I definitely have friends and family with plenty of these sweetie faced drooly love muffins. I take pictures of their precious faces all of the time. (You knew I was a photographer right?!)
Check out these cuties!!!
I love on them and make baby gifts right and left (that would be the specialty gift business I have). I am a superb babysitter. Just ask some of the kids who they have the most fun with.So, why not share my wealth of food knowledge with the babies, well at least with the baby mamas!!
Nowadays, there are a lot of babies with food allergies or Celiac Disease or maybe you prefer to eat organic or all natural foods to give your children the least amount of processed food.
We all want to make sure our munchkins get the best nutrition possible, whether they're 10 years old or 10 months old. Here are a few basic recipes for your healthy baby. Most of these recipes are geared to your toddler, but there are a few pureed foods that babies will love.
Toddler Chicken Toes
¾ - 1 lb. package organic chicken tenderloins
2 whole eggs
1 tbsp. water
1 cup baby cereal (rice, oatmeal or other
whole grain)
1 cup crushed walnuts, almost to “flour-like” consistency*
¼ cup wheat germ (optional)
Cooking spray
Pinch kosher salt (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice chicken tenderloins into 1-2 inch long strips and set aside. Mix baby cereal with crushed walnuts, wheat germ, and salt (if desired). Beat two eggs together with water and place in a shallow bowl. Immerse chicken in egg mixture and then dredge in cereal-nut coating. Place chicken fingers on greased cookie sheet (lightly coated with cooking
spray).
Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve immediately or freeze in freezer bags
to re-heat for another time.
*For babies with nut allergies, substitute walnuts with 1-¼ cups whole wheat flour.
or you can make them this way
¾ - 1 lb. package organic chicken tenderloins
1 cup vegetable puree, thinned out with water
1 cup baby cereal (whole wheat, oatmeal, rice, or whatever you have on hand)
2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Cooking spray
Pinch kosher salt (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice chicken tenderloins into 1-2 inch long strips and set aside. Fill one wide, shallow bowl with baby cereal, another with the vegetable puree, and a third with panko bread crumbs. Dredge chicken in baby cereal, then in vegetable puree and go for a third dredge in the bread crumbs. (The baby cereal serves as a "primer", so the vegetable puree will stick to the chicken. The panko gives the chicken fingers "crunch".)
Place chicken fingers on greased cookie sheet (lightly coated with cooking spray).Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve immediately or freeze in freezer bags to re-heat for another time.
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 ripe bananas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix first 5 (dry) ingredients in bowl and set aside. In large mixing bowl, mix butter and sugars together until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla and bananas. Mix until bananas are well incorporated, then add flour mixture. Stir until just combined; over mixing will make the cookies tough.
Spoon cookies onto baking sheet and cook for 12-13 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Cookies can be stored in airtight container for 3-4 days. Or, uncooked dough can be frozen in logs and sliced for later baking.
Fishy Stix
½ lb. fresh tilapia fillets or other mild, white fish
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp. water
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Slice tilapia fillets into strips, about 3 inches long and ½ inch wide and set aside.
To make egg wash, combine beaten egg and water in medium bowl, and whisk with fork until well combined. Pour panko into separate container, preferably one with a flat bottom.
Dunk fish pieces in egg wash and then dredge in panko mixture. Place breaded fish on baking sheet and bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes, until panko is lightly browned and fish is an opaque white on the inside.
These Fish Stix are best served fresh, but once cooked, you can freeze them in a tightly sealed freezer bag for up to one month. Reheat in oven (do not microwave) at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Caulitatoes
2 cups cauliflower florets
3 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped (about ½ inch pieces)
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
Steam cauliflower in steamer basket for 5-6 minutes, or until tender. Set aside. In pot of water, add potatoes and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and potatoes and cool slightly.
Combine potatoes, cauliflower, ¼ cup of boiling liquid, and butter to food processor.
Blend until smooth; add more water if necessary.
Disperse mixture into ice cube trays and freeze.
Go Green Beans
1 lb. fresh green beans, washed and ends removed
½ cup water
Place green beans in steamer. (If you don’t have a steamer, place metal colander over a
pot of boiling water and cover.) Steam beans for 7-8 minutes or until tender.
Remove cooked beans from steamer/colander and put in food processor.
Add water and process until completely smooth.
Once cooled, distribute mixture evenly amongst ice cube trays or cupcake tins, dependent upon desired portion size.
Green beans also serve as an excellent finger food; just skip the puree process altogether.
PEACHES FOR ME
3 medium-sized ripe peaches
½ cup water
Cut peaches in half, removing pit. Place fruit flesh-side down into pan and add water. Simmer fruit on medium-low heat until thoroughly tender and skin peels easily from flesh – about 10-12 minutes. Once cool to the touch, remove skin. After skin is removed, add fruit and liquid to
a food processor and puree until completely smooth. Add more water if necessary.
Dispense peach puree evenly into ice cube trays and freeze until solid.
Pork "Chops" and Applesauce
Pork tenderloin (organic), cut into cubes
1 large sweet potato
2 medium apples (golden delicious recommended for their mild sweet, apple flavor)
2-3 cups of water
Peel and dice sweet potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Peel and core apple; dice into 1 inch pieces. Put apple, sweet potato and cubed pork into slow cooker and add water, just until ingredients are submerged in liquid.
Cook on low heat for about 5 hours until pork is well done. Let cool. Add all three ingredients plus some of the cooking liquid to food processor and blend until smooth.
Distribute mixture evenly amongst ice cube trays or cupcake tins, dependent upon desired portion size.
Peas Please
1 package frozen organic peas*
½ cup water
Place frozen peas in steamer. (If you don’t have a steamer, place metal colander over a pot of boiling water and cover.) Steam peas for 6-7 minutes or until tender.
Remove cooked peas from steamer/colander and put in food processor. Add water and process until completely smooth.
Once cooled, distribute mixture evenly amongst ice cube trays or cupcake tins, dependent upon desired portion size.
Peas also serve as an excellent first finger food; just skip the puree process altogether.
Sweet Potato Bites
3 medium sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup baby rice/oatmeal cereal (use rice cereal for gluten free)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into ¼ inch cubes. Coat in olive oil and baby cereal. Spread out potatoes on 9x13 pan and cook for about 25-30 minutes.
Once cooked, wait for potatoes to cool on pan. Place entire pan, with potatoes spread out, in the freezer for about an hour. (This keeps the potatoes from sticking to each other in the freezer bag.) Once potatoes are partially frozen, transfer to freezer bag and place in freezer.
Apple a Day
3 medium-sized apples (Red or Golden Delicious)
½ cup water
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
Peel and chop apples into cubes (about a 1 inch), discarding the core. Place apples in sauce pan with water and cinnamon and simmer on medium-low heat until apples are tender – approximately 10-12 minutes.
Once apples are tender, all contents of pan (including liquid) to food processor. Puree until smooth. Add water if necessary.
Dispense apple puree evenly into ice cube trays and freeze until solid.
Confetti Pasta
2 cups small whole grain pasta
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium zucchini
2 small yellow squash
1 small onion
1 medium carrot, grated
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Cook pasta in boiling water according to package instructions, about 5-6 minutes.
Drain and set aside. Dice onion, carrot, zucchini, and squash into small ¼ inch cubes (like confetti). Heat olive oil in sauté pan on medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cook until onions are translucent.
Add zucchini and squash. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add parsley.
In large bowl, combine pasta, vegetable mixture and parmesan cheese. Chop coarsely in food processor if necessary, or serve as is. Disperse evenly in ice cube trays (for babies) or cupcake tins (for toddlers) and freeze.
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