Peanut Butter and Banana Pancake sandwich

Most of the time, I like to make things from scratch but there are times when convenience triumphs! Those mornings when my baby decides to wake up an hour before his usual time, and I walk into the kitchen barely knowing what I am doing, it's helpful to be able to make something quick. Otherwise, I am fairly sure that I will mix the salt with the sugar, milk for orange juice, you get the idea. 
A couple of days ago, I made pancake batter. I say I made, but it is from a box with just a few tweaks. After a couple of days in the fridge (the batter has no eggs), the batter starts to get flat so I decided to make a sort of sandwich out of them! Think pancake and crepe meeting half way. My baby seemed to REALLY enjoy it! I hope yours does too!


What I did:
I used a gluten-free pancake mix.
Added organic sweet potato puree instead of oil.
Added a handful of raisins.
Added about a tsp. of ground cinnamon.


You'll also need:
Peanut butter spread
Coarsely mashed ripe banana


I made a bigger size pancake so that they could be a little thinner and so that I could cut into it with a cookie cutter. Once the pancake was done. I used a cookie cutter to cut two of the same shapes (in my case, a guitar) and spread peanut butter onto the pieces, then topped with the mashed banana and voila! You got a breakfast sandwich! 

Smoothies

A few days ago, I went to one of my favorite coffee houses in Okinawa. To be honest, it has become a favorite since I've had a baby. It is open very early, has great high chairs, and an awesome cabinet filled with toys, all which are rarities in this tiny paradise. 


I decided to order the house smoothie for my little one since it was made with "guanabana," a fruit that I grew up eating but that I've never seen in Okinawa or any where else for that matter.  I mixed it with water so that he could suck through the straw and he loved it. I decided to try some at home and why not add some veggies!

After all, there is a craze going on right now with green, detox, smoothies. My purpose for it, of course, is not detox but I like to add a source of iron whenever I can. There are a million possibilities and I'm sure, I'll post a few of those in the weeks to come. 


Here's what I did:


1/2 cup of fresh organic spinach
1 ripe banana
4 oz of organic  vanilla baby yogurt (you could just use plain vanilla yogurt)
1/2 cup of frozen organic strawberries
1/3 cup of frozen organic blueberries
3 oz of 100% pineapple juice (you could also use water)
*I made it rather thin so that he could drink it out of his straw sippy but you could add more or less juice to reach desire consistency. 
Blend it all together and there you are!

Quesadillas

Another great way to make sure your baby or toddler is getting his veggies without them really noticing, is quesadillas! This recipe is also very easy and you can add many, many things. Here is one version of it:


Ingredients:
Two flour tortillas
1/4 of an avocado
A tbsp of chopped tomatoes
Shredded cheese
Shredded chicken breast, cooked (great wait to use left overs) or ground chicken
Chopped cilantro (optional)


On one of the flour tortillas, spread the avocado (think butter). Layer the remaining ingredients on top of the avocado and top with another tortilla. Place on a hot pan at medium heat. Cook until golden brown on each side and the cheese is melted (about 3 minutes on each side). Cut into small bites for your little one! Buen Provecho! 

Croissant French Toast Bites

When I lived in San Diego, I used to love a town named "Encinitas." It is kind of a hippie, beach-bum town that just made me feel relaxed. My brain seemed to take in the scenery and immediately create a Bob Marley soundtrack to go along with it. I'm sure just now, your favorite Marley song popped in your head and you can feel it, right? The breeze, the salty smell, the birds chirping, and "let's get together and feel alright...." Okay back to reality...Oh wait, I live in an island, this is reality but, I digress. 
 Any way, in this town, there is a coffee house that serves french toast but instead of french bread, they use croissants. I had them once and I was hooked! I had not given my baby french toast because one of the main ingredients is milk, however, upon further investigation, I found that I could bake with milk, just not give him milk by itself. I encourage you to do your own research.  Here's the recipe:


Ingredients:
Croissant (a day old is preferable)
One ripe banana, mashed
A tsp of orange peel
A tsp of ground cinnamon
A tsp of vanilla extract
One egg yolk (if your baby is one or over, you can use the whole egg)
A 1/2 cup of whole milk 


In a bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together.  Meanwhile, set your pan on the stove top at medium heat. Add a bit of butter, cooking spray, or whatever you usually use when cooking (I prefer butter). Place the croissant (I place one half at a time) in the mixture and let stand for a minute or so, making sure it is absorbing the liquid. Cook until golden brown on each side (about 3 minutes on each side). Cut into small bite size pieces for your little one. Enjoy! 

Spinach and Mozzarella Pizza

For those of us who sometimes have to force feed "greens" to our babies, I've found this recipe works great! It has the added benefit of being rich in iron and parent friendly. For the dough, I used an easy, no knead pizza dough recipe (not my own) but you can use your favorite dough recipe, dough from your local pizzeria or even from the freezer section of your grocery store. If your toddler is one who likes to pick the greens out, try putting the mozzarella on top of the veggies rather than the reverse. This recipes has endless possibilities. I've added chopped up broccoli, shavings of asparagus, etc.

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic

1 tbs. of olive oil

Pizza dough

Mozzarella Cheese (as much or as little as you'd like)

Chopped tomatoes (optional)

Basil (optional)

A bag of spinach

Bake your pizza dough until almost done but not completely. You can even cook it just half way. In a large pan, rub a garlic clove, cut side down (a little hard to explain but there's a picture below). Add the olive oil and when it is hot, add the spinach. Cook until wilted. Add the spinach, tomatoes (if you choose) and mozzarella to your half-way baked dough. Place back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown. You can sprinkle with a bit of salt and fresh basil if desired.

Pineapple Cinnamon Puree

This one is an easy one. Remember, however, to wait the recommended time to introduce your baby to pineapple as it is pretty acidic and can upset his/her stomach.


Ingredients:
One fresh pineapple cut into cubes.
2 stars of anise or ground anise (optional)
About a tsp. of cinnamon
A stick of cinnamon
About a 1 cup of water


In a small pan, add all of the ingredients. Bring water, pineapple, etc. to a simmer and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until you can start smelling the spices. Remove from heat and let cool. Discard anise seeds and cinnamon stick. Using a blender or food processor, blend the ingredients together and voila! There you have it! 

My friends ask me often whether or not I've uploaded new recipes. My answer, is usually "no" followed by a handful of excuses. As I drove home from the grocery store today, I was thinking about what I would post and why hadn't I done it in such a while. The truth is, none of the hundreds of excuses that I came up with matter, so I won't bore you with those =). What matters is whether or not I stick to this idea of blogging new recipes and hopefully I will! 


Obviously, my baby has been eating and all kinds of new stuff! I hope you enjoy the new recipes!