Eggplants are all over the farmer’s market right now. Purple, black, white, lilac, white….the list goes on. I’m not sure why they get such a tough rap, but eggplants are one of those vegetables that seem too daunting to cook with at first glance. They’re beautiful, but what do you do with these big orbs?
Well, I could eat eggplant until I’m blue in the face. I love it in any form. Grilled, sauteed, roasted and, especially, pureed in baba ghanoosh, a dip popular in middle eastern cuisine. By modifying the traditional recipe slightly for a little one’s palate it’s a perfect choice to serve as a puree on its own for babies or as a dip with vegetables or baked pita chips for toddlers.
Eggplant can block the formation of free radicals, help control cholesterol levels and is also a wonderful source of folic acid and potassium.
This isn’t a typical baby/toddler food, but I think you’ll be shocked to see how much your little one will love it!

Baba Ghanoosh (Makes 4-6 Toddler Servings)

1 Eggplant
1 Tbsp Tahini (available at most groceries)
1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 Small Garlic Clove
2 Tbsp Plain Yogurt

1. Place the eggplant directly on a burner of your stove top. Turn the flame of the burner to medium and place the whole eggplant on the burner.
2. Cook the eggplant turning every few minutes for 20 minutes or until the eggplant skin is blistered and slightly charred.
3. Place the eggplant in a zip lock bag, seal and let steam for 10 minutes.
4. Cool and peel all the charred skin off the eggplant.
5. Cut the pulp into chunks and place in a food processor with remaining ingredients.
6. Puree and serve.

I’m always on the search for new and exciting foods that little ones can eat (especially those who have few teeth). Well, hello, muffins!!! But not the kind of muffins you buy in the market that can be loaded with with pounds of butter and sugar, I’m talking about the ones that are actually moist, delicious, full of fiber, fruit and over-all goodness.
I grew up eating my grandmother’s bran muffins which we’re heavenly. She used to tell me they were “health food”. When I recently looked at her recipe, though, I realized that a cup of sugar for 12 muffins wasn’t exactly “healthy”.
I filled these mini muffins with tons of bananas. The thick consistency of the bananas replaces the large amounts of butter and oil called for in most recipes.
And I switched the sugar to agave which is low on the glycemic index and means your little one won’t be spinning around the room after eating one (or two, as Kenya often does).

Banana Bran Muffins (Makes 24 mini muffins)

1 Cup Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Agave
1 Egg
3 Tbsp Oil
2/3 Cup Milk
3 Bananas, mashed
2 Cups Bran Flakes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease mini muffin tins.
2. Place the flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir to combine.
3. In a large bowl combine the wet ingredients. Whisk to throughly combine.
4. Pour the bran flakes into the wet mixture, stir and let them sit for 2 minutes to soften. Stir again, breaking them up a little.
5. Slowly pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and whisk until all the flour is incorporated.
6. Spoon the batter 3/4 the way up each muffin cup.
7. Bake for 18 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

I even surprised myself at how delicious this puree turned out. I had
5 people in the kitchen while I was making it and like good testers, we all took our spoons, tried a bite and in unison exclaimed, “WOW”! I don’t know whether Kenya was starving or just really loved it, but he insisted on eating an entire cup’s worth. There goes the theory that toddlers don’t like purees. Even though there’s no orange in the recipe, it totally reminded me of drinking an Orange Julius (a drink from a restaurant that I grew up near).
Since cantaloupes are 90% water, it’s nice adding banana and yogurt to give it a little extra body, rich flavor, and end up tasting like cream.
Cantaloupes are also a heavyweight when it comes to potassium and vitamin A. This is a perfect breakfast or snack food for the 10-12 month-old set or a great for dessert for a toddler (as Kenya so brilliantly demonstrated).

Cantaloupe Cream (6 Baby Servings)

1 Cup Cantaloupe, chopped
1/3 Cup Banana
1/4 Cup Yogurt

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

I’ve never been a huge fan of juices for kids because most of the important fiber and nutrients, which are in the skin and flesh of fruits and vegetables, are lost in the juicing process. Still, juice, especially for kids who have a difficult time eating fruits and vegetables can be a life saver for a parent.
Watermelons are a perfect choice because as their names states, they’re comprised 95% of water as well as being sweet, crispy, and delicious water at that.
Watermelon contains vitamin C and is also rich in lycopene and beta- carotene, which protects skins and the lining of the intestines, lungs, nose and throat.
Kenya has been eating a slice of watermelon every day since it popped back in season, but you should have seen his eyes when I opened a yellow watermelon. The texture of the yellow is a little bit more dense, but it’s still got that sweet, refreshing flavor.
This juice only take seconds to make and is a fraction on the cost of the bottled juices you get at the store which are in many cases filled with sugar and artificial flavors. Another bonus, if you buy a whole watermelon (the yellow one I bought at the farmers market was $3 and the huge red one was $5), you’ll have plenty of your fruit left over to much on!

Watermelon Juice (Makes 2 Cups)

1/4 Red or Yellow Watermelon (about 3 cups)

1. Cut the watermelon into chucks removing the rind and seeds.
2. Place in a blender and puree.
3. Slowly pour the mixture through a strainer into a bowl or large glass to remove the pulp. You may need to use a spatula or spoon in the strainer to keep the juice flowing through.
4. Serve (I like to chill it before we drink it).

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 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.