Shared Toddler and Mama Meals - Pizza Biscuits

The three of us have been under the weather the last few days and I have had close to zero motivation to make food. It doesn't help that I don't even feel like eating. Well, except for the occasional overdose of plain carbs... plain pasta, plain waffles, plain crackers. Since I have responsibilities (i.e. Deano Bravo) I dragged myself to the kitchen and turned on the oven not knowing what I was going to make with the only food that sounded good to eat- biscuits. After staring at the pantry for too long, I grabbed a few items out as well as a muffin pan and threw it all in the oven. What came out of the oven was a perfect storm of yumminess that Deano and I ate very enthusiastically.

Ingredients:
1 package of Grands Flaky Biscuits
3 tablespoons of tomato sauce
1 cup of shredded cheese
1/4 cup of sliced olives
Ground Flax Seeds and Chia Seeds (optional)
Any other toppings you'd like- this is all I had on hand.

To Make:
- Preheat oven to 350*, spray muffin pan with non-stick spray
- Pull a biscuit in half and shape into bottom of each spot.
- Top with a little tomato sauce, flax seeds & chia seeds, followed by your toppings.
- Bake for 13 minutes.
- Let cool for a few minutes and then serve with sides. We had yogurt and avocado.

What are some of your go-to easy recipes for when you're under the weather? ♥

Shared Toddler and Mama Meals - Rainbow Buffet

Trying to figure out what solids a little one will eat can be tricky. There are times when it is downright frustrating.

Why don't you like pancakes? They are so good!

While I was trying to loose baby weight, I would eat five small meals a day and time them with my son's meals. One of my favorite meals was (and still is) extremely simple: a smorgasbord of lots of different foods that require little or no preparation. The key with this, though, is to not over do it and eat the rainbow.

The two biggest benefits to it for me are that it can be a very healthy & balanced meal and it ends up being more appealing and appetizing because of the colors. A delicious and happy sight.

Some of the foods I use for this meal:

Red: tomatoes, pepperoni, salami, raspberries, ketchup
Orange: Oranges, cheddar cheese, bell pepper, carrots
Yellow: tamagoyaki, corn, bananas
Green: Pickles, avocado, spinach,
Blue: blueberries,
Purple: blackberries, jelly
Pink: ham, tuna, salmon
Black: olives
White: turkey, cottage cheese, Baby Bell cheese, rice, mayo dish
Brown: Little Smokies, bread, crackers, granola, hummus, peanut butter

I keep the meal balanced by having one portion of protein, one portion of carbs, and how ever many portions I want of fruits and veggies. For example:

- 3-4 cherry tomatoes, 3 baby carrots, a big fork full of pickle slices, olives, one Baby Bell cheese, and 6 Little Smokies.

- One serving size of sliced salami, nectarine slices, couple slices of cheese, stuffed cherry peppers, small handful of blueberries, half an avocado, and a serving size of crackers.

- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (cut into quarters), bananas, small bowl of spinach with olive oil & red pepper flakes, and carrots.

It may not seem like a lot, but once you plate it up and eat it, you'll find that you really are satiated and contently full.

This works for little ones too. At least it has for my son, and my nieces and nephews. Chopped up into tiny bite size pieces, arranged in a rainbow, shapes, or little designs. My son eats especially well when I make this for lunch. The food is easy for him to pick up and consume all by his independent self.

Do you ever have meals like this? What is your favorite items to use? Does your kiddo have a favorite?

Ketchup Art - Meal Time Fun

Getting a toddler to sit down and eat can be a challenge. I've heard this from every other parent I've talked to. So why was I surprised when I started having troubles getting our little man to eat? No clue, but I'm not going to waste time worrying about it. My strategy most times with him is: "quick, distract him!" In this case my go-to distraction is ketchup pictures.

During one trip to Daiso in Seattle, I ran across a small condiment bottle that didn't have a whole in the top made yet. This allowed me to cut the hole as small as I wanted, which would be perfect for decorating bento's. Or meals in general. It all started with me making "ketchup stars". I would sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and draw out shapes as I sang. Dean was really into it, so I started doing it more often.

When Twinkle Twinkle Little Star didn't work, I started singing another one of his favorites, Boku Wa Kuma, and started to draw bears. The combination of singing and him watching me draw the designs seemed to get him interested in eating. Most of the time it's only for a few bites, but I feel like even then I'm still winning the fight. His excitement for the ketchup designs has inspired me to get more creative with it.

Thomas the Train, for instance, has a black smoke stack made of sliced olives, and white smoke made of cottage cheese. The face is so terrible, but Dean thought it was the best thing ever. I was barely able to snap the picture before he dug into his food. That's a big win in my book!

Trixie from Toy Story is a current favorite character of his right now, so she's popped up a few times on plates. Drawing dinosaurs is hard! Luckily my kid isn't a critic. He even recognized BB-8 despite the botched "thumbs up". Buzz Lightyear and Peppa Pig were both successes as well. This is something I can see myself continuing for as long as he likes it. It doesn't take much time to do, it's actually pretty fun, and it seems to get him to eat with less hassle.

Some other pictures I've thought of doing in the future are a line of trains (Thomas, Percy & Gordon), Itsy Bitsy Spider, a tractor, a big red London bus (of Tractor and Bus fame).

Are there any little tricks that you do to help get difficult eaters to eat?

Shared Toddler and Mama Meals - Eggs and Toast Breakfast

Scrambled eggs has become my go-to for a quick and hearty breakfast. Pop some bread in the toaster, chop up whatever greens that are on hand to mix in, pour a glass of almond milk or Green Machine and it's a super balanced meal.

Spinach is what I put in my eggs most of the time, but this morning we didn't have any so I used green onions. As a little extra somethin'-somethin' for me, I added a little Kewpie Mayonnaise and habanaro salt on top of my eggs. On my toast I added butter, a tiny bit of peanut butter, then some jelly. In all honesty, I could probably eat three pieces of toast each morning, haha!

Dean doesn't really care what I add to the eggs as long as he has ketchup stars and "may-mays", which is normal mayo, not mama's Kewpie Mayo (there's no way I'm sharing that with anyone). Every meal I put a different number of stars on his plate which we count together before he digs in. The stars are made by a mini condiment bottle I snagged at Daiso.

Toast is something Dean hasn't been really big on, so I decided to cut his up and add a dollop of jelly for him to use as dip. This little trick worked and he ate his entire piece.

Avacados are a staple around here also, but since I haven't been able to find any good ones at the store, I served Dean some cottage cheese. This isn't something I typically buy since I have a dairy allergy, but since Dean eats it really well at my parent's house I figured I should get him some.

Scrambled Eggs and Toast
ingredients:
3 eggs
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 green onions
pepper
ground flax seed
chia seed
habanero sald (for my portion)
2 slices of bread
butter
peanut butter
jelly

to make:
Mix eggs, cheese, onion, pepper, and seeds together in a bowl. In a small pan add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, when the oil is hot add the egg mixture and cook until scrambled.

Add bread to toaster and toast. I enjoy my toast brown and crispy. Add toppings to one piece and cut the second piece into toddler bite size pieces.

Plate everything, add toppings (habanero salt, ketchup stars, mayo, and jelly). and enjoy. Oh and don't forget to count the stars!

What sorts of foods do you like sharing?

Shared Toddler and Mama Meals - Ham Sandwich Pasta

Who's got time to shower and eat when the baby/toddler needs changed and fed, dishes need done, errands need ran, laundry needs to be moved over, the little guy needs to be changed and fed again? Really- there's just so much to do sometimes (read: frequently) feeding myself takes the backseat. I don't know about you but I become a cranky mama bear if I don't eat. I focus on everything else that needs done so I get surprise attacked by the bear, and that's when I know it's time to put on the breaks and eat.

I wanted to come up with a way to feed myself along with my little man that helps me keep that mama bear at bay. Since Dean is eating "people food" I'm taking the opportunity to expand his food pallet by feeding him meals that I enjoy. Now I want to share these recipes we've enjoyed together with you. They're quick, easy, and healthy. Instead of cramming them all into this one post, I plan on spreading them out over a couple posts.

This particular recipe came about because I had a hankering for a ham sandwich but I didn't have any bread.  I found some pasta in the pantry so I just went with it.

HAM AND CHEESE PASTA

ingredients:
1 cup of pasta salad noodles
3-4 slices of sandwhich ham slices, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cheddar cheese
Kewpie Mayo (we prefer this particular Japanese mayo, but use whatever you like)
A sprinkle of ground flax seeds
A dash of spicy habanero salt (for my portion)

to make:
Cook pasta according to package.  Rinse the pasta to cool it off.  Combine all ingrediants but the spicy salt.  Add however much mayo you feel comfortable using.  Mix and serve.  Make sure to add the spicy salt to your portion.

Most of Deans meals are accompanied by half an avocado.  This particular day we didn't have one, so we had olives.

What sort of meals do you share with your kiddo(s)?  Have you ever tried turning a sandwich into a pasta dish?  Let me know what you think or what ideas you have!