Feed Me, Mama!

Like I've mentioned before, Tot is a picky eater. And, I mean, that's saying it lightly because I'm her Mama. Half the things she tries she either crumples in her hand or spits out. She's also fiercely independent and determined to feed herself from her Munchkin snack box. Currently, she's obsessed with mac n'cheese and grilled cheese - but, I can't have her eating that for forever.

I don't know about you Mama's, but baking is such a therapeutic exercise for me. With work stress at an all time high, I needed an escape this past weekend so I baked! I have to say the results were quite successful. For Tot, I made banana oat pancakes, and gluten-free banana cookies. For the Adults, I made chocolate chip cookies on our salt block from Williams Sonoma! I was that Mama that desperately wanted to make homemade organic baby food for her, but let's get real - I just never found the time. Instead, I've taken ownership of making her little homemade snacks I can pack for her lunch bag at school so she can mix up her grilled cheese with something a little more scrumptiously healthy. Tot does attend a nut-free school and I've found most of these recipes work for that peanut-less environment with just a touch of tweaking.

What kind of homemade snacks do you make your little ones? Do you have any recipes you'd like to share? Comment below - we'd love to hear from you all.

Banana Oat Pancakes (makes approx. 10)

4 ripe bananas
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup of quick oats
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation
1. Mash bananas in a large bowl until smooth. Mix in eggs and vanilla until well combined, then mix in oats and cinnamon.
2. Heat a skillet to medium and add in a scoop* of the pancake batter. Smooth out to form an even layer. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until you start to see bubbles releasing from the top of the batter. Flip and cook until the other side is golden brown, about to 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Garnish your pancakes with your favorite toppings (we did sliced bananas)
4. Serve with light maple syrup or let cool and pack away in a ziploc container for a snack at school
5. Enjoy!

*Note: use 1/2 cup for scooping the batter to yield thicker pancakes; use 1/3 cup to yield smaller pancakes.

Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbA8me8Z3Qo

Banana Bites

1 medium banana
1/3 cup of peanut butter (we use nut-free butter from Whole Foods)
1/3 cup of organic apple juice
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/3 cup dry oats
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Mix first five (5) ingredients very well in a bowl
2. Add whole wheat flour, oats, and baking soda
3. Blend all of the remaining ingredients into the dry mixture
4. Spray cookie sheet with coconut oil
5. Drop by teaspoon full onto cookie sheet and flatten with the back of spoon
6. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes
7. Enjoy!

Link - http://www.superhealthykids.com/banana-cookies/

Strawberry Popsicles

I recently purchased (on Amazon) the Nuby Garden Fresh Fruitsicle Frozen Pop Tray from Amazon (link here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KFP6NHO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1) that I use with this recipe.

Makes 6 large popsicles (I cut portions in half to utilize the Nuby Tray)

3 cups fresh (or frozen, but thawed) strawberries hulled and halved

1/2 cup agave syrup (can substitute honey)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor (we use our Vitamin) to mix the strawberries, honey, and lemon juice

2. Process and pulse until smooth

3. Pour puree into molds and put in freezer. Freeze until solid (at least 4 hours)

4. Enjoy! 

If you find a different fresh fruit, feel free to throw it in. We like to mix pineapple and watermelon to give Tot a variety of fruit to slurp by the pool. If you're interested in our adult snacks we made (salt block chocolate chip cookies) - let me know and I'll share that fun recipe too!