Green Smoothies - getting the raw greens into the littles

I can't believe how crazy life can get with a 18 month old! Baby T never stops, in fact the only thing she has stopped lately (thank goodness only on occasion) is napping and sleeping through the night! Blarg, seriously I hope this is just because she is achieving some major developmental milestones and adding 3 or 4 words a day, a day! 


Back onto task, I wanted to share one of my favourite recipes that is convent but also the best way I know how to get some major good stuff in my little one.  I first got hooked on green smoothies right after Baby T was born and would go buy them at $6 a pop, it was a great way for me to take care of myself whilst breastfeeding and dealing with a newborn. When Baby T started  solids I shared these smoothes which she loved! The problem was my wallet was feeling this love for green smoothies. I decided to make them at home but keeping Kale, mint and spinach in the fridge just for smoothies was taking up too much room and I found that making them was a little too evolved so I decided to make it more efficient. So out of that I started making green smoothie cubes! 

Green Smoothies Cubes 


1 bunch Kale
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch mint
1 bottle coconut water (make sure it is the water and not juice, the ingredients should just say coconut water)




I split the washed veggies and mint two and blend them to a puree in my blender. After blended I pour them in ice cube trays to freeze. Once frozen I transfer them into bags to store in the freezer.

Making a green smoothie: 


2 or 3 green smoothie cubes
hand full of frozen fruit (we always have mixed fruit, blue berries, strawberries and mango on hand)
big piece of banana 
coconut was or juice 
2 table spoons of hemp hearts  




Blend together and it should make enough for a little one and yourself. 


Smoothies are so versatile and you could make tons of different combinations, add yogurt or chia, speralina, add coconut oil for extra fats ,add different veggies? Options are endless. Making them different also keeps Baby T's interest in smoothies. 

Baby T with a green smoothie mustache! 

Learning about Food

If there is one thing that Baby T has taken after me is her looove of food. Since 6 months when we started table food Taya has dug in and eats, boy does she eat! I get tons of questions about it so I thought I would blog about it! 

baby t at 6 months easting an avocado. left part of the peal on so she can grip it. she was amazing at spiting out any peal or even orange casings eating only the insides!  

We decided to go with what has been named 'Baby Led Weening' (BLW) fancy name but what it means is we feed Baby T what we eat and we never mashed or pureed her food - well almost never. Shock horror she lives and we can tell the tale on how it works and what works for us. As a teacher I also feel there is a huge learning exploration involved in this way of food introduction. BLW really lets babies/ children learn about their food taste, texture, feel, colour some of which is lost when pureed and mashed. They develop skills to feed themselves and their fine motor skills develop sooner. Best part is it is fun, messy but oh so much fun

we stared with baby t eating the steamed vegies we had for dinner

So we love baby led weaning because: 

• it's easy (way easier then pureeing then spoon feeding baby)
• it seems natural for us to let Baby T be in charge of her eating
• it lets Baby T explore food in a form that she can be familiar with (unlike purees where only colour and taste differentiates and there is no texture or shape involved) 
• Baby T eats what we eat 
• Watching Baby T build her eating/fine motor skills (this is my fav part!)
• makes us all as a family eat better 

Looking back I fell that added benefits are Taya's ability to eat on her own and with confidents. People I have spoken to about BLW worry about choking which I can totally understand. From what we have observed with Baby T she had  a strong gag reflex at 6 months which helped keep choking at bay. Her reflex to this day helps her deal with food that might be a bit to big or even when she on occasion has been distracted and choked a little she dealt with it calmly and with no problem or intervention from us.  


So here are snack and meal ideas that Baby T loved: 


(please note we often did not follow food introduction guidelines - this was our personal choice as we did not have any food allergies in our family BUT do your own research to see if this is right for YOUR family)


Snacks: 


dippers- viggies, bread sticks dipped in hummus, tzatziki, avocado dip, or this one 
dippers sweet - fruit dipped in yogurt 
Banna pops - cut a 2 inch chunk of banana, stick a popsicle stick in it, roll in yogurt, roll in rice  puffs freeze
Smoothies - options are endless, I hope to share my green smoothie cube recipe with you soon (maybe by tonight!) 
Toast fingers - with either butter, tahini, cream cheese (I mix mine with salmon &herbs) peanut butter, mashed banana & cinnamon
seaweed  - we started with the non salted verity used for sushi
Lara bars
Muffins - I make muffins and breads weekly in my house (we used agave or maple syrup instead of honey or sugar to start)

quinoa, roast veggies and canned mackerel or was it left over salmon (?) that we both had for lunch

Meals:
Meat and potatoes - I roasted or steam vegies cut them and the meat in spires (1 inch or so) and let baby go at it
Pasta - I found elbow or the twisty kind the best to start with
Quinoa - I would make a salad with fish and roasted vegies and Baby T would eat it by the hand full (messy but worth the goodness of the meal)
Scrabbled eggs - mix with veggies 
Boiled eggs - cut in wedges 

so happy eating her favourite meal of pasta! we used to have a specific outfit dubbed the 'pasta outfit' for her to wear as it was sooo messy! 

You can do so much the rule of thumb though is to limit salt intake, eat healthy and as many whole-foods as possible. Start with spires but I soon found Baby T got over that and I cute things into cube shapes. Baby T often let me know that she was ready for the next stage of food or for a whole grape opposed to be cutting it in half. You have to trust your baby on this journey, they are in control and that is ok. My belief is that the child should be in control of their food at this stage it should be enjoyable. Make it about learning and they will love to eat and eat well. You are there as a facilitator, support  in case they need you but really they will show you want they can and can't do. 

by 8 months baby t was drinking water out of a shot glass (it was the best sized cup for her!!)

Few tips to help with the mess - get a bib with arms that looks like shirt, get a splat mat or a picnic table cloth to lay under your high chair (we did not bother as we have hard wood), get a dog to avoid clean up (I wish we could!!). 

Pumpkin Bread - getting the good stuff in the little ones

I love making wholesome foods for my family but more then that I love making delicious food! Well this pumpkin bread is delicious and good for you - double yes but even better Baby T eats it up - Hat Trick! 

So here is the recipe, it is a variation of 'ross's pumpkin bread' in The Good Food Book For Families. 


1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs beaten 
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbs Chia
3 tbs millet 
2 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup raisins 

• preheat oven to 350 F 
• Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside
• Mix together pumpkin puree, brown sugar, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs and set aside 
• In a separate bowl (confession, I rarely do this as I don't want extra dishes, instead I just pour the dry ingredients onto wet right away - tsk, tsk, but it works!) pour into wet stir in raisins
• Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for approximately 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into  the centre of the loaf comes out clean. 
• Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn loaf out of pan and let cool completely on rack (unless you are my husband in which case you butcher the loaf and smother a pice with butter- yum). 

Enjoy!!!