Sunday, September 26, 2010

From Fruits and Vegetables to Baked Goods

So Owen does not like cooked/cut up/raw/ fresh fruits and vegetables. I either have to feed them to him in baby food form or turn them into baked goods. I've been experimenting lately with different recipes trying to find ones that the whole family will eat (after all, one baby can only eat so many bland zucchini muffins!) and that don't sacrifice nutrition for taste (I still want what I bake to be as healthy as possible). I figure, maybe I'm not alone and some of you wouldn't mind trying some of these recipes yourselves so I thought I would share. Here are the top 5 so far:
1.Whole Grain Banana Pecan Muffins Of course, these probably have the most sugar out of all the recipes, but they are really, really good, and as many of you know, ourbestbites.com rarely disappoints.

2. Whole Wheat Sweet Potato MuffinsI followed some of the substitution recommendations in the comments and so will probably continue to play around with the recipe. But I substituted applesauce for oil and only did 1/2 cup of honey. These have no sugar sugar and sweet potatoes go really well in baked goods. Who knew?

3. Jen's Zucchini BreadA friend from college, who also happens to be a mother of 5 and a dietitian, came up with this healthier version of zucchini bread and Owen gobbles it up. My husband thought it was a little too "sponge cakey" but I liked the consistency but I'm sure you could, once again, play around with the recipe if you felt like it.

4. Cheesy Corn Fritters
I actually bought a book called "Healthy Meals for Babies and Toddlers" that this recipe is from and Owen loves these, but the other kids--not so much. I'm sure I could doctor them up for the other kids, but I like just the general idea of adding different veggies and/or fruits to pancakes.

1 egg
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup canned corn kernels or frozen corn
4 TBSP grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp snipped fresh chives
2 tsp sunflower oil for pan-frying
Put the egg and milk into a small bowl and beat with a fork. Add the flour and baking powder and beat until smooth. Stir in the corn, cheese, and chives. Heat a little sunflower oil in a skillet and drop either teaspoonfuls or tablespoonfuls of the batter into it. Cook for 1-2 min. on each side, until the fritters are puffed up and golden. Drain on paper towels and serve.

5. Scrambled Egg TaquitosOwen cannot get enough of scrambled eggs, they are a favorite right now. So I like to make these because the whole family loves them and Owen gets veggies and herbs in his scrambled eggs (I pretty much just give him the filling).

Do any of you have recipes for fruits and/or veggies that are on the healthier side that have been a hit with your family? I'm always looking to expand the ol' recipe folder :)

2 comments:

mintifresh said...

Look at you go! Nice!

Jenn said...

those banana muffins were so tasty--you can make those for me anytime :)