The hardest part about making dips that are both flavorful and delicious is that they’re usually packed with mayonnaise and sour cream which are heavenly, but not very healthy — certainly not anywhere as nutritious as a rich avocado, which is a great substitute.
Avocados have the creamiest consistency for making a dip. They’re packed with the antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamins C and E. Even better is that you can add to this recipe virtually any fresh herb you can find. I have cilantro, dill and garlic chives growing like weeds in my garden, so that’s the combination that I used, but now that Kenya seems to want to eat this dip at every meal, next week it could be basil, parsley and tarragon.
No matter what vegetable you are serving, it will be a perfect match with this dip.

Avocado Herb Dip (Makes 1/2 Cup)

1 Avocado, peeled and pitted
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise or Vegannaise
2 Tbsp Plain Yogurt
2 Tbsp Herbs (I used cilantro, dill and garlic chives and a pinch of marjoram, but you could use tarragon, basil, parsley, or anything you enjoy)
1 1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
2. Serve.

Kenya’s up to his 5th word and it is the cutest thing. Every time he sees something out of the oven or if the water is on, he looks at me with big eyes and says “hot, hot, hot”. When I handed him his first pizza bagel, he could see the cheese just out of the oven bubbling and of course he uttered, “Hot”!
I made 12 of these and Kenya enjoyed them so much, he even wanted to eat them at breakfast.
These pizzas are super simple to prepare and incredibly economical. Why bother buying pizza sauce for $3 when you can make it for less then $1. The best part is that you can refrigerate all the ingredients separately and have them on hand for 2 weeks. These are guaranteed winners for little ones!

Mini Whole Wheat Pizzas (Makes 12 Mini Pizzas)

1/2 Cup Tomato Sauce
1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 Tsp Italian Herbs
6 Mini Whole Wheat Bagels, split in half
3/4 Cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Stir the tomato sauce and herbs in a bowl to combine.
3. Place the bagels on a cookie sheet and coat each one with sauce.
4. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the mozzarella.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Cool and serve.

One of my first food memories was my mother making quiche. Yes, quiche, the dish that most notably was in the title of a 1982 bestselling satirical book about masculinity. Quiche was my mother’s tried and true recipe that worked for dinner parties, neighborhood picnics, luncheons and more. Whether she told me this or not, I always thought of quiche as sophisticated food. When she let me have a piece, I felt like one of the grown ups. I’m pretty sure that Kenya could care less about being anything but a little baby right now, but one thing is true: he loves these crustless quiches.
Packed with tiny pieces of vegetables and cheese, these protein packed morsels only take minutes to prepare. I just toss all of the ingredients in the food processor, whiz it up and pour it into the molds. Really, it’s that easy.
These are perfect for any meal of the day or even a little ones birthday party, so they can pretend to be one of the adults.

Mini Vegetarian Quiches (Makes 12 Mini Quiche)

2 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup Swiss Cheese, shredded
1 Zucchini, diced or shredded
1/2 Cup Spinach
1/4 Cup Cottage Cheese
1/4 Cup Whole Milk

1. Preheat over to 325 degrees.
2. Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until throughly combined and vegetables are in small pieces.
3. Spray or grease mini muffin tins with oil or butter.
4. Pour a tablespoon of mixture into each muffin cup. It should fill each cup about 3/4 way to the top.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
6. Cool and serve.

I have been waiting since LAST summer to make this 
recipe. Gazpacho is one of my husband’s favorite foods (he begs me to make it even 
in the depth of winter but the thought of making it when tomatoes are not in season goes against everything I stand for!) and it is the quintessential summer soup — totally cool, light and refreshing. I was hoping and praying that 
it would be one of Kenya’s too. Well, I just made some and thank goodness he loves it.
The thing about gazpacho is that you really only want to make it when tomatoes are at their peak — fresh and ripe they taste sweet, beautifully acidic, tangy and juicy. To me, planning to make gazpacho is exactly what makes the farmers’ market so great: vegetables at their peak of perfection at a fraction of the cost of 
grocery store produce. I bought 25 heirloom tomatoes for $5! Yes, they 
were seconds, meaning they were extremely ripe with the occasional 
bruise, but when you’re making gazpacho, who cares!? The taste is as remarkable as you can imagine a tomato right off the vine would be 25 for $5!!!
This soup is a bounty of nutrition. Tomatoes are packed with beta-
carotene, vitamin C and E and lycopene, which research suggests can 
prevent certain types of cancer. With so many vegetables in this 
colorful puree, it’s like eating a big ol’ bowl of health. I filled a little cup for Kenya to hold himself. He sat in his high chair slurping away and in between every bite he looked up at me and smiled.

Gazpacho (10-12 Toddler Servings-freeze 1/2)

4 Tomatoes (make sure they’re ripe)
1 Large Garlic Clove
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1/4 Red or Maui Onion, chopped
1/2 Bell Pepper, red, yellow or orange
1/2 Cup Tomato Juice (I use R.W. Knudsen Organic Juice)
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth (you want tiny pieces of vegetables to remain, but small enough for little ones to swallow).
2. Serve (it’s delicious served chilled too).

I think one of the most fun but also scary things about cooking is diving 
into recipes of different cultures. I have to admit, when I walk 
into Thai or Indian grocery stores I feel totally lost. There are so 
many interesting ingredients that I’ve never used before. I can’t tell 
you how many times in the midst of my test-cooking I’ve opened a little jar of something like red 
curry paste, eaten a spoonful and immediately had my face turn beet 
red, sweat starting to drip down my face. But after a bit of experimentation, you can find a whole new world of delicious flavors to expand your and your little one’s palette.
This chicken cur-wee is a perfect introduction for toddlers to try a 
dish that has a tiny bit of heat, but no overwhelming spice. The flavors 
are incredibly complex, yet it only takes minutes to prepare. The 
green curry paste is made of herbs such as lemongrass, galangal and 
green chiles. When it’s infused into the coconut milk, it takes on a 
sweet flavor which is perfumed with flavorful herbs. The best part is 
that you can buy it at most grocery stores, so you don’t need to go to 
a specialty store to pick it up.
I wasn’t sure how Kenya would react to this dish, but he loved 
it, I mean he LOVED it!


Chicken Cur-wee (10 Toddler Servings)

1 Cup Coconut Milk
2 Tsp Green Curry Paste
1 Cup Potatoes (I used Yukon Gold), cut in bite size cubes
1/4 Cup Onion, diced
1/3 Cup Carrots, diced
1/3 Cup Peas (you can use frozen peas)
1 Chicken Breast, cut in bite size pieces

1. Place the coconut milk and curry paste in a medium saute pan over high heat. Whisk them together until combined.
2. Add the potatoes, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover.
3. Cook for 4 minutes.
4. Add the onion and carrots, cover and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Add the chicken, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes or until all the vegetables are fork tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
6. Cool and serve.

We have the most fantastic next door neighbors. Not only are they the 
most easygoing and kind people, their yard is essentially a farm. I get a 
phone call at least once a week asking me to come outside so they can 
hand me a grocery bag full of sweet peaches, bushels of delicious beets or in the latest 
case, a bag of perfectly gorgeous Fuji apples. The apples were like little 
gems, sweet and crunchy, not too big or small. For me, there is 
nothing like fruits and vegetables that you grow in your yard. This way you can be absolutely sure that there aren’t any harmful sprays or pesticides being 
used. My neighbors grow their food like this and so do I.
Apples are not only a rich in vitamin C and an excellent source of 
fiber, they’re also a favorite of Kenya’s. When he’s teething and 
doesn’t feel like having to chew, this recipe comes in handy because the apples get really soft. It is 
a real winner with him. When the apple bakes, the flavor intensifies giving it 
almost a caramel flavor. A perfect dessert for your little one.

Baked Apple with Cinnamon and Raisin (1-2 Toddler Servings or 3 Baby
Servings)

*recipe can be doubled, tripled and so on

1 Apple, cored
6 Raisins
1 Tbsp Apple Juice (you could substitute another tbsp of water for the
juice)
1 Tbsp Water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the apple in a small baking dish.
3. Fill the center the the apple with raisins.
4. Mix the water and apple juice and pour over the center of the apple.
5. Bake for 55 minutes or until apple is fork tender.
6. Cool, peel off the skin and serve (alternatively, you could peel
the skin and puree the apple and raisins for babies 8-12 months old).

When it comes to cooking for baby, chicken has to be one of the most versatile foods available. It’s quick and easy to cook and the results are usually tender and delicious. The only “hard” part is what to do for a marinade to give your chicken added flavor.
Most marinades on the market have ingredients that are packed with sugar and salty sauces. I opt to make my own.
Now that our garden is flourishing with herbs, I thought a simple lemon herb marinade would be perfect this time of year. Feel free to use any herb that you love such as rosemary, cilantro, dill, thyme or tarragon.
This recipe only took me minutes to prepare. Even better, you can double or even triple it and feed the entire family. I cut Kenya’s into bite size pieces which he loved so he could feed himself. Such a big boy!

Lemon Herb Chicken Bites (Makes 1 Breast or 1 Cup of Bites)

1 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tsp Rosemary, minced OR 1 Tbsp Cilantro, minced
1 Chicken Breast

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees,
2. Whisk first 4 ingredients in a small oven proof dish.
3. Coat the chicken breast in the lemon herb mixture.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. Cool, cut into bites size pieces and serve.

When I tell you that Kenya took the bowl of this carrot ginger dip and tried to drink it, that gives you some idea about how much he LOVED it.
I get so many emails from parents saying that their little ones won’t eat vegetables. In my experience if you give them something to dip their vegetables in, magically they want to give it a try. I’m not saying this will work with every child, but it’s worked for many people I’ve suggested it to.
Taking the vegetable pieces and dipping them in a variety of different sauces makes eating a fun activity. One of my readers even suggested coming up with little names for the veggies like “trees” for broccoli, “logs” for carrots and “sticks” for beans. You can also try eating veggies with your child. Even better, at our farmers’ market you can buy all kinds of different fruits and vegetables by the piece, so I don’t have to spend tons of money before figuring out which his favorites will be.
I’ll be posting more dips in the future and I guarantee this will be a good start for little ones that usually have an aversion to vegetables.

Carrot, Ginger, Miso Dip (Makes 1/2 Cup)

1 Large Carrot, finely grated (about 1/2 Cup)
1 Tbsp Ginger, minced
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Yellow or White Miso
3 Tbsp Canola or Vegetable Oil

1. Place the first 4 ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree.
2. Drizzle in the oil while machine is running until puree is thick and creamy.
3. Serve.