Sweet, creamy, beautiful, delicious… there are so many words to describe these little edible jewels filled with silky puree. These bites are easy to pick up with your fingers and look gorgeous on a platter. You could even serve these at a fabulous cocktail party and make extras for the kids.
But back to the recipe. Purses?? Huh? Well, I found some gorgeous gala apples at the farmer’s market and was trying to think a fun and original recipe for a birthday party. I had also kept passing wonton wrappers at the market and wanted to play around with them. Apples are full of fiber and vitamin C and sweet potatoes are a powerhouse of nutrition especially given their abundance of beta-carotene and vitamin C and E.
These only took minutes to prepare and you can serve them warm or cool. You could also serve the puree on its own to babies over the age of 8 months.
Of course Kenya ate almost the entire recipe in one sitting (that seems to be the norm with him these days), so I highly recommend making a double batch!

Sweet Potato, Apple, Cheddar Purses (Makes 10 purses)

1/2 Sweet Potato (yams), peeled and cubed
1 Small Apple (about 1/2 Cup), peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/8 Tsp Cinnamon
10 Wonton Wrappers (found in the refrigerator section of your grocery)
*Bowl of water

1. Place the sweet potatoes in a steamer pot over boiling water and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add the apples and continue to cook another 3 minutes or until fork tender.
3. Place the apples, sweet potato, cheese and cinnamon in a food
processor and puree until smooth.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
5. Place a wonton wrapper on a clean surface. Place a tablespoon of the puree in the middle of the wonton.
6. Take the four corners of the wonton and lift them up around the
puree.
7. Pinch the wonton together in the middle, just over the puree, to seal. Moisten your fingers with a little water and pinch once more to ensure a good seal.
8. Repeat process with remaining wonton wrappers. When all 10 are formed into purses, place 3-5 at a time in the boiling water.
9. Cook for 2 minutes.
10. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate, cool and serve.

When you’re raising kids it’s funny how so many of your own personal tastes and culinary passions automatically get passed on to your little one(s. What you eat during your pregnancy will likely be what they crave. As a family we don’t eat a lot of red meat, so neither does Kenya.
I do love myself a hamburger, but most of the time I prefer to make a good turkey burger for several reasons: One, turkey meat is a lot less expensive then the high quality grass-fed beef that I would want to buy (most beef produced in this is corn-fed and since cattle do not naturally eat corn, producers must pump them full of antibiotics so the corn does not make them sick). I bought 1.5 pounds of 7% fat ground-turkey for $3.82 (Which makes the meat in this recipe come out to be a little over $1 (since I only needed less then a 1/3 of the package). While I was shopping I also checked out organic ground meat and it was over $13 for the same amount!
Turkey is packed with nutrients: B vitamins, iron and more zinc then chicken. It’s also known as a mood booster which we know every little one can use now and then.
Most of all, I love the flavor of turkey. It’s mild and when served with a piece of cheddar cheese melted between two slices of bread, it’s a perfect protein-packed meal.

Turk-wee Burgers (Make 12 Mini Burgers)

1/2 Lb 7% Fat Ground Turkey Meat
1 Tbsp Shallot, minced (you could also use onion)
1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tsp Oil
12 1 Inch Slice Cheddar Cheese
3 Slices Whole Wheat Bread

1. Place the turkey, shallot and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl and mix with your hands until throughly combined.
2. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Coat the pan with the oil.
3. Cook the burgers for 3 minutes and flip to the other side.
4. Cook the burgers an additional 2 minutes.
5. Place a slice of cheese on each burger and cover the pan for 1 minute.
6. Using a 1 inch circular cookie cutter, cut out 4 circular “buns” out of each slice of bread (I used the cap to a plastic medicine bottle-improvise!)
7. Preheat a broiler and toast until golden.
8. Serve the burgers in the “buns”.

*Holding the buns can be a tough for many toddlers. You can also just
serve the burgers without the “buns” and cut the burgers into bite size pieces.

Even when my little brother was just a wee one, he loved caesar salad. 
Now that he’s an adult, it’s no different. It’s caesar salad for him every time we 
go out to a restaurant. In honor of his undying passion for the salad’s dressing, I figured I would make an eggless version to try out on his nephew.
Something about giving raw eggs (a typical addition to caesar 
dressing) to toddlers didn’t seem to be such a great idea to me (can you say 
salmonella?!). Instead, the tofu in this recipe acts like the thickener and makes this dressing 
a creamy dip for vegetables and even fish or chicken. I 
actually wouldn’t have thought about dipping a protein into it until Kenya started taking his chicken chunks and dipping away. Something 
about the taste of this dip on different foods makes them that more 
interesting to him.

I’m sure a lot of people will look at the ingredient list below and think 
”yuck, anchovies,” but they give a salty flavor that is the key to making this dip so tasty. 
Plus, anchovies are an excellent source of vitamins B12, D and omega-3 fatty 
acids that cannot be manufactured by the body and must be obtained only 
through diet. They convert into chemicals that regulate the key 
fighters in your child’s immune system, also known as white blood cells.
I gave Kenya steamed baby potatoes with this dip and he devoured them. You could also chop up some baby lettuce and toss it with this sauce 
to make a baby caesar salad. Yummy!

Eggless Caesar Dip (Makes 1/2 Cup)

2 Tsp White Wine Vinegar
2 Tsp Lemon Juice
2 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
4 Anchovy Fillets (you can buy these canned at groceries)
3 Tbsp Soft Tofu
3 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
3 Tbsp Olive Oil

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