MM - Baby Days! Snackage.....

Happy Monday everyone!!!

I don't know about all of you, but snacks make the world go 'round in our household. Once Noah could eat solids, snacks were gold, in fact, this is still the case! My little guy is a super eater and loves meal time. Most of the time we are super busy and snacks fill the gaps for us. So today I thought that I would give you some "food for thought"!

Has anyone tried those yogurt bites that they have in the baby isle? Either the gerber brand or the store brand, to me they taste so weird. Now, have you tried the THRIVE yogurt bites? AMAZING!!!! In my humble opinion, the THRIVE yogurt bites melt easier in the little ones mouth, taste WAY better, and kiddos love them!! Not to mention that they are a ton cheaper! Noah's fav is Strawberry!

The thing I love most about THRIVE foods is that they make the perfect snack right out of the can! The fruits and veggies are awesome for when your little one starts to feed themselves! Try the peas, corn, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mangos, and pears! They are great starter foods and they love the crunch! Noah absolutlely loves the fruits and veggies especially while he is teethin!! The applesauce is also amazing!



What about when they get a little older and goldfish are the bomb.com? Well, I was perusing the THRIVE cookbook the other day and I found this little gem! AMAZING!!! We made a batch this weekend and they were devoured!!!

***I have to add a disclaimer. I don't have an actual picture of the ones that we made this weekend. They were gobbled up rather quickly and I forgot to take a picture in the craziness that happened this weekend. Me and Noah got some burns on saturday as i was cooking. Some hot oil splashed on the both of us. Things have been just a little out of whack ever since then. ***


Photo courtesy of THRIVE Cookbook

Here is what you will need:
1 1/4 Cups TRIVE Flour (Whole wheat or white)
1/2 Cup THRIVE Cheese Blend
1/8 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon THRIVE Salt
3 Tablespoons Oil (I use coconut oil)
1/2 Cup Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all your dry ingredients. Slowly add oil until the mixture is crumbly. SLOWLY add water until you form a tight dough.
Roll out you dough very thin (they will puff up when they bake) about 1/8 of an inch. Cut into squares or your favorite shape. Poke a hole in the top of them and transfer onto a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Cool completely before removing them from the pan.
Happy Snackin!

Noodles and Veggies

My toddler is a picky eater. When he was on baby food he ate like a champ and I often joked that he didn't discriminate when it came to food. Fast forward a year and some months later and I have a hard time getting him to eat a lot of things. One thing that he loves is spaghetti like noodles. He'll gobble up spaghetti, chow mein, and ramen. Now I'm not necessarily proud that little man eats ramen, but hey I'm human!

I had made myself some ramen one day when I was craving some comfort food, and he wanted some. I started to think about how I could make the ramen better. And I remembered one of my professors in college. He started talking one day about all of the different ways you could amp up your ramen, and the one I remembered most was adding frozen peas. So I pulled out some THRIVE and a package of ramen and in just a few minutes I had a happy customer.

You Will Need:
1 package of ramen (any flavor)
2 Tbs THRIVE peas
2 Tbs THRIVE corn
1 Tbs THRIVE carrots

Directions:
Boil 2 cups of water. Add your ramen noodles and then just toss in the veggies. Boil for 3 minutes. Periodically mix up veggies and noodles (you might want to break up the noodles before you boil them if your making it for a little one). I like to drain some of the liquid before adding my seasoning, but that's just me. If you are concerned about the sodium content (holy cow!) you can skip the packet and flavor it anyway you like, salt and pepper, a dash of low sodium soy sauce, I'm sure there are lots of options! Serve to your eagerly awaiting toddler and watch them ask for more!

Mama Mondays - Baby Food Series!

Happy Monday Mamas!!!

I am starting a new series for everybody out there how wants to make their own baby food, but just doesn't know where to start.

 I was in your shoes not too long ago, you can do this!! It is so much more simple than it seems!!! Actually let me rephrase that....It is so much more simple with THRIVE!!! I will admit that I tried to make noah his baby food from the foods that we were eating, but it did not always work so well. I was really busy (as most of us are!) and I found myself using the already prepared "back up" baby food way more often than I ever wanted to. It was just so inconvenient!!! Once I started using THRIVE, it was like the heavens opened up and the angels sang a halleluia chorus!! SO SIMPLE!!! Once I started using THRIVE foods to make my baby food....he started eating everything! By this time, he was really loving finger foods and feeding himself, but I figured out something amazing....while he hated baby food peas, he gobbled up THRIVE peas!!! YAY!!! And THRIVE foods are non-GMO and you can even get them in organic now!

So I thought that I would start right where I started. I am a firm believer in starting your kiddos on greens! I believe this for a couple reasons. First, these are the least likely to cause an allergic reaction. Second, I think that if you create a love for veggies first, they will hang on to that! Third, they are easy on the digestive system. So....I started with green beans. He actually really loved them!

 

 I just do a couple simple steps........

1. I rehydrate whatever food I am using (I used THRIVE peas)

 

2. I then cook it just long enough to make it super soft and warm!

 

 

3. I put it in my blender (or baby bullet, food processor, whatever you got!)

Can you see the little man in the background anxiously awaiting his yummy peas? That would have NEVER happend with store bought baby food!

4. For some foods you may need to add a little extra water or maybe something to thicken it, like rice or rice cereal, (depending on your little one and what they prefer, I keep it pretty thin for the beginners!) Enjoy!

 

You can do this for any veggie (or fruit if you want to do that). My THRIVE Veggie Favorites are Sweet Peas, Green Beans, Sweet Corn, Zucchini, Tomato, Spinach, Carrots, and Asparagus. Just keep in mind that it takes 7 days for your little on to develop a liking for any food. If after 7 tries they still hate it, then move on. I will post a new tip, trick, or flavor blend every 1st monday of the month....So stay tuned!

 

Dinner in 20 minutes- Easy Chicken and Rice in a Pot

This recipe is one that I use at parties (usually with the cornbread) because it is so simple.  I know that it will turn out perfect even if I am not giving it much attention since I am focusing on the party guests rather than cooking.  It is actually a go-to recipe for me on crazy nights when I don't feel like cooking, but I want to have a home-cooked meal.


Please note that this recipe makes A BUNCH since I use it at parties.  I love having left overs.  Feel free to cut it in half if you are not the type to eat meals 2 nights in a row :)  Since all of THRIVE foods are washed, chopped up and ready to go its easy to create Thrive recipes in a snap!


Easy Chicken and Rice in a Pot
2 c rice
8 c water
1 T THRIVE Butter Powder
4 T THRIVE Chicken Bouillon 
1/3 c THRIVE Carrots
1/3 c THRIVE FD Corn
1/3 c THRIVE FD Onions
1/3 c THRIVE FD Peas
1/8 c THRIVE FD Celery
2 cooked chicken breasts or FD Chicken


Throw all of the ingredients into a large pot and bring to a rolling boil.  Turn the heat down and allow to simmer with the lid on for about 20-25 minutes or until rice is cooked.  Use a fork to shred the chicken that is on top of the rice and serve.

              

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Another Time Saving  Tip

While I am on the subject of quick and easy meals, I thought I'd let everyone in on a little secret of mine that makes for quick dinners especially on nights that I don' t feel like cooking.  When I buy a large package of raw chicken breasts from the store, I put them all into a crockpot right when I get home.  I put a little seasoning on them: McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning, Chicken Bouillon, or just good old fashioned salt and pepper will do the trick. I allow these babies to cook on low for a few hours until fully cooked.  I put the chicken breast in a variety of freezer bags depending on the amounts I need for different recipes, then pop them in the freezer.  They are wonderully flavored and moist since they cook in their own broth and save tons of oven time, heat (my house gets REALLY hot in the summer so this is a HUGE bonus for me), and money since I don't have to pay to heat up my oven each time I need cooked chicken.  Don't forget to save that leftover broth.  You can either put it into a Rubbermaid container if you know that you are going to be using it within a few days, or freeze it into little ice cubes that you can just throw into soups or rice later to replace the water and add alot more flavor to the dish without the added sodium.