Strawberry Kiwi Hidden Veggie Popsicle

This recipe was a really big hit with the little one today.  I actually couldn’t get a good photo because she wanted no part in the picture taking and only wanted to eat! 

Aside from the main vitamin C powerhouses kiwi and strawberries, the base of the popsicle is actually avocado which lends a rich creaminess but whose flavor is undetectable.  Avocados are such an awesome source of nutrition, as well, especially the amazing healthy fats they contain for great skin, hair and healthy brain function.  Lastly I added a tiny bit of beet to give the popsicles that beautiful bright red color.  Not to mention beets also contain significant amounts of vitamin C as well as folates, niacin, vitamin B-5, vitamin B-6, potassium and minerals like iron, manganese and magnesium.  Pretty awesome, right?

Ingredients

1 Kiwi
¼ Avocado

4-5 Strawberries (More or less depending on size of berry and taste)

Sliver of beet root (Red, not yellow variety.  Can be steamed or raw.)

Stevia/Honey/Sugar to taste

That's it! 

Dairy-Free Orange "Creamsicle" Protein Pops

Now this one is even better than the last.  It tastes mighty authentic if I say so myself.  Again, no hard and fast recipe yet, just taste test as you go along.  Happy testing!

Orange Creamsicle Protein Pops

White Beans

Coconut Milk (creamy kind from the can or homemade, not the watery stuff in the big cartons)Orange Juice Concentrate
Orange Zest
Vanilla Extract
Stevia if needed (I let the OJ concentrate be the sweetener on this one, but you be the judge)

Whew…these are surprisingly yummy for a dairy free creamsicle.  Hope you enjoy!

Fudgy Nutella-y Popsicles

The little rock star was feeling under the weather this week and decided to refuse all solid food in favor of popsicles instead. This has happened before and so I know the routine quite well of freezing up coconut water and fruit purees to keep her hydrated and happy. But, in all reality they aren't a meal by any means and what mother's heart doesn't ache when her child doesn't have a full and happy tummy?

So, I decided to try to come up with a few recipes that would pass the test of both her sick little taste buds and also give her some energy that wasn't just sugar. I am pretty stoked about my first little creation so I decided to share before I got a chance to fiddle around and get solid and exact measurements. Bear with me :)

 Fudgy Nutella-y Popsicles

Handful of cooked, unsalted black beans

Hazelnut Milk

Cocoa Powder

Organic Sugar/Stevia/Honey (whatever sweetener you like)

Blend like crazy until it is creamy smooth and there is no trace of a bean anywhere. I did use my Vitamix for that, but I assume it would work with a regular blender too, just blend a little longer. Then pour into your mold and freeze away!

Easy peasy. The black beans make it super creamy without the need for any dairy products (still sensitive to cow milk - boooo) and are a great source of protein and fiber, too.

Toddler Salmon Sticks

I have to admit that I have no idea how so many mommy-bloggers are able to put up posts on a daily basis. I am not the most organized person I have have ever met, but you would think I would get them up at least a tad more frequently. Well, enough of that little lament. I have a few things I am pretty excited to share and so I will start with a recipe I have worked quite hard to perfect and it has turned out quite lovely - Toddler Salmon Sticks! Baby girl can hardly get enough of these, and I must say that one or two may have snuck onto my plate as well.
My inspiration came from the Happy Baby Salmon Stix with Hidden Veggies originally. They seemed great, but after reading the ingredients, salmon was SIXTH on the list and they were mostly filled with Pollack, potato and chickpea - all relatively healthy things, but misleading when you name your product Salmon Stix. In addition, they also contained both tofu and soy lecithin, as well as dairy. Baby girl hasn't yet outgrown her cow milk intolerance and I do my best to keep soy out of my home entirely for health reasons. Oh, and by the way, they are ridiculously expensive.
So here we start with a healthier and less expensive alternative...
First, gather up your ingredients.
1/4 cup (30g) peas
1/4 cup (30g) corn
1/4 cup (20g) chopped frozen spinach (thaws out to 1.5 Tbsp. of spinach)
1.5 Tbsp. (30g) pumpkin or sweet potato puree (I keep this frozen in cubes on hand at all times to pop in to random recipes, super convenient!)

1 egg white

1 6 oz. can wild Alaskan salmon. Here I want to pause to mention a few things. You are surely allowed to use a fresh filet if you would prefer to - just steam it up first. But, please just make sure that you do purchase WILD Alaskan salmon and not "Atlantic" salmon or any other farmed salmon. The whole point in using salmon in this recipe is to provide a healthy source of Omega-3s for kids and farmed salmon is notorious for dirty pesticides and other things we don't want in our kids. Along that line, also make sure the salmon you purchase is packed in a can that does not use BPA in the can lining. While most brands DO contain BPA, there are several brands that do not use BPA including Vital Choice, Henry & Lisa by Eco Fish, and all brands from Trident Seafoods (Bear & Wolf, Royal, Sea Alaska, Lily Rubenstein, Prelate, Tulip, Sno Tip, Faust). Also, there is more Omega-3 in Red Salmon, but pink salmon is significantly less expensive. And lastly, canned salmon comes either with or without bones and skin. You are welcome to purchase the kind without, but the bones are an amazing source of absorbable calcium and the skin is chock full of extra Omega-3 fatty acids. In the canning process the bones become almost gelatinous and they blend away seamlessly when everything is pureed in this recipe, so don't worry about your little one getting a bone in their mouth. This time I used the kind without bones however because they didn't have to kind with the skin/bones at the store tonight for some reason.

Next, you are going to puree your ingredients together in a food processor or blender. I usually use a mason jar with a blender base so it acts like a Magic Bullet, but without the BPA. A little tip here is to blend the veggies and egg together first and then add the salmon. I was hurried this time, and some of the veggies stuck to the side and didn't blend well. The important part is just to blend up all the bones.

Dump this all in a bowl...

And then add 1/3 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs. You can just make this yourself by blending up about 2 slices of bread that you toasted.

The consistency is going to be similar to what you are looking for in a meatball before it is cooked. It will not be stiff at all, which may seem strange but you will see why in just a bit. Take about a tablespoon of the mixture at a time and gently shape it into a "stick" shape. They are about as thick as my thumb and as long as my pinky. You will end up with about 18-20 sticks.

Pop these into the freezer to harden for about an hour, and when they are solid you will take them them out to batter them.
Dip each stick individually in a dish with 1/3 cup of a "milk" of your choice (we used almond milk) and quickly roll it in 1/2 cup more whole wheat bread crumbs. An optional addition here is to add 1/8 tsp. garlic powder, onion powder and paprika to the bread crumbs. You can also use whole wheat Panko for extra crispiness. It is important here to do these one at a time so they do not thaw out and get squishy or clump together. Return to the freezer as they are coated.

Alright, now you have a nice freezer stash of salmon sticks for your hungry toddler to eat whenever you need a quick snack or as part of a full meal. To cook, place the sticks in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 22-25 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time. If you have a toaster oven with a fan, you can place these directly on the rack and not worry about turning at all. They really crisp up amazingly with no oil frying.

I hope you enjoy these and share them as well. They are especially fun with a dipping sauce, as I have found that little ones love to dip everything. Baby girl is happy with ketchup, but some cocktail sauce or a nice aioli would be good with these too! (If you do share these, all I ask is that you make sure to give proper credit as I worked really hard on these and internet idea thievery would really make me sad) I hope to hear back from any of you that try this recipe out, especially if your little one likes them as much as mine.

For the Health of Our Children

Healthy Child, Healthy World is an organization, a book, and a movement whose aim is promoting awareness and activism for the health of children in an age where harmful chemicals are truly a real threat to their tiny bodies and their lives. They exist, as stated from their facebook page, "because more than 125 million Americans, especially children, now face an historically unprecedented rise in chronic disease and illness such as cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD / ADHD, and learning and developmental disabilities. Credible scientific evidence increasingly points to environmental hazards and household chemicals as causing and contributing to many of these diseases. As a national leader for nearly two decades, Healthy Child Healthy World has become the nation's leading organization of its kind. We help millions of parents, educators, health professionals, and the general public take action to create healthy environments and embrace green, non-toxic steps."

Healthy Child Healthy World's latest call to act on behalf of our children comes in the form of an inspirational short video that I encourage each person who has a child they love to watch. This very short film, "A Wake Up Call," has to date been viewed over 30,000 times and they would like to see that number doubled by Earth Day 2010. Join a great cause by simply helping to spread a message that may very well improve the lives of those little ones you love so much. Please check it out and pass it on to everyone you know!

gHacks

I am still thinking that gDiapers are about the most adorable things on the planet. I finally was able to put my teeny tiny baby girl in her first pair of gDiapers yesterday when we were visiting family and decided to take her for her first swim. I really thought that as little as she is, she would still be just a tad too small for her g's (which start at 8 pounds, a mark she has definately not hit yet), but they fit just fine and used without a flushie or cloth pad make really awesome swim diapers, actually. Just leave the snap-in liner so any possible poo can be caught - basically what any normal swim diaper does.

But this possibility however great, is actually not my gHack of the day. No no, there is more ladies and gentlemen.

gDiapers come in a TON of awesome colors, but not EVERY color. Plus, the orange g's are quite a bit more prolific and this happens not to be my favorite color so I really didn't want a ton of them hanging about. This brings me to our hack: Fiber-Reactive dyeing with Procion MX. Fiber Reactive dyeing is different than your run-of-the-mill RIT dye in the washing machine. It actually chemically bonds to the fibers of the fabric you want to color so that it doesn't slowly leach out in the wash or on your baby's sensitive skin. Three pants I dyed are actually pictured above. I used 058 Marine Violet over an orange g pant, 030 Fire Engine Red over another g pant, and 068 Turquoise over a vanilla g pant. (Note: I used RIT color remover on each pant prior to dyeing so the colors were true, not mixed with orange or vanilla) Here are the detailed instructions for this process as I have had several people ask me how to best go about it.

Materials

• 3 Gallons of water at 105 degrees F


• Procion MX dye (see below)


• 1 1/2 to 3 cups of non-iodized salt


• 1/4 to 1/3 cup of Soda Ash


• Synthrapol for rinsing

Directions

1. Wash fabric thoroughly to remove any dirt, grease, or sizing. It is suggested to do this with Synthrapol.


2. Fill container with 3 gallons of 105 degree water, add dye and stir


3. Add fabric


4. Add the salt in 3 equal parts at 5 minute intervals. If dyeing a deep shade of blue or a full black, use twice the amount of salt, adding it in 2 equal parts at 15 minute intervals while still dyeing the dyebath frequently.


5. Add the soda ash in 2 equal parts at 15 minute intervals while still stirring the dyebath frequently.


6. Dye for 30 to 60 minutes after the last soda addition.

Dye Quantities

(per 3 gallons water and 1 pound of fabric)

• For very pale shades: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dye, 1 1/2 cups salt, 1/4 cup soda ash


• For light shades: 1/2 to 1 tsp dye, 1 1/2 cups salt 1/4 cup soda ash


• For medium shades, most colors: 1 Tablespoon dye, 1 1/2 cups salt, 1/4 cup soda ash


• For darker shades: 2 Tbs dye, 2 cups salt, 1/4 cup soda ash


• For darkest shades: 4 Tbs dye, 3 cups salt, 1/3 cup soda ash

For really smooth and even color the fabric must be able to move freely in the dyebath. If more water is used, the dyes will be diluted and the shade will be decreased and the the dye time increased. If the dyebath is not stirred frequently, at least every 2 to 5 minutes, the fabric will react unevenly an your garment will be splotchy. To stir, use rubber gloves to remove the fabric from the water, unfold any creases and then return the item to the dyebath.

Happy dyeing!!!!

World Breastfeeding Week

Just so that everyone is aware this week (August 1-7, 2009) is World Breastfeeding Week! The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is “the greatest outreach vehicle for the breastfeeding movement, being celebrated in over 120 countries.” And to celebrate, I am learning to breastfeed!

I haven’t posted much lately here as the old adage “if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all” was ringing in my head quite loudly as I neared my delivery day. I was truly not a pleasant person to be around as I am sure most of you know, those last weeks are not comfortable ones! Anyway, my heavenly baby girl finally arrived into the world one week ago and we have been very busy working away getting this breastfeeding thing down.

The most amazing thing that I was totally unprepared for was this tiny newborn seemingly knowing how to do this on her own. Immediately after being born, I was shocked at how strong she was because as they placed her on my stomach she literally started crawling up my chest! She pushed off with her little feet and could even lift her head for a few seconds at a time. The even stranger thing is she did this when her daddy was holding her too, even though he had to gently remind her that only mommy has food as a reward for all of her effort and showmanship.

Apparently, this phenomenon is called the Breast Crawl. This amazing little feat is actually quite natural, even though I was sure that my baby must be an accomplished little genius to have this figured out so early. So, as much as I say that to celebrate WBW that we are learning to breastfeed, apparently she already knows and it is just me doing most of the learning. I would really encourage everyone reading this to follow the Breast Crawl link and check this out. You will be amazed at all that is behind this!