Breakfast Ideas

A couple great high calorie recipes!
Keep in mind that these are all adult size recipes, so you’ll probably get a couple servings out of each one.


Super Cereal (Single Serving)
7 oz Evaporated Milk
2 tbs Butter
1 ½ oz Cream of Wheat""
1 oz Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Heat evaporated milk in a saucepan. Dissolve butter and brown sugar in heated liquid. Add cereal until it thickens. Add cinnamon to taste.
544 Calories, 37g fat, 16g protein

HIGH CALORIE DRINK
1 (8 oz.) yogurt
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. honey
3 tbsp. toasted wheat germ
1 c. strawberries
1/8 tsp. almond extract
Combine all ingredients in electric blender, whip until smooth and frothy. Yield 3 cups
Total: 685 calories, 16.5g fat, 25g protein







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Toddler Foods

Lately I've had a ton of requests for ideas for toddler foods. I've compiled a list that will hopefully help you come up with ideas (obviously in our house we put fat on everything)

Fruit
Steamed vegetables
Quesadillas
Cheese
Yogurt
Beans

Mac & Cheese
Various Pastas
Chunks of Rotisserie chicken
Meatballs
Scrambled eggs
Waffles
Applesauce
Creamy peanut butter (or other nut butter)
Cream cheese/jelly on flat bread
Chicken nuggets
Gnocchi
Sweet potato fries
Grilled cheese
Boca/veggie burgers
Hamburger
Ravioli
Oatmeal/Cream of Wheat
Edamame
Tofu
Hummus
Stir Fry

Rice
Couscous
Earth’s Best Organic cheese crackers
Tater Tots
String cheese
Cereal
Thinly-sliced deli meat
Roasted veggies
Turkey burgers
Guacamole

Tofu

I'd love to hear your favorites!

Chicken Enchiladas

Sorry that posting has been so scarce, we've had 2 solid months of illness around here. I won't bore you with the details, but I hope to get better. A friend recently reminded me of how popular this recipe is... it's my mom's and it's a hit with EVERYONE!

Chicken Enchiladas

1 lb cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 cup onions, chopped
1 small can green chilies (optional)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp coriander
1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated
1 cup sour cream
salt, pepper, cayenne
corn tortillas (usually about 12)

Sautee onions in a small amount of butter or oil until translucent.
Combine chicken, onions, green chilies and cheddar cheese in a large
bowl and season with salt, pepper and cayenne (if desired). Set aside.

In saucepan, melt butter, blend in flour, add chicken broth, and cook
until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in Monterey Jack cheese and
coriander and continue to blend until cheese is melted. Stir in sour
cream. Cook until heated through, but DO NOT BOIL.

In large glass baking dish spread a little sauce on the bottom (enough
to cover). Place chicken mixture in a tortilla, roll and place in
dish, repeat until filling is gone. Pour remaining sauce over the
enchiladas (you may also reserve some to pour over after they have
baked if you like). Cover dish with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees
for about 25 minutes (until bubbly).

**Modifications**
If you like your food a little spicier you can add some spice to the
chicken mixture by adding any kind of seasoning such as cayenne, chili
powder etc, peppers (chipotle, green, etc) or hot sauce. You can also add beans

or veggies to your filling to mix it up a bit, basically the secret is the sauce.
You can also make this more casserole like by layering the items.
First a little sauce, then tortillas to cover the bottom of dish, then
filling and then more tortillas and top with sauce. Cover and bake for
25 minutes at 350 degrees.

This can also be frozen after preparation. After freezing, if thawed
bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees (covered) or 50 minutes if frozen
(until bubbly).

Leftovers!

I'm sorry that I've been MIA. I went back to work and life is just crazy around here!

Tonight I made one of my favorite Thanksgiving leftover dishes and it turned out that the toddler LOVED it!

Turkey Wild Rice Soup

Soup:

8 ounces wild rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrots
3/4 cup flour
4 cups cubed cooked turkey
2 cups light cream or milk

2 cups broth
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons crumbled dried thyme

1 teaspoon crumbled dried bay leaf


Place 4 1/2 cups lightly salted water in a medium pot. Bring the water to a boil and add the wild rice. Stir the rice and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes (in CO it's going to take about 1.5hrs) or until the rice is tender and opens.

While the rice is cooking, sauté the oil, 2 tablespoons of the butter, the onions, celery, and carrots in a large stock pot for 5 minutes. Add the flour and mix well. Pour in the broth and heat through. Add the turkey, cream, and spices. Simmer for 40 minutes. Just before serving add the cooked wild rice.

Enjoy!

Packing a punch!

With a finiky eater it's always important to pack as much nutrition as possible into each bite. I've compiled a list of foods that are great choices for your children. As always, at our house everything is doused in fat for added calories.

Nutrient-dense foods that most children are willing to eat include:

• Avocados
• Pasta
• Broccoli
• Peanut butter
• Brown rice and other grains
• Potatoes
• Cheese
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Squash
• Fish
• Sweet potatoes
• Kidney beans
• Tofu
• Yogurt

The family that eats together...

When you have a child who has trouble eating, you don't want food to become a battle. Eating together as a family is an easy and important way to teach your child the value of food. Not just as nutrition, but as a social and emotional comfort too.

I've found these 8 reasons why eating together 5-6 times a week (any meal) is so important.

Reason #1: Communication and Well-Being
Conversations during the meal provide opportunities for the family to bond, plan, connect, and learn from one another. It’s a chance to share information and news of the day, as well as give extra attention to your children and teens. Family meals foster warmth, security and love, as well as feelings of belonging. It can be a unifying experience for all.

Reason #2: Model Manners (and more)
Family mealtime is the perfect opportunity to display appropriate table manners, meal etiquette, and social skills. Keep the mood light, relaxed, and loving. Try not to instruct or criticize—lead by example.

Reason # 3: Expand Their World…One Food at a Time
Encourage your children to try new foods, without forcing, coercing, or bribing. Introduce a new food along with some of the stand-by favorites. Remember that it can take 8-10 exposures to a new food before it is accepted, so be patient. Trying a new food is like starting a new hobby. It expands your child’s knowledge, experience, and skill.

• Include foods from other cultures and countries.
• Select a new vegetable from a local farmer’s market.
• Have your child select a new recipe from a cookbook, web site, newspaper, or magazine.

Reason #4: Nourish
Meals prepared and eaten at home are usually more nutritious and healthy. They contain more fruits, vegetables, and dairy products along with additional nutrients such as fiber, calcium, vitamins A and C, and folate. Home cooked meals are usually not fried or highly salted, plus soda and sweetened beverage consumption is usually lower at the dinner table.

Reason #5: Become Self-Sufficient
Children today are missing out on the importance of knowing how to plan and prepare meals. Basic cooking, baking, and food preparation are necessities for being self-sufficient. Involve your family in menu planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation. Preschoolers can tear lettuce, cut bananas, and set the table. Older children can pour milk, peel vegetables, and mix batter. Teenagers can dice, chop, bake, and grill. Working as a team puts the meal on the table faster, as well as makes everyone more responsible and accepting of the outcome. Improved eating habits come with "ownership" of a meal.

Reason #6: Prevent Destructive Behaviors

Research shows that frequent family dinners (five or more a week), are associated with lower rates of smoking, drinking, and illegal drug use in pre-teens and teenagers when compared to families that eat together two or fewer times per week. Even as older children’s schedules get more complicated, it is important to make an effort to eat meals together. Scheduling is a must.

Reason #7: Improve Grades
Children do better in school when they eat more meals with their parents and family. Teenagers who eat dinner four or more times per week with their families have higher academic performance compared with teenagers who eat with their families two or fewer times per week.

Reason # 8: Save Money
Meals purchased away from home cost two to four times more than meals prepared at home. At present time the restaurant industry’s share of the total food dollar is more than 46%. Due to scheduling, commitments, and activities, families eat out several times each week.

(tips taken from sparkpeople.com)

Favorite Product #2

Kidco Food Mill

This food mill is such a simple thing to keep around the house. It takes up very little space and has a carrying case if you want to travel with it. It's super simple to use, you just stick the food in and grind it up and you have an instant puree!

We used it when I wanted to puree a small portion of it for Emma to eat, if she was eating our meal for dinner, not "baby food".

Definitely worth the investment!