MenuBoom- What can we feed the kids?

If you want one cookbook to get you through infant, toddler and school years, this one could be it. Real Food for Healthy Kids, by Tracey Seaman and Tanya Wenman Steel (William Morrow), will get you through all the parties, last minute meals, holidays, hot and cold days, sick days, cooking together days, bake sales and snack days.

The recipes are healthy, have a great international mix (Asian, Indian, Latin, American, Italian and Middle Eastern), are simple when you want simple and more involved when you are feeling ambitious.

The authors are sensitive to current health issues for children, especially obesity, diabetes, food sensitivities and allergies. However, there are not too many vegetarian recipes, so if your family is 100% veggie, this is not your cookbook.

We all could use a reminder that breakfast should be more than reconstituted dry cereal, even on rushed mornings. Protein and complex carbs are what’s going to keep energy and minds balanced right from the start of the day. And those balanced days sure are nice. This book breaks the cereal habit and offers recipes every family member will be happy with.

Most of the baked goods have a blend of white and whole wheat flours and inconspicuously reduced amounts of refined sugar. But the white sugar and flour are still there, so those of us who love our traditional baked goods will still feel the comfort.

MenuBoom particularly appreciates the author’s encouragement to get the kids cooking and helping to clean up. And we love the tips on making a lot of food and freezing it for later, and tips on packing lunches. Anything to get more meals made and eaten with ease.

It’s easy to forget to offer fun drinks to the kids, and the drink chapter has some nice ideas, especially the Mango Lassi.

Here is a recipe MenuBoom tested and will use endlessly.

Ba-Ba Banana Bread – from Real Food for Healthy Kids, reprinted with permission from William Morrow.

2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
4 very ripe bananas, coarsely mashed with a fork
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl and reserve.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and mix at low speed until blended.
3. Add the flour mixture and mix at low speed just until blended. Stir in the nuts and then scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Let the bread cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a rack, then turn out and let cool completely. Cut into twelve 2/3-inch-thick slices.

You can also view 20% more of the book at Harper Collins.

Following my own advice, I allowed Owen and Isaac, 2 years old, to help me in the kitchen, in hopes that they would be more adventurous in their eating, by shucking corn. They did a pretty good job and were very pleased with themselves. They talked about it all evening, “Shuck corn! shuck corn!” repeated about 30 times each. And they ate it off the cob, which made me a proud mommy.

Do they really get any nutitional value if the corn is completely undigested 36 hours later? I don’t really want to know the answer because I like that they are eating a vegetable.

Serve it pureed, frozen and steamed, right out of the can or directly from the cob.

One way to help your toddlers, or school aged children, become more adventurous eaters is to involve them in the preparation. I used to think Kindergarten age was a good time to get the kids helping, but I am not known for my patience so I decided to see what my two year old twins would do to my grandmothers zucchini bread recipe. Major success! Two year olds may be able to mix if you show them how to stir in slow circles. They may also be able to pour the ingredients into the bowl once you have measured properly. And always let them taste anything that won’t hurt them. They got to taste cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, flour, raw zucchini and baking soda for this project, as well a special first taste just after the loaves cooled.

Here is Florence Barlow’s recipe for Zucchini Bread.

• 3 cups flour
• 1 TBL Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 oz (1 stick) melted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the flour, powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, butter, sugar and zucchini. Mix the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Fold in the walnuts. Pour into 2 buttered and floured loaf pans and bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool before turning out of pans.

It’s zucchini season and our CSA has runneth over with zucchini. This is now Isaac’s (2 years) favorite vegetable, which I saute in a little olive oil and little minced garlic, fresh thyme and salt until the zucchini is soft. I tried to give it to him al dente, the way I like it, and there was a lot of coughing a gagging. Oops mom! Make the vegetable dish more colorful by adding corn into the saute.

The most helpful websites we have come across for food ideas, recipes and feeding information are:

Wholesome Baby Food

Wholesome Toddler Food

I think you will see that these crews do it for the love and we love them for it.

Bay Area parents, you are going to love this. The DooF (food spelled backwards) people, who are putting out a fun TV show in 2009 for children about healthy eating, is putting on a food festival for kids this Saturday at Google headquarters, called DooF-a-Palooza.

Well-known chefs, authors, nutritionists, and food purveyors will be sharing their magic with cooking demos, hands-on demos, music, face painting, games and more. It’s going to be fun, delicious and nutritions for everyone in the family and parents will get great meal ideas and techniques to help the family eat together at the table.

I wish our family could go, but vacation calls. Please let me know how it goes.

Winter squash are potato-like in consistency and require longer cooking. Kid popular squashes seem to be Butternut, Acorn and Kabocha.

Isaac’s head was bigger than his stomach, but at least he was trying the pumpkin.

Fortunately, Soren, 8 months, is more practical and takes his acorn squash mixed with boiled apples and mommy milk.

Corn Bread can be a nice change from sliced bread, and since the entire family can enjoy it, I love this idea. Keeping up with “our food” and “their food” can get tiring.

Leo, 13 months, gets corn bread stuffing “packed with pureed zucchini, chopped broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and chicken.” I bet Leo could beat Popeye at arm wrestling after eating that dinner.

For the littlest eaters, puree the canned pears in juice, or poach them yourself in simmering water. Jarred pears are an easy way to go too. It sounds like fresh pears are more appropriate after 1 year.

Miranda, 18 months, looks like she climbed up on the counter and sliced herself some wedges. Busted!

Aka, guilt free Cheetos. Pirate Booty is a quick, easy snack and brings huge smiles to little faces, demonstrated by Elizabeth, 18 months.

I am certain you all knew that your kids would eat cupcakes. If the high sugar content, or lack of nutrition puts you off, try the recipe for Celebration Cupcakes in The Petit Appetit, by Lisa Barnes. These cupcakes are sweetened with applesauce, have whole grains, and use a cream cheese frosting. My aunt Susan said it was cruel to give these to Owen and Isaac for their first birthday, but they didn’t seem to mind at all.

For those who won’t deprive their kids of the traditional cupcake right-of-passage, be sure to take pictures of these magical moments, demonstrated by Sylvie, 21 months.

Owen and Isaac started eating thin apple slices at 18 months, but Payton, 8 months, found a way to get them down sooner.

Owen and Isaac ate their first banana smashed up mixed with a little formula. Now, they are like monkeys. I have never seen them get so excited to see bananas.

However, nothing is quite as cute as Zelda going for this banana. She refuses the mashed type.

Pierson, 3 years, of Hand Picked Pumpkin, likes his Stoneyfield yogurt topped with Kashi cereal and sliced bananas. The catch, he has to be in mommy’s lap and sharing a spoon.

If plain, whole milk yogurt doesn’t work, you may have to cross over into sweetened land and try Yo Baby. It may just pave the way to a strong little yogurt eater.

Horizon makes an organic baby yogurt too that also appeals to Parker, age 3. He also likes the Trader Joe’s Cream Yogurt for dessert.

Miranda, Elizabeth, 16 months, and Parker, 3 years, love Annie’s Honey Bunny Cereal.

Cheerios seem to be a right of passage for infants starting solids. I loved watching them roll a single cheerio around in their mouth until it dissolved on their chin.

Look for organic brands of Cheerios too, like Oatios and Joe’s O’s.

Owen and Isaac, 18 months, finally got into eating Joe’s O’s with milk. Spoon and all. Ah sweet victory. I can’t wait until they can fix their own bowl of cereal, turn on some cartoons, and let mommy and daddy sleep in.

Zoe, 2.5 years, gets Cinnamon Life Cereal on special occasions. Lucky duck.

Paul and Imagin, 20 month old twins, especially like the Shell Pasta with Artichoke, Feta and Olive recipe from the San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook. 16 month old Cass takes it straight up with a little olive oil and fresh herbs, and sometimes with tomatoes and peppers.

Miranda and Elizabeth, 1 year, love pasta salad with salmon. I think might too.

Sebastian and Fletcher, 10 months, love pasta with pesto sauce.

Zoe, 2.5 years, is a minimalist and prefers a light marinara sauce. Sometimes, mom mixes in a package of frozen spinach.

Sylvie, 2 years, is eating angel hair pasta, but thinks rotini is a bit easier.

Any other favorite toppings?

When is a good time to start ice cream? Some hold off as long as possible. Other’s aren’t worried one way or another. Either way, it’ll likely be a hit. Caspian, 2 years, doesn’t seem to mind it.

Even though I am most preoccupied with getting my kids to eat anything, I also worry about the imbalances in their nutrition. Nothing is consistent with toddlers, especially the foods they willingly consume. I can see that many other parents who have submitted food recommendations to MenuBoom are equally perplexed. Thankfully, Virginia Watkins, Nutrition Educator, has agreed to answer a few questions for us and put our minds at ease.

MenuBoom – Many of the food submissions from parents on MenuBoom are from the frozen foods section of Whole Foods and Trader Joes. What role should those play in a toddler’s food repertoire?

Virginia Watkins – The most important thing regarding healthful eating is sitting at the table together. There is a great book about this called The Surprising Power of Family Meals, by Miriam Weinstein (Steerforth). Eating as a family can make your child feel safe, teach them to savor their food and give them (and you) an opportunity to connect with each other.

It’s understandable why parents reach for processed foods, and the processed frozen foods at Trader Joes and Whole Foods will have cleaner ingredients than other commercial brands, but it’s important to offer some fresh foods at the same meal as the frozen entrée.

MB – A common trend these days is to feed toddlers the “family foods.” Would you also support that trend? I have a hard time envisioning giving my 18 month olds my chipotle chili?

VW – Cooking toddler food each meal, and then adult food later, is not ideal for anyone. And it’s difficult to let a child go hungry if they don’t want to eat the family food. But once you can accept that a child may reject the food, and it’s ok if they don’t eat every meal, it will pay off in long run with less short-order cooking and healthier eating habits.

If a dish is particularly spicy, set some of the dish aside before seasoning it, and dress it up to appeal to the toddler.

MB – Should we be as worried about getting them to eat vegetables as many popular feeding trends tend to suggest? Or balanced nutrition for that matter?

VW – I don’t think you need to worry as much as popular methods would have you believe. First, prepare vegetables in a delicious way. If they don’t eat them, keep offering them. As far as hiding the veggies in other foods like brownies and chicken nuggets, I appreciate that those cookbook authors are creatively providing wholesome and delicious food for the family, but those methods can be time consuming, which is usually not practical for parents.

For balanced nutrition, think about their food intake over a three day period. If they skip the chicken one day, they can make it up with other foods, like milk and cheese, over then next two days.

MB – A lot of health trends reject refined sugar and flour. That’s hard to do with children. Where do you stand on these refined products?

VW – It was reading about childhood diabetes that inspired me to become a nutrition educator. Two big culprits leading to diabetes are refined sugar and white flour. Too much of either of these can cause insulin sensitivities, so it’s best for children and adults to limit their consumption. A good way to do this is to eat a variety of fresh foods in place of refined ones. So, instead of eating wheat products each day try other grains like quinoa. Replace white bread with corn tortillas and whole grain bread.

Your toddler’s body will process sugar better with fat and protein, so for those times when eating candy is inevitable, supplement it with a glass of milk.

MB- What services do you offer as a Nutrition Educator?

VW -I work with anyone who wants to work on overall nutrition, family nutrition and pre and post-natal nutrition. I also help with special needs like hypoglycemia, digestion, weight, allergies and energy level.

Virginia Watkins a Certified Nutrition Educator and her website is at www.vwnutrition.com.

Cookie monsters can get a early start with teething cookies. Although, many pediatricians caution parents about them in case large pieces break off in babies mouth. Find harder ones the will dissolve rather than break.

Later, oatmeal raisin cookies are easy way to give them a treat with some nutrition value.

Zoe, age three, likes popcorn for a snack. Admit it mom, you’re snacking between meals too.

Anything with a cute little name like taquitos will appeal to a toddler. Zoe, age three, likes the frozen Whole Foods variety for lunch or dinner.

If you need healthy, whole grain power options, they are out there, and a pat of butter helps the medicine go down. But buttermilk fluffles go down nicely too. Cass, 18 months, likes them with Wild Blueberry Jam.

Zoe, age three, eats her waffles “to-go” on the way to daycare in the A.M.

Some of the frozen pancakes come in mini-size with can be particularly appealing for older kids, like Parker, age 3.

Austen and Reece, 16 months, like cream cheese and blueberries or raspberries on their waffles.

Favorite Brands: Whole Foods, Lifestream and Wild Oats

Sammy and Charlie, 14 months, stumbled into this recipe for risotto at Epicurious.com and loved it. Mom loves it because, ” since it’s sticky, they are able to use spoons in little bowls – a first for them! … Next time I think I’ll add some chopped spinach with the leeks and I’ll try it with brown rice. I also used plain old jack cheese & it was still delicious.”

A wonderful thing about risotto is that you can fold in any cooked vegetables you may have around, not just the squash. And if you don’t mind cheating the age old system of making risotto, don’t worry too much about adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time and constantly stirring. Just cook it until it’s done. When you have Mario Batali over for dinner, follow the recipe.

Butternut Squash and Leek Risotto

Imogin and Paul, 2 years old, love this recipe from Pasta Harvest by Janet Fletcher. “The kids spend the whole meal saying, “Wheels! Wheels! Wheels!” while cramming their mouths full. We just started making it with frozen spinach—seems to taste exactly the same and is way quick.”

Thank you Ms. Fletcher for allowing us to use your recipe.

2 bunches of spinach (or 1 pkg frozen) to yield 1/4 lb trimmed leaves
1 1/2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 lg or 2 sm cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional Parmesan cheese for sprinkling over top
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. dried pasta

Clean and trim spinach or open pkg of frozen spinach.

Put spinach in 12-in skillet with just the water clinging to them.

Cover and cook over moderate heat until leaves are just wilted, about 3 minutes, tossing once or twice with tongs so leaves wilt evenly.

Transfer wilted leaves to a sieve and place under cold running water until cool. Drain well and squeeze between your hands to remove excess water. The spinach does not need to be thoroughly dry.

Melt butter in small skillet over low heat.

Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute to release its fragrance.

Put spinach, garlic and butter in food processor and process to chop.

Add ricotta and process until smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides of bowl once or twice.
Transfer to a bowl.

Stir in 1/2 cup of Parmesan and season generously with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of water
Transfer to a large warm bowl.

Add as much of the sauce as you want and toss to coat, adding reserved water as necessary to thin the sauce (any leftover sauce can be spread on croutons).

Servce immediately in warm dishes and sprinkle extra Parmesan on at the table.

A fantastic resource for feeding the little ones is at Lunch in a Box. I wish I had found this site 6 long months ago when the boys were eating solids full time. Even though the site is geared to food you take or send out of the house with your children, the recipes are great for home cooking too, and easy to prepare. I love that “Biggie” started taking her son’s lunches with her to the playground to be able to stay longer. I always find I am rushing home for meals, and love my new fantasy of staying out an extra hour.

I think my boys, 18 months, will love eating out of bento boxes and getting a nice variety of foods. It will also help me prepare foods ahead of time that the nanny or grandparents can feed the boys. It hard enough to me to figure out what to feed my boys, so I imagine my back up feeders are even more stumped.

The bento boxes and other very cute gear she recommends using can be purchased right from her site.

Thank you thank you thank you Lunch in a Box, it’s lovely to meet you.

Austen and Reece, 16 months, get homemade trail mix for snacks. It is made of cheerios, honey cheerios, raisins and cranberries.

White, brown or wild. Short grain, long grain, or run through the food processor. Try all variations to find your tot’s favorite.

Sylvie, 21 months, likes her white rice with basil, peas and parmesan cheese.

Fried rice can be a most of a complete meal. Zoe, 2.5 years, likes hers with vegetables and chicken.

I make gringo fried rice for my family. I just cook up 1 cup of white rice like normal. Heat up a frying pan with oil, add 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 cup of chopped vegetables, like mushrooms, broccoli and carrots. After 2 minutes, add 1 cup of cooked chicken and saute for 1 minute. Break two eggs into the pan let them cook for 2 minutes. Add the rice and pour 3 tablespoons of soy sauce onto the rice. Stir for 2 minutes. Season with pepper if needed.

Paul and Imogin, 22 months, like mom’s mini-burgers. Made thin, they are about 2 inches in diameter, and served with ketchup to dip it in.

I know it’s not a hamburger if it’s made from turkey, but Zoe, 2.5 years, can’t tell the difference yet.

Zoe, 2.5 years, eats her lima beans. Maybe lima beans are making a comeback, like Brussels sprouts.

First, you want your kids to try hot dogs, then before you know it, that’s all they are going to want to eat. But that’s because they are so good.

Zoe, 2.5 years, gets veggie and turkey dogs.