got my GMO scanner app I realized the chocolate chips I had were GMO, so no more of those. Here is a link to the chocolate bars and another great brand of chocolate chips that do not contain soy. Happy Friday everyone!

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 11 (and why Hidden Valley would prefer their ingredients stay hidden!)

May 8, 2014 by Dana

toddler11 For lunch today my toddler had mostly leftovers from last night’s dinner. I made my 5 minute flounder recipe last night because my oldest son had a baseball game and it was one of those rush around evenings. I love that my kids are involved with sports but it can put a damper on eating a healthy meal together as a family. I knew I could quickly make the fish and throw in an extra piece for lunch today. When you are continually cooking healthy and unprocessed dinners, it can make other meals easier! I also served oven fries (from last night as well), carrots with homemade sour cream and onion dip, and a trail mix of coconut/chocolate popcorn (recipe coming soon!), almonds, and raisins.

I think the most important part of this meal is the dip. I use this in place of ranch dressing for the kids to dip veggies into. It is a better alternative to bottled ranch dressings because the truth it, most of the ingredients in bottled ranch are not ingredients anyone has sitting in their pantry. Here are the ingredients in Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing:


Soybean Oil, Water, Egg Yolk, Sugar, Salt, Cultured Nonfat Buttermilk, Natural Flavors (S0Y), Spices, Less Than 1% Of: Dried Garlic, Dried Onion, Vinegar, Phosphoric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Modified Food Starch, Monosodium Glutamate, Artificial Flavors, Disodium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid And Calcium Disodium EDTA As Preservatives, Disodium Inosinate And Disodium Guanylate.

If you have never looked at this ingredient list before it is a real eye opener at how much crap they can shove into one bottle. Here are the red flags:

  • First ingredient highly processed and refined soybean oil. Unhealthy, cheap, genetically modified.
  • Monosodium Glutamate: MSG, the chemical that excites your brain cells so much that your  brain tells you that you want more.
  • Artificial flavors: Unknown chemicals.
  • Calcium Disodium EDTA:  Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid are we in chemistry class now? Yeah, didn’t think so. Anything abbreviated on an ingredient list means you should be questioning why you are eating it.

The rest of the ingredients are flavor enhancers and thickeners because well, soybean oil doesn’t taste like anything and isn’t dairy-like. Essentially this is another example of using soybean oil as a main ingredient and then adding a ton of extra stuff to make it seem like something else. I guess Hidden Valley took a page out of the Campbell’s soup book!

 

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals Tagged With: Toddler, toddler lunch, toddler meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 10 (Kale Fail)

May 7, 2014 by Dana

toddlerlunch10 Yes… I attempted the unthinkable… I tried to feed my toddler KALE! I know he loves black beans, cheese, and sour cream so I thought I’d throw some baby kale chopped up underneath and he’d never notice. I suppose I forgot I was dealing with a toddler here!

The real problem might have been that he saw my lunch sitting next to his and decided mine looked better. I was eating the same thing, mine was just already spread out on a pita instead of pitas to dip in the mix. “I want that!” he said when he saw mine. So of course, he got mine and I got his. Mine did have a few bits of kale on it so I succeeded in getting him to try it, however as a “salad” he wasn’t having it! Lesson learned.


The beans I used in this are just a can of black beans, a tablespoon or two of strained tomatoes, and a sprinkle of cumin, chili powder, and adobo seasoning. My whole family loves beans like these and they are very versatile. When someone is hungry I can quickly  put together something that tastes good and is nutritious. They are also super budget friendly!

The pita is the brand Food for Life and does not contain any refined ingredients. These are just as awesome as the rest of the Food for Life products! You can’t get a better grain product!

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 9

May 6, 2014 by Dana

toddlerlunch9 This lunch is a great example of the fact that it doesn’t take a ton of time to feed your children foods that aren’t packaged. I always hear from people how busy they are, and while I understand, I think the more you cook the easier and less time consuming it gets. I made these mini egg and cheese “muffins” this morning and it only took a few minutes to get them ready for the oven. I mixed 3 eggs with two tablespoons of milk, then filled each mini muffin tin with about a tablespoon of sharp cheddar cheese. I poured the egg mixture over the cheese and that was it! Then I baked them for about 20 minutes. With the little effort I put in I have a great lunch for my toddler and snack for my 1st grader for when he gets home from school. I put the frozen pop together yesterday as well as the whole wheat cheese crackers (recipe coming soon). The pop is simply yogurt, cocoa powder, raw honey, and strawberries. Kids love frozen stuff so if  you are struggling with including fruits in your meals this is a good tactic to try to get them to explore new flavors.

I should also mention my son HATES broccoli! It is one of those vegetables that doesn’t even make it to the table before he starts saying how gross it is. I was feeding my 11 month old broccoli today so I steamed some extra and threw it in there. I don’t make a big deal out of issues like this because I have found the less I mention it, the more likely he is to just try it. He used to eat broccoli all the time but  we went a month or two without serving it and when I tried again he was not having it! It was a good reminder to me not to get into a routine of serving the same few things over and over again (we had a very needy baby at the time). I will continue to offer broccoli because if I just write it off as a food he doesn’t like, he will never get the chance to change his mind about it.


Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 8

May 5, 2014 by Dana

toddlerlunch8

We had leftovers of our chicken noodle soup, so I served the soup along with sweet potato fries, mango slices, and fresh popped popcorn. I love eating this soup the next day because as it sits over-night in the refrigerator it develops more flavor! The sweet potatoes in this soup give the broth a nice hint of sweetness and the longer it sits the better it gets.


For the popcorn, I simply put about a 1/2 a cup of organic corn kernels in a brown bag, fold the top over, and pop it for 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the microwave. When it comes out I sprinkle adobo seasoning, a pinch of kosher salt, and a drizzle of olive oil over it and that’s it! No artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils, or chemical laden bags with this popcorn! Here is another popcorn recipe I use for a sweeter version, along with some information on what makes microwave popcorn bags so bad for us.

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals Tagged With: homestyle chicken noodle soup, mango, popcorn, Toddler, toddler meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 7 (Green Eggs and Fruit)

May 2, 2014 by Dana

toddlerlunch7

You should have been at my house for dinner last night! I found a moussaka recipe on Pinterest and well.. let’s just say after preparing it for an hour or so I hated it! My husband was the only one who actually liked it and generally he does like the flavors that were mixed in the dish (cloves, cinnamon lamb). Needless to say I will NOT be making that recipe again! It was a great reminder that not every recipe works out the way you were hoping, and that is part of cooking. I don’t know any chefs that haven’t cooked a few awful meals! While I followed the directions and cooked everything the right way, the combination of flavors were a bit off.


One Pinterest win I had were these “Green Eggs”. If you are staying away from processed foods mayonnaise should be one of the first things to get rid of. Use it up, and forget it ever existed! I think mayo is one of those condiments we don’t even question but the reality is mayo is mostly just soybean oil. Not to mention nobody really knows how they get it to be the texture that it is so that’s never a good thing either. Here are the ingredients in Helman’s classic mayonnaise:

INGREDIENTS: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, WHOLE EGGS AND EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, SALT, SUGAR, LEMON JUICE, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (USED TO PROTECT QUALITY), NATURAL FLAVORS. GLUTEN-FREE.

When I visited the Helman’s website I saw they were claiming to be using “cage-free” eggs. First of all, I’m sure the “cage-free” they are talking about and the cage-free we are thinking of are two different things. If the first ingredient in their mayo is highly refined and likely GMO soybean oil then they don’t have a quality product to begin with. Instead of making claims about their eggs they should be explaining why they are using soybean oil instead of a healthier oil. That’s just scratching the surface because if there is a preservative in any product that is abbreviated because the name is too long, then you should stay far, far away from it. We need to be eating natural foods, not science experiments. Also, do not be fooled by the words “natural flavors”. These words indicate there is something in this product that isn’t even being labeled. Whether it is natural or not, I want to know what is in my food!

To get back to the “Green Eggs” I simply mashed the yolk of a hard boiled egg with a bit of avocado and sour cream, then sprinkled it with kosher salt and garlic powder. Avocados are naturally creamy and kind of bland so you can season these however you like. While they are a bit different then the common deviled egg, they sure are good! My toddler was reluctant to try these but when he did he seemed to like them. He ended up only eating one but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t serve it again. He also had strawberry and cream cheese “hats”, blueberries, pineapple, green beans, and Ezekiel bread.  For more about choosing the right bread for your family check out my post Are Trans-Fats Hiding in Your Bread?

 

 

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

Toddler Lunch: Day 6 (I can eat a rainbow!)

May 1, 2014 by Dana

toddlerlunch6

In this lunch he had some cheese, walnuts, whole grain pretzels and peanut butter to dip, and a rainbow of fruit including blueberries, avocado, pineapple, mandarin oranges, and strawberries.


I’m not sure who liked this lunch more… my toddler or me! As a mom of 3 boys lunchtime for me is often eating whatever I’m preparing for them and I do love fresh fruits. Grabbing a few strawberries, slices of avocado, mandarin oranges, and  some walnuts and throwing them on top of spinach will be my lunch. When you are feeding your kids whole and natural foods it makes feeding yourself whole and natural foods that much easier. One thing I will never understand is when parents eat fresh foods themselves but feed their kids hotdogs and chicken nuggets. Something about that just doesn’t make sense.

I also FINALLY found some whole grain pretzels that did not contain enriched flours. I’ve been looking for these for a while, so I’m not sure if I was missing them or they are a new product, however UTZ is the brand and all of the ingredients checked out. They do contain a bit of evaporated cane juice but overall they are the best pretzel I have found. Most other brands contain what is labeled as “enriched wheat flour” and when you are eating whole foods there isn’t really a need to enrich grain products because the grains contain natural vitamins and mineral. Our bodies do not process added vitamins and minerals the same way as natural ones so we do stay away from enriched foods.

One other notable thing is that we are choosy when purchasing peanut butter. Most big name brands contain partially hydrogenated oils aka trans fat so that is really something to look out for. Highly processed synthetic fats are just a way for those brands to extend the shelf life of those products and make more money. I can tell you they probably don’t eat their own products though because they know exactly how harmful these synthetic fats are to people. I also choose a peanut  butter that is not sweetened and I add raw honey to it myself. This way you know there are no refined and GMO sugars in your peanut butter. Who knew peanut butter was so complicated!?!?

Here is a great book for babies and toddlers with tons of pictures of fresh foods!

Filed Under: Recipes, Toddler Meals

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I'm Dana! Foodie + Photographer. Momma of 5. Baby lover. Coffee addict. Cooking through the chaos one recipe at a time! I've built this food blog out of a desire to create and share. My time spend around the table with my family and friends means the world to me. My hope is that you get to feel that too!

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Foodie + Photographer. Momma of 5. I've built this food blog out of a desire to create and share. I feel most alive when I'm talking with family and friends around the table. My hope is that you get to feel that too!

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