Big Flavors for Little Palates: Muffin Tin Meals

Lunches frustrate me.  I get bored, the food gets monotonous, and the kids get whiny.  Let's also factor in that creating a fresh, healthy lunch in the middle of the day requires us to stop our fun activities and focus on food.  They're hungry and impatient.  I am too.

So last summer when I finally stumbled across Muffin Tin Mom, I embraced the idea to invigorate our lunchtime routines.  Armed with two pans of 6-cup muffin tins (undoubtedly inherited from my grandma), I made my first "Dippy Lunch" for Andrew.  He loved it!  These little ones love to dip things and mommas love when they eat lots of healthy vegetables...so it was win-win for everyone!

Left: Andrew's Dippy Lunch
Right: Anna's Munchy Lunch

How to Make a Dippy Lunch for Hungry Munchkins

1. Start with a muffin tin.  I like to use the ones with 6 cups, but you can use anything!  Find fun shapes top fit the season, fill 12 cups with smaller portions, or fill some mini-tins with tiny portions. 
2. Choose your dip.  For the lunch pictured above, we used Ranch dressing.  Other favorites include hummus and yogurt.
3. Chop your veggies.  This is a great time to introduce a new veggie because the presentation is fun and they might be distracted.  I like to make a salad for my own lunch and then use those same ingredients in the muffin tin to make a "deconstructed salad" for Andrew.  To make it friendly for older babies & younger toddlers, simply steam those veggies to soften them a bit.
4. Add something fun.  For this lunch, it was an assortment of yummy berries.  Other ideas include yogurt, apple slices, pitas, or wheat crackers.

Muffin tins can add some flair to any meal, including breakfast! My kids were happy to take a break from our typical rotation of oatmeal, granola, pancakes, oatmeal, granola....


Valentine's Day Breakfast

On this particular morning, they both enjoyed blueberries, bananas, and whole wheat cinnamon raisin toast. Andrew's toast was cut into sticks and Anna's as cut into bite-size quares.

One of our great go-to lunches in a muffin tin is:

• Hummus on whole wheat pitas (Andrew gets triangles; Anna has small bite-size squares)
• Carrots (Sticks for Andrew and steamed chunks for Anna)
• Apples (Slices for Andrew and steamed chucks for Anna)

A few reasons why I love making meals (especially lunches) in muffin tins:

• Variety - We all get stuck in food ruts.  The kids get bored eating the same foods in the same ways and we get bored when we continue to make the same things for them to eat.  Lunch is an especially difficult meal for me to execute with the kids, but the tins get my creative juices flowing again.
• Serving sizes - Each cup is somewhere near a serving size for a toddler, give or take a little.  This forces you to think earnestly about the fruit & veggies that are going into those little tummies.
• Quick preparation - You can easily line up a couple muffin tins to drop in little lunch bites.  This is a great place to use up the last bits of fruit, veggies, cheese, & yogurt that are hanging out in the refrigerator.  Does it seem too small for a full meal?  That little piece of leftover chicken might be the perfect size to fill a muffin cup!
• Holiday themes - Add it to your holiday festivities by purchasing the silicon muffin tins in shapes: hearts, stars, shamrocks, trees, etc.  (My Valentine's Day heart pans came from the dollar bins at Target for only $2.50 each.)

The next time you are tired of your regular meal routines with the little ones, try using a muffin tin.  You might be surprised how your creative juices begin to flow!

Winter Storm Food

There is a big snow and ice storm inching its way across the Midwest right now.  My lights were flickering earlier in the evening, prompting us to search out extra flashlights and candles.  My husband asked if we should brew some coffee and keep it warm in a thermal carafe for the morning. 

Mike was half-kidding about the coffee, but it got me thinking...If the power goes out in the middle of the night, I would LOVE to have a nice hot meal to feed the kids for breakfast.  There would be enough stress trying to figure out our Plan B: packing to stay at my parents' house (they have a generator), manually opening the garage door, ensuring our pipes don't freeze, navigating the icy driveway, etc. 

Food is always on my mind, so here is my suggestion for an easy, warm meal just in case the power goes out:

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal in the Crock Pot

Ingredients
4 cups milk/water (I like to use 2 cups soymilk and 2 cups water)
2 cups oats
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Mix all ingredients together in the Crock Pot and turn on low.  That's it.  So easy, right?

Please note...I am not a big fan of oatmeal made in the Crock Pot.  However, I absolutely love my recipe for "Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal" (we eat it all the time!) and I love the idea of a nice hot breakfast in the middle of a nasty ice storm. 

I hope this note finds you warm, safe, and nourished!

Try It, You’ll Like It (Big Flavors for Little Palates)

Anna’s Food at 7 Months


Anna is busy exploring some chunkier textures in her food and even trying to get those pesky little Cheerios into her mouth. So cute!


Here is what a typical day looks like for Anna this summer:

Breakfast: Oatmeal, oatmeal, oatmeal! We eat a lot of oatmeal in this house, we really do. I usually serve about 1/3 cup of oatmeal with a sprinkle of cinnamon or freshly grated nutmeg. Sometimes I add a couple tablespoons of applesauce (all natural, no added sugar) or minced banana for variety. I haven’t been cooking the oatmeal, but rather just letting the milk soak into the oats.

In this picture, Anna is feeding herself some Cream of Wheat. I make a batch of the cereal (or use some leftovers), pour it into a shallow container, and refrigerate. When it is time to serve, I simply cut it into ¼” cubes, warm it slightly, and serve.

Lunch: I can’t resist sharing fresh, local summer fruit with Anna. Branstool Peaches are at the peak of freshness, so there isn’t a good reason not to eat many each day! We have the amazing opportunity of eating peaches at lunchtime that were harvested that morning. I usually cut and peel the peach, then dice it into tiny pieces. Most days I also mix in one plum that has been prepared in the same way. She loves it!

Dinner: Vegetables are usually the focus of our dinners. Anna can eat most vegetables now, but we tend to eat a lot of sweet potatoes, peas, zucchini, yellow squash, acorn squash, butternut squash (oh yes, we love our squash too!), carrots, broccoli, and potatoes. I try to incorporate veggies from our main dinner into Anna’s meal as much as possible. Brown rice often makes an appearance with the veggies; although she likes the flavor, I think she gets frustrated when the grains get stuck in her gums so I try to make it creamy by giving it a quick puree in my Magic Bullet.

Drinking: The sippy cup still feels a little forced, but she likes to sip water from a small, open cup. I am grateful that she is still nursing well and plan to continue until she is one year old.

Try It, You’ll Like It (Big Flavors for Little Palates)

Anna's First Foods

* Disclaimer: This is just a little bit about our journey and simply my opinions. Please consult your doctor about how and when to introduce solid foods to your baby.

My baby girl is getting ready for the wide world of solid foods. I can’t believe she is growing so fast! This means that my kitchen is about to get messier (is that even possible?!) and my food processor will once again take center stage on my counter.

I choose to make our own baby food for several reasons:
• I have complete control over what goes into each bite.
• The food retains more nutrients.
• The flavor is truer to the original food than what you find in most jars.
• I cook from scratch for the rest of my family, so it is only natural that I want to do it for my littlest eater as well.

This weekend I made several starter foods for her that are simple flavors I can enhance.
• Sweet Potatoes – It’s a great first food! Once she is established with it, then I will add a little bit of ground cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg as well.
• Peas – I pureed half of the peas with some fresh mint for a bright flavor and a little variety.
• Carrots – Ground ginger is nice to pair with the carrots.
• Peaches – Fresh summer peaches can’t be beat!

These recipes will keep Anna busy over the next couple of weeks while I plot my next round of pureeing for her.

Here is my basic process for pureeing fruits and vegetables for baby food:
• Wash the fruit/vegetable
• Peel if necessary (I peel carrots prior to cooking but wait to remove most other skins until after the food is cooked. The skins will be easier to remove and will help the food to retain flavor and nutrients.)
• Cut into similar-sized pieces so they cook at the same rate
• Steam until soft. I prefer to use a steam basket on the stove and never use the microwave.
• Allow the food to cool until it is comfortable to touch; remove outer skins if necessary.
• Puree in a food processor to desired consistency. I make it silky smooth in the beginning and then a little thicker as they grow and develop.
• I prefer to use the snack-size bags and freeze them flat to allow for easy storage. You might also choose to freeze in those handy baby food freezer trays, plastic freezer jars, or larger zip-top freezer bags.
• Label the bag with the contents and date it is being frozen. You might also add the amount in the bag (1 cup, 4 ounces, etc.) if that is important to you.
• Use within 3 months for best results.
• To use, place the bag in the refrigerator and allow to thaw overnight.

Babies are armed with lots of taste buds that are ready to try new flavors! Introduce them slowly to allow baby time to adjust and to observe for allergic reactions, but don’t be afraid to introduce herbs and spices along with your fruits and vegetables.

Originally published June 7, 2010