Easy Spinach and Hummus Pinwheels with Feta ~ Toddler Friendly

This week I learned a few new things about my toddler daughter:

1. At her 15 mo appointment (though she is almost 16 mos now), her head has grown into the 95th percentile while her height has plummeted to the 28th percentile (from 67th in February), and her weight remains in the high-60s percentile - so my assessment of this information is that my daughter is a small, walking rectangle with a large noggin'

2. Mirabelle only acknowledges what I'm saying when it doesn't conflict with what she wishes to do

3. Standing on her chair is only of interest when mommy isn't looking

4. Mirabelle and I are both similar in regards to our easily heightened temper with minimal external influence

5. Pigs sounds like "kuh-kuh", clocks sound like "tick tock, tick tock, tick tock *infinity*", dogs sounds like "urh, urh", cows sounds like "*very dramatic pursing of lips* MOOOOOOO", and cats sounds like "keh keh"

6. Mirabelle is never too full for coconut ice cream or fruit, she is only too full to finish her vegetables

7. 16 month old babies are very strong. It takes skill and strength to extract anything from their tightly wrapped little claws

8. When asked to show you her ears, she will first poke you in the eye and then happily point at her ears. This is because first and foremost she is rude.

9. On the other hand, Mirabelle is very loving and adores giving kisses...mainly to inanimate objects, but kisses nonetheless

10. Bugs amaze her, and I'm trying to not allow my distaste for the 6-10 legged creatures to influence her child wonderment, because that lasts so briefly

So! Now on to the easy peasy weeknight recipe that can be completed in less than 45 minutes with or without a whiny baby tugging at your leg, climbing on chairs, throwing books around the room, stepping on the cat's tail, and sliding your very nice decorative pillow across the floor (sorta like how a mop would clean said floor) ~ yes, that easy.

Recipe Deets

1 sheet thawed puff pastry
3 cups spinach
2 ounces feta cheese (half of the standard 4 ounce container you find anywhere)
1/2 cup hummus of choice (I used roasted garlic)
1/2 diced white onion
1 clove of minced garlic
salt to taste
Greased muffin tin

Preheat oven to 400°

- In a small pan sautee onion, garlic, and spinach (add a pinch of sea salt) until wilted - set aside when done
- Roll out one piece of puff pastry
- Spread hummus evenly (leave a bit of space on each side)
- Transfer spinach and place on top of hummus
- Sprinkle with feta (leave a bit extra for when we top of the pinwheels)
- Semi-tightly roll the pastry and brush with a bit of oil
- Cut into 8 pieces
- Sprinkle some feta on top
- On each pinwheel take the loose piece of pastry and fold it under one side of the pinwheel (this will be the bottom for when you place it in the muffin tin)
- Place the pinwheels in the muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes

Voila! A little Greek inspired, hassle-free, toddler-approved dinner!

RawTill4 ~ 2 Months + Toddler Din Successes

Happy 2 (dos, deux, zwei, liang <---thank you lady I work with...etc.) Months RawTill4!! Though...shit feels longer, just saying    >_>

Either way, I started this journey the beginning of April as a week long experiment to see how my body would adjust to a drastic change regarding how I consume food. At the time I was drinking at least two coffees a day (acid make me no happy), salads for breakfast/lunch + balsamic vinegar + steamed vegetables, salty snacks up the...up the...the you know...up and stuffs...pretty much my waking moments were composed of thinking about what I wanted to eat while simultaneously counting calories and doing crash diets in order to consume said calories. It was sort of sad actually! I was eating healthy by society's standards but my body was telling me this wasn't working, I was burying myself in a world of packaged goods in the form of salad dressing, coffee creamer, salty snacks, and well, that's about it...but that's all it took for this post-baby making metabolism!

So! After one week on RawTill4 I realized I generally felt better, my portions were back in control, and I no longer craved ridiculous amounts of salt. It just felt...good.

Buzzzzz. Beeeeeep. 2 months have passed. Hi, hey! I've finally semi-accepted my weight/physique sorta/kinda. I've lost a couple of inches and I feel great in regards to energy most of the time (B12 vitamins in use!), so summer is approaching and I dug out the 2-piece for a spin. Felt good. It's odd, how the female brain operates. My husband is my biggest supporter. He met me almost 6 years ago when I was at my heaviest (5'2; 135-140 lbs) and he loved every part of me but it didn't matter. Along  with my own self-deprication, I heard opinions from outside sources stating things like "she will become a marshmallow" or "Rick likes them big" ...haha...as I can look back and laugh, a few statements like those can really hurt, whether or not we like to admit it. And due to the fact that I had struggled with weight paranoia issues for quite some time, these opinions only fueled my general distaste in my physical form. Currently, I'm still 5'2 (yea, apparently vertical growth past 8th grade was not in the books) and remain between 115-118 lbs, but the difference can be found in the lack of bloat. While I'd love to lose another 5-10 lbs, I'm content feeling as though I'm doing everything dietary that I can possibly do. And that is a first for me.

Below are examples throughout my 2 month RawTill4 (carbs at night) food-related experiments

Besides shoving whole food items into my face, I've tried to broaden my toddler daughter's pallet with vegetarian post-work tired brain meal ideas:

What I've learned:

1. Children enjoy any vegetables that are roasted. Any.
2. Children will consume cheese regardless if dairy resides within it.
3. Children consume fruit morning, day, and night because it's sugar and sugar tastes good.
4. Make "mashed" anything and small humans will eat it.
5. Broccoli is great in soufflé form, steamed form not so much.
6. String beans are great, but toddlers with 6 teef have a hard time consuming them, so they tear, suck, and eat the garlic/butter from each piece.
7. Quinoa is awesome. Anytime.
8. Toddlers love different flavors, so add them! Paprika, curry powder, garlic, thyme, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, cardamom etc. DO it.

Photo One: Baked paprika/sea salt carrots and cauliflower, baked butternut squash, sweet potato mash, and fruit

Photo Two: Quinoa sweet potato parm burger, butternut squash fries, and fruit

Photo Three: Broccoli souffle, carrot coins, butternut squash, garlic butter string beans, and fruit

Lesson to be learned: don't limit your tiny person's diet...they get it, food is great in many forms. Whole foods are great in all forms.

Now on to the summer and VegFest in 2-days! More on that next week...

Quick Rice and Bean Fritters ~ Toddler Friendly

It's Monday, it's 5pm, and you just arrived home to a *very* hungry toddler. She's following you with her slow, exaggerated, not-quite-steady gate and she...wants...food...now. Not in 5 minutes...N.O.W. As her little square head looks up at you, you think "Is this my life for the next few years? Attempting to navigate the insatiable hunger of a very small, but very hungry person? NO!" I refuse to be controlled by two tiny hands yanking on my leg, accompanied by a tiny mouth repeating "ra ra...ra ra...RA RA" (i.e., ma ma) over and over and over. So I lean down and calming say, "Mirabelle, we do not whine in this house" as I quickly give her some empty plastic containers and a couple pots and pans to keep her occupied for 10 minutes...ugh...10 minutes, what can I make in that amount of time??

YES! Leftovers...yet not. Tricky tricky mommy >:D

Recipe Deets
1 cup pre-cooked, leftover rice (I used sprouted brown rice)
1 can refried vegetarian beans
2 tbsp flour of choice
1 eggy (or flax eggy if vegan)
a handful of panko breading (optional)
ANY SEASONING YOU WAAANT! (I used sea salt, thyme, and parsley)
1 tbsp coconut oil for frying

-  In a large bowl combine all ingredients except the oil
- Mold into small patties about the size of your palm (if they don't hold, add more flour)
- Heat oil on medium/high in a large skillet
- Add patties and cook on each side for about 5 minutes until golden brown
- serve with homemade tahini sauce, ketchup, sriracha, anything!

Done and done! Now go get yourself that much deserved cocktail!

Protein Blast! Curried Coconut Quinoa with Black Beans ~ Toddler Approved!

Let's just get this out in the open: this meal was inspired by diaper rash. Not just any ol diaper rash, but the very painful, tears in my daughter's eyes kind of rash that makes diaper changes horrible for both parents and baby. So yea, no good at all! I did a little research and realized that citrus and acidic foods may worsen a rash on a little baby's bottom, and while Mirabelle has no known allergies, she had been consuming mass amounts of strawberries, kiwi, raspberries, and tomatoes. Poor little bean.

So! I immediately came up with a meal using ingredients I already had on hand (minus the avocado) that would be dense in nutrients and low in rash-causing acids!

Recipe Deets
1 cup uncooked  organic quinoa
1 can organic black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth (or water)
1/2 diced white onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp (or more to taste) curry powder
1 tbsp organic coconut oil

Side Suggestions
baked butternut squash
avocado (lightly salted with pink himalayan  sea salt)

- In a medium sauce pan, bring to a boil vegetable broth (or water), quinoa, and curry powder. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until broth/water is absorbed (approximately 15 minutes)
- Once quinoa is cooked, remove from heat and set aside
- In a large frying pan, heat coconut oil for 30 seconds on medium heat
- Add onion and fry for a few minutes until soft
- Add black beans and garlic, fry for a couple minutes
- Lastly, add quinoa and stir all ingredients together
- Fry everything for another 5 minutes and feel free to add a bit more coconut oil for moisture

Serve hot for adults and warm for baby mouths! I added baked butternut squash (cut, skin, and cube fresh butternut squash. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and bake for 15 minutes in an oven at 450°) and lightly salted avocado. My 1 year old went crazy, and my husband spooned mouthful after mouthful of quinoa directly from the pan because he was "tasting" it ha...ha

Now go enjoy something that's not gonna put a rash on your bottom!

Easy Vegetarian Cranberry Sausage Hand Pies ~ Toddler Friendly!

Preparing meals for my tiny human can be tough with a full-time career, weekly exercise routine, daily errands, and just plain ol being tired! So every once in a while I'd like to make something that takes less than an hour and doesn't involve a million ingredients!

So while I'm not a huge fan of using puff pastry, I must admit it made this recipe super easy peasy and the soft dough is perfect for little toddler gums!

Recipe Deets
1 package Gimme Lean sausage
1 package puff pastry (2 sheets)
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
1 egg (beaten)
handful of chopped scallions
a few pinches of freshly chopped sage (or dried if not available)
a small spoon full of mince garlic (fresh or jar)

Preheat oven to 350
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl
- Roll out pastry sheets
- Divide sausage mixture in half and form in the shape of a log (as long as the puff pastry sheet)
- Place each "log" in the middle of both sheets, then roll the sheet and seal in mixture
- Cut each pastry log into 4 even pieces and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- With a scissor, cut little "slits" in the top (see photos above) and brush some egg or egg white on the top of each piece
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden

Serve warm for adults and cooled for sensitive little mouthes

YUMAROO!