My most frequent request is for more feeding babies posts. The consensus being: carbs, cheese, meat are no problem for their kids, but there is concern over vegetable consumption. I don't really feed babies specifically any more, but we are still not quite all eating the same thing. I am feeding toddlers, which comes with both more options and more negotiating than babies.
Another tip I am trying to implement, which I picked up from my sister in law, is to keep snacks after lunch to a minimum. Aren't we more apt to try new things with an appetite? She only offers veggies and hummus between lunch and dinner and I've been trying to do that. If they are not hungry for that, then they can't really be *that* hungry. No bars, crackers, string cheese, or whatever your kids' most requested snacks are. When I keep throwing snacks at them in that 4-6 window when they're asking for food and I'm trying to hustle back from an afternoon activity and get dinner together, they eat about one bite of dinner because they are not really hungry. They don't want to try new things or even sit at the table. The goal is to have them come to the dinner table hungry if you want them to eat what you're eating. Do you have any other good tips?
Some of these "recipes" seem silly to write down, but I understand that some of us, especially with tasks outside of our wheelhouse, like to just be told what to do. Below are a couple things that my kids are into lately, and sides we adults enjoy eating too. Roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce? Yes please. Forever.
VEGGIES AND MONSTER HUMMUS
Makes about 2 Cups
Cut and prep this in advance so it's ready in the fridge when wee ones start asking you for food. The hummus will keep about 5 days before the color begins to brown. When you see how silly easy it is to make hummus at home, you can use it as a base for all sort of vegetable add ins: a cooked beet, jalapeno cilantro, roasted red pepper. I also love the one made with red lentils from Near and Far.
Ingredients
5 ounces baby spinach or power greens mix
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup tahini
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
juice of half a lemon, to taste
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt and pepper
prepared carrots, bell peppers, Persian cucumbers, for dipping
Instructions
Barely wilt the greens, for just a minute, in a tablespoon of water. Set aside to cool.
Into a food processor, combine the garlic, tahini, chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and process until smooth. Tip in the wilted greens and blend again until fully incorporated. Taste for salt and pepper. Thin with lemon juice or water as needed. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Serve with cut vegetables, crackers, or as a sandwich spread.
ROASTED SWEET POTATO WEDGES WITH HERBY YOGURT DIP
Serves 4
I like the taco seasoning from Trader Joes, it does have some sugar, but doesn't have a bunch of other junk in it. If you are looking to just pull from your own spice cabinet, a mix of cumin and chili powder will be great alternative. Rolling them in cornstarch or arrowroot powder first, helps create a barrier to soak up the potatoes' natural moisture content and ensure a bit more crispiness. Even a very discerning toddler will not notice, but I am adding this step because I like to eat them this way :) If you have leftovers, they are a perfect addition to a breakfast burrito with some scrambled eggs, greens and shredded white cheddar.
A dairy free option for the dip would be to use one large, ripe avocado in place of the yogurt.
Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder, optional
1-2 Tbsp. avocado oil
2 tsp. taco seasoning, see headnote
sea salt and pepper
2/3 cup whole plain greek yogurt
1 garlic clove, grated
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. well chopped cilantro (or parsley)
pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400'.
Cut the sweet potatoes into wedges, no more than 1/2" thick. Toss them in the cornstarch or arrowroot to roughly coat (optional). Drizzle with the oil, toss again. Sprinkle the seasoning, toss again. Spread the potatoes in an even layer , using two pans if necessary to avoid too much overlap. Roast for 25 minutes until tender.
While the potatoes are cooking, mix up your yogurt dip. Stir together the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, cilantro and a pinch of salt and pepper.
EVERYTHING BAGEL CAULIFLOWER
Serves 2-4
The beautiful thing about cauliflower is that is doesn't have much flavor on its own, so it can go any direction. I let my kids sprinkle the seeds on and put this on their plate with a dollop of the tahini sauce or ketchup, when I'm in a pinch. It's also great mixed into some mac n cheese or into cooked brown rice and call it a complete meal.
Ingredients
1 medium head of cauliflower
2 Tbsp. avocado or olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. everything bagel seasoning from Trader Joes or make you own*
Preheat the oven to 425'. Break the florets off, away from the core of the cauliflower and cut the core into 1" pieces as well. Toss everything in the oil to coat. Sprinkle on the salt and bagel seasonings and toss again. Spread the cauliflower in an even layer and roast on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, tossing the vegetables halfway through roasting. Remove to cool.
While the cauliflower roasts, mix the tahini sauce ingredients. Stir together the tahini, garlic clove, maple, water, lemon juice, cayenne and a pinch of salt and pepper.
I posted a photo of this in my insta stories a few days ago as part of the meal prep I do for another family. So, per request, it will live here too. This is an older Ina Garten recipe that I changed by adding more vegetables and herbs and using a lighter hand with the dressing. My aunt used to make Ina's version for parties and showers and it was such a hit. The leftovers keep well and go with just about any grilled protein you'd like to add to round out the meal. I like my vegetables to pasta with a 3:1 ratio, so I'll dish this up for myself over some arugula to make a pasta salad-salad. I added a few other notes on alternatives in the recipe headnote.
I have had quite a few inquiries about meal planning, and a request for more tips on that. I'm thinking of taking on a bigger project along those lines, so stay tuned! But I hear you and I'm totally with you on wanting an easy plan to keep dinners simple, healthy-ish and tasty. I've gotchu... things just take me awhile these days.
ROASTED VEGETABLE ORZO
Serves 6
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten
Wheat-free readers, don't write this off. There are so many gluten free pastas now, and it doesn't necessarily have to be orzo here. Most are made from corn, and I know a number of you are sensitive to that too. You can swap in 1.5 cups cooked quinoa or cauliflower rice that you've just super briefly sauteed. In either case, you want to keep a bit of crunch and texture, be careful not to overcook either.
If you cannot or are not eating dairy, sub in some pitted olive for the feta to compensate for that rich, salty bite.
Ingredients
1 small eggplant
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
2 medium zucchini
1 red onion
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 lb. orzo
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting
zest and juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup) plus a splash of white vinegar if you like it zippy
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne
6 ounces feta cheese, largely crumbled
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425'. Trim and dice the eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini and red onion into 1" cubes. Collect the vegetables on two, large rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle the vegetables with oil, oregano, a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper and toss everything to coat well. Spread them in a single layer and roast for 25-30 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through, until the edges are browned. Remove to cool.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it generously. Cook the orzo according to instructions. Drain. Rinse. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let it cool. Drizzle on the oil, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir. Add in the cooled vegetables and herbs. Stir again. Crumble in the feta cheese, season to taste (I like it sippy, so I added about 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar).
At this point you can serve it at room temperature, or keep it chilled in the fridge for up to a week.
A single scoop from Thrifty was just over a dollar. The ice cream scoop was kind of a rounded cylinder shape, and it made a "click clack" noise when the attendant would release your chosen flavor into the sugar cone or cup. It was more like a scoop and a half, really. I consistently chose apricot-mango (why, young Sara?) and my sister, rainbow sherbet. It was located inside a Rite-Aid that was both across from the city library and in the same center where we went to a weekly math tutoring program, so we were frequent visitors. It may have been dinner some nights? My mom has never liked cooking and we lived to tell the tale so no sense in fretting too much about that. My mom would also get a scoop every now and then, likely something better and chocolatey because she was older and wiser. I have a snapshot memory of the three of us sitting outside the automatic doors, against the taupe-y stucco walls, eating our treats, me complaining I didn't like my flavor and preferred the one my mom chose. She took one more big spoonful and swapped with me. She took my bullshit apricot-mango and gave me her chocolately one and while I hope I at least said thank you in that fleeting moment, I've gone back to that memory a number of times when I par down what this whole motherhood thing looks like. Yes, I hear all the self-care, don't-lose-yourself conversations and I agree, but there is also a huge part of it that is just surrendering. You surrender to the mess and the cost and the exhaustion and work and the worry. You surrender your superior ice cream flavor. You never know how actions and words are perceived on the other side - sometimes lost or forgotten, or perhaps they stick with someone forever.
I gave this loaf recipe a test run for our Mothers day brunch plans. The Sweet Laurel cookbook is full of grain and refined sugar free baking recipes - nearly all with almond or coconut flours and maple sweetened. The original calls for six eggs, so I risked scaling that back because we don't like when baked goods taste so, well, eggy. This makes for a looser crumb and a wetter texture and I'll take that over eggy. I added nubs of a quick roasted rhubarb for tiny pockets of tart jam throughout. You could eliminate this completely if you'd like, or maybe use lemon instead of orange and swap in blueberries.
If you have a mother or are one or want to be one or are struggling with the one you have or can even think of someone else who has been that figure for you, a happy Mother's Day weekend to you.
This recipe will not work with a 1:1 swap for a regular wheat flour or any whole grain flour for that matter. Coconut flour is super absorbent and the liquid ratio will not translate. They sell small bags at Trader Joes, most larger grocery stores, or a handful of sizes and brands online.
Roasted Rhubarb
1 cup diced rhubarb
sprinkle of sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp. coconut or avocado oil
The Loaf
3/4 cup coconut flour
2 Tbsp. flaxmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup coconut oil
4 large eggs
zest of one small orange
1/2 cup orange juice (about 1 juicy orange)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup raw pistachios, divided
Instructions
Oven to 375', line a sheet with parchment. Toss the diced rhubarb with a sprinkle of sugar, teensy bit of salt and coconut or avocado oil. Roast for 10-12 minutes, just enough to take the crunch off. Remove to let it cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 350'. Line a loaf pan with parchment and grease it with coconut oil or what have you.
In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, flax, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, eggs, orange zest and juice, maple and vanilla. A little at a time, stir the wet and dry ingredients together. Fold in the rhubarb and 1/2 cup of the pistachios.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Chop the remaining pistachios and sprinkle them on top of the loaf. I like to add a bit of turbinado sugar on top too.
Bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Remove the bread and set it on a rack to cool completely. Cut it into thick slices and toast before serving.
