Broccoli Cheddar Nuggets

Another great way to get your little one to eat some vegetables!! Make them look like nuggets.  You can make these into cool shapes or just square nuggets.  This is another recipe that's inspired by Wholesome Baby Food.
Fun idea:  I had a mom tell me that she does a letter of the week so they go over things that are with that letter during the week.  Just a fun way to introduce letters to your little one.  While I was making these I thought we could have a shape of the week and I could make these into that particular shape.  I am so not organized for that yet, but someday....

Ingredients
1 - 16oz package of frozen organic broccoli, cooked, drained, chopped.
1 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 eggs (High Allergen - not recommended under 1 year) 
Garlic powder - to taste
Dried Oregano - to taste

Directions
Pre-Heat oven to 375
Coat baking sheet with olive oil  *nuggets will stick if you use spray instead of olive oil
Combine all ingredients in large bowl
Make nuggets into whatever shape you would like and place on baking sheet.
Bake 15 minutes, flip nuggets, cook 10 more minutes.

Cheddar cheese and bread crumbs 

Added oregano and garlic powder 

 Had to add this cutie in there - as I'm taking pictures I look over and Ethan is wondering when the food will be ready! 

Chopped broccoli

 All mixed together! 

Made into squares 

 Complete! Golden brown! 

Substitutions: 

You could use another vegetable like spinach, carrots, anything that would chop well and form within the mixture that you little one can digest.  

*The recipe on wholesome baby food recommends using seasoned bread crumbs but I just use the organic bread crumbs and season the mixture itself.  You could use either.  

Toast - what to spread on it?

One day, my husband and I decided to add jelly to the boys toast but we thought to ourselves... probably not the best idea since there is so much sugar in regular jelly.  We went to sprouts and got an all natural fruit spread.  I couldn't find any with no sugar added for the longest time and I finally found this at Sprouts.  They had other flavors available also.  If you don't have a sprouts and really want this you can google the name and get it online for a great price!

Just an alternative to the normal toast with butter and extra sugary jelly.  I've also spread this on whole grain waffles.

* I realize there is sugar in all fruit spreads as fruit has natural sugars - this is simply a no added sugar spread.  

Fast and delicious waffles!

I don't know about you, but when my boys are hungry I don't get much of a warning.  This is why I LOVE fast and easy foods.. Do I sound like a broken record yet??

We used to buy boxes of frozen waffles, which just didn't seem cost effective or as fresh.  I was at Trader Joe's and saw they had a multigrain baking and pancake mix.  Picked it up and made a batch on Sunday for my parents who were visiting and the babies!  I made the batter according to the box and added some fresh blueberries.  Stuck it in the waffle iron and they were delish!  The boys and adults loved them!

When freezing: Put a piece of parchment paper between each waffle in a freezer ziplock.  This will keep them from sticking to each other when frozen.
Serving sizes: My boys each eat 2 triangles so they split one waffle.  If you have one child I would cut the waffle in half before freezing so it's easier when you want to toast.  My boys also had scrambled eggs with cottage cheese (one egg each) this morning.
To warm: Pop in the toaster oven!

*If you want to buy frozen box waffles then I recommend Whole Food's organic blueberry waffles.  Eggo actually also makes a whole grain waffle that comes in different flavors.  

Mini Quiches for my mini men!

Every morning starts out the same in our house.  The boys wake up at 7, nurse, and they play
.  By 8 they are ready for breakfast and they let me know it!  I usually can't cook fast enough for them!  This is why I LOVE pre-made foods!  My boys love eggs but that takes time every morning to cook them.  I decided to make some mini quiches for my mini men so I could just pop it in the microwave and it would be ready for them when they are hungry!  This eliminates lots of whining :-)

I was going to just use cheddar cheese and spinach but as I was giving them cottage cheese today I remembered a friend saying she made scrambled eggs with cottage cheese so I thought I'd add that in.  They absolutely love cottage cheese and it's a great (but messy!) snack! Oh and how awesome is it to get some veggies in their food at breakfast?!

Ingredients:
3 large organic eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup cooked chopped spinach
2 Tbsp chopped onions

As you know, I'm always trying to make things easier so a friend introduced me to the already chopped onion bags at Trader Joe's (seriously they are genius!).  I also got some frozen organic chopped spinach there.  As for the cottage cheese, I would love to use organic but the day I was at the store they only had fat free organic so I bought the regular small curd.  Haven't been able to find large curd anywhere.  If you know where to find large curd please share!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook spinach (follow instructions on bag)
Beat 3 eggs in large bowl.
Add all ingredients to eggs and stir.
Butter muffin pan (you can use butter or a spray)
Pour mixture into muffin pan (3/4 full)
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.

 Three eggs in bowl 

 Shredded Tillamook cheese! 

 Poured into greased muffin tins

Finished product! 

Twin Tested, Twin Approved! 

Possible variations:

Next time I think I'll try it with some bell peppers to see how they like it. 

I will also possibly add a couple more eggs. 

You can always add crust! 

Try it with any kind of vegetable you think you taste good!