I’ve given Cameron pancakes before, but one day at the playground one of my mom friends whipped out some mini (silver dollar sized) ones in a container that she had kept for snack time. What a brilliant idea! It’s great for the kids because they can hold them in their hands and run around and play while they snack.
Pancakes, not just for breakfast!
I make my pancakes with the Arrowhead Mills Multigrain Pancake & Waffle Mix which is available on Fresh Direct. The directions for the pancakes don’t call for an egg, but I add one anyways. I also use melted butter instead of oil, and add a touch of honey for sweetness. I haven’t gotten too advanced yet, but I am thinking adding strawberries, blueberries, or bananas would be good, or if you want to go the hidden vegetable route, perhaps some pumpkin puree. So next time you make pancakes for breakfast, make a few extra little guys to tote around as snacks. Yum!
Another mom was telling me about her daughter’s love of Trader Joe’s Freeze Dried Mangoes, so I went and picked some up a few weeks ago. I was pleased to see that there were no other ingredients besides “mangoes” in this treat! They have the consistency of Astronaut Ice Cream (if that means anything to you guys?!) Anyways last Friday I was at Trader Joe’s again and I noticed this time they had a lot more freeze dried fruit options – I picked up some blueberries, bananas, and strawberries in edition to the mangoes. Healthy treats with a long shelf life – not too shabby!
Yum Yum, Gimmie Some!
What are your favorite toddler and baby snacks from Trader Joe’s? Leave a comment and share with us!
Today I decided to make some banana bread because I had lots of super-ripe bananas, and I didn’t think Cameron would get to them all before it was too late. I searched online for banana bread recipes and I found one that used apple sauce too (I happened to have some that I bought at the Fort Greene farmer’s market). Here’s the recipe I used, which I adapted a little bit from this one I originally found on Cooks.com (I reduced the amount of sugar, added more banana, a few spics, and omitted the nuts).
Banana Applesauce Bread
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 c. flour
4 ripe bananas (mashed)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. applesauce
Cream sugar and oil. Add eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and beat well. Add in the mashed bananas and applesauce. Add flour and baking soda, and mix until just combined. Bake in greased loaf pan, 350 degrees, 1 hour. Or if you want to use small loaf pans, or muffin tins, just bake it for less time – when a knife inserted into the bread comes out clean, it is done. Also, you will notice it pulling away from the edges of the pan slightly.
FYI – you could probably use whole wheat flour, although I would recommend doing a 1/2 and 1/2 with whole wheat and regular flour. Using 100% whole wheat flour might make the bread crumbly and hard for baby to pick up.
I hope your baby (and you) enjoy it!
Cameron loves eating organic YoBaby yogurt, and I love giving it to him – although I’m not crazy about all the sugar. The other day I was over at a friend’s house with Cameron and she told me that Fresh Direct now has YoBaby plain yogurt! I didn’t think that Cameron would go for the non-sweetened version, but he didn’t even bat an eyelash. So from now on at this house it’s YoBaby Plain from Fresh Direct, maybe with a little apple sauce or bananas stirred in.
YoBaby goodness without the sugar!
Brrr! It certainly feels like winter out – which makes me want to eat something nice and warm for breakfast. I posted awhile back about the Oatmeal that Cameron likes to eat that I make with Bananas. Now that he is drinking cow’s milk I make it with whole milk instead of water and we share it (he ends up eating most of it though!) I just thought I would highlight the post for my newer visitors in case you might have missed it. Stay warm out there!
Check it out : What’s Cameron Eating? – Oatmeal with Bananas and Cinnamon!
If you want to try something different, add applesauce, pureed pears, or pureed pumpkin to the oatmeal. It’s a great way to get some extra fruits or veggies in there. Also, oatmeal is an excellent source of protein – so this really makes a great breakfast!
As I mentioned before I am always searching for things that Cameron and I both like to eat. I’ve started making instant oatmeal for him (it seems a little less labor intensive than Cream of Wheat). I get the Arrowhead Mills Organic Original Instant Oatmeal from Fresh Direct because its just plain oatmeal with no sugar added.
Yummy Yummy!
Before I microwave it I add some mashed bananas and a dash of cinnamon. The bananas and cinnamon sweeten it up without adding any sugar – so it tastes great! The idea of adding cinnamon was given to me by Celia, who had originally suggested adding it to pureed pears or apples (also, super tasty!) I think it makes anything taste like apple pie, and totally delicious. Cameron agrees!
Giving waffles to Cameron was an idea I got from Celia. The first time he tasted them, he pumped his fists in the air and grunted. It would be an understatement to say he was excited! Plus, mom sure doesn’t mind eating them too.
I toast them lightly in the toaster oven and put a little butter on to soften them up. I like to serve them with fruit pieces – either peaches or banana – but I’m sure whatever fruit your little one likes would work.
When I was a kid my dad always used to make me cream of wheat – so it seemed like a natural choice when I was looking for things that I could eat along with Cameron. I’ve been making the Cream of Wheat with a little water and a little milk, as well as bananas, which add a natural sweetness. I add the bananas while the Cream of Wheat is still cooking – so it sort of dissolves right in there. Cameron loves it! Soon I’ll be giving it a try with some other fruits as well. Yum (for mommy and baby!)
Cameron LOVES his fruit – bananas, pears, mangoes, papayas…… keeping all his fruit in the house caused a problem – a fruit fly problem! So I went to gardeners.com and checked out their solutions. I bought the Fruit Fly Trap with a Ceramic Box and after a few days all the fruit flies were gone.
Fruit Fly Trap
For Breakfast I often give Cameron YoBaby Baby Yogurt (full fat) plus a mashed up banana and some other fruit additive – blueberries, peaches, pears….. He loves it, and I love knowing that it’s good for him!
