Week of Toddler Meals (23 months old)

About 6 months ago, when my daughter was 17 months old, I created a post that showed what she ate for an entire week.   It was my hope that my post would help another mom/dad to get ideas for feeding their own little one, something that I struggled with for a long time.  Well, Olive is almost 2 years old now (just one more month!), so I thought it might be interesting to do it again.  She eats a lot of the same things she did at 17 months, but there are some differences.  Some things you might want to know:

1. My husband and I have recently adopted a vegan diet.  That means no meat, no dairy products,  no eggs, and no animal products of any kind.  What does that mean for my daughter?  Pretty much the same.  We took her off whole dairy milk (we were going to stop at 2 years anyway) and switched over to almond milk.  She used to eat eggs a lot, so there is no more of that.  When we decided to go vegan, we still had meat and cheese in the house.  You will see some meat and cheese in some of the meals below - Olive got to help finish it all (my husband and I ate something different), but it's gone now and we won't be buying more.   
2. Even though I am vegan, I am choosing to still buy yogurt for Olive.  I think yogurt has a ton of good things for her and I don't want to let my choices take away something from her that is so healthy.
3. She drinks about 10 oz of almond milk in the morning and about 8 oz at night.  We plan on weaning it a little when she turns two, offering it more throughout the day in smaller amounts.  I also let her have water throughout the day when she wants it.
4. Most days, Olive eats what we eat.  But she is a toddler!  I occasionally make her something different because she doesn't want what I serve her (or I can't because it's too spicy).
5. This is actually a little more than a week.  There are 8 breakfasts, 9 lunches, and 8 dinners.  So....bonus! :)
6. If you want to know the recipe to something below, just leave a comment and I'll let you know! :)

Okay then, without further adieu....

Breakfasts

blueberry muffin, sliced grapes, cup of veggie/fruit smoothie (homemade)

vegan whole wheat pancakes with pure maple syrup, chunks of colby-jack cheese, applesauce

oatmeal with mixed berries, flax meal & almond milk

yogurt mixed with applesauce & flaxmeal, vegan whole wheat blueberry pancakes

English muffin with natural peanut butter & all-fruit spread, sliced grapes, chunks of colby-jack cheese

banana, potato-onion-bean scramble

yogurt with applesauce & flaxmeal, rye toast with vegan butter, sliced grapes

warm quinoa with chopped bananas and coconut milk

Lunches

peanut butter & fruit spread sandwich, fresh tropical fruit mix, small cup of almond milk

whole wheat crackers, chunks of colby-jack cheese, hummus

vegan quinoa "burger" and hummus sandwich, clementine wedges

grilled cheese sandwich, black beans, cantaloupe

cous-cous, corn, tomato & white bean salad

watermelon, whole wheat cracker, bean-cucumber-corn salad 

hummus on lavash bread, banana & blueberries

watermelon, peanut butter & fruit spread on pita bread

bean & rice burrito (BRC burrito from El Pollo Loco, minus the cheese), frozen blueberries

Dinners

crispy chicken bites (last of the meat!), roasted brussels sprouts & carrots, lemony yogurt dipping sauce

sweet potato chunks, broccoli, avo-dilla

veggie burger, sweet potato tater tots

roasted zucchini, frozen peas, slice of cheese pizza

vegan "chicken" patty, frozen banana chunks, fruit/veggie smoothie

roasted broccoli, carrots & cauliflower, homemade spaghetti & cheese

pinto bean soup, baked potato fries, brocolli & cauliflower

vegan quinoa sloppy joe, vegan potato salad (note:  This is my serving - I forgot to take a picture of hers before she started eating.)  

I hope some of these ideas inspire you to create some new meals in your own home.  Happy Eatings! :)

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

The other day, I made some homemade coffee creamer.  The recipe called for 4 tbsp of pumpkin puree, so after cracking open a large can, I had quite a bit leftover.  I could have frozen it, but I decided to turn it into a healthy, vegan muffin.  These muffins are packed full of healthy ingredients and while they remain moist, they are a dense muffin.  Don't expect a fluffy cupcake to come out of the oven, because you won't find that here!  Feel free to freeze these puppies and warm them up as you like!

Makes about 16 medium muffins; can be frozen - make in mini muffin tins for a bite-sized treat!


Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tbsp baking powder
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
3 tbsp flax meal
15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 ripe banana (about 1/3 cup), smashed
4 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1) Combine dry ingredients (flour through flax meal) in a large bowl.
2) Combine wet ingredients (pumpkin through vanilla) in a small bowl.
3) Pour wet ingredients into the large bowl and thoroughly mix with the dry ingredients.
4) Drop batter into muffin tin lined with paper liners, about 2/3 full (batter will be thick).
5) Bake muffins at 375F for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pour a cup of coffee with some homemade creamer and enjoy one (or more) of these healthy muffins for a yummy treat!

Blueberry Beet Muffins

Beets are amazing.  They are excellent for your heart, contain a ton of folate (great for pregnant women), vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, and many other important vitamins and minerals.  If you don't like beets, it doesn't matter because you won't even be able to taste them in this recipe - I promise!  I made these for a breakfast playdate in my mom's group the other day.  I wanted something mostly healthy that would please both kids and adults so I searched for a beet muffin recipe but found mostly beet cupcake recipes.  I ended up finding a recipe and then adapting it to what I wanted.  Hope you like it!  Sorry about the blurriness of the picture!

As you can see, the muffins turned out this weird green color.  My second batch ended up cooking a little longer and those turned red on top, but when you crack them open, they are green inside!  I have no idea how this happened - red beets, blue blueberries, green muffins?  Well, that's color mixing science for you!  Regardless of the color, these muffins are delicious.  They are moist, just sweet enough, and have no hint of beet flavor.  I'm thinking about adding in some oats and flax meal next time to kick it up a health notch.  I can't wait to make another big batch of these!

Yields:  14 - 16 muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup red beet puree (about 2-3 medium sized beets) - *see roasting instructions below
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup plain almond milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted & cooled
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

*How to roast the beets:  Remove the stems, leaving about 1 inch on.  Lightly scrub the beets to remove any dirt/particles.  Place beets on a sheet of tinfoil, fold over and pinch the edges together to create a little pouch.  Place pouch on a baking sheet at roast at 375F for 45 min to 1 hour or until beets are soft (can easily pierce a fork through them).  Let beets cool until you can handle them.  Wearing gloves, remove the skin (you should be able to easily rub/slide it off).  Cut into chunks and puree in a food processor until nice and smooth.  Set aside until you are ready to use it.  You can freeze any extra for later use.

Directions:
1.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  In another bowl, combine the beet puree, eggs, yogurt, milk, sugar, butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
2.  Add the beet mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine, but don't over mix.  You will still have a few lumps.  Gently mix in the blueberries.
3.  Line a cupcake pan with paper liners or parchment paper.  Fill cups 2/3 full.  Bake at 375F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

**Special Note:  Beets will stain, so be careful when you're cooking!  Also, what goes in must come out, so if your toddler is eating beets don't be surprised if you get a red tinted poop or reddish pee in their diaper!**

Olive had some leftover beet puree mixed with yogurt and bananas for breakfast the next morning.  :)

"However You Like 'Em" Broccoli Bites

I've made broccoli bites before.  The basic recipe is simple:  chopped broccoli, bread crumbs, egg, cheese.  I thought I would make them today, but switch it up a little bit.  My daughter, who has always been a good eater, is starting to get picky.  It's like she's a toddler or something!?!  Some days, I have to give her choice after choice until she will finally eat something, and it usually ends up being fruit.  She could eat fruit all day long, but veggies have started to not be her thing.  So I made these today with the HOPE that she would at least taste them.  Not only did she taste them, she ate 3 whole ones for her lunch.  A-maz-ing.  I didn't measure anything, so I'm just going to give you estimates, but feel free to change them to your liking.  In fact, this recipe is so simple, you can really change it up to however you like it.  Here are some ideas for variations:

Vegetable:  broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, sweet potato, eggplant, spinach
Cheese:  mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, vegan cheese, jack
Flavorings:  cilantro & lime; Italian seasoning; soy sauce & ginger; cumin, chili powder & oregano

Here's the recipe I made:

Ingredients:
2 cups steamed broccoli
1 cup steamed cauliflower
1 15oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Flavorings: see below

Directions:
1.  Steam broccoli and cauliflower.  Finely chop in a food processor.
2.  Add beans to food processor to mix with veggies.
3.  Pour veggie/bean mix into large bowl.  Add panko, egg & cheese.
4.  Season as desired:  I divided my mixture into 2 bowls and seasoned with 2 different flavorings.  In one bowl, I added 1tbsp granulated garlic and 1 1/2 tsp onion powder.  In the other bowl, I added 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp curry powder & 1/4 cup orange juice (I added a little more bread crumbs to this one, too).
5.  Form veggie mix into golf ball size balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  (I've thought about doing this in muffin tins, too, and I think that would probably work!)
6.  Bake at 375F for about 25, turning over half way through.

After the bites have cooled, you can freeze them for another day.  Pop them out and warm in the microwave as you need them.

Okay, so here's the honest truth:  I didn't really care for these.  However, and that's a BIG however, my daughter devoured them, and that's all I care about.  I will try them again, with some different seasonings and hopefully they will turn out to be more pleasing to my palate.  I'm not discouraging you from making them, but I am saying to try out a variation that you'll like!  The basics are:  veggies, egg, bread crumbs & cheese.  So basic, with so many variations to try!  If you get a mix that you really love, please let me know! :)

 Proof that these broccoli bites are toddler-approved!  :)