Mom Blog and Baby Blog | Baby Bunching

baby bunching bites: honey-basted porch chops, asiago quinoa, and kale chips

I'm actually not sure what's harder - feeding small kids who don't have teeth yet, or feeding big kids who use their mouths to complain about what you cook.  I LOVE to cook, and I'm a big believer in providing a variety of fresh, healthy options at the family dinner table each night so that I can A) expose my kids to a variety of fresh, home-cooked, healthy foods and B) gather the entire family together at least once a day, even if it is just for the 10.5 uber-chaotic seconds that a meal in my household lasts.  

As such, I am on an endless quest for recipes that everyone in my family likes.  I don't really believe in "dumbing down" cooking to suit tiny palates (with hot spice being the one exception) or cooking 15 meals a night to cater to everyone's liking.  I make what I make - for kids and adults- and they can eat it or not. Lest you think I'm a monster, I do make an effort every night to include at least one item I'm pretty sure everyone will eat, plus I always have backup fresh fruit/vegetable staples on hand for those who feel that dinner is absolutely inedible, so they can bulk up on other healthy options.

Tonight's yummo dinner was a success on all fronts!  Not only was it SUPER easy and quick to prepare, surveys showed that all respondents actually LIKED 2 of the 3 items on their plates!  We are officially rotating this one into our list of favorites.  Just thought I'd share it with you, as it was definitely both toddler and adult friendly!

 

Honey Basted Pork Chops (full disclosure: this recipe came from a meal planning service I'm testing out - Nourish Network)

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1 T fresh ginger, thinly sliced (I cheated and used powdered and it worked out just fine)

1/4 cup soy sauce

4 boneless pork chops

Combine all ingredients in a giant ziploc bag and let marinate for 4 to 8 hours.  Toss it on the grill until browned on each side/cooked through.  Voila!

 

Asiago Quinoa

2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

3/4 cup quinoa

small handful of asiago cheese 

goat cheese or feta for top

Combine the quinoa and broth and bring to a boil.  Lower heat, simmer covered for about 10 minutes or until liquid mostly cooks off.  Toss in a little asiago cheese.  Serve topped with either feta or goat cheese (would also be yummy with a few scallions on top of the asiago is enough cheese for you).

 

Kale Chips

Shred the kale leaves off the stem, into about 1 inch pieces.  Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Drizzle kale with olive oil and season with sea salt on the cookie sheet.  Pop in the over at 350 for about 10 minutes until crisp (watch carefully, because once they are done they brown quickly).  About half a bunch of kale took up a full cookie sheet and served my entire family or would make a tasty midnight snack for me. : )

 

delish make-ahead meals for your bunch

Finding great make-ahead recipes (beyond lasagna) that you can freeze, are great treasure finds. They are perfect as welcome gifts for new moms or novice Baby Bunchers. They are nice for afternoons when the activities are so crazy you just don't have time to prep a meal. It's a great meal strategy for working moms who may have the time on the weekend, but not during the week. They are even great packaged for sick grandmas or neighbors who need a little extra TLC. And many times on cool rainy days, like today, I use the time inside to do a little meal prep for a busier day.

About two years ago, a Baby Bunching friend of mine--who also happens to be a caterer--passed along her collection of make-ahead recipes. I was looking for something beyond the normal 'cassaroley' type things that I could take to a new mom in town or to my own mom (who is ill) and doesn't have the desire to cook. Since then, many of these awesome recipes have been incorporated into my weekly menu. These recipes have been tested and tweaked by my friend's cooking group--and me--so I promise they are delish! Some of these are so yum, like the Fish Veracruz, you could make them to serve later on for company. My family's personal favorites from this line up include: Chicken Pot Pie, Turkey Meatloaf with Cranberry Relish (perfect for fall), Beef Strognaoff, Mexican Manicotti and Crab Quiche. They all come with directions on how to store in the freezer.

Check out the complete collection of what I like to call Leslie's Make Ahead Recipes. If you have a few of other favorites that you enjoy, let us know. We love to recipe swap. Leslie, if you're reading, let us know if you have any new favs to add to this list.  

(Note: These recipes are posted with permission from my Baby Bunching friend who generously put them together for people to use to help with meal preparation. Please do not take this collection and pretend it is yours. That would be mean.)

making the change to organic: the hard truth & worth the effort

I'm always so surprised by how many people are scared of the word "organic." For 10 years now, our family has been doing the "organic" and healty eating routine, and I have people all the time ask me: What does it mean? How do I know if it's better? Is it worth the higher price? How do I get started because I feel so overwhelmed by it all? Is it really good for me? How do I do this with my Bunch since it seems like a lot of work?

But the questions and interest have started flooding in since the movie Food, Inc. became so widely popular. People are now asking, what do I eat? Since we've had many people ask on this blog (via our survey) about making the transition, I thought I'd offer up a few thoughts on this topic. We know this is not our normal conversation here, but one we wanted to address for those interested. Warning....the hard truth is ahead.  

The first thing is know this is a worthwhile endeavor to take on. Eating better and healthier food benefits everyone in your family--less health issues, better behavior, less trips to the doctor. It doesn't have to be expensive to eat well. Beans, rice, a bit of chicken and a salad is better than eating a Lean Cuisine or frozen pizza--hands down! Going through 3 gallons of milk a week for a family of 4 might set you back if you switch to organic, but the truth is we don't need to drink that much milk. Start switching over to more water and you'll find one gallon of organic milk to drink (perhaps some soy milk in the cereal) will, in the long run, be better for everyone. Same with meat. You'd be surprised how little meat we actually need to eat each day.

A big thing to note as well: This is not about losing weight. Healthy, smart eating isn't a diet program. Organic food isn't low in fat or calories. A bag of organic tortilla chips will get you just as fat as a regular one. However, that corn used for the chips wasn't sprayed with pesticides.

HOW TO GET STARTED: The easiest way to get started is to read up on the topic. Ominvore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan is about all you need to get the gist of what you should and shouldn't eat. But it's a bit of a long read for us Bunchers so the Cliff's Notes version is Food Rules by the same author. Seriously, you can read it while watching both your kids eat. If you follow these very basic rules most days, you're good to go. [My favorite rule: #2 Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.]

Next take a look at your pantry. This was where our family started 10 years ago. Take everything in a box out and start looking at ingredients. You need to know words like "partially hydrogenated oil" or "high fructose corn syrup" or "Yellow No. 5." Things with preservatives like this are not food. They taste yummy and your kids love them because they have fun characters on them. But they are not food and not good for you body. My suggestion is throw it out and don't buy it again. Yes, even the peanut butter. (Peanut butter should have no more than 3 ingredients--peanuts, oil and salt--anything beyond that it junk.)

WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO START: If you are looking to make a change in what you eat, anywhere you start is a good start--milk, meat, fish, snack food, organic veggies, chicken, eggs. Organic milk means you reduce the amount hormones you put into you and your children. Grassfed meat, also no hormones, and it actually tastes better. My suggestion is start small. Our house started with organic milk, no preservatives or dyes in snack food, lunch meat, breads and eggs from free range hens. That was it. About 4-5 years ago, we've moved to more naturally handled meat (grass-fed beef, free range chicken and wild-caught fish). In the past year, we've made the transition to organic and/locally grown veggies.

CAN YOU DO THIS WITH YOUR BUNCH? The answer is yes! Our house doesn't have Goldfish crackers or fruit snacks. My kids, while they enjoy these on occassion at friends' houses, do not get these at home. We have raisins, nuts, cheese, carrots, hummus, pita chips, tortilla chips, homemade trail mix of cereals and dried fruit, preztels, etc. While I prefer to make my own chicken strips or pizza, I find Trader Joes has LESS processed food than the regular store at a good price. We don't buy in bulk because I want my kids to think of these "kid foods" as a treat and not a routine meal.

There are a million excuses to not do this, but a million reasons to do it.

I feel so passionate about this cause that I'm going to giveaway a copy of Michael Pollan's Food Rules. If you're interested in changing your food routine or already have, leave me a note here to be entered to win the book. Let me know A) what food change you want to make or B) which one was the toughest to make or C) what question you have on the topic. We'll pick a winner on May 11.

tastebudding: good food, happy mealtime

Food is a huge part of the parenting gig. We all start out with the best intentions for meal preparations, but Baby Bunching can quickly put a crimp into your wholesome food plan. New baby comes along and all attempts at homemade baby food, always sitting down as a family, and forcing toddler to eat food served come to a screeching halt.

During your many years of Baby Bunching, mealtime will develop into many different scenes. Our philosophy here is to never get started playing short-order cook (you will totally thank us for this later), and start good habits with your kids now--no matter how much it sucks. This is so when they are five they will at least try green beans and not be rude at friends' houses about the type of bread they will/will not eat.

The road to a stressless mealtime can be seem like an uphill battle most days. Getting your kids to sit down, behave at the table, try one food 15 bagillion times over and over, chew with their mouths closed and not talk about potty at the table are all part of challenge. Before even getting to the behavior battles, you have to get them to actually eat the food. Finding good meals that everyone in your family can enjoy is many parents #1 issue because if the food doesn't please, the game becomes a stalemate.

Tastebudding is a new site started by a group of parents, one is our former college roommate, who are working to find a quick, easy solution for parents to find kid-friendly food. The tastebudding team knows how important it is for us to prepare healthy food for our kids. (Yes, they're talking beyond pizza and chicken nuggets, although you'll find a few of those homemade recipes there as well.) The best part kid-friendly recipes are the ones that come from other parents who have tested them on the toughest critics. Tastebudding overs more than just searchable recipes.

Think Allrecipe.com for kid-friendly food + community where parents can also connect and discuss dinnertime manners, school lunch planning or when to start solid foods. The best part is when you submit your recipes you can add commentary on what works best or doesn't. And those who try the recipe can offer up additional suggestions. They've essentially brought the idea of a cooking club to the web.

Pop on over to tastebudding.com and let us know what looks yummy for dinner tonight.

baby bunching bites: dijon chicken and lemon zest spinach

As if it weren't enough trouble trying to convince everyone in the family to eat what I put on the table, Hubby was recently put on a cholesterol lowering, heart-healthy diet by his doctor.  Imagine my surprise when everyone, including all kiddos, gobbled down one of the first "new" dinners I prepared.  The marinade in this recipe provides a very mild, understated flavoring for wee ones and the sauce over the top takes it up a notch for adult taste buds. Quick, easy, healthy and Bunch-friendly - you can't beat that in my book!

Dijon Chicken (recipe is for two boneless chicken breasts, so I doubled it to feed my family of 5)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce (OK, I cheated and used regular because I had it on hand)

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 cloves minced garlic

Trim all fat from chicken breasts. Mix together all other ingredients.  Reserve half and pour the rest over chicken, marinating for 1/2 an hour.  Broil on low or grill for 7 minutes per side or until cooked through.  Serve with remainder of marinade spooned on top. I served it with brown rice and the spinach recipe below.

Lemon Zest Spinach

1 1/4 pounds fresh organic spinach or baby spinach

6 cloves minced garlic

5 tablespoons pine nuts

3 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Steam spinach and garlic until spinach is just wilted.  Place in bowl and toss in remaining ingredients.

baby bunching bites: sausage and cheese breakfast casserole

Dinnertime woes at your house? Make breakfast for dinner. My kids highly prefer breakfast to any other meal of the day--other than dessert--so when in doubt we serve up anything with eggs and everyone eats. This recipe is also adapted from Cooking Light, but I usually go ahead and put in the eggs instead of the egg substitute. This meal is a great "make-ahead" that can be made during nap time or the night before. We love meals that are either super fast or make ahead.

Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Cooking spray
12  ounces turkey (or pork) breakfast sausage
2  cups  1% low-fat milk
2  cups  egg substitute (about 9 eggs if you go this route)
1  teaspoon  dry mustard
3/4  teaspoon  salt
1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
3  large eggs
16  (1-ounce) slices white bread
1  cup  (4 ounces) finely shredded reduced-fat extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4  teaspoon  paprika (optional)

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring and breaking sausage to crumble. Remove from heat; cool.

2. Combine milk and next 6 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

3. Trim crusts from bread. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes. Add bread cubes, sausage, and cheddar cheese to milk mixture, stirring to combine. Pour bread mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking or 3-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray, spreading egg mixture evenly in baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. I have even left it for 2 nights for Christmas preparation.

4. Preheat oven to 350°.

5. Remove casserole from refrigerator; let stand 30 minutes. Sprinkle casserole evenly with paprika. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes.

Other meals we recommend:

• Maple Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
• Peanut Chicken Satay
• Sausage and Spinach Pasta
• Cornflake Crusted Halibut

If you're looking for other kid-friendly meals, check out Tastebudding.com. 

baby bunching bites: cornflake-crusted halibut with chile-cilantro aioli

Before you freak because we mention fish, just hear me out. Fish is a huge staple in our household--1-2 times a week. It's good a for-you-food on every level. So if you like fish, I'm going to incorporate some Baby Bunching-friendly recipes from the sea. While fishsticks are yummy and kids can't resist, sometimes it's important for kids to see the real deal. And doing it earlier in their life makes it easier down the road. My kids started out with salmon, and we slowly moved to white fish, which they will now eat not fried or crusted with something. (This did take some time, but ketchup did help ease the change.)

This recipe is a nice transition from fish sticks to real fish.

The recipe is adapted from Cooking Light can use any white fish. I prefer Mahi Mahi (from Trader Joes because it's super cheap and yummy.) It looks kid-friendly and has a nice grown-up sauce that can be adapted any number of ways. Best of all it's super fast to make if you don't have time. This recipe is similar to one that uses potato chips on top (which is really, really good, but fattier).

Aioli:
2  tablespoons  minced fresh cilantro (or even ground coriander works)
3  tablespoons  fat-free mayonnaise (or regular)
1  serrano chile, seeded and minced (or Tabasco, cayenne pepper)
1  garlic clove, minced

Fish:
1  cup  fat-free milk
1  large egg white, lightly beaten
2  cups  cornflakes, finely crushed
1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
2  tablespoons  olive oil
4  (6-ounce) halibut fillets or other white fish.
Lemon wedges

Preparation
To prepare aioli, combine first 4 ingredients, stirring well.

To prepare fish, combine milk and egg white in a shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Combine cornflakes, flour, salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Dip fish in milk mixture; dredge in cornflake mixture. Add fish to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with mayonnaise mixture and lemon wedges. I have also baked this in the oven if you don't want all the oil in there. Just lightly coat a baking pan and cook until lightly browned and fish flakes when done.

Other meals we recommend:

• Maple Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
• Peanut Chicken Satay
• Sausage and Spinach Pasta

bunching friendly bites: sausage and spinach pasta

Many of you have asked about devoting a post to Baby-Bunching-friendly recipes. What does this mean? This is a meal that is suitable for mom, dad and your ENTIRE real-food-eating-Bunch. Meals where you're not playing short-order cook. Meals that help get you all to the table, together.

One of the best tips a fellow Baby Buncher offered us was to serve meals which include at least one item that everyone in your family will eat. Even if it just means you include rice for the picky toddler. No child will starve from rice alone. In fact, many other cultures call "just rice" dinner.

Here is a recipe I believe I got from both my mom and my mother in law. I think they each make a different version of it. It’s one everyone will eat (even if it's in parts), makes good leftovers, and takes less than 30 minutes.

Quick Sausage and Spinach Pasta
(Don’t let the spinach throw you off this one, my kids will eat around it and even occasionally try it.)

1 pound of any kind of pasta
1 package of sausage (anything that’s not too spicy will do)
1 bag of baby spinach leaves
1 carton of cherry tomatoes (I’ve even used canned in a pinch or regular tomatoes)
Pine nuts are optional
Parmesan Cheese

Boil pasta. Cook sausage until done. Cut up tomatoes or slice cherry ones in half. Once the pasta is done, drain quickly. Once the sausage is done, slice. Put everything back in the pot that you boiled the pasta in—pasta, sliced sausage, tomatoes, and spinach. (Add in a little oil or some of the juices from the sausage.) The steam from the pasta will “cook” the spinach and just wilt it. If you like, you can cook the tomatoes and spinach in the same skillet as the sausage for just a minute or two to wilt them both a bit. Right before serving add cheese and pine nuts, if desired.

(Note: This makes a lot. My daughter inhales the pasta and some of the spinach and a few bites of sausage. My son will eat the sausage, a few bites of pasta and if we’re lucky will eat a bit or two of spinach. Feel free to add more to this, zucchini might be good too.)

In our house we require everyone to take a "no thank you bite" and try everything. Helps expose them to different foods they might otherwise find scary. No one needs a scary meal.

Other meals we recommend:

• Maple Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
• Peanut Chicken Satay

 

Stay tuned as we'll post more of these Bunching Friendly Bites.

 

 

baby bunching battles: dinner

There are a million and one ways that dinner time is a battle in our house, the least of which is what I can possibly make that everyone will actually EAT.  Trying to please one picky toddler is enough, throw in a baby who has recently started solids, a pre-schooler on a food strike, and a husband with an adult palate and you've got a real challenge on your hands.  We've posted before about Bunching-friendly bites, but I stumbled upon another hit today.  All children consumed even the vegetables and Baby was shoveling it in so fast he was grabbing it off his brother's plate.  Another hit is one of Linda's favorites - Last Minute Lasagna.  Please share your recipe successes - we can always use fresh ideas!

Peanut Chicken Satay
Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks.  Soak wooden skewers in water.  Get a large ziploc bag and combine:
2T peanut butter
2T honey
2T soy sauce
1T rice vinegar
Throw chicken chunks in the bag and marinate for half an hour.  Put chicken on skewers and throw under the broiler for 7 minutes.  Flip and broil for another 7 minutes.  I served it with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli.

bunching friendly bites

Dinner time around our house is a three-ring circus.  I love to cook and my husband loves to eat, but my Bunch pretty much ensures that we can do neither one in peace and quiet.  Hubby and I are both firm believers in the family dinner, so I cook a hot, balanced meal most nights and we sit down together when he gets home from work.  

My kids used to eat anything I put in front of them, but the older they get the pickier, they get, so I have really dumbed down my cooking.  Ingredients like feta cheese, pesto, porcini mushrooms, and sun dried tomatoes have been replaced by more kid-friendly ones like shredded cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and peanut butter (think chicken satay).  

 

Still, getting vegetables into my oldest is a battle and most nights he will refuse to touch anything else on the plate either.  His reason - "everything you make is sickening and you never make my favorite food (which was cited as hot dog on that particular occasion).  Middle does well with fruits and vegetables but is pretty much a vegetarian.  Oh yeah - and HIS favorite "food" is butter.  Baby doesn't care what the food is, as long as it is shoveled into his mouth as quickly as possible over his grunts of anticipation.  All in all, it's a pleasure dining with them.

 

Occasionally I stumble upon a recipe that keeps everyone happy because it is healthy (me), easy (me), has basic ingredients preferably one of which is a flavoring to disguise vegetables (the kids), but a little sophistication (my husband).  I lucked out tonight.  Here's one that everyone gobbled up - I was even able to mash the sweet potatoes for Baby and slide him tiny shreds of chicken.  As a bonus, whole chickens frequently go on sale and it's easy on the wallet.  

 

If you've got one that's a winner with your crew, please share - I'm always on the lookout for new ideas!

 

Maple Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes - 

• 1 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
• 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

 

• 1Heat oven to 400° F.
• 2Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Arrange the chicken, onion, and sweet potatoes in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Drizzle the oil over the chicken and vegetables and season with the salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Drizzle with the maple syrup and top with the sprigs of thyme.
• 3Roast, stirring the vegetables once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.