Healthy snack food

I've seen these in the stores for a little while, but finally picked up a bag while I was at Target the other day. These are advertised as being baked snacks with wholesome goodness, and upon reading the package, I was shocked to learn that they are made by Frito-Lay! On top of being "good-for-you" they were actually very tasty, and even my husband who gets a little wary of "health food" agreed that they were very good. To date, I've only tried the Cheddar flavor, but will pick up a couple of more to try soon. The texture of the chip is even good for Kyle to be able to munch on and he enjoyed them.

Frito-Lay : FLAT EARTH Apple Cinnamon Grove Flavored Baked Fruit Crisps

Frito-Lay : FLAT EARTH Farmland Cheddar Flavored Baked Veggie Crisps

Frito-Lay : FLAT EARTH Garlic & Herb Field Flavored Baked Veggie Crisps

Frito-Lay : FLAT EARTH Peach Mango Paradise Flavored Baked Fruit Crisps

Frito-Lay : FLAT EARTH Tangy Tomato Ranch Flavored Baked Veggie Crisps

Frito-Lay : FLAT EARTH Wild Berry Patch Flavored Baked Fruit Crisps

Transitioning to Whole Milk

We've made the transition to whole milk, and Kyle loves it! Before doing so though, I asked advice from my pediatrician-friend (thanks Christian!)

Her words of wisdom were that some babies can be a little sensitive to the change. So while you can just jump right into cow's milk, it might be easier on their tummies to transition slowly, and this can be done as slowly as you like. She suggested doing 25% whole milk/75% formula on Day 1, 50% whole milk/50% formula on Day 2, 75% whole milk/25% formula on Day 3, and finally 100% whole milk on Day 4. I had some formula to use up, so I actually stretched this out over a week.

We just checked in with his doctor for his 12-month check up, and she advised that he should be drinking about 16 ounces of milk per day, and that he shouldn't fill up on milk as he has to get other nutrients from his well-balanced solid diet. Unfortunately, he is still getting used to the idea of well balanced, and I struggle to get him to eat his vegetables, although he has no problem with fruits!

Sample One-Day Menu for a One-Year Old

I spoke with Kyle's doctor today. We initially had his 12-month check up scheduled for the day after his birthday, but had to reschedule it for two weeks later as the doctor will be out due to jury duty. So since it was postponed, I wanted to check with her if she was OK with me starting whole cow's milk, or if we should wait until Kyle was seen at the appointment. She said go for it, so we won't have to be buying anymore formula after this week! Here's a good Babycenter.com article I found regarding making the transition to cow's milk.

Other changes I am looking forward to... not being as wary about products containing whole eggs or honey. Right now, I am working on incorporating more snack times into Kyle's schedule, so am thinking he will have breakfast as usual around 7:30, nap from 9:30-10:30, snack when he wakes up, lunch around 12 or 12:30. Nap again from 1:30-2:30, snack again a little after he wakes up and then dinner around 5pm. With all of this food coming his way, he'll definitely be a growing boy!

Sample One-Day Menu for a One-Year Old

Taken from the AAP "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child Birth to Age 5"

This menu is planned for a one-year-old child who weighs approximately 21 pounds.

1 teaspoon = 1/3 tablespoon (5 ml)
1 tablespoon = 1/2 ounce (15 ml)
1 cup = 8 ounces (240 ml)
1 oz = 30 ml

BREAKFAST
1/2 cup iron-fortified breakfast cereal or 1 cooked egg (not more than 3 eggs per week)
1/4 cup whole milk (with cereal)
4-6 oz. juice
Add to cereal one of the following:
1/2 banana, sliced
2-3 large sliced strawberries

SNACK
1 slice toast or whole wheat muffin
1-2 tablespoons cream cheese or peanut butter
1 cup whole milk

LUNCH
1/2 sandwich - tuna, egg salad, peanut butter, or cold cuts
1/2 cup cooked green vegetables

SNACK
1-2 ounces cubed cheese, or 2-3 tablespoons pitted and diced dates
1 cup whole milk

DINNER
2-3 ounces cooked meat, ground or diced
1/2 cup cooked yellow or orange vegetables
1/2 cup pasta, rice, or potato
1/2 cup whole milk

Rice

I've tried giving rice to Kyle before, but he didn't seem to fond of it. But, I decided to try again, and used some leftover rice from the night before. Again, he didn't seem too crazy about it, but after he spat out the first mouthful, I decided to try something different. The rice had come out much stickier than I had planned, so I was able to make some little rice balls for him, and all of a sudden he LOVED the rice and I couldn't make the balls fast enough. Of course, it was a little messy, as they did break apart as he picked them up and put them in his mouth. But they did stay together enough that he liked the texture instead of the individual grains.

To make the STICKY rice - I used brown basmati rice (from Trader's Joes). I rinsed it 3 or 4 times with water, and then cooked it for 35 minutes with twice the volume of water. After that, it was still a little soupy in the bottom, so I gave it another 5 minutes with the lid off.


Word of warning - using leftover rice can be dangerous...

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat. It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating.

Green veggies, part 2

I was cooking a spinach and mushroom frittata for playgroup at our house, and I couldn't help tasting the spinach as a cooked it. Fresh spinach, freshly sauteed was delicious, so I couldn't help thinking that Kyle would like it... well, I was wrong. However, the NEXT day, he absolutely devoured the leftover piece of frittata that I was trying to eat for my breakfast. So, now I know how to get him to eat his veggies! The only drawback was that there were egg whites in the frittata, however, with Kyle being this close to 1-year old, I wasn't too concerned about it.

Please note: using organic spinach is recommended to avoid elevated levels of nitrates.


Here's the recipe, reprinted from Fine Cooking magazine.


Spinach & Mushroom Frittata

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

8 extra-large eggs
2 Tbs milk
A dash of hot sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 large bunch fresh spinach, washed, drained, and chopped
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1/4 pound mushrooms, trimmed, and thinly sliced
2/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese


RECIPE METHOD

Whisk the eggs vigorously. Mix in the milk, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In an ovenproof pan, saute the spinach in the butter, then add the mushrooms. Turn the heat to medium high and pour the eggs into the pan.

Let the eggs set for several seconds. With a heatproof rubber spatula, gently stir the eggs, starting from the center. This stirring makes the frittata puff up more in the oven.

Lift the edges so that the eggs flow to the bottom. When the frittata is half-set, add the grated Gruyere.

Transfer the pan to the heated oven. Cook for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden.

Green veggies

Kyle did pretty well with his green veggies while we were on puree, but now that he loves his finger food, it seems that he is not as interested. The green beans and peas are just not cutting it anymore, and although he will still eat the Happy Baby Spinach and Mango puree, it's just not the same when he can't feed himself. So I tried zucchini last night for a little variety, and it wasn't a big hit. So, I'm thinking that we are going to have to try sneaking it into his diet. Here's the recipe that I am going to try the following. Of course, I am going to have to tweak it a little bit not to use egg whites, and I have already omitted the nuts from the recipe. It will definitely be easier to do these things once Kyle is past the 1-year mark! On top of that, I want to play around with using some whole wheat flour and applesauce. I'll report back with the final recipe. Zucchini Bread Source: © Cooking Light Magazine

RECIPE INGREDIENTS 3 cups shredded zucchini (about 3 medium) 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 5 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 1/2 cups skim milk 6 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 large eggs (YOLKS?!?!?!?) Cooking spray

RECIPE METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press zucchini on several layers of paper towels. Cover with additional paper towels; set aside.

Combine flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, walnuts, and next 6 ingredients (walnuts through nutmeg) in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Add zucchini; stir. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Divide batter evenly between 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Serving size: 1 slice (12 slices per loaf)

Recipe reprinted by permission of © Cooking Light Magazine. All rights reserved.

Nutrition Facts

Yield: 24 servings Facts per Serving

Calories:	183	Fat:	6g	Carbohydrates:	30g
Cholesterol:	19mg	Sodium:	64mg	Protein:	4g
Fiber:	1g	% Cal. from Fat:	30%	% Cal. from Carbs:	66%

Time saving tips

These things may seem pretty obvious, but it was a while before I started doing them, and after that, I wondered why I hadn't started earlier!

• Use a Sharpie pen to mark the date that you opened the baby food jar, cereal box, etc. If it is in a container that you don't want permanently marked, have some masking tape handy to write on and apply.

• Prepare a whole week's (or several days) worth of cereal at once. When Kyle is sees food, he is immediately starving and wants it NOW. He doesn't want to stand around waiting for me to measure out cereal into his bowl. So I have six of the Gerber bowls with lids and I prepare 3 or 4 of those at a time and have them ready for his breakfast the next morning. Of course, the next problem is where to find the room to store the filled bowls!

• If you are going for the fresh foods route, rather than jarred, it was much easier for me to make up a huge batch at once and then freeze all of it in an ice cube tray. Each cube was about 1 oz, so I could defrost 3-4 at a time as needed. However, be careful about making up TOO much in advance. Kyle moved on to finger foods pretty quickly, so now I have a freezer full of pureed veggies that I need to throw away or find someone to donate them to! You can also freeze prepared finger foods to save some prep time..

• For those who use formula, I would premeasure the water the night before to save a little time when making up formula for Kyle's morning cereal. Again, he had little patience to stand there watching me trying to get the volume right! Having a formula dispenser ready helped too, although most of the time I tended just to scoop out of the container anyway.