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Stuff my kid will eat – the resources page

BOOKS/WEBSITES

Real Baby Food by Jenna Helwig – sections on purees, finger foods, breakfast, and toddler food

Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton – part memoir, part humor, but also some good recipes for exploring flavors

Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter – outlines her philosophy of “division of feeding responsibilities.” Info on when/how to start foods is outdated, but great tips for making feeding relationship fun and not getting frustrated with kiddos.

Ellyn Satter Institute’s How to Feed Children web pages

Feeding Finn

RECIPES

Quick Links

Breakfast | Baked items/breads | Snacks/bites | Main dishes | Soups| Vegetables | Tofu ideas | Beverages | Healthy desserts

Breakfast

  • “Confetti eggs” – from Suzi Olson
    I think I’ve invented ‘confetti’ eggs. Chop veggies super tiny (like confetti). Pan fry, adding splashes of water to soften the veggies. When veggies are cooked, add eggs to pan. Stir to combine thoroughly. Then cook like a pancake. When almost done, top with cheese. Cool and cut into self feeding size squares. I can get a pretty good density of veggies in there. You can make a whole pan full and eat for several mornings, etc. 

Baked items/breads

  • Banana bread for babies – from Bowen Close
    Much less sweet and oily than other banana breads.
  • Carrot-raisin muffins on Food.com – from Amy Fothergill
    I make these muffins and sub 1/2 the oil for applesauce, leave out the coconut, add hazelnuts (yay tree nut exposure). I’m sure it could be make with less sugar but doesn’t taste too sweet to me (prob less sugar then the flavored oatmeal she sometimes gets).
  • Healthy greek yogurt zucchini bread on Chelsea’s Messy Apron – from Carrie Kilman
    Made in mini-muffin tins, baked 17 minutes (versus 40-50 in recipe). I didn’t add chocolate chips, used a whole ripe avocado instead of banana, added 2 Tbsp. flax meal, used half the honey, and used plain whole-milk Greek yogurt instead of vanilla low-fat. These could handle shredded carrots and nut butter, finely chopped nuts, shredded coconut – a great/easy base to start from. (From Bowen: doubled zucchini, all whole wheat flour instead of oat + flour, non-Greek yogurt, olive oil, maple syrup – could’ve reduced sweetener but really good!)
  • Super-bran muffins for babies – from Bowen Close
    Really helpful for constipation!
  • Sweet potato muffins for littles on Bowen Appétit – from Bowen Close
  • Whole wheat rye muffins on Bowen Appétit – from Bowen Close

Snacks/bites

  • Homemade Toby’s tofu paté on Bowen Appétit – from Bowen Close
    Don’t be scared by “tofu paté” – it’s a really delicious tofu spread.
  • Lentil balls – from Amy Fothergill
    Cook 1 cup lentils in 2 cups water/broth. Combine with 4.5 ounces ground cashews (used food processor), 1 cup bread crumbs, onion, 3 Tbsp. curry paste. Shape in balls, oven at 350F for 40 min, turn 1/2 way. I was going to add frozen spinach but it didn’t thaw in time.
  • Soft-baked honey-cinnamon chickpeas on Yummy Toddler Food – from Shannon Salter
  • Spinach-black bean bites – from Bowen Close
  • Sweet potato, lentil, carrot croquettes on Feeding Finn – from Emily Gember-Jacobson
  • Three-ingredient cheese crackers – from Suzi Olson
    These were easy to make and taste a bit like goldfish shortbread

Main dishes

  • 20-minute fish curry – from Meagan Deaner
    This meal was fantastic and Clara loved it. It’s from “Made in India” by Meera Sodha. Also, I accidentally put twice the spices in this dish, and it was 1. Still delicious and 2. Still not too spicy.
  • Broccoli pesto on NYTimes – from Anisa Irwin (on pasta, etc.)
  • Chicken + quinoa (or other grain) + veggie freezer meals – from Suzi Olson
    Skip the poach. Cook up a bunch of chicken for this and other meals. Everything else can be made in one pot. I used the rice cooker to do it all at once. Great for the freezer and a quick trip to gmas. J love using a fork. I load it for him or I help him stab stuff.
  • Czech stuffed cabbage – from Elizabeth Cook
    We add caraway and more paprika, brown and wild rice instead of white, and used our csa tomatoes to make the sauce.
  • Easy Coconut Curry on Minimalist Baker – from Carly Dachis Hodes
    This is the template I use for the spices but you can add anything. We usually do sweet potato, zucchini, tomatoes, broccoli, all cut small and strain her portions.
  • Kheema: Indian ground beef with peas from Aarti Sequeira on Food Network – from Abby Garner Siegel
    Mac’s really digging Indian food lately. I do a lot of simple red lentil dals with chickpeas and also this Kheema with grated fresh turmeric. This dish freezes really well.
  • Knock-off madras lentils (ala Trader Joe’s/Costco) on One Hot Stove – from Lindsay Guge Cozon
    Margot loves the “madras lentils” from Trader Joes or Costco but they have a lot of sodium and we try not to feed them to her very often. Found this copycat recipe that she really likes as well! Not quite the same taste and I’m gonna play around with the spices but they were a hit for lunch.
  • No-butter chicken on Cooking Channel – from Elizabeth Cook
  • Pasta with awesome sauce – from Amy Mills
    You can use whatever pasta you like but we use Trader Joes mini cheese ravioli or rotini rice pasta. Awesome Sauce: 1 can pumpkin, 1 can white beans, 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1/8-1/4 tsp. onion powder, 1/8-1/4 tsp. garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.
  • Quinoa black bean burgers on All Recipes – from Doroteia Alexieva Alexieva
    I normally make a couple of batches, form the burgers, and freeze them for a quick meal. I also put the black beans in the food processor instead of mashing with a fork. Lastly, these go great with plain yoghurt and sriracha.
  • Red lentil dal on NYTimes – from Abby Garner Siegel
    I typically use coconut oil or ghee and add protein (chickpeas or chicken) towards the end of cooking.
  • Red lentil pumpkin dahl on The Telegraph – from Elizabeth Cook
  • Salmon burgers on NYTimes – from Bowen Close
    We’ve made these many times just as patties (no bun). We like to serve them with lemon “aioli” – mayonnaise mixed with lemon juice and black pepper. Leftovers are delicious cut/crumbled up and mixed into scrambled eggs. 
  • Sweet potato-chickpea patties with sriracha yogurt dip on The Kitchn – from Julia Gilden
    These worked out great for us tonight. They were a little fragile, so I might play with them a little next time (another egg maybe.) We adults had the sauce as written and Sylvia had hers with plain yogurt instead.
  • Turkey mini meatloafs/meatballs – from Bowen Close
  • Vegetarian “meatloaf” – from Carrie Kilman

Soups

  • Blended summer gazpacho on Bowen Appétit – from Bowen Close
    Aldo ate it both with a spoon (parent-assisted), and on pieces of bread soaked in the stuff. This would also work in a reusable pouch.
  • Genius, minimalist white bean soup from Marcella Hazan on Food52 – from Carrie Kilman
    We use veggie broth instead of beef stock. It’s thick enough that she can easily eat it from a spoon or sopped up on a piece of bread. It’s so easy and SO good.
  • Slow cooker sweet potato chickpea chili on Sweet Peas and Saffron – from Shannon Salter/Meagan Deaner
    My son loves the chick peas and sweet potatoes and I love prepping it the night before.
  • Squash soup on Food Network – from Elizabeth Cook
  • Vegan cream of broccoli soup on Food Network – from Carly Dachis Hodes
    Put it in a sippy, called it a green smoothie, she drank half. I like mine with salted roasted bread and a heaping drizzle of olive oil.
     

Vegetables

  • Broccoli roast on Smitten Kitchen – from Carly Dachis Hodes
    She likes the softened stalks. I like the crack seasoning and dipping sauce.
  • Coconut mashed sweet potatoes on Fiddlehead Foods – from Abby Garner Siegel
    This is a super simple recipe for Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes. I make a big batch, freeze in 1/2 cup portions, and then reheat with various veggies (e.g. peas, corn) and proteins (e.g. chickpeas, tofu).
  • Vegetable fritters on Things I Made Today – from Cassie Willyard
  • Zucchini fritters on Smitten Kitchen – from Carly Dachis Hodes
    I usually cut the flour, add flax and sweet potato. I made them in the winter with frozen shredded zucchini.

Tofu ideas

  • Anisa Irwin: Stir fry! We do the veggies separate from the tofu but with the same sauce, then give it to her all together. Cut the tofu into dominos, marinate with whatever sauce you’re using (we throw various things together but it usually includes grated garlic and ginger) then bake for 10-15 minutes. I find it holds together better baked so she can pick it up and eat it.
  • Bowen Close: We use extra-firm tofu, chop into sticks/squares, marinate in a combo of fish sauce, sesame oil, and garlic for at least an hour (usually overnight), and then bake 10-15 min. I usually marinate 1-2 blocks at a time and freeze portions in the marinade.
  • Maggie Weiser: Mashed up with squash and then stirred in with pasta.
  • Abby Garner Siegel: Miso Broiled Tofu
  • Renata Solan: We’ve been doing a lot of grilled tofu this summer and Iris can’t get enough of it. I just slice a block of extra firm tofu and then marinade it in soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic, a little maple syrup, and a little curry powder. And then just grill it up for a couple min on each side. I also use the same marinade and bake it in the winter. After it’s cooked I cut it up.
  • Carly Dachis Hodes: The recipe at the bottom of this post is my favorite. Otherwise I end up pan frying and tossing in curry or crumbling with chopped veggies in dumplings.

Beverages

Healthy desserts

  • Black bean brownies (no flour) on Chocolate Covered Katie – from Carrie Kilman
    I added 1/3 cup peanut butter, 2 Tbsp. flax meal, and about a half cup of finely shredded and pressed zucchini. I also reduced the maple syrup a little and left out the chocolate chips. I found these didn’t keep well, past about 2-3 days. Though I bet they would freeze nicely.