Pumpkin spice oatmeal

This pumpkin spice oatmeal is the perfect steamy breakfast on a cool morning. Whole grain oatmeal is filling and hearty, while the bright orange pumpkin provides a day's worth of Vitamin A. The spices add warmth and delicious flavor.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

This recipe makes 3 adult-sized servings.

¾ cup pumpkin (canned or pureed from fresh)

3 cups skim milk

1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp cinnamon

1. Use a whisk to combine pumpkin, milk and spices in a medium saucepan.
2. Add oats and cook over medium heat until the mixture boils (about 10 minutes) stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and enjoy with your favorite oatmeal toppings. The following are delicious with this pumpkin spice oatmeal: walnuts, cranberries, raisins, brown sugar, or honey.

You can portion any leftover oatmeal into small bowls and refrigerate for a quick breakfast another morning.

Today's tip: Enjoy sweet pumpkin spice oatmeal for a warm, filling breakfast.

Baby's first finger foods

I have an adorable 9-month-old niece who is ready to start finger foods. This process can seem scary to new moms as they navigate the world of introducing new food to their babies. It's really not difficult if you start thinking in terms of transitioning the baby from breastmilk or formula and baby food/purees to the same table food that the whole family eats.

At some time between 4- to 6-months of age we start feeding our babies purees and baby cereal. During the next several months parents carefully introduce many fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, beans, and dairy to the baby, watching for any preferences and food allergies.

After a while babies get the hang of being fed, and you can introduce safe finger foods so they can practice picking up food, putting it in their mouths, chewing (or as close to it as they can get without back teeth) and swallowing.

My sister wanted ideas of finger foods to introduce, so I suggested the following:

Baby “puffs,” or Cheerios

Small pieces of soft fruit: peaches, plums, grapes, bananas, apples or pears cut into tiny “matchsticks”

Small pieces of soft cooked veggies: carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, beets, squash

Tiny shreds of tender meat: chicken, beef, turkey

Beans (cut in half if large)

Shredded cheese

Whole wheat toast that has been cut into very small pieces

Scrambled eggs

French toast that is cut into very small pieces

Small pasta
Tofu

You get the idea. You can really feed your baby small pieces of any food that he/she has already been eating as a puree. You can also introduce any new foods they are ready to try this way, just be careful to keep an eye out for signs of food allergies.

Please be careful and watch your baby as they try new things. Some babies are fine with new textures while others gag more easily. Start out cutting food into the smallest size they can pick up. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with a knife just chopping food into tiny pieces for Ned, thinking he would never be able to handle anything bigger than a speck. I cut grapes into sixteenths. Slowly he has advanced (and gotten more teeth) and at 17 months he eats what we do – I am happy to hand him a piece of toast or bagel and watch as he chomps away!

Today's tip: Once your baby has the hang of being fed purees you can slowly introduce finger foods.

Pizza fish

My grandfather was a Gloucester fisherman. I remember that he used to get haddock fresh off the docks, freeze it in portions, and fly it down when he'd visit us in Maryland. We always had a stash of fish in the freezer, thanks to him.

 

My mom invented pizza fish, thinking it sounded more appealing to kids than plain baked fish. Fish IS nutritious but can be a tough sell to kids unless fish sticks are on the menu. I remember that pizza fish was a special dinner in our family, so I recreated it for my family.

 

It all starts with mom's homemade pizza sauce (feel free to use it on traditional pizza, too!). I took thin filets of white fish (although mom used to use thicker filets in a baking dish and it worked really well), cut each filet in half and topped each portion with pizza sauce. I baked the fish at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes until the fish was cooked through -- bake longer if you use thicker filets. Then I added part-skim mozzerella and baked the fish for another couple of minutes. It was easy and delicious!

 

Pizza Sauce

 

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft.
2. Add tomatoes, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and gently simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes.
3. This makes enough sauce for 2-3 large pizzas. I used about half of the recipe to make pizza fish, which I sauced pretty generously.

Today's tip: Serving fish but the family wants pizza? Try pizza fish!

Quinoa

My spell-checker does not know what quinoa is. Do you?

Quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”) is a protein-rich seed. It falls into the “whole grain” category, since it contains the nutrient- and fiber-rich outer layers that are removed when grains are processed and refined.

The protein in quinoa is a complete protein, which means that it contains all of the essential amino acids that our bodies cannot produce on their own. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Essential amino acids are necessary for good health and must be obtained through food. Typical sources of complete protein are: meat, egg whites and casein (the protein in milk). Since quinoa is a plant source of complete protein it is a good addition to vegan diets.

Quinoa is also a good source of magnesium, riboflavin, manganese and copper. A serving of quinoa has about the same amount of fiber as a bowl of oatmeal and is gluten-free.

I set out to try quinoa as a side dish for our family's dinner. Since it was a beautiful summer night, I decided to mix in grilled vegetables for texture and flavor. I often blend vegetables into a grain side dish to increase the kids' exposure to them.

Here's how I prepared our quinoa:

1. I rinsed the quinoa under cool water per package instructions.
2. I added one part quinoa to two parts liquid (I used broth for added flavor) to a pot on the stove, brought the mixture to a boil, and them covered and simmered it for 10-15 minutes until the liquid was absorbed (again, per package instructions). I used 1 ½ cups quinoa and three cups of broth for our family.
3. Meanwhile, I sliced one eggplant, one green pepper, and one red pepper. I brushed these with olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper, then cooked them on a pre-heated grill (about medium flame) for 5 minutes per side.
4. I finely minced one clove of garlic and added it to about 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a large bowl. When the veggies were done I cut them into bite-sized pieces and added them to the bowl, then dumped in the quinoa when it was ready. I stirred all this together with about 4 oz of herbed goat cheese and salt/pepper.

Since this was a totally new food for the kids, I kept some of the quinoa plain and served them both the plain quinoa and the quinoa-veggie mixture so they could try both. I also sliced some raw peppers for them to enjoy plain, too.

I just added “quinoa” to the dictionary on my computer, and to our family's food repertoire. You should introduce it to your family, too. Oh, and I'm still working on the crock-pot meal I mentioned the other day – you'll hear about it when it has been perfected.

Today's tip: Try quinoa for a side dish or vegetarian meal.

One more ice cream: yogurt, honey, and cinnamon gelato

I tried another gelato recipe from weelicious.com after remembering the delicious simplicity of the coconut gelato. I know, I'm on a bit of an ice cream machine kick, but this is ice cream season!

It's hard to believe that three basic ingredients: greek yogurt, honey, and cinnamon could make such a creamy treat. Lila and I set out to blend the mixture then we poured it into the ice cream machine so it could magically become gelato. The recipe states that it can easily be made into popsicles if you don't have an ice cream machine.

We enjoyed our treat after dinner with cocoa-dusted raspberries. It was so good!

I've already discussed the health benefits of greek yogurt and cinnamon. Add in honey for sweetness and this recipe is a winner. It uses full-fat yogurt, so stick to a small scoop to keep calories in check. Do not serve honey (or uncooked recipes containing honey) to babies under 1 year old.

Stay tuned, I have the crock-pot out for tonight's dinner. If it comes out well I'll post the results! Fall is around the corner...

Today's tip: Turn yogurt, honey, and cinnamon into a creamy gelato or delicious homemade popsicles.

Summer tomato pasta

It's tomato season! All year I look at the sad tomatoes in the grocery store and long for the end of summer when ripe red tomatoes are abundant. Now's the time, so grab them from your farm share depot or farmer's market, harvest them from your backyard garden, or hit up a neighbor who grew too many.

I needed a quick family dinner last night, so I mixed up this pasta. The longest part of the preparation process was waiting for the water to boil!

It's more of a method than a recipe, use as much of each ingredient as you like. You can make this recipe for one person or for ten. Here's what I did:

1. Put on water to boil.
2. Chop tomatoes and add to a large bowl with finely minced garlic, chopped basil leaves, cubed mozzerella, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Boil pasta according to package directions. Add beans to last few minutes of pasta cooking time. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking liquid.
4. Toss hot pasta with tomato mixture. If the pasta seems dry to you add the reserved cooking liquid.

You can choose the ingredients and amounts you like. I used plum and grape tomatoes (it amounted to about 3 cups when chopped) from the farm share, part-skim mozzerella (about 4 oz), and whole-wheat pasta (the whole pound), plus about ¼ cup of olive oil, about ½ cup chopped basil, and about 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. I added about 1 ½ cups of precooked/frozen white beans. I used one garlic clove and thought it was very garlicky – you could try ½ a clove if you aren't a fan of strong garlic flavors. We topped our pasta with parmesan cheese and it was delicious!

Today's tip: Grab summer tomatoes and enjoy them while they are at their best!

Fun Pop Quiz: What culture invented boiled pasta?

Lunch snapshots

Sometimes it's hard to come up with new ideas for lunch. Here are pictures of recent lunches the kids have enjoyed.

It's a classic for a reason! Peanut butter on whole wheat bread, served with a small apple and baby carrots. I buy natural peanut butter to avoid the sugar and hydrogenated oils that are added to most brands. Whenever possible, I also buy tote bags of small apples, so the each kid can have their own without too much waste. They love to chomp into whole apples!

Another kid classic: macaroni and cheese. I make the traditional packaged version very occasionally for a quick lunch. I'd prefer the organic box, but my kids won't eat it. I served a scoop of mac alongside an apple and baby carrots on this day, too. One note about the carrots: I served them raw and crunchy to Lila, who is almost 5 and beyond the risk for choking on hard foods. I boil them for a couple of minutes to soften them up a bit for Deacon (just turned 3), and chop the boiled carrots for Ned (1).

Beet hummus on a whole grain english muffin with baby carrots. Yummy and colorful!

Leftover grilled chicken drumstick with brown rice and tomato/avacado salad. Lila is picky about meat, but recently discovered drumsticks and loves to munch on them. My kids are big fans of rice, too.

Black bean soup with a wedge of cornbread -- so delicious! There are tons of beans and veggies pureed into this soup.

The day after Deacon's birthday party we had leftover pickies, so the kids enjoyed "party lunch": whole grain crackers, cheese, fruit and farm fresh cucumber slices.

This was Ned's chopped party lunch: crackers, leftover grilled chicken, cucumbers and fruit.

Today's tip: If you are in a lunch slump try something new today. Feel free to borrow one of our ideas!

Kid Superfood: Low-fat Greek Yogurt

We LOVE yogurt! You may be asking, “What's the deal with Greek yogurt?” Greek yogurt has been strained to remove more water than is removed in traditional yogurt, in addition to other processing steps that make it thicker and creamier. The result is a smooth yogurt that resembles sour cream in texture and is much higher in protein.

Greek yogurt has been around for a while, but it's recent popularity has prompted the major yogurt companies to package it, and it can now be found in most grocery stores. You can find whole, low-fat, and non-fat varieties in addition to plain (unsweetened) and flavored versions.

I prefer to keep plain low-fat Greek yogurt on hand, since it's easy to add fruit, a drop of vanilla, or a sweetener like honey (NO honey for children under 1-year-old!) or maple syrup to flavor it up. Substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream in dips or as a topping for potatoes, tacos, and soups (like my black bean soup).

Try the simple snack pictured at the top of the post: sprinkle on some chopped walnuts and drizzle a little maple syrup for a delicious maple-walnut yogurt!

Today's tip: Grab some low-fat Greek yogurt to use for creamy treats and toppings!

Ten superfoods for kids

An article in the June issue of Parenting magazine lists ten kid superfoods. While there are LOTS of healthy foods to serve your family, these ten pack the maximum amount of nutrition into each bite. There are many lists out there, but I really like these picks for kids.

blueberries

cocoa

tomatoes

tofu

low-fat Greek yogurt

cinnamon

cabbage

basil

black beans

salmon

Including these superfoods in your family's meals and snacks when possible guarantees an infusion of antioxidants, calcium, or protein for great health.

I'm planning to spend my next blog posts exploring each superfood – I'll let you know how I serve them to my family! Stay tuned.

Pizza Party

Turn your kitchen into a pizza parlor! Everyone likes pizza, and it is an easy meal to make with your kids. We like to make individual pizzas for a couple of reasons:

• It's easier to roll out a small ball of dough, and less messy to transfer the small rolled-out “crust” to the pan
• Everyone gets to add the toppings they like
• Kids love having their own little pizza for lunch

The kids loved “waking up” the yeast with warm water. We watched it bubble for a few minutes, then added the rest of the ingredients. We made the dough in a bread machine that did the rising and kneading for us. The kids took turns looking through the machine's window to watch the dough twirl and rise.

Here is the pizza dough recipe from the Food Network that I've been using for years. My version has the exact same ingredients, but the instructions are modified for our bread machine:

Bread Machine Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 package dry yeast
1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
½ tsp salt

1.Pour water and yeast into bowl of bread machine and let sit for 5 minutes or until bubbles form.
2.Add the rest of the ingredients and set bread machine on “pizza dough.”
3.When dough cycle is complete, turn dough out onto a floured surface. Cut dough into thirds (each third makes a big pizza). These sections can be frozen for future use at this point. Take one section and cut it into four pieces for individual pizzas.
4.Roll dough out to desired thickness and move to a baking sheet. Top with your favorite sauce, cheese, and toppings.
5.Bake at 450 degrees for 7-8 minutes for a thin-crust pizza... longer if your pizza is thicker.

Here are our finished pizzas. We were in a rush that day and kept it simple with sauce and cheese. They were still customized, though -- Lila only likes cheese, Deacon likes tons of sauce and cheese, and Ned's pizza had typical amounts of each. The sky's the limit, though, so encourage your child to try new toppings. Set up a pizza bar of toppings and challenge your kids to be creative chefs.

Why stop there? Get crazy and make one of these sweet yet healthy pizzas:

Fruit pizza – Bake a crust without toppings and let cool. Top with light cream cheese or greek yogurt and your favorite fruit.

Peanut butter banana pizza – Bake a crust without toppings and let cool. Top with peanut butter and banana slices....yum!

Chocolate berry pizza – Bake a crust without toppings and let cool. Add a thin smear of Nutella and sliced strawberries. Or sprinkle a still-warm crust with dark chocolate chips (a delicious source of antioxidants), let them melt for a few minutes, then top with raspberries.

Now I'm hungry for a dessert pizza. Good thing I have dough in the freezer!

Today's tip: Make pizza at home instead of calling the delivery guy.

Yogurt Parfaits

I tempted Lila and Deacon with a “treat” after lunch today. They were thrilled to see me putting some of their favorite foods on the table: yogurt, berries, and nuts. I gave them each a clear glass and a spoon and we got to work layering the ingredients into parfaits.

This is a great way to make custom treats – each child can pick the yogurt flavor, fruit, and other additions that he or she likes. Plus they get to “cook” by spooning everything into their dishes. They ate every last drop!

Yogurt is a great source of protein and calcium for growing children, plus other essential nutrients like potassium, phosphorus, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin, and niacin. The probiotics (good bacteria) in yogurt promote health and help with lactose digestion – even lactose intolerant children can enjoy small amounts of yogurt.

I just looked around the kitchen to put together these parfait ingredients. Use whatever you have available! Other good additions would be:

• Fresh, dried, or canned fruit (select canned fruits in juice for less added sugar and drain them well)
• Any nuts or seeds
• Your child's favorite cereal
• Low-sugar fruit preserves
• Crushed pretzels
• Toasted coconut

 Here are our parfaits -- guess which one I made!

Today's tip: Set up a yogurt parfait bar and let your kids create a delicious treat.