While most mac and cheese dishes aren’t overly nutritious, this version is packed with protein, veggies, and whole grain pasta, so I feel good about giving it to Miss G and she’s just thrilled that she gets to eat a giant bowl of pasta and call it a day.
Grae and I have been making versions of this delicious smoothie since she was a wee little thing, and it remains a favourite. It’s nutritious, filling, and tastes more like a thick and creamy milkshake than a good-for-you smoothie. {Milkshakes for breakfast? Yes please.}
Based on my beginning Toddler Food posts, this breakfast is an old favourite, but for one reason or another, I haven’t made it in a very long time. I guess I kind of forgot about it. But the other day, when Miss G’s breakfast request involved only one stipulation – something with bananas – it was the first thing I thought of. I made her her first breakfast banana split in a long time, and she absolutely gobbled it up. When lunch time rolled around, she requested another and convinced me with a “But Mama, I looooooooved that banana split. You made it soooo yummy.” I finally drew the line at dinnertime when she requested a third, but she’s had it for breakfast several times since.
It’s such a simple morning meal, but it’s healthy, can be made a ton of different ways, and almost tastes like dessert for breakfast. ☺ They change from one time to another, but here’s our usual line up of ingredients… 1/2 a banana cut lengthwise, plain organic greek yogurt (you could use sweetened yogurt if that’s what you’re used to), some almond butter (any nut butter would be delicious), a strawberry sliced up, and something to serve as sprinkles (today we used unsweetened coconut, but we’ve also used chia seeds and hemp hearts).
This morning, I set out the ingredients as a little ‘build your own breakfast’ station and Miss G assembled her own banana split. Just as we’ve done together previously, she laid the banana pieces down first, added a couple of big scoops of greek yogurt, topped them both with almond butter and strawberry slices, then sprinkled the whole thing with coconut.
Breakfast is served!
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Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with Anita’s Organic ancient grains breakfast boost.
Breakfast // Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast with all-natural peanut butter. Berries. Chinese pear slices. Satsuma slices.
Breakfast // Crispy brown rice cereal with chia seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and almond milk.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with strawberry slices, almond slices, and chia seeds.
Lunch // Wholewheat couscous with steamed asparagus, edamame, baby green peas, feta, and herbs.
Lunch // Grilled chicken, spinach, and brie on wholewheat flax seed bread. Green grapes. Red pepper slices.
Lunch {for 2 on the go} // Homemade carrot zucchini muffins. Almond butter, oat, hemp heart, and chia multi-grain roll-up. Baby cucumbers. Avocado. Orange pepper slices. Seedy crackers. Apple slices. Grapes. Mango. Mixed raw nuts.
Lunch // Quick Gracen-made pizza (all-natural apple chardonnay chicken sausage, orange pepper pieces, asparagus chunks, and grilled onions).
Lunch // Mixed brown rice bowl with grilled corn, onions, peppers, black beans, fresh avocado, fresh mozzarella, and sour cream.
Lunch // Baby potatoes, asparagus, snap peas, cucumbers, green onions, and chickpeas in plain yogurt and dill.
Dinner // Mexican black bean salad. Asian noodle salad. Edamame salad.
Dinner // Sweet potato hash, asparagus chunks, grilled onions, spinach, and all-natural herb and garlic chicken sausage with a dollop of sour cream.
Dinner // Grilled coconut chicken. Avocado chunks. Rocket and harvest grains salad. Strawberries.
Dinner // Wholewheat roasted veggie calzone.
Dinner // Wholewheat spaghetti with ground turkey and tomato basil spinach sauce. Roasted beets.
Dinner // Grilled chicken. Warm beet salad. Warm baby potato salad.
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Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with homemade granola and frozen blueberries.
Breakfast // Scrambled eggs. Fruit salad. Wholewheat oatmeal flax pancake with all-natural peanut butter.
Breakfast // Hot oatmeal with almond milk, fresh blueberries, and chia seeds.
Breakfast // Wholewheat sourdough french toast with all-natural peanut butter. Plain organic yogurt for dipping.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with homemade granola, fresh blackberries, and fresh strawberries.
Breakfast // Scrambled basil parmesan eggs. Sweet potato hash. Pink lady slices.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with fresh mango, unsweetened coconut, and chia seeds.
Snack // Edible rainbow made out of strawberries, sharp cheddar, yellow peppers, edamame, blueberries, and banana slices.
Snack // Roasted garlic parmesan chickpeas.
Lunch {on the go} // Steamed beets. Cottage cheese. Blackberries. Satsuma slices. Pistachios and cashews. Yellow pepper slices. Baby carrots. Unsweetened banana slices. Organic yogurt-covered raisins (the queen of all treats in our house!)
Lunch // Potato leek soup with chickpeas, baby green peas, and fresh parmesan.
Lunch {on the go} // Avocado. Banana coins. Seedy crackers with sharp cheddar. Cashews. Apple sandwiches filled with almond butter, oats, and chia. Baby carrots. Broccoli florets.
Lunch // Wholewheat pita pockets filled with almond butter, banana slices, and chia seeds.
Lunch {on the go} // Strawberries. Blackberries. Starfruit. Mini wholewheat flatbread. Seedy crackers. Avocado. Miniature chickpea patties.
Dinner // Lentil & veggie pasta and cheese. Steamed broccoli.
Dinner // Coconut encrusted chicken. Roasted sweet potato. Roasted Brussels sprouts. Steamed beets.
Dinner // Ravioli soup with fresh parmesan. Roasted broccoli.
Dinner // Roasted sweet potato, cauliflower, beets, and carrots with pan-fried onions and all-natural apple chardonnay chicken sausage.
Dinner // Baked potato. Barbecued chicken and veggie skewers. Green salad.
Dinner // Baked spinach pasta and cheese with turkey and green peas.
Dinner // Chicken and bean ‘soft tacos’ with sautéed peppers, cheddar, avocado, and black beans on the side. Sour cream and green salsa for dipping.
Dinner // Homemade pizza (roasted veggie and barbecue chicken). Spinach salad with apples, feta, and sunflower seeds.
See all of our Toddler Food posts here.
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Another week, another Toddler Food post. ☺ Admittedly, I’m still catching up, so these photos were from quite some time ago… Uh, probably from around Valentine’s Day given all of the heart-shaped food. Oy. Either way, here’s some of what Miss G’s eaten semi-recently.
Breakfast // Scrambled organic egg with fresh parmesan and basil rolled in a wholewheat flatbread. Strawberry slices and black grapes.
Breakfast // Yogurt parfait made with homemade granola, organic plain yogurt, fresh strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries, and a tiny drizzle of pure maple syrup.
Breakfast // Wholewheat flax pancakes with all-natural almond butter. Kiwi slices.
Breakfast // Wholewheat bagel with all-natural cream cheese and hemp hearts. Strawberry quarters and blackberries.
Breakfast // Wholewheat rye toast with all-natural cream cheese and avocado slices. Fresh pear.
Breakfast // Organic oatmeal topped with strawberry slices, freshly whipped cream (unsweetened), and chia seeds.
Snack // Chocolate coconut banana muffin.
Lunch {and snacks on the go} // Banana berry muffin. Dill havarti slices. Raw almonds and kamut puffs. Seedy cranberry breakfast bar. Cucumber slices. Carrot sticks. Edamame beans. Alphabet pretzels.
Lunch // Wholewheat couscous with avocado, red and orange peppers, black beans, red onions, olive oil, and freshly squeezed lime.
Lunch {and snacks on the go} // Banana berry muffin. Heart-shaped strawberry crispy rice treat. Mixed nuts and organic o’s. Carrot hearts. Veggies and all-natural cream cheese on seedy wholewheat. Strawberries.
Lunch // Tuna and avocado in mini wholewheat pitas. Red pepper slices. Baby carrots. Cucumber slices.
Lunch {and snacks on the go} // Pear chunks. Strawberry halves. Kiwi slices. Mixed nuts. Wholewheat flax pancakes. Heart-shaped strawberry crispy rice treat. Carrot coins. Cucumber slices.
Lunch {and snacks on the go} // Apple slices. Strawberry halves. Red grapes. Red pear. ‘Gracen mix’. Orange pepper slices. Edamame beans. Chickpeas. Watermelon strawberry fruit chews. Avocado, hemp hearts, and all-natural cream cheese rolled in a wholewheat tortilla.
Dinner // Turkey zucchini spinach meatloaf. Pesto tortelini with fresh parmesan, spinach, garlic, and olive oil.
Dinner // Quinoa ‘mac n’ cheese’ with broccoli, red peppers, and leeks.
Dinner // Southwest chicken chili with grated sharp cheddar, sour cream, and avocado.
Dinner // Wholewheat fusili with zucchini turkey tomato sauce and fresh parmesan.
Dinner // Veggie soup with harvest grains and chickpeas. Avocado and all-natural cream cheese in an Ezekiel wrap.
Dinner // Squash and ricotta-filled pasta with homemade spinach pesto, baby green peas, and pine nuts.
See all of our Toddler Food posts here.
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Whew! It’s been a while… A very long while since our last Toddler Food post. Realistically, here’s some of what Miss G ate a month or two ago. ☺
Breakfast // Cinnamon french toast made with wholewheat shepherd’s bread, stewed blueberries, and chia. Orange slices.
Breakfast // Coconut chia pudding with strawberry slices and raw sliced almonds.
Breakfast // Oatmeal with raw sliced almonds, chia, hemp hearts, and frozen blueberries. Orange pepper slices.
Breakfast // Organic brown rice cereal with sliced almonds, hemp hearts, loads of cinnamon (she’s obsessed!), and almond milk.
Breakfast // Toasted squarely bread, colby cheese, and a scrambled egg.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt, homemade granola, freeze-dried strawberries and blueberries.
Breakfast // Old-fashioned oats with granny smith apples, almond butter, and cinnamon.
Breakfast // Star-shpaed scrambled organic egg. All-natural peanut butter and old-fashioned oat banana bites.
Green smoothie // Banana, old-fashioned oats, all-natural peanut butter, coconut milk, vanilla, and spinach.
Green smoothie (though not actually green) // Banana, apple, avocado, kale, frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries, chia, and water.
Smoothie // Banana, pear, apple, frozen blueberries, steamed beets, chia seeds, and water.
Snack // Homemade apple carrot pear fruit leather.
Snack // Homemade wholewheat cheddar crackers.
Snacks & Lunch {on the go} // Baby carrots. Orange chunks. Homemade banana berry fruit leather. Cashew pieces. Avocado. Hard-boiled organic egg. Orzo with feta.
Lunch {on the go} // Mixed fruit. Homemade banana berry fruit leather. Homemade wholewheat cheddar crackers. Raw almonds. Avocado, cucumber, and cream cheese roll-ups.
Lunch // Tuna and avocado on wholewheat rye. Baby carrots.
Lunch // Red lentil pasta and cheese. Baby peas and corn with dill.
Lunch // Grilled all-natural peanut butter and no-sugar-added jam sandwich (an oddly delicious favourite from my childhood).
Lunch // Curried tuna apple salad on a wholewheat croissant. Strawberry chunks. Grapes.
Lunch {on the go} // Red pepper slices. Cucumber slices. Grapes. Strawberries. Avocado. Edamame crackers with organic cheddar.
Dinner // Personal turkey meatloaf. Mashed potatoes. Roasted carrots. Roasted Brussels sprouts.
Dinner // Homemade chicken tenders. Steamed carrots and snap peas with fresh herbs. Roasted baby potatoes. Homemade honey mustard sauce.
Dinner // Wholewheat fusilli with fresh spinach and all-natural chicken sausage in a clear sauce.
Dinner // Harvest grains, edamame, steamed carrots and snap peas with grilled prawns.
Dinner // Homemade mulligatawny with granny smith cubes.
Dinner // Wholewheat couscous. Mini chickpea/veggie patties. Hummus.
Dinner // Spinach tortellini with carrots, broccoli, edamame, onions, and fresh parmesan.
Dinner // Potato and leek soup with chickpeas and feta. Grilled cheese on wholewheat shepherd’s bread.
Dinner // White bean chicken chili with colby jack, avocado, and fresh cilantro.
See all of our Toddler Food posts here.
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Holidays like Halloween and Easter, which are most often filled with chocolate, candy, and other junk can definitely be a little challenging when you work hard to not have your child eat any of those things. And while I’m certainly not ready to throw in the towel and pass the jellybeans her way, I also really don’t want her to ever feel like she’s missing out on something special. My solution? Creating treats that are fun and delicious, but healthy at the same time. I won’t deny that it takes a little bit of extra planning, some extra effort, and some extra time, but for me, it’s 100% worth it that my little love gets to enjoy and indulge, while maintaining a wholesome, healthy diet. Needless to say, when I saw this adorable idea on Play Eat Grow, I knew I had to try a version of my own for Miss G and her cousins.
Before I could get to making the popsicles themselves, I had to prepare the moulds first. And by *I*, I mean I had to ask my hubby to drill holes in the bottoms of the plastic eggs, to which he recruited my father-in-law’s help. The two of them disappeared into the garage for a minute, and returned in no time with the job done.
For the filling, I knew I’d have to make them a little sweeter than I normally would in order to coax my niece and nephews into eating them, but I also wanted to keep the ingredients very simple. Grae and I popped a cup of plain organic yogurt, a cup of no-sugar-added frozen berries, and 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (you could easily do with less – half even) into Grandma Sue’s food processor, and blended it up until nearly smooth. My plan was to fill a piping bag and carefully pipe the mixture into the closed plastic eggs via the drilled hole, but at the last minute, I decided to go with a less finicky and much more messy method. Basically, I dunked the egg halves into the mixture to fill them up separately, then quickly slapped the two halves together trying to lose as little as possible in the process. It worked fairly well.
With the eggs full, I plugged the drilled holes with my fingertips, quickly ran them under some cool water to clean off the exterior of the eggs, then popped them into an empty egg carton and added sucker sticks into the holes. We froze them for several hours, and voila! A new Easter treat was ready.
The good news is that most everyone really liked them. Even my 6 year old nephew who tried a piece of apple for the first time this weekend ate about a 1/4 of his before leaving it to melt in a cup (pretty much a huge success in my books). And most importantly, Grae loved them. While her cousins moved on to apple pie, Jell-O dessert, and salt water taffy afterwards, she happily asked for another popsicle. Yay.
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Breakfast // Heart-shaped wholewheat flax oat pancakes with a tiny drizzle of pure maple syrup. Strawberry hearts.
Special drink // Frothy strawberry milk (made with freeze-dried strawberries) with heart-shaped milk ice cubes.
Lunch // Veggie and wild rice soup with heart-shaped carrots (aka “love soup” according to Grae).
Dinner // Roasted veggie and feta pizza on a thin wholewheat crust.
This morning Gracen and I made one of our go-to breakfasts… Eggs in a hole. Except we always make ours with a fun shape instead of a plain old circle and then change the name just a tad. ☺ On this morning’s menu? Hearts in a hole.
I love this breakfast because it’s so easy, but it’s more fun than just plain eggs and toast. Plus Grae gobbles it up every time and all you really need is eggs, bread, a little bit of oil, and a cookie cutter of some sort.
This is really so simple that it doesn’t warrant instruction. Just place the cookie cutter in the middle of the bread…
And really push down.
Then place the bread, along with the cut out in an oiled pan warmed over medium heat and carefully crack the egg into the hole. Because we like our eggs cooked hard, we cover the pan right away.
When the white appears cooked through, flip everything over and let it cook a couple more minutes.
That’s it – breakfast is served. And today, just for fun, we added strawberry hearts too. (This meal may just have to be repeated on Valentine’s Day.)
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The one question I get asked as a mom, far more than anything else is, “How do you get Gracen to eat the way she does?” And the usual follow-up questions include, “Has she always been open to trying new foods and flavours?” and “Is there anything she doesn’t like?!”
While I’ve given my take on it here and there in the comments sections of my Toddler Food posts, I’ve never included the answer in an actual post because the truth is, I don’t really know how she became such a good eater. {And perhaps I’m a wee bit afraid of talking about it too much and jinxing it all. ☺} Is it because of the way we introduced food to her? Is it because of the way we currently handle meal times and eating in general? Was she just born a good eater? Likely it’s a combination of all of those things… But I can’t be sure.
That being said, since I continue to get requests for eating tips each week, I’m going to share what we did and what works for us.
It all started while I was pregnant actually… Other than the first few weeks, I had a really good pregnancy. I felt well and could eat {small portions} of anything I wanted (other than meat) without feeling sick, so I made sure to nourish our growing baby the best I could while she was still in the womb. Right away, I cut out all refined sugars, caffeine, and unhealthy fats. I filled my diet with healthy fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans and nuts, and ate a variety of flavours, spices, herbs. (Did you know that your baby tastes the flavours of what you eat through the amniotic fluid? They do! Cool, eh?) And I continued to do the same once she was born so that she’d still be experiencing a wide variety of flavours through the breast milk she was drinking.
When she was 6 1/2 months old and we decided to introduce solids, I made all of her food at home and included those same herbs, spices, and flavourings she’d already become accustomed to into her first foods (bananas with cinnamon, carrots with dill, spinach with nutmeg, and curried chicken were some of her favourites). During our brief time with purees, I also made sure to vary the textures of the foods so that everything wasn’t always just smooth – some were slightly chunky, others were quite chunky, and she got used to them all from the get go.
After eating purees for about a month, we basically transitioned her over to a baby-led weaning style of eating. I ensured that our food was fresh, flavourful, and full of variation, as well as free of salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats, and she began eating chunks of our family meal (no separate “kid food” here!) from about 7 1/2 or 8 months on.
There have definitely been things she hasn’t liked along the way. Potatoes (of any sort) were a big flop for a long time, she had a short stint of not enjoying cheese, and she’s never liked raw tomatoes (but then again, I don’t blame her for that one – they’re one of the few foods I despise also!) Right now, she’s not a fan of raw leafy greens though she happily ate them from the age of 1 until just after 2. Do we force her to eat the things she doesn’t like or want? Absolutely not. But we don’t stop offering them either. To this day, I’ll still put a grape tomato on her plate if they’re part of the meal we’re eating. And no, she never eats the whole thing, but sometimes she does try them, which is just fine with me.
There are a few other things we do that I think help Miss G to remain a good eater… First off, she’s involved in a lot of the cooking and food prep in our house, and I always feel like kids are more likely to eat foods that they’ve helped make. Secondly, I make one meal and we all sit down and eat together as a family. No Gracen eats first and we eat once she’s in bed, no separate kid meal, and no television on during meals. She sees us trying new things and she’s usually happy to try them too. And lastly, and I hope it doesn’t sound too harsh, there’s no other option available if you don’t want to eat the meal that’s been prepared. She never has to eat if she doesn’t want to, but we won’t give her a bowl of yogurt or a banana or something else in place of the meal she has in front of her. If she wants to be done and hasn’t eaten a whole lot, we simply save the meal for her to come back to later when she’s feeling hungry.
Now we just have to hope that I haven’t jinxed it all and she continues to be a fantastic little eater. ☺
Alright, so after that long-winded explanation, here’s some of what our little lady has eaten lately…
Breakfast // Wholewheat bagel with cream cheese and avocado slices. Kiwi slices. Red grapes.
Breakfast // Baked blueberry oatmeal with organic milk.
Breakfast // Wholewheat oat flax pancake. Scrambled eggs with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and feta. Plain organic yogurt.
Breakfast // Organic multigrain cereal with hemp hearts, chia seeds, frozen blueberries, and organic milk.
Breakfast // Toasted sovital with all-natural peanut butter. Banana coins. Honey mandarin.
Breakfast // Scrambled parmesan basil eggs. Panfries. Honey mandarin. All-natural chicken sausage.
Snacks {on the go} // Raw almonds. Fresh avocado. Red grapes. Snap peas. Old cheddar. Organic wild rice sticks.
Lunch // Wholewheat rotini with toasted almonds, sautéed spinach, and feta.
{Weekend} Lunch // Assorted crackers with baked garlic and sun-dried tomato brie. Avocado, Asian melon, and celery with mediterranean hummus. Kiwi quarters and pomegranate seeds.
Lunch // Organic egg salad in a mini wholewheat pita. Carrots, snap peas, peppers, and avocado with all-natural dip.
Lunch {on the go} // Peppers and carrots. Baby mandarin. “Lulu mix” (almonds, kamut puffs, organic raisins, freeze-dried raspberries, and organic o’s). Almond butter and hemp hearts on wholewheat pumpkin seed yogurt bread. Cheddar cubes. Black beans.
Lunch // Harvest grains. Sauteed kale. Grilled chicken breast. Steamed beets.
Lunch // Spicy tomato soup with fresh parmesan and parsley. Multigrain crackers. Carrot sticks and humus.
Lunch {on the go} // Boiled organic egg. Tofu cubes. Plain yogurt with cinnamon. Apple sandwich with almond butter, chia seeds, and old-fashioned oats. Pepper strips. Avocado.
Lunch // Tuna salad and sprouts on flax seed bread. Avocado. Apple and kiwi slices. Baby mandarin.
Lunch // Black bean veggie quesadillas. Kiwi slices. Watermelon spears.
Dinner // Mulligatawny soup. All-natural turkey, spinach, colby, and avocado on multi-seed bread. Cucumber slices.
Dinner // North Shore Mama‘s salmon tacos. (YUM!)
Dinner // {Turkey} Lasagna soup.
Dinner // {Turkey} Shepherd’s pie.
Dinner // Israeli couscous with steamed veggies and feta. Grilled chicken breast.
Dinner // All-natural apple chardonnay chicken sausage. Steamed broccoli. Dilly carrots. Roasted potatoes.
Dinner // Ravioli with a spicy cream sauce. Coleslaw with fresh herbs and sunflower seeds. Veggies and humus.
Dinner // Brown rice with steamed veggies and tofu.
Dinner // Potato and leek soup. Spinach salad with edamame, avocado, and sunflower seeds. Grilled white cheddar on Ezekiel 4:9 bread.
Dinner // {Take out} Thai green curry on coconut rice.
Dinner // Grilled chicken with tzatziki. Garlic and parmesan roasted Brussels sprouts. Roasted baby potatoes.
Dessert // No-sugar peanut butter chia cookies.
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Breakfast // Organic shredded wheat cereal with hemp hearts, frozen blueberries, fresh raspberries, and organic milk.
Breakfast // French toast (made with omega seed bread) with plain organic yogurt, frozen blueberries, a TINY drizzle of pure maple syrup, and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Breakfast // Wholewheat cinnamon raisin English muffin with all-natural peanut butter. Kiwi slices. Fresh raspberries.
Breakfast // Parmesan basil scrambled eggs. Homestyle potatoes with onions and peppers. Flaxseed toast.
Breakfast // Wholewheat raspberry scone. Kiwi slices. Fresh raspberries. Raspberry tea.
Breakfast // Flaxseed toast with all-natural peanut butter, chia seeds, and hemp hearts.
Breakfast // Wholewheat ‘Gracen’ pancakes.
Lunch // Southwest turkey chili with sour cream. Avocado couscous salad.
Lunch // Black bean veggie quesadilla on an Ezekiel 4:9 tortilla with sour cream and fresh avocado.
Lunch // Parmesan and avocado toast. Carrot sticks and hummus. Apple slices.
Lunch // Wholewheat elk pasta with baby peas, edamame beans, and fresh parmesan.
Lunch // Chicken, tofu, and veggie stir-fry on fresh rice noodles.
Lunch // Curried tuna and apple salad on a tomato wrap. Red pepper slices. Roasted squash.
Lunch // Potato and leek soup with chickpeas and veggies. Wholewheat naan.
Dinner // Wholewheat spaghetti with spicy turkey tomato sauce and fresh parmesan. Roasted Brussels sprouts.
Dinner // Creamy corn and veggie soup. Multi-seed flatbread with humus.
Dinner // Harvest grains, steamed veggies, and sesame tempeh.
Dinner // Parmesan and walnut encrusted chicken. Roasted Brussels sprouts. Roasted golden beets with feta. Cheese ravioli with herbs and spices brought home from Italy.
Dinner // Tuscan sausage soup with shell pasta, spinach, and white beans. Parmesan rye spears.
Dinner // Homemade pizza (BBQ chicken and roasted veggie and feta).
Dinner // Wholewheat penne with tomato basil turkey sauce and feta.
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Gracen and I whipped up one of our all time favourite treats this afternoon. Sadly, I can take ZERO credit for the amazingness that is this dish… It’s something my friend Lara made all the time (she even has a special dish!) while we were living in Kuwait and it was just too amazing not to steal and call my own (sorry, Lara!) It is seriously the easiest, yummiest {and naughtiest} appetizer ever. Bring it to a party and you will instantly win everyone over – I promise.
Here’s the lineup of ingredients… A wedge of brie, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes.
First, remove most of the rind off of the top of the wedge.
Cut the wedge into chunks in order to fit it snugly in the baking dish.
Next, round up between 2 and 4 garlic cloves, depending on how garlicky you want your dish to be.
Enlist your sous chef to peel them for you…
And chop them up into small pieces.
Sprinkle the garlic on top of the brie. Sneak a few pieces down along the sides too if you can.
Next chop up a few big pinches of sun-dried tomatoes.
Sprinkle them on top of the brie too.
Pop the cheese into the oven and watch it melt into a delicious bowl of cheesy goodness.
Remove from the oven when the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Serve with crackers or fresh baguette rounds.
Roasted Garlic & Sun-Dried Tomato Brie
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the rind from the top of the brie. Cut the cheese in order to fit it snugly into an oven-safe dish. Chop the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and sprinkle on top of the cheese. Roast the cheese in the oven for approximately 15 minutes. Serve with crackers or fresh baguette rounds.
Enjoy!
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Another week, another Toddler Food post… But before we get on with the photos, here’s a question I received last week:
What is Miss G’s eating schedule? How many meals does she eat per day? And how much milk does she drink? Do you limit it?
Alright, this one is actually pretty simple. Gracen eats 3 full meals a day, plus morning and afternoon snacks. As far as a schedule goes, she eats breakfast a little while after she wakes up, which normally ends up being around 7:30 a.m. Then, a couple of hours later, around 9:30 or 10:00, she has a small snack… Usually something like fruit slices, raw veggies, or nuts. By the time noon rolls around, she’s ready for lunch. We eat, clean up, do our regular nap time routine, and then she goes to sleep. She normally sleeps from about 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., and when she wakes up, she’s ready for her afternoon snack. Later on in the evening, normally just before 6:00, we have dinner, and that’s her last meal for the day.
As far as milk is concerned, yes, we absolutely limit her intake. She loves good, healthy foods, but that’s not to say that she wouldn’t fill up on milk if it was limitless. She has milk 3 times a day – with breakfast, after her nap, and with dinner. For each serving she gets a small cup, about half full, and other than that, she drinks water.
Alright… I hope that answers that! Now onto what Miss G’s been eating lately…
Breakfast // Wholewheat lemon poppy seed pancakes with stewed raspberries.
Breakfast // Organic multigrain o’s with sliced almonds and frozen blueberries (a Gracen favourite).
Breakfast // Wholewheat banana blueberry muffin. Kiwi slices.
Breakfast // Avocado omega seed toast. Granny smith apples with all-natural peanut butter.
Breakfast // Wholewheat flax oat pancakes (she asked for FIVE and ate every last bite). Kiwi slices.
Breakfast // Banana blueberry baked oatmeal with organic milk.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with sliced almonds and pomegranate seeds.
Lunch // Mexican couscous with black beans, veggies, and fresh avocado. Shredded chicken breast.
Lunch // Homemade chicken veggie soup. Broiled parmesan multigrain toast.
Lunch // Cheese ravioli with basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta. Roasted carrots with fresh dill.
Lunch // Southwest turkey chili with organic sour cream. Cilantro lime couscous salad with red peppers and avocado.
Lunch // Chicken wild rice soup.
Dinner // Roasted garlic broccoli. Cheese-filled veggie tortellini with chicken tomato basil sauce.
Dinner // Spinach ricotta veggie lasagna.
Dinner // Chicken, tofu, and veggie stir-fry with fresh asian noodles.
Dinner // Roasted herbed chicken. Potato crisps. Roasted butternut squash and carrots. Stir-fried garlic asian melon.
Dinner // Butter chicken on brown rice, black barley, and daikon radish seeds. Garlic naan. Steamed broccoli.
Dinner // Roasted herbed chicken. Brown rice medley. Snap peas. Steamed beets.
Dessert // Frozen banana bites.
A few months ago, I bought a cookbook for kids put out by the Mayo Clinic. Gracen loves flipping through the recipes and selecting new “projects” for us to try, and without fail, if I ask her what she thinks we should have for dinner, she’ll respond with, “Just a minute, Mama. Grae Grae checks recipes!” She’s had the book open to a recipe for chocolate raspberry scones for a couple of days now, so today we finally got around to whipping up our version of the recipe.
We went all out and used butter (I always replace butter and margarine with grapeseed or olive oil), but I justified it with the fact that it was organic butter and it was a pretty small amount. I just didn’t know if scones would have the proper texture without it. Though they aren’t very sweet {at all}, I’m happy to say that they are moist, tender, and perfect when paired with jam.
Here are our ingredients… Whole wheat flour, plain organic yogurt, baking soda, baking powder, organic butter, honey, frozen raspberries, vanilla, and a lemon.
We started by combining the dry ingredients.
Then we added the butter and cut it into the flour mixture with a fork because I could not for the life of me find my pastry cutter (perhaps I owned one in Kuwait, but not in Canada? Hmmm…)
Next, we added the frozen raspberries and lemon zest into the dry mixture and gently stirred them in.
Then, in a separate bowl, we mixed the yogurt, honey, lemon juice, and vanilla together.
Grae then poured the wet mixture into the dry mixture and gently stirred it until just combined.
Afterwards, we plopped in onto a piece of parchment paper, kneaded the dough a few times, and shaped it into a circle about an inch thick.
Our dough was pretty sticky at this point, and probably could have used a little extra flour, but we just went with it and cut it up into triangles.
Then we carefully moved the scones onto a parchment-lined sheet, and popped them in the oven to bake.
Voila! A delicious homemade snack or breakfast.
Wholewheat Raspberry Scones
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients well. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the butter. Add the raspberries and lemon zest and stir gently.
In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just barely combined. Spill dough out onto a countertop and knead it a few times. Shape it into a circle that is approximately an inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into triangles, as you would a pizza.
Gently place the wedges onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 12 – 14 minutes.
Allow to cool and serve.
Enjoy!