I find, however, that he much prefers to snack. If we're at home, he will eat pretty much anything, but if he is at daycare or we're out somewhere for dinner he is much pickier. He would rather not eat his leftovers from the dinner that he loved the night before and will either toss it on the floor or squish it up in his hands.
He will eat cheese and crackers, cheerios, veggie straws, pouches, and fruit ALL DAY LONG, but trying to get some sort of protein and other good things into him can be challenging.
This is probably common with a lot of little ones, but I am now having to think outside the box to get nutrition into him. Some Googling/Pinteresting and going through my cookbooks brought me to these recipes that he and I both love!
*These are not my pictures, because I didn't take nice pictures when I made them*
Sweet Potato & Quinoa Bites
*Sneaky way to make healthy food appear snack-ish
Ingredients:
1/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup water or stock (I used water)
1 medium sweet potato (about 1 cup mashed)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1 TBSP olive oil or coconut oil
Preparation:
1. Prepare the sweet potato. (I boiled and mashed, but you could roast if you wish)
2. In the meantime, rinse the quinoa in cold water. Place the quinoa in a pot with the water or stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all liquid has been absorbed, for about 15 minutes.
3. Combine mashed sweet potato with the quinoa and spices. Start with adding only half the quinoa to the potato mixture and keep adding more until the texture will become more crumbly. The patties should stick together pretty well. Some sweet potatoes are less starchy and will only "take" a part of the quinoa.
4. Scoop about 2 TBSP of mixture, form balls with wet hands and flatten them slightly. Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add oil to the pan.
5. Sear the quinoa and sweet potato bites for 2-3 minutes on each side or until slightly browned.
6. Cool slightly and serve.
*I stored these in the fridge and gave 1-2 to Dominic with lunch and/or dinner, slightly warmed and broken into pieces.
Blueberry Bran Muffins
*I get this recipe from my Looneyspoons cook-book
**High in fiber!
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I use whole-wheat flour, or a mix)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 TBSP ground chia seeds (optional, I like to add in. I used a secondary coffee grinder to grind them up nice and fine)
1-2 TBSP ground flax seed or wheat germ (optional, I like to add in)
14 oz. can of peaches (un-drained)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 TBSP vegetable oil
4 cups bran flakes
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray and set aside OR prepare with muffin cups (I like the Parchment brand).
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon & salt (& chia seeds/flax seed if you desire). Set aside.
3. Drain Peaches & reserve 1/3 cup syrup. Pour peaches and reserved syrup int o a blender and puree until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together pureed peaches, brown sugar, eggs and vegetable oil. Add bran flakes and mix well.
5. Add flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over-mix! Gently fold in blueberries.
6. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.
*I like to freeze the muffins once they've cooled, and then just thaw or nuke them for 30 seconds to serve.
**If I'm eating the muffin, I like to cut it in half and put a little butter and white sugar on each side as a nice treat with my tea. Dom just gobbles it down without any added goodness.
Carrot/Zucchini Muffins
*Great for if there is an egg and/or dairy allergy in your family!
Ingredients:
2 cups grated zucchini, or 1 cup zucchini/1 cup grated carrot. Measure before blotting
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 mashed ripe bananas
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar (optional. I did not add for Dom's muffins and they still taste sweet enough)
1 1/2 cups flour (you could probably use whole wheat flour as well)
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin (or a 24-cup mini-muffin tin) with non-stick spray and set aside OR prepare with muffin cups.
2. Grate zucchini and/or carrot and blot with a paper towel to remove the moisture. Do not skip this step or muffins will sink in the centers.
3. Mix the mashed banana, applesauce, sugar (if using), vanilla and grated zucchini/carrot.
4. Add flour, cinnamon and baking soda to zucchini mixture and combine.
5. Scoop into muffin tins. (I find they don't rise too much, so don't panic if the cups seem full)
6. Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes. Check centers with a toothpick; if it comes out clean, they are done.
7. Let them cool completely before eating/freezing (2 hours) or the centers may be gooey.
*I like to freeze the muffins and give Dominic 1 with his lunch, or split it between lunch and snack-time depending what else he is getting.
**When I made it, I used 1 cup zucchini and 1 cup carrot. Grating 1 medium zucchini, it gave me lots of leftovers, so I made a batch of the Looneyspoons Chocolate Zucchini Loaf as a special treat for myself too! (I couldn't find the recipe online, so maybe I'll have to type it out and post it separately...)
Happy snacking!
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