quick

Quick & Healthy Toddler Meals #2: Salted Edamame with Cheese and Fruit

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Salted Edamame with Cheese and Berries

Nothing in the fridge? Head to your freezer for this quick toddler meal.

This is one of my favorite quick toddler meals to throw together when I am in dire need of a trip to the food store, as I tend to always keep a bag or two of edamame in the freezer.

While I’m not a giant fan of giving soy to toddlers, edamame is such a nutritional powerhouse for a “I have nothing to feed you” kind of day, that I reserve it for those desperate times. A great balance of protein and carbs, it is also high in folate, choline, vitamin K, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and manganese. Edamame also provides each of the essential amino acids, meaning it is a complete protein food.

Another bonus: Faye loves squishing the beans out of their pods. If you have a toddler who isn’t a fan of sitting at the table, this “activity” might help to settle them down. Continue reading →

Quick & Healthy Toddler Meals: #1 Pan Seared Beef Tenderloin with Garlic Green Beans

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Beef Tenderloin with Garlic Green Beans

A healthy toddler meal in under 15 minutes

Multiple times a week I am faced with trying to create a healthy meal for Faye in less than 15 minutes. Sadly, I’ve been hesitant to share because the limited time I have before a meltdown (from hunger, exhaustion, or a combo of both) occurs doesn’t allow for me to set up for a nice photo shoot.

After coming to my senses, I decided that a non-ideal photo was a ridiculous reason to not share these ideas and recipes with other time-crunched caregivers.

Last night’s dinner is a pretty good example of what Faye gets when I am cramped for time: a well seasoned protein and a flavorful vegetable. (I limit non-nutritious carb heavy foods like pasta and rice, and sugar in every form except whole fruit is never offered.) She sits right up against the table in a Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair, a dishtowel secured around her neck with one of these clips, and serves herself from main dishes.

This is the first recipe in the series, but I’ll try my best to load it up as often as possible. Please let me know if you find recipes like these to be helpful!

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Fried Eggs with Spanish Chorizo and Potatoes

/ Tracy Gromek / 1 Comment
RaisingFayeFriedEggsChorizoPotatoA

It tastes 1000x better than it looks – and it looks pretty delicious.

I absolutely adore José Andrés’ original recipe for Huevos Fritos con Chorizo y Patatas and thought in celebration of the day of love, I would make a less spicy version for Faye so that she too, could bask in the glory of its tastiness. (The original dish doesn’t use black beans and calls for regular white potatoes.) Using sweet potatoes in place of the white potatoes definitely cuts the spiciness of the chorizo enough so Faye will eagerly scarf down her portion.

As the original and this adaptation may be the best brunch dishes that I’ve ever eaten, I highly recommend that next weekend you grab yourself some friends, some eggs and chorizo, and enjoy one of the best breakfasts in the world. You are very welcome. Continue reading →

Indian Jamaican Stew (baby-friendly!)

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RaisingFayeIndianJamaicanStewA

Warning: Your house will smell incredible when making this dish.

I came across this recipe years ago when I was searching for vegan meals that didn’t suck, and even though we now eat meat it’s been a fall and winter staple ever since. Although it takes about 45 minutes to cook, the prep time is short–especially if you buy the butternut squash peeled and cubed–and clean up is quick. Leftovers taste even better as the flavors have time to meld. It’s definitely a winner in my book. It also happens to be vegan and gluten-free, so is a fabulous dish to put together for mixed diner company.  

To make future Tracy’s life easier, I like to fill up two or three small bell jars with the stew and freeze them. That way, Faye has a healthy meal when I don’t have any time or groceries in the house. Continue reading →

Healthy Baby: Raspberry Protein and Probiotic Smoothie (with Dairy-Free version)

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RaspberryProbioticSmoothie.jpg

Nutritionally dense, fabulous tasting, quick to make, and travels well. What more do you need?

We try to head out to a park or playground to burn some energy and get some fresh air twice a day: once after breakfast and once after afternoon nap. Faye is famished after running around for an hour or two, and tends to chow down on a ton of snacks on our walk back to the house.

Faye is a phenomenal eater, but I’ve been feeling more and more like she’s been filling up on these after-play snacks rather than her main meals, making it all the more important that the snacks I do provide are healthy and nutritionally dense (which is easier said than done – especially when they need to travel well). Hence, this smoothie.  Continue reading →

Pipette with Alfredo Sauce

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Pipette with Alfredo Sauce

Faye is teething and we’re all suffering. The poor thing is exhausted, but can’t sleep. Hungry, but can’t eat. All she wants is to be held and to chew on cold items. Forget trying to put her down after she’s finally drifted to sleep; your arms are her new mattress.

Dealing with teething means that meals happened about 3 hours after the moment we realized we are starving. Tonight, it also meant that I would have to make do with what was in our cabinets and fridge for dinner. This is where this old favorite standby of mine usually pops into the forefront of my mind. With a few staple pantry ingredients and 15 minutes, we had dinner–a cheesy, delicious, easy to eat with one hand while-trying-to-calm-a-fussy-baby-with-the-other dinner–and enough leftovers for tomorrow.

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Roasted Cauliflower with Saffron, Onions, and Green Olives

/ Tracy Gromek / 2 Comments
Saffron Cauliflower

Cauliflower: broccoli’s unloved albino cousin

I rarely come across a recipe that I don’t believe needs doctoring. This is one of those recipes.

Yotam Ottolenghi is one of the most imaginative chefs when it comes to preparing vegetables. His combinations are ones I would never have thought to try, and I love him for that.

This dish is incredibly vibrant in both color and flavor. It takes 45 minutes to bake, but less than 10 mere minutes of prep time.

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Boobie Boosting: Vegan Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwiches

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On my quest for a healthier diet I’ve started to look back to my vegan days for recipes. I think it’s because–for the most part–the dishes are jammed pack with nutrients. These Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwiches are no different. Filled with calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, fiber, healthy fats, Vitamins K, A, and folate (to name a few).

They’re quite tasty, easy to make, and as a massive bonus, the three main ingredients: chickpeas, avocado & spinach are all known to boost the quality and quantity of your supply!

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Buffalo Chicken, Avocado, and Spinach Sandwiches in 10 Minutes Flat

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Buffalo Chicken, Avocado & Spinach Sandwich

It’s 1 am, the night before a gigantic snowstorm, and we have hardly anything in the house. Luckily, my husband purchased two roasted chickens from Whole Foods the other day and I only used one for the Kimchi Fried Rice with Chicken. Again, it’s 1 am. All take-out is closed; our only option is this chicken. He suggests a chicken salad sandwich, only we’re out of mayo and eggs so I can’t even make mayo if I wanted to do so. I stare longingly into the fridge looking for a spark of inspiration and BINGO! Frank’s Red Hot Sauce stares back at me, begging to be used. A few more staples and ten minutes later we had dinner. A very, very tasty dinner.

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Creamless Cream of Zucchini Soup

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CreamlessZucchiniSoup

I’ve been on a soup kick lately because it is super easy to make and gives me a giant dose of veggies. Plus, soup has been known to keep one satiated longer which is great because I’m finding that I have to choose between eating, sleeping, or catching up on some mundane house chore. Usually, catching up on the house chores wins out (quickly followed by a small creative project) and when I finally head to bed (around 2ish) I find I’m starving.

Giant bonus, Faye completely digs this soup. I let her try a bit from her own spoon and she went nuts for it.

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