Spinach & Red Quinoa Fritatta

This is one of those easy dishes that we all love.

It's delicious, packed with good things for you and it requires minimal dishwashing.

That's an all around win.

Mine came out a tad overcooked because the timer went off while Peanut was in the bath.  The timer was going off while I just sat there watching Peanut splash and thinking of my frittata getting darker and darker.  It's ok though because it wasn't too far gone and we still loved it.  

So don't cook yours until it looks like mine!

I forgot to take a picture the night I made it and got to it just in time.

By the next afternoon, between the three of us there was this one slice left.

Peanut followed me around saying please until I gave it to him and he ate the whole slice immediately.

You can see his little fingers grabbing at it in the last picture.

 

Spinach and Red Quinoa Frittata

4 cups spinach, rinsed and chopped

1 cup cooked red quinoa

1/2 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

8 eggs

1/4 cup whole milk

1 1/2 cup grated jarlsberg

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Pinch salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Heat your olive oil in a large oven proof skillet.

If you don't have an oven proof skillet don't worry.

Saute the onions until translucent, add your spinach and garlic and stir until wilted.

Add the cooked quinoa and mix.

In a large bowl beat the eggs and milk.

Stir in the cheese, salt and pepper.

Pour the egg mixture over the spinach mixture and stir gently.

Place the pan in the oven.

If your pan is not oven-proof then transfer the mixture to a sprayed casserole dish.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the frittata is puffy and golden.

Keep an eye out, cooking time will vary depending on the size of the pan/dish.

If you are unsure a tester placed in the center should come out clean.

Enjoy!

 

*Variations

-You could easily make this in muffin tins for your little

-Change out the quinoa for a different grain

-Try this with cheddar instead of gruyere

-Use different vegetables, just remember to cook them first

*Storage

Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months

*Benefits

Eggs are a fantastic source of protein and contain all 9 essential amino acids as well as choline, lutein, riboflavin, vitamin B12, selenium and lots of other vitamins and minerals.

Spinach has lots of calcium, selenium, magnesium, folic acid, iron and vitamins A, C, D and K (which helps your body absorb calcium).

Quinoa is not actually a grain but a seed and is packed with protein and essential amino acids.

It's far more nutritious than rice and has more calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, fiber and zinc than many other grains.

Cheese is a great source of calcium, magnesium, zinc, folate, selenium and vitamins A, E, K and D.

Apple Quinoa

We've been getting the most incredible apples in our CSA box,

big, gorgeous, crisp and juicy.

I'm going to have to find out what kind they are.

A while back when I posted Zucchini Quinoa, my friend Elizabeth commented that they like theirs sweet.

She prepares quinoa for her family much like lots of people do oatmeal.

That's when I thought about adding it to apples.

This mixture is more applesauce then quinoa but you could certainly change the ratio 

to make it more of a grain-based meal.

If you have a child that just doesn't want to eat grains,

then use a tad less quinoa and call it chunky applesauce.

For added texture reserve some apples for hand-mashing and then mix them back into the sauce.

Apple Quinoa

4 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (I use a melon baller to core my apples)

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup + 1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a small saucepan rinse and drain your 1/2 cup quinoa and then add 1 cup water.

Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid.

Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, place your apples and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat and cover.

I'll be honest and say I tend to use medium-high heat as I'm always in a hurry.

Stir occasionally and cook until all the apples are soft, about 7 minutes.

Allow to cool a minute.

Place apples with their liquid into a food processor or blender and puree.

Add your pumpkin pie spice and pulse until blended.

Return puree to saucepan and mix in the quinoa.

Enjoy!

*Variations

-Instead of pumpkin pie spice use cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla

-Add minced mint or basil or simmer the apples with a sprig of thyme (remove before blending)

*Storage

Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

The quinoa may continue to soak up the liquid from the apples. 

If this is the case, you may need to add water or unsweetened apple juice 

to bring to the desired consistency.

*Benefits

Quinoa is not actually a grain but a seed and is packed with protein and essential amino acids.

It's far more nutritious then rice and has more calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, 

copper, manganese, fiber and zinc than many other grains.

Apples are loaded with fiber, vitamins C, beta-carotene, riboflavin, thiamin, potassium,

phosphorus and calcium. 

Zucchini Quinoa

This recipe is simple, nutritious and full of great texture.

Peanut loves it.

It's incredibly easy and a fantastic base for tons of combinations.

I used zucchini but you could easily substitute any summer squash.

Typically I roast summer squash, as steaming it makes the puree very liquid-y but 

we need that extra liquid in this recipe.

I overcooked my zucchini slightly because I was too busy using Pinterest
 but it still worked out perfectly. 

:)

Zucchini Quinoa

3 medium zucchini, ends removed, cut into chunks
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water (or unsalted broth)

Rinse and drain your quinoa in a small saucepan and then add 1 cup water.
Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid.
Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Place your cut zucchini in a steamer over 1 inch of water.
Steam until tender, about 7 minutes.
Place zucchini in a food processor, reserving liquid and puree.

Once both have cooled combine, adding reserved cooking liquid if needed.

Enjoy!

*Variations

Can you see all the possibilities?

-Add just about any vegetable, cut into small chunks or hand mashed.  

Try carrots, parsnips, winter squash, sweet potato, peas, green beans, tomato, etc.

-Combine with cooked and pureed or diced chicken, turkey, pork, beef or fish

-Stir in herbs like cilantro (Peanut loves this), basil, mint, chives, or even dill

*Storage

Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

*Benefits

Quinoa is not actually a grain but a seed and is packed with protein and essential amino acids. 

It's far more nutritious then rice and has more calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, fiber and zinc than many other grains.

Zucchini is high in potassium, vitamin A, beta-carotene, lutein and manganese.

Simple Grains (Cereal)

Although there are just a handful of baby cereals (oatmeal, rice and multigrain) on the market, 

you can make your little one a variety of different grains to try.

We skipped the rice cereal phase completely and jumped straight into veggies but I find myself using

grains all the time now to add to Peanut's meals.

In the first row you see brown jasmine rice, brown rice medley, red quinoa

and then pearled barley and regular quinoa.

For some reason I didn't show oats but I use those all the time as well.

Don't limit yourself or your baby to the same grains all the time

and don't assume that your little one won't like something.

It's amazing what they will eat when you expose them to knew things.

Also remember that just because they don't immediately dive into something that they don't like it.

Try and try again.

If you don't want to buy an entire box or bag of grains try out stores like Whole Foods or Sprouts that

have the option of scooping from a barrel. 

It's a great want to try something out and deciding if you like it.

These grains aren't going to be the same as their store bought counterparts.

These have a really creamy consistency similar to Cream of Wheat or Malt-O-Meal.

Simple Grains (Cereal)

1/4 cup grains of your choice

1 cup water

Grind your grains to a powder.

I use a coffee/spice grinder but you can also use a blender.

Bring your water to a boil and sprinkle in your ground grains, 

whisking constantly.

Turn the heat down to low and whisk occasionally, letting it simmer for about 5 minutes.

The mixture will get thick and creamy and all the water will be absorbed in the grains.

Alternatively you can sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ground powder 

into 1/2 cup boiling water for a smaller portion.

Store the remainder of the powder in a sealed container in a cool, dark place.

Serve this warm (cold rice/grains aren't the best texture) and thin it down to the desired consistency with

breast milk, formula or water.

*Variations

-Add fruit purees or mashed fruit like banana

-Use this as a thickener for runny purees

-Add this to any of your veggie or vegetable and meat purees to complete the meal

-Serve this with breakfast, lunch and dinner

*Storage

This is best served warm and freshly made

 but really who has the time to make fresh cereal all the time?

You can easily refrigerate it, just be sure to heat thoroughly, mixing in additional liquid if needed, and let it cool to an luke warm temperature for your little.

Heating thoroughly brings back the creamy texture.

Yes, you can freeze it.  It comes out a bit rubbery.

When this happens just heat it, then add your liquid and stir it up as you would the refrigerated grains.

I would suggest making small batches vs. huge batches for this reason.

When used with other foods, the heat thoroughly rule still applies.  

Noone likes to eat cold rice.

*Benefits

Brown rice still has it's bran layer which allows it to retain more fiber (4x more then white rice)

as well as nutrients like niacin, iron, vitamin B6, magnesium and manganese.

Quinoa is not actually a grain but a seed and is packed with protein and essential amino acids.  

It's far more nutritious then rice and has more calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, fiber and zinc than many other grains.

Barley has loads of fiber, iron, selenium and niacin.  Typically you see pearled barley but dehulled barley is unprocessed so get it if you see it.

Oats are a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. 

They also have tons of manganese, vitamin E, zinc, and protein.

Peach Chicken with Basil

The other day while I was searching the internet for peach recipes 

(our csa box has been packed with them)

I kept coming across peach and chicken.

Dishes called Polynesian chicken and Luau chicken over and over again, 

although I'm not sure peaches make me think of the islands.

Then I came across this one and I knew it would be perfect for baby food.

This recipe has become one of my absolute favorites.

I doubled it because the boys are eating a ton and I'm just trying to keep up!

This dish smells incredible and it's worth making a grown up version of... 

you know with salt and some crusty browning of the chicken.

Peach Chicken with Basil

1 chicken breast, cut into chunks (about 6 ounces)

2 peaches, skinned and cut into chunks (to skin, see this post)

1/4 cup diced onion

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

3 or 4 carrots, about 1/2 lb, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup brown rice, ground to desired consistency

1 cup water

1 tbs fresh minced basil

Place your carrots in a steamer until finger mashable.... about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, sauté your onion in the evoo until translucent.

Add your peaches and chicken with the heat on medium and cover for about 5 minutes.

As the peaches cook they will release their juice, creating a nice simmering liquid for the chicken.

Stir occasionally until your chicken is cooked all the way thru.

Doesn't it smell amazing?

Puree your mixture to desired consistency. 

I pureed it smooth and used the carrots to add texture. 

Bring 1 cup water to a boil.

Sprinkle brown rice powder into the boiling water, whisking constantly.

Turn the heat down to simmer the mixture,

whisking until the liquid is absorbed and the grains cooked.

Mine took about 8 minutes.

Stir rice into the peach/ chicken mixture.

Now we're going to add the carrots and this is where you can really control your chunks.

You can make this completely smooth.

You can add your carrots and pulse to gently chop.

You can even mash the carrots and mix them in with a spoon.

When you are finished adding your carrots,

stir in the basil.

Enjoy!

*Variations

-Using just the peaches and chicken, this is a great way to introduce meat

-Try this with cilantro or mint

-Substitute turkey, pork or tofu

-Use mango, pear or other stone fruit instead of peaches

*Storage

Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months

Make sure you warm thoroughly before serving.

*Benefits

Chicken is a great source of lean protein in addition to potassium, phosphorus, niacin,

calcium, iron, selenium and zinc.

Peaches have lots of vitamin C and K as well as potassium, calcium and fiber.

Carrots have loads of different kinds of carotenoids which work as antioxidants, convert to vitamin A,

boost the immune system and protect and enhance your eyes.

Brown rice still has it's bran layer which allows it to retain more fiber (4x more then white rice)

as well as nutrients like niacin vitamin B6, magnesium and manganese.

Onions are known as cancer-fighting foods as well as helping build strong bones and connective tissue because of both the sulfur compounds (that make them smelly) and the antioxidants.

Basil has been known to have anti-inflammatory effects, is a good source of vitamin A, magnesium, iron, calcium & potassium.

I marked this as 8-10 months simply because of the onion, but as with everything else, when to introduce this is for you to decide.

Chicken with green beans & brown rice

Green beans are just one of those things I haven't made much of.

They are great as a first food but you lose so much in the cooking,
pureeing and straining process that I never really did it.

However, now that Peanut is used to texture in his foods, it's perfect.

I also had this great brown rice blend from Trader Joe's that I used,
which is why there are dark spots that almost look like pepper.

Chicken with Green Beans & Brown Rice
1 small chicken breast (about 4 oz) cut into chunks
8 oz frozen green beans (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup brown rice
2 cups water (or unsalted stock), divided

Bring 1 cup water to a boil and add the chicken.
Rinse green beans to remove ice crystals and add to the boiling water.
Bring back to a boil, cover, reduce heat and
simmer for 4 -5 minutes until fork tender.
The color should be bright green, if they are starting to turn brownish/dark then pull them out.

Meanwhile, grind your brown rice in a blender or spice grinder.
You can grind to a powder, into smaller pieces or not grind at all,
depending on the texture you want for your little.

When the green beans and chicken are done, add them to the food processor,
reserving the liquid.
Puree, adding cooking liquid as needed.

Bring 1 cup water to a boil.
Sprinkle brown rice powder into the boiling water, whisking constantly.
Turn the heat down to simmer the mixture,
whisking constantly until the liquid is absorbed and the grains cooked.
Mine was ground to a powder and it took about 8 minutes.

Add the rice mixture to your pureed veggies and stir in
(or pulse the food processor to incorporate).

Enjoy!

*Variations
-Although Peanut loves this I thought it would be even better with herbs.
Add some minced fresh herbs like cilantro, basil, chives or parsley.
-This would also be good with a bit of garlic or onion
-Substitute a different kind of rice or grain like barley, quinoa or spelt.

*Storage
Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
When you reheat, make sure you heat completely to bring it back to a nice consistency,
 then allow to cool to the right temp for your little.

*Benefits
Green beans are high in folate, potassium, vitamin K, fiber and even a bit of calcium and vitamin A.
Chicken is a great source of lean protein in addition to potassium, phosphorus, niacin,
calcium, iron, selenium and zinc.
Brown rice still has it's bran layer which allows it to retain more fiber (4x more then white rice)
 as well as nutrients like niacin vitamin B6, magnesium and manganese.

Blueberry Pear Oatmeal

This recipe came after a lot of experimenting with blueberries and pears.  

It all started with a great sale on organic blueberries.

I did some reading on the internet and found that almost all the recipes were nothing more then blending the 2 ingredients together. I did and it tasted great. It had a nice pear flavor with bits of blueberry in it. Although the skins look alarming, they are so soft I wouldn't worry about them in the puree.

My complaint was that once pureed it was almost completely liquid. My pears were extremely ripe and juicy.  Oh and pears brown almost immediately, so expect your puree to take on a tan tinge.

Some say that for babies younger than 8 months, or when you are trying a new fruit on a baby, that it's better to cook the fruit first.  Cooking the fruit should aid in digestion.  Although blueberries are recommended for 8 months and older anyway.

My next step was trying to cook the fruit first.  As you can see, the puree differs dramatically in appearance.

I decided to address the consistency by turning it into an oatmeal.

On the left is the final recipe, on the right was my attempt to add cooked oatmeal to my fresh puree.

Although the fresh blend was tasty I loved the cooked blend.  The blueberries take on this deep flavor that I couldn't get enough of.   Just the smell of the cooking fruit was enough to make me crave more.

I'd love the puree served warm over pancakes.  Yum.

The result of all this shenanigans is one simple recipe.

Blueberry Pear Oatmeal

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

2 ripe pears, peeled, cored, chopped into chunks (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup oatmeal

Add blueberries and pears to a medium pot or saucepan and place over medium to high heat.  No additional liquid is needed.   Bring to a simmer and continue simmering 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The fruit should be soft and the blueberries will be breaking down and letting out that gorgeous purple juice.  Take your pan off the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, grind your oatmeal.  This step allows you to control the amount of texture your baby gets in the finished product.  You can grind to a fine powder or not grind at all.  Transfer your oatmeal to a small bowl or cup.

Carefully place the fruit in the food processor and puree.  Transfer the pureed fruit back to the original pan and bring mixture up to a simmer.

Once the fruit is at a simmer, whisk in the ground oats.  Let the oats cook in the mixture, stirring occasionally.  I used quick cook oats and ground them down so it only took about 2 minutes to cook.  There are different types of oats so cook accordingly.

Let it cool and enjoy!

If the finished product is too thick for your little then go ahead and thin down with water.

Peanut approves!

*Variation

If you'd like to use the the oats as a thickener instead of as a main ingredient, simply cut down to 1/4 cup  of finely ground oats.

*Storage

Realistically I'm not sure I'll ever whip this up for breakfast.  I'm not a morning person, I don't get much done first thing in the morning.  Put this into an airtight container and you can keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.  Warm it and then check the consistency.
You may need to thin it out with water, formula or breast milk

Freeze for up to 3 months.  Once thawed it's slightly rubbery.  Simply warm it and add water, formula or breast milk until it is a good consistency for your little.

*Benefits

Blueberries are a super fruit when it comes to nutritional value. 

They are pure brain food, packed with antioxidants and vitamin C.

The list of health benefits go on and on, regardless of whether they are fresh or frozen.

Oats are a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. 
They are also a good source of manganese, vitamin E, zinc, and protein.
They are also a great way to introduce your little to different textures.

As compared to the commercial version.

Isn't ours pretty?