RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Avocado’

Our Favorite Finger Foods!

30 May

Hello folks! It is that time – Finger Foods! Fun, right? Sure!  I am having fun with it so I thought I’d share a few of my favorites.

String Cheese – buy in bulk packages, stick them in the fridge and pull when your little one gets hungry.  I usually let the cheese warm a bit and then peel it for my guy, usually I break the strings in half.  I had fun with String Cheese and Peas recently by making Mr. String Peas. Ha! Clever, right?

Tofu – A great source of protein and wonderful finger food because it breaks down easily.  There is little harm in serving this finger food.  I like to use soft or medium tofu. The harder the tofu, the less need to cook it. Cut the tofu up into perfect little pieces for your little one. If you have soft tofu, cook it up in a sautee pan with some veggie oil.

Avocado - You all know my obsession with avocado.  Peel, cut into small pieces and serve it up!

Berries – We’ve been giving berries to our little guy since he was about 8 months old.  Strawberries and raspberries are his favorite.  Blueberries work well too.  Just cut them up in small pieces (small enough so your little one can still grab them but not large enough to choke the little one!) and serve.

Happy Baby Yogurt Melts and Puffs – Great go to finger food, especially when you are on the road. Use a “Snack Trap” for best results.

Banana – Simple. Cut it up in small pieces or simply let your little one gnaw on a bigger piece (a little messy but fun for them).

Sweet Potato Bites – These bites are by far my Little Guy’s favorite. Sweet Potatoes are ranked #1 in vegetable land because of their complex carbs, protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Fiber.  I could go on because really we can’t forget how good they taste too. I peel a few potatoes, cut them up in fairly small pieces, put the pieces in a Pyrex, cover with some olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. Nurture Baby has a some great finger food recipes, including Sweet Potato bites and other yummy ones that I cannot wait to try.

Broccoli Bites – I am looking forward to trying this recipe suggested to me by a reader.  Check it out.

Sweet Potato Banana Puffs – I just posted this recipe recently. Can we say “Yum”?

Shredded Chicken- I am also going to try some shredded chicken this week.  Shredding chicken is super easy. Boil a breast or two on low heat for about 30 minutes. Then remove and let cool.  The chicken should shred fairly easily at this point.  I am going to try to add a few spices, or maybe just black pepper and garlic to give the chicken a little kick. Maybe serve with some black beans, also a great finger food.

Happy Eating!

Marnie

 
1 Comment

Posted in 9-12 Months, Finger Food, Recipes

 

Avocado!

11 Apr

Avocados are a wonderful first food for your little one because they are creamy and smooth. There was a great blog post recently on Avocados at Food with Kid Appeal. Definitely check it out. I personally love avocados. I slice them up, sprinkle a little salt and mmmm. Delicious. The good news is that avocados are also filled with amazing nutrients for your little ones.

One very simple combination I use frequently is 1/2 medium avocado with 2 or 3 tablespoons of Fage Greek Yogurt. Great for breakfast but I have been making this combination as an afternoon snack for my little guy. He loves it.

Avocados are packed full of nutrients. No sodium. No cholesterol. 20 vitamins and minerals to be exact. Here is a guide to the nutrients in 1.5 of a medium avocado. Pretty amazing stuff.

Another quick and easy recipe for your little ones is simply combining in your chosen pureer:

  • 1/2 medium avocado, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 banana, peeled, sliced and warmed
  • 1/4 cup blueberries, warmed

_______
A great breakfast for your little one.

A few tips:

  • Buying organic is not necessary because of avocados thick, protective skins
  • Once your little one is of age, in order to preserve, cut a lemon in half and squirt the juice on your avocado. Lemon, incidentally, pairs very well with avocado so use it once your little one is old enough to handle citrus (ideally 12 months but depending on your child, introduction could happen sooner).

_______

Check out this site on avocados. Very user friendly and enormously resourceful on all things avocados, including for your little one.

Cheers and, as always, happy eating!

Marnie

 
3 Comments

Posted in 6-9 Months, Basic Puree, Breakfast, Recipes, Snack

 

Ah Caramba! Mexican Puree

29 Mar

Raining cats and dogs here in Seattle. Perfect day for a Mexican puree for the Little Man. Plus, I swear to Goddess this puree tastes like a chicken quesadilla and – shocker – there is a ton of good stuff in it for your little one. I had a lot of the ingredients in my kitchen waiting to be used up so it was a perfect SUNDAY CLEAN UP recipe. What I did not have on hand, I bought at our local farmer’s market. I love Sundays.

Perfect For: 8+ months, Dinner, Lunch

Servings: Made about 20-25 ounces, so depending on your child 4-6 servings.

Time Required: 20-30 minutes

Tools:

  • Sautee Pan
  • Wooden Spoon
  • Cutting knife
  • Cutting board
  • Can opener
  • Strainer (for rinsing beans)
  • Shredder (if you don’t buy pre-shredded cheese)
  • Small pot (for skinning tomato)
  • Mixing bowl (for skinning tomato)
  • Beaba Babycook

____________

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon veggie oil
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 1/2 chicken breast, cut into one inch pieces
  • 1/2 can of black beans, rinsed and drained (I wanted to use dried beans but for time’s sake I opted for a can. I usually like to avoid canned goods because of the sodium but they do work perfectly fine.)
  • 1 tomato, skinned (see an earlier post for approach) and cut up
  • 1 avocado (Avocado – the “good fat” – is a great first food for babies. Plus it added a nice creaminess to this puree.)
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

____________

Method:

  1. Get our your sautee pan, pour in veggie oil, chicken and onions on medium heat
  2. Once browned, throw in tomatoes and beans for about 5 minutes until everything is warmed and ready for pureeing
  3. Get out your Beaba or other pureer, throw in cheddar cheese and avocado in the mix and puree. I added water to the purée because it can be quite thick.
  4. Serve and Store

____________

As always store what you are going to use within the next 3 days in the fridge. Any remainder should go in the freezer. See GEAR section of this site for product recommendations.

Goodness Factor: Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Iron, Calcium, Vitamin A, Niacin, Phosphorus, Potassium, Riboflavin, Folate, Vitamin K

Notes: I was going to add CORN to the recipe because quite frankly mama likes sweet corn, especially in her Mexican food. Corn should be introduced at 10-12 months. There are also some issues relating to allergies so depending on your particularly situation, the timing will vary. Plus, corn is a wonderful tasting vegetable but let’s be honest there are better vegetables out there for your little one. So I left corn out of this recipe but will most likely include a bit for future use as the little one gets older.

Happy Eating!

Cheers,

Marnie
Founder, Carrots Are Orange
Building and Creating Healthy Habits Early

Related Posts with Thumbnails

 
2 Comments

Posted in 6-9 Months, Meat, Recipes