Easy and Healthy Banana Coconut Polka Dot Crepes- Gluten and sugar freefamily breakfasts with a toddler

Ok, sugar free is a bit of a misnomer, because these do have fruit which of course is sugar, but otherwise, there is no refined sugar in these. Best part though- they are delicious and very easy to make. Second best part, my daughter loved them as much as I did. Third best part, a homemade crepe sounds even fancier than a pancake and actually my day is already off to a more refined start (in my head. In reality, I'm still in pj's with no make up and my Birdie just peed on the kitchen floor).  Forth best part, these have sesame, flax, and chia seeds in them which make them "polka dotted" but also even more healthy.

Banana Coconut Polka Dot Crepes

Made 3 large Crepes

(Gluten free, refined sugar free. Recipe adapted from Super Nutrition for Babies)

Ingredients

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 mashed banana
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup +2 Tbsp arrowroot starch
1/4 tsp. chia seeds
1/2 tsp. black sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. flax seeds

Butter for pan

Instructions

Mix eggs vanilla cinnamon and banana and a medium bowl. Add arrowroot and mix to form batter. Heat a small pan over low heat melting butter. Continue to heat butter until it begins to brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Once butter browns for in just enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan. Tilt and turn pan so batter coats the  pan creating a flat crepe. Let cook ~1 minute until edges easily lift. Flip the crepe and cook for another minute then remove from heat, top with whatever delicious topping you want and serve.  Add a bit more butter to pan between each crepe.

Topping ideas:

Berries

Peaches or nectarines
Homemade Ricotta

Bananas and chopped walnuts

Applesauce

Peanut butter or any other nut/seed butter

Baby Led Family Meal Ideas

I really dislike the phrase "baby food."  Food is food and when we decide that only certain foods (or certain preparations of foods) are appropriate for a baby, we miss a big opportunity for helping a baby learn to chew, to swallow safely, to clear their mouth. We also miss the chance to help our babies learn how to be in control of their own hunger and interest and learn to love all foods and flavors that are important to a family.  It's also a slippery slope.  We are willing to cook and prepare special foods just for baby but at some point we hope/expect toddlers will eat the same foods as the family.  If we don't show them how to do this from the get go and set that expectation early, we run the risk of them refusing when they get to toddlerhood (hello, feisty toddlers and picky eating!)  

Why spend a bunch of extra time making homemade "baby food" for a 6-12 month old, when you can just make delicious meals for your whole family so everyone can enjoy and eat together.  Your baby gets the benefit of watching you model eating what they are eating, as well as smelling the delicious food you have cooked, while they eat the same foods.  You get the benefits of not cooking two separate meals.  Win-win!

Here are a few ideas of meals that my family loves.  Family meals but baby led in that I knew my 6 month old could at least attempt to eat these foods.  We all ate them together.  I served each of these meals when my daughter was 6-12 months old and she still loves and eats them now that she is 21 months. At 6 months, she was mostly squishing these foods, mouthing them and spitting them out- very little swallowing of the food but lots of tasting. At 21 months, she eats them.  Some days, she devours them.   

1st small picture down & large picture on right:  Sautéed kale, onion, bell pepper, and chicken sausage in puff pastry pockets.  

I didn't follow a recipe, I just chopped up the veggies I had on hand and one sausage, sautéed it all with a  little olive oil, salt and pepper.  I laid out one sheet of puff pastry, put the sautéed stuff in half then folded the pastry in half enclosing the sautéed veggies and sausage inside.  I poked some holes with a fork then baked according to the package instructions on the puff pastry.  I served this with some beautiful fresh seasonal fruit.  

2nd small picture down: mini quiche with broccoli and zucchini, & cherry tomatoes.  I love this quiche recipe.  It is incredible easy to make and to add in whatever you have on hand. 

3rd small picture down: Baked sea bass with roasted peppers and balsamic reduction over arugula (Suzanne Goin recipe from Sunday Suppers at Luques).  No recipe, sorry but let the picture and description inspire you, because it was DELICIOUS.   Suzanne Goin's cookbook is full of phenomenal, though somewhat labor intensive recipes.  However, if you are saving time not pureeing up a bunch "baby"foods, you'll have a bunch of extra time to cook amazing meals for your whole family to enjoy, including your baby!

Homemade No-Bake Granola Bars (Gluten & dairy free. Delicious)

I had three inspirations for this post:

First was my friend Lisa, who is a nurse and nutritionist specializing in "intuative eating." She has a post on her site/blog about her homemmade ganola bars http://lisakutzing.com/thinking-outside-the-box-simple-and-delicious-homemade-granola-bars/. She got me thinking again about granola bars...mmmm!

The second is my husband, who recently cleaned up his diet and cut out gluten and dairy in an attempt to deal with some persistent allergy symptoms. He is crazy busy and often eats on the run but wanted some healthy options to take with him. The price tag on store bought granola bars that are vegan and gluten free and still delicious while not filled with sketchy filler ingredients is too rich for my blood. So my husband got me thinking about less expensive, delicious, vegan (or nearly vegan), and gluten free granola bar options. 

Third came the heat. It is crazy hot here right now and we do not have air conditioning. Turning on the oven in this weather is not only irresponsible from an energy consumption standpoint, it's also a totally sadistic move since it makes our house unbearably hot. So the heat got me thinking about no-bake granola bar options. 

Put those all together and you end up with what I've got sitting in my kitchen right now:

They came out perfectly! My husband and my 20-month old daughter LOVE them. Thankfully they are super easy to make because they both eat them up within a few days. 

I used a ton of differenct nuts and dried fruits just because I had them on hand and I wanted them to be chalked full of goodness. You could easily decrease the variety by cutting out a few of the nuts and dried fruit options and increasing the volume of whichever nuts/fruit you have on hand. Also, the ingredients are pretty forgiving- I am not at all diligent about my measuents. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup cashew pieces (roughly chopped)

1/2 cup walnut pieces (roughly chopped)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1-2 Tbsp chia seeds

1-2 Tbsp sesame seeds

1-2 Tbsp flax seeds

1/4 cup dried coconut flakes

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1 tsp. sea salt (I like Maldons) 

----

2 Tbsp black strap molasses

1/2 cup raw honey

1/3 cup coconut oil 

---

1/2 cup cashews

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

1 cup apricots

1 cup dried figs

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup pitted dried dates

Put the first set of ingredients (nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, & dried blue berries, salt) in a large mixing bowl. Combine the second set (molasses, honey, coconut oil) in a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until it is all melted and combined together. Turn the heat all the way down or even off for a few minutes. 

Combine the last set of ingredients (another round of nuts and dried fruit) into a food processor. Pulse several times until very finely chopped and it becomes tacky (if you squeezed it between your fingers it should stick together). 

Pour that into the first set of (dry) ingredients that have been waiting in the large mixing bowl. Stir to combine them and add in the melted ingredients from the saucepan. Give it all a few more good stirs to combine. Layer two pieces of parchment paper in "t" shape in a 9"x13" baking dish (the ends should hang out of the baking dish to help you pull the bars out later without breaking). Pour the whole sticky mess into the baking dish and press it down firmly with a spoon until it's flat. Then use the bottom of a glass measuring cup or anything kind of heavy to pat it all down as compact as you can get it. 

Pop the whole thing in the freezer and let it set for about 30 minutes to an hour. Remove from the freezer and use the edges of the parchment paper to pull the granola bars out of baking pan. Cut them into 2" x 4" bars using a sharp knife. Store in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container. 

* Because these are no-bake and they have no butter or flour in them, they will fall apart at room temperature. I suggest leaving them in a cold spot until you're ready to eat them.

Enjoy!

Exploration And Taste Approach to Early Feeding (Baby led EATing)

10 months old baby, 4 teeth.  Loving chicken, lentils, bell pepper, and fish roe!

Eating at ten months is still all about Exploration And Tastes (EAT), not quantity consumed. Calories and nutrition come from breastmilk or formula while your baby learns to use their mouth muscles in a coordinated way! The more varied and fun the textures and flavors are, the more your baby learns. 

Family Breakfast Ideas: Greek Yogurt Pancakes

These pancakes are really really fabulous.  I'm not a pancakes eater usually but I love these and so does Birdie (18 months) and my husband.  Win, win, win.  (As I was typing that, the second "win" turned into "wine" which is exactly what I want right now on this lovely Friday afternoon.  But, back to pancakes!)

My sister turned me on to this recipe from this blog: http://www.everydaybelle.com/greek-yogurt-pancakes/ .  This blogger keeps it very simple- just 4 ingredients.  She also has lovely pictures of the pancakes and a video of how she makes them if you're interested.  In the video she uses peach flavored yogurt and suggests adding sugar if using plain yogurt but I never add sugar and always use plain yogurt and I think they are delicious like that (though certainly not very sweet).  I usually serve fruit or applesauce on top and that adds enough sweet for me.

We made them her way at first- just the 4 ingredients- and they really are just prefect.  But then I decided to health them up a bit and by adding flax seeds, chia seeds, and sesame seeds.  I think it makes them even better personally.  Also, I have totally played around with the amounts of yogurt and egg and flour (not on purpose but mainly because I go to make these gems and turns out I am down to only 1 egg or running low on yogurt, etc.) and the pancakes still seem to turn out fine.  So, don't worry if you play around with the ingredient volumes a bit.  Here is the way I usually make these:

Greek Yogurt Pancakes (Based on this recipe from http://www.everydaybelle.com/greek-yogurt-pancakes/)  Serves 2 adults and a child for breakfast with some left-overs.  Serve with sautéed bananas or fresh fruit or applesauce or anything else you like!

10oz plain greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1-2 tsp flax seeds
1-2 tsp black sesame seeds

1-2 tsp chia seeds

Mix yogurt and egg together in a medium sized bowl.  Mix flour, baking soda, flax, and sesame seeds in another bowl.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Batter will be thick and sometimes kind of almost foamy from the baking soda I think...don't worry about that.  Spoon a large dollup onto a hot buttered skillet (medium-high heat) and cook until you start to see small bubbles/holes in the batter, usually 1-2 minutes  Flip it and cook the other side until golden brown.  Serve warm with any topping you'd like.  Our favorite is sautéed bananas and blueberries. Chopped strawberries are fabulous too as is a little applesauce.

UPDATE 5.9.14

I used 1 cup of trader joes gluten free flour instead of the regular all purpose flour and they turned out just as fabulous as the original! 

These pancakes are well liked and happily consumed by this messy haired, messy sleeved, messy faced, back pack obsessed lady. 

Why babies throw food on the ground...and what to do about it!

You make a delicious looking meal, you sit down to eat it with your lovely baby, and splat!  She throws half-or all- of it on the floor.  This is a very frustrating but common issue (especially with 10-18 month olds). 

There are really a few reasons babies/toddlers throw food: 

1. They are just experimenting with gravity and cause/effect- "It's so fun to watch food fall and see what happens when it hit the floor." 

2. They are interested in the response it elicits from you- "Yay!  Mama gasped then jumped up!" or "Wow, I got a bunch of new stuff when I did that!" 

3. They are not hungry/are done with the meal- "I'm bored and full, I don't want this food in front of me anymore." 

4. They don't like that food- "Maybe if I throw this stuff on the flood, I'll get the crackers I wanted." 

5. They are frustrated about something to do with the food- "This is just too hard to eat" or "I can't figure out how to pick this up." 

Sometimes it's a combo of a few of these reasons. For all of these scenarios, the initial response will be the same: a firm redirection "food stays on the table" or a simple "no."  However, the secondary response kind of depends on why the child is doing it.

I

f it's #1 or 2, I suggest saying the "no" or the line about food staying on the table, then ignore. If they throw the food again, I'd ask if they are "all done" and let them know you won't allow them to do that: "if you throw food again you're all done." If they throw again, meal ends. You can also have them help you clean it up at that point but you must be firm on meal being all done. No snacks after, no bottle or cup of milk right after, no walking around with food in their hands- just done.  

If it's more like #3 or 4, I'd still go through the routine I just mentioned but I'd also do a few other things. 
- consider how often you're providing snacks throughout the day and possibly cut back, especially right around mealtimes. We tend to over-snack our kids and often that decreases their hunger motivation at mealtimes. Some kids do fine eating every 2-3 hours, some eat best when fed every 3-4 hours.  

-consider offering the cup of water or milk at the end of the meal so your child isn't filling up on the liquids then throwing the food 

-start with less food on the plate/tray so they don't have lots of extra to throw. It's probably better for them to ask for more than have an abundance to toss around. 

-if you suspect they are throwing because they don't like the food, remind them that "this is what we are eating at this meal and there are no other options. 

If it continues, stop the meal, clear the food, and don't offer any other foods until the next meal. You want to help them understand that they can't order up new foods from you by throwing what you already offered them on the floor.  

 If it's more likely #5, start with the "no" line, then see if your babe just needs help. Sometimes my daughter pushes the food off the table when she's frustrated that she can't easily pick it up or she keeps spilling it or it's too resistive for her to chew. In all of those instances, if I help her pick it up to feed herself or I break the food up a bit or dip the resistive food in a sauce to soften it, often that's all it takes for her to continue happily eating.

Remember, the more fuss you make over it, generally the more power it gives the behavior. The behavior will pass sooner than you think!

Feeding Readiness, Engagment, and"All Done" Signs with a Baby

This is definitely its own long topic but I am being lazy. So I thought I'd just post these two videos which I think highlight the difference between when a baby is actively interested and engaged in a feeding compared to when she or he is done. It's so important to honor those "all done" cues because it helps foster a sense of reciprocity and connectedness between parent and baby, as well as a feeling of safety around meal times that she will be listened to when she tells you she's had enough. Also, it lays the foundation of your child being able to rely on his own sense of hunger and satiety without over-eating or needing an adult to tell him when to stop or eat more.  Additionally, acknowledging those "all done" cues as just that, communication, instead of bad behavior, can help keep us parents from getting man, which ultimately prevent those behaviors from becoming power struggles.

This first video highlights feeding readiness and engagement.  Note how she leans towards the spoon and opens her mouth.  Pretty obvious that she's into the meal and wants more food:

The second video highlights the same baby (my baby!) at the end of a different meal where she is clearly disinterested in continuing feeding.  Note how she makes it perfectly clear that she is no longer interest in eating her meal:

While it can seem very frustrating to stop a meal when there is still food left, or worse, when your baby has not eaten anything, it shows respect and that he or she is heard and understood.  Start with explaining the situation, such as "it looks like you are all done." Or, if it's more behavioral than that, consider, "food stays on the table.  If you throw your food on the ground, the meal will end." If the behavior continues, most likely the child is done eating (or bored or tired but clearly not motivated to eat and therefore most likely not too hungry.)  Honor the communication and avoid getting upset or making a big deal out of it.  Just start your "all done" routine, such as you and baby wiping the table, wiping hands and face, then getting out of the high chair.  Know that your baby will get another chance to eat soon.  Move on and enjoy the next activity with your baby!