PIn-tested recipes: Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa and Oatmeal Cups

Remember a few months ago when we did some toddler freezer cooking? I'm overdue for a little update.

Last time, three moms made a total of six recipes to freeze. Em went through all three breakfast items quickly. She did pretty well with the rice and bean cups, though we still have a few of those left. She didn't care for the two recipes I picked (of course), the corn dog muffins and the chicken patties. Oh well, live and learn, right?

Our freezer stock is running low so it was time to get cookin' again. Both of these recipes came from Pinterest and I have actually made both before, so I know Em loves them. I highly recommend these if you're looking for some grab and go toddler eats to keep in the freezer.

Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Bites
From Alida's Kitchen

Ingredients
1.5 cups cooked quinoa
2 eggs
2 cups broccoli, coarsely chopped
1 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, pressed
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a regular-size muffin tin with cooking spray or insert paper liners.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Fill each muffin cup to the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until edges turn golden brown. Allow to cool before wrapping individually in cling wrap, bagging, and throwing in the freezer.

Oatmeal Raisin Cups
From The Wholesome Dish

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil (or vegetable or canola)
1 scant cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. cinnamon
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin liners (*note: I found that foil ones resulted in soggy bottoms).

In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, oil, and sugar. Add applesauce, milk, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon until well combined. Add oats, baking powder, and mix-ins and stir well to coat.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through. Allow to cool before wrapping individually in cling wrap, bagging, and throwing in the freezer.

She "marked" about three of these as "hers." I guess she likes 'em.

So far I have found that freezer breakfasts work great, but what I really need help with is lunch/dinner grab and go things. Sometimes I just don't have time to make a whole meal! That's when the cheddar quinoa  bites are great, but that's the only good recipe I have in my arsenal. Hit me up, what recipes do you have that make great freezer lunches/dinners??

Mama Monday: Toddler freezer meal club

Happy Monday, mamas!

Today I am excited to tell you about a new little project our mama group started - freezer meals for littles. We were talking a few weeks ago about how we get into food ruts for our toddlers, giving them the same things over and over again and how hard it is to come up with things on the go.

So we decided to get together this week and cook up a bunch of freezable yummies for the little ones. Here's what we learned:

• it works really well to have each person pick two recipes. We made each person responsible for ingredients for their recipes and then we all shared staples like salt, cinnamon, etc.
• don't try and cook it with three toddlers running around. Jeez. We decided that next time, we will just make them on our own and meet to exchange.
• it takes a while, but it really helps with freezer burn if you wrap each thing in saran wrap and then put them in tupperware or gallon-size ziplock freezer bags.
• it helps if the recipes you're making are somewhat similar - two breakfast items, both use ground beef, etc. That way you can share ingredients between the two and cook the same method, etc.

Baby H. was such a big help in the kitchen

Here's the recipes we used this time:

baked oatmeal cups (we just added raisins, but you could have fun with the mix-ins!)

rice and bean cakes 

corn dog muffins (we added shredded zucchini and whole corn kernels to the corn bread muffins and just sliced up organic hot dogs to stick in the batter).

chicken and corn patties (we used turkey because HEB was out of ground chicken).

green vegan pancakes

zucchini carrot apple muffins

So far, it seems the oatmeal cups have been the biggest hit with all three kids. Though I threw a spinach pancake in my bag before church this morning and my kid happily noshed her way through stake conference. The applesauce muffin saw us through the outlet malls last night and we took some corn dog muffins for Em when we went out to eat last week. I haven't tried the rice/bean ones yet, but it's all things she likes so I'm sure it'll be a hit, too.

Have you tried any kiddie freezer meals? Send me your tips and recommended recipes!

Food for littles: Popeye muffins and sweet potato mac

Today I ate myself silly on Mexican food, followed by a hungry-girl piece of delicious cake, and later in the evening too much (and not enough!) s'mores muddy buddies. 

See, that's the weirdest thing about parenthood. I know that I shouldn't eat half the stuff I eat, but I do it anyway. But I won't feed it to the kid. No, it's fruits and veggies for her. I'm so conscious of how many servings of fruit and veggies she gets each day, and whether she's had protein, and blah blah blah. I try to make every bite she takes have some kind of nutritional value.

So I love recipes that pack a punch - yummy to eat, but full of good things. My favorites are the ones that Hans and I love to eat, too, so I can make one meal that we all enjoy.

These are two of our favorite recipes and make a great dinner. The sweet potato mac and cheese is all the comfort of mac and cheese with far fewer of the calories. It replaces much of the butter/milk and cheese with all the added benefits of sweet potato (mad amounts of Vitamin C., plus calcium, folate, potassium and beta-carotene!) Em will eat the same size portion that Hans and I will, and it makes for great leftovers the next day.

And these spinach muffins are delish. I made mini-ones for Punkito and Hans and I liked them so much that we had to make a full-size batch for us to eat. These taste like a basic applesauce muffin, but have puree spinach for added iron and that beautiful green color. These also freeze really well so make a big batch and defrost as needed.

Sweet Potato Mac (adapted ever so slightly from Cookin' Canuck)

1 lb. sweet potato
13 oz. whole-wheat elbow pasta
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T. flour
1 cup chicken broth
2 1/4 cups milk
6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
1 T. Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 T grated Parmesan cheese

1 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 375.

Poke holes in the sweet potato to vent - really go at it with a fork! Wrap in a wet paper towel and microwave for 5 minutes. Turn it over and microwave another 5 minutes. You may need an additional few minutes, it should feel soft and squishy to the touch. Cut open the potato and scoop the insides into a bowl and mash until it is smooth.

At the same time, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the pasta for 6-7 minutes, until it's almost cooked but still slightly crunchy. Drain and rinse and return the pot to the stove.

Heat 1 tsp olive oil on medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook another minute or two. Stir in the flour briskly, making sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. It should form little clumps with the onion. Stir in the broth and milk and bring the pot to a low boil, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens. Reduce the heat and add in the sweet potato, cheese, mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the pasta and stir to coat.

Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray and transfer the pasta to the dish.

In a separate bowl, combine the panko, parmesan cheese, and 1 T olive oil. Sprinkle evenly over the pasta. Bake about 20 minutes and then chow down!

Popeye Muffins (adapted very slightly from Weelicious)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup fresh spinach, packed
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini-muffin pan with nonstick spray. 

Puree the spinach in a food processor (or blender) until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla, applesauce, sugar and oil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix just until combined. Don't overmix or they will be tougher! We want light and fluffy :) Fill the muffin tins and bake for 12 minutes. Makes 24 mini-muffins

My fav green smoothie

You can't sign on to Pinterest without seeing a million and one green smoothies. So you probably don't need to see another one, but I'm going to do it anyway. Mostly because I've tried probably half those recipes looking for one I actually liked enough to try on Little One.

This one, though, is the keeper. I make it a couple times a week now and thankfully Little One likes it enough to slurp it up. I love that it's a quick an easy way to slip her some healthy fruit and veggies and she feels like she's getting a special treat.

Peachy Green Smoothie
A good handful of ice
1 heaping cup spinach
1 cup frozen sliced peaches
3/4 cup almond milk
half a very ripe large banana
honey to taste

Throw it all in a blender and puree until smooth! I usually do the ice first to make sure it gets broken up, then the spinach, and then the rest of the ingredients. Could be I just need a better blender :) This recipe makes a large glass-full for mom and half a sippy cup full for baby.

*Note: Most pediatricians recommend not giving honey to children less than 1. Keep this in mind if your little is very little.

Food for littles: Beyond Cheerios

Welcome to food for littles. I'm constantly trying to find different foods to try so that Punkito gets plenty of variety and nutrition. My qualifications are decently healthy and easy to pick up - she's an independent little one! If you're looking for toddler food ideas, hopefully you can get some inspiration from these galleries. And PLEASE - add your suggestions below. I find that we get into food ruts and eat the same thing over and over again. Right about now we could use some more ideas, so please send them!

Lately:

Top L-R: avocado, brown rice, corn, black beans; cheese and avocado quesadilla and extra avocado; hard-boiled egg, rice pasta, strawberries
Middle: cheese, shredded carrot, whole wheat apple muffin, mango/strawberry fruit roll-up; mango and strawberry slices, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato puffs, cottage cheese; turkey hummus roll-up, zucchini and apple
Bottom: scrambled eggs and celery (and a jar of pears and blueberries just to make sure she gets SOMETHING in her tummy - she's not been eating much lately!); blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and a whole wheat English muffin (this was actually both her and my meal - we split it :)); hardboiled egg, cheese, turkey and cuties

Healthy toddler pancakes

In our house, daddy is the pancake king. He manages to get them so fluffy and delicious.

But here's something funny. While I have no problem slamming down a good ol' plate of pancakes, I'd rather give Punkito something "better." Something with just a tad more nutritional value.

That's where these pancakes come in. They are seriously the easiest thing to make (in a blender!) and have no white flour, no refined white sugar - just oats, banana and coconut oil!

Healthy Toddler Pancakes
Makes 6-8
(Adapted from Colourful Palate)

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
scant 3/4 cup milk (I use almond)
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 very ripe banana
chocolate chips (optional, but recommended :))

Place all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a blender or food processor and puree until completely smooth. Spray a medium skillet or pan with nonstick spray and place over low to medium heat. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop batter onto the skillet. Cook until golden on each side.

I will usually cook two or three for the Little One first, then stir in the chocolate chips and make the rest for Mama. These are so good, I usually don't even need syrup! Serve with a side of fruit and watch your littles nom away.