A baby post was bound to happen eventually, right? Sorry, it comes with the territory these days, but I'll try to make it quick. It's been a long (yet incredibly quick) journey from the screaming little nugget we brought home to this crazy, independent, opinionated, thoughtful, and cuddly little boy we see emerging. While it seemed as if it would never happen, he finally is really into the solids, which is fun but also disgustingly messy.
Since he loves to eat now, I have started to try to increase his iron levels. Why, you ask? Well, at the risk of boring any non-parent, and because I am pressed for time, the short version is this: babies are born with enough iron stores to support their growth until 6 months. After that they need supplementation to get the amount they need. This can be through a vitamin, or through solids. See? That wasn't too painful was it?
Anyways. He's still not really into meat yet, and since we are doing finger foods and not purees it means I have to get a bit more creative with his iron sources. There's only so much peanut butter one kid can eat... or is there. So, after much messing around, and lots of goopy, messy mealtimes, I finally came up with recipes that fulfilled my desired criteria. 1) give a substantial amount of iron, 2) have a variety of food sources and vitamins, and 3) (hopefully) won't make him constipated. My life is pretty awesome right now, can you tell?
The final goal was that these finger foods taste good, because let's be honest, if I am cooking I better be able to reap the rewards too. The result? The two recipes below. Remember, you can eat these too. I am more partial to the egg muffins but I imagine the bean cakes would taste delicious with eggs over them. Of course, another baby friendly finger food is the muffin recipe from my previous post. Bug really devours those.
Well, that's it for the baby talk today... here they are, enjoy!
Sweet Bean Cakes
Drain and rinse the beans. In a bowl, mash the banana and beans and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until combined but leave some texture. Form the mixture into little cakes and place on greased baking sheet. If the mixture seems too soft add a little flour or almond meal. Cook for 15 minutes at 350, flatten with a spatula, and cook for another 10, until only slightly squishy. Remove and let cool.
Combine all ingredients. Pour into greased muffin tins filling 2/3 full, since they rise. If desired, sprinkle some cheese on top. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly brown and set. Makes 6-8 cakes.
- 15 oz can of black beans (no salt added)
- 1 cup shredded sweet potato raw
- 1/2 cup mashed banana
- 3 oz prune puree
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Drain and rinse the beans. In a bowl, mash the banana and beans and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until combined but leave some texture. Form the mixture into little cakes and place on greased baking sheet. If the mixture seems too soft add a little flour or almond meal. Cook for 15 minutes at 350, flatten with a spatula, and cook for another 10, until only slightly squishy. Remove and let cool.
No, they are not attractive, but they taste delicious! This also makes a ton so you can freeze excess cakes for future use.
Egg and Spinach Muffins
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup steamed and diced spinach (I buy frozen then thaw and drain the liquid)
- 1/3 cup shredded sweet potato (raw)
- garlic powder, onion powder, pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients. Pour into greased muffin tins filling 2/3 full, since they rise. If desired, sprinkle some cheese on top. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly brown and set. Makes 6-8 cakes.
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