Mommy FTW

Did you plant your garden yet this summer?  I planted my tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, basil, and flowers about a month ago.  So far we’ve got some little tomatoes, and baby jalapenos, lots of basil, and some pretty flowers.

Cameron helps to water the plants (sort of) with a small watering can I bought from the Home and U store on Myrtle (near Vanderbuilt).  It’s the perfect size for him!  We also weed the garden sometimes in the mornings.  I pull the weeds and hand them to Cameron to throw in a small bucket we use for trash.  I think he really likes helping out!  If you have even a small spot for a garden, get one going, and get your little one involved!  Check out my previous post for some gardening and tomato planting tips.

I always struggle to get Cameron to eat his vegetables, so when I stumbled upon the fact that he loves the broccoli rabe that Maggie Brown (455 Myrtle Ave  718-643-7001) makes I was super happy.  My guilty pleasure to order from this comfort food restaurant is the fried chicken.  It comes with sides of mashed potatoes, the broccoli rabe of course, and a biscut.  Cameron enjoys snacking on all of this, and the chicken too.

Yum yum gimmie some!

Now unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get Cameron to eat the broccoli rabe that I make – but I’m happy to take any victory (especially in the vegetable department) no matter how small.  So, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill mommies, next time you order out, try Maggie Brown.  Maybe you will have a surprise veggie victory as well.

Lately Cameron has been teething up a storm with 4 molars coming in at once.  Because of this he has had an aversion to eating anything besides lots and lots of milk.  Wanting him to eat something more substantial, I’ve been giving him some veggie patty from Subway – its squishy and soft, and easy for him to eat.  This has always been my favorite sandwich offering that Subway has, and I noticed that Cameron seems to like this patty more than any other veggie patty that I’ve tried.  So, lately when I get my sandwich, I just ask for another patty on the side.

Om nom nom... Veggie Patty

Cameron will often eat the whole thing.  I looked up the ingredients online to see exactly what he was chowing on.  While it’s not the most perfect food (more sodium than I’d like) it does have a lot of protein and fiber.  If you want to see more about the ingredients, check out this page.

The other day I was hosting a playgroup at my house and one of the moms broke out some Snapea Crisps.  The babies were in a frenzy!  Cameron was double fisting them!  I knew I had to find these Snapea Crisps, and fast.  Fresh Direct came to my rescue, as usual.  I ordered 2 bags right off the bat!

Yummy Yummy in Cameron's Tummy

Now, I know these aren’t the healthiest snacks on the planet (I think the Fig Newtons are a lot better) although the first ingredient is “peas.”  But, sometimes it’s good to have a sure fire winner in your arsenal.

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!

I’ve been struggling to get Cameron to eat his vegtables lately, and I had a nice butternut squash my mom had brought me from her garden, so I thought I might as well use it and make some soup – I hoped Cameron would eat it.  But at least I knew I would enjoy it, if he didn’t. Well, it turned out to be a hit, so I thought I would share my recipe:

Tasty Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash cubed

1 apple (I didn’t bother to peel it) cubed

3 carrots cut in big chunks

2 onions cut in big chunks

2 cloves of garlic

Butter, Olive Oil

Low Sodium Chicken Stock

nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste

Here’s what it looked like before I pureed it

Saute the onions and garlic in 1 TB of olive oil and 1TB of butter on medium heat until translucent. Add the rest of the veggies and fruit, stir around and let cook another minute or so. Add enough chicken stock to cover all the veggies. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer untill everything is tender – 30 minutes or so.

Puree or use a food mill. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. I didn’t really add any salt to the soup, but instead added it to my portion as I heated that up. Also to mine I added some hot sauce.

I served Cameron his soup over some rice yesterday, and today I am going to serve it over some orzo (little pasta that looks like rice).

I’m pretty sure you could make this soup with any squash, and just throw in any veggies you have in the fridge!

It’s no secret that Cameron (and mom) love the sweet potato fries at 67 Burger here in Fort Greene.  But we can’t be eating out there all the time, plus all that frying – though delicious – isn’t good for us.  So I was trying to think of a way to make these at home, and make them a bit healthier too.  Chatting with some moms one day at the park, I mentioned that I had bought some sweet potatoes that I was going to cut them up into sticks and bake in the oven.  Someone commented that this was “awfully ambitious.”  I thought to myself that they were right, and then a light bulb went off.

My husband and I order frozen fries all the time from Fresh Direct that we bake in the oven, and I knew there were sweet potato ones too made by the same brand – they are called Alexia Sweet Potato Julienne Fries with Sea Salt.  I defrost them for a few seconds in the microwave and then finish heating them in the toaster oven.  Cameron really loves them, and they are easy for me to make a few at a time.

I know that a baby eating scrambled eggs isn’t news to most of you, but I’ve been trying for months now to get Cameron to eat them, and after being encouraged by my string cheese victory, I tried them again with some eggs I picked up at the Fort Greene Farmer’s Market this past weekend – with success!  It might help that Cameron’s nose is so stuffy he most likely can’t taste anything, but I’ll take what I can get!  I am excited about the veggie hiding possibilities….

I was hanging out with some mommies yesterday in Fort Greene Park and lamenting that now that Cameron is on puree strike I can’t seem to get him to eat his veggies.  A mommy suggested spreading some veggie puree on toast (which I will certainly try) but it inspired another idea – why not hide some veggies in something Cameron already likes?  A classic Mom trick!  I make Cameron’s grilled cheese in the toaster oven on one slice of whole wheat bread (since he isn’t a big eater).  Today I slipped some peas in there and he was more than happy to eat them.  Not the most hearty portion of vegetables, I know.  But I’ll take what I can get!

click to see more posts about What Cameron is Eating

We were in Washington DC over labor day weekend visiting Cameron’s grand parents.  Grandma is an avid gardener and gave me some butternut squash to bring back to Brooklyn.  At first I was going to puree it, but then I thought I should go the finger food route.

I roasted chunks of the squash at 425 for about 30 minutes with a little olive oil until it was golden brown and nice and soft.  I turned it once while it was in the oven.  I put it in a tupperware in the fridge and now at meal time I bring out a few chunks for Cameron to eat.  He loves it!  Roasting the squash really helped to bring out its natural sweetness.  Yum!