For the love of...convenience!

Obviously, I believe that whenever humanly possible you should make you and your family’s meals and snack from scratch. But, there are always those days that we are just too busy, too tired or just don’t feel well enough, to cook. For those occasions, there are some pretty healthy (and tasty) convenience foods out there, but beware there are many foods on the shelves that boast being healthy but really are loaded with junk. Here are some of E and I’s favorite convenience foods.

Plum Organics Tot Bistro Bowls

These bowls are pretty new, they just hit the shelves at Target the other day and I can’t find them online anywhere but E loves them (and so does mama)! She has tried the beef, mushroom and barley as well as the chicken, corn and quinoa bowls and has devoured both. These are great protein and vitamin rich meals, relatively low in sodium for those days you just don’t have the time or resources to make lunch. Quinoa is a grain loaded with protein, the essential amino acid lysine, and B vitamins, iron and magnesium. Barley, also a cereal grain, has a good amount of protein, iron and vitamin B6. The bowls also have organic vegetables and organic proteins making them a pretty healthy and satisfying meal. They sell for $3.29 at Target, which is pretty pricey, which is fine since these are only used as back up.

Stonyfield Farms YoToddler Yogurt         

Stonyfield Farms is by far my favorite yogurt and it’s E’s too. Stonyfield Farms is located in Londonderry, NH and is a completely organic, free range farm. Their cows are fed organic feed and have plenty of access to outdoor farm land. YoToddler Yogurt comes in four flavors, pumpkin banana, strawberry banana, raspberry pear and blueberry. The yogurts are great for breakfast or a snack since they contain added fruits and vegetables as well as oatmeal to make for a heartier meal. Yogurt is an awesome source of calcium and protein and children with lactose intolerances can usually eat yogurt since it contains healthful bacteria that love to snack on lactose in the body making it easier to digest. You can get YoToddler Yogurt at pretty much any supermarket.

Ella’s Kitchen Apple Ginger Cookies

I wish I lived in the United Kingdom and had access to all of Ella’s Kitchen’s baby products because they are awesome. When E was on baby foods and we were out I would feed her their organic fruit and vegetable mixes. They have really fun flavors like curries and stews and also make a line of snacks. E’s favorite Ella’s snack is their Organic Apple Ginger Cookies. Made with wheat and brown rice flour and sweetened by apples and spices these cookies aren’t really amazing for you but really aren’t all that bad. These are usually a treat if she is being good at a store or something. These can be bought at Target or online.

Van’s Whole Grain Waffles

Frozen waffles are the ultimate convenience food. You pop them in the toaster and a few minutes later you’ve got breakfast. For E, her favorite waffles are Van’s All Natural Whole Wheat Berry Waffles. Two waffles boast 6 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein. These waffles contain an 8 whole grain mix containing whole wheat, oats, quinoa, amaranth, barley, millet and dark rye flours. These waffles are really yummy and a good start to the day. A smear of peanut butter will up the protein and make your waffles taste like peanut butter and jelly! You can buy Van’s Waffles at Whole Foods and select supermarkets.

Energy Boosting Lunch for Mamas (and papas, and grandparents too!)

Taking care of child is no easy task. Whether you are a stay at home mom, a working mom or a student you need to be eating the right things to keep your body going all day long, (and sometimes night long!) Since school has started I have tried to pack a healthy, energy boosting lunch to keep my mind working and my energy up throughout my classes and for when I get home. I have been hooked on this cold whole wheat couscous salad. It’s tart, sweet and so light and fresh tasting you will feel like you’re indulging when really you’re eating a lunch filled with fiber, whole grains, protein, antioxidants and vitamins. You’re little one may enjoy it as well. Here’s what you’ll need:

Couscous Salad shown as a side to a pita sandwich made with hummus and veggies!

Cold Whole Wheat Couscous Salad

• 1 cup whole wheat couscous
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp. julienned sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil (or oil tomatoes are packed in)
• 2 tsps. fresh basil, chiffonade
• ½ cup shredded cooked chicken or cubed tofu, chilled
• ¼ cup fresh mozzarella, diced

• Drizzle of balsamic reduction, to taste

                To make balsamic reduction, in a small sauce pan reduce a cup of balsamic vinegar over medium high heat until it reaches a thick syrup consistency. Keeps pretty much forever.

• Salt and pepper, to taste

In a small bowl combine couscous, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

 Bring vegetable broth to a boil. Pour broth over couscous mixture, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 5 minutes. Uncover the couscous after 5 min and fluff with a fork. Let cool for 10-15 minutes then mix in the chicken or tofu and mozzarella. Drizzle with balsamic reduction to taste. Let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hour. For added crunch and protein feel free to throw in some flax seeds, pine nuts or even toasted sunflower seeds.

Hidden Kale Pasta

Kale, otherwise known as nature’s super food, is one of the most nutritious (and delicious) greens you can eat. It rates a perfect score of 1,000 on Whole Foods Andi Score for nutrient dense foods. Not only is it a good source of dietary fiber, protein and iron, it’s also a great source of vitamin k, vitamin c, potassium and calcium. Vegan diets could greatly benefit from the consumption of dark leafy greens such as kale, collards, mustard greens and broccoli in order to take in an adequate amount of calcium since they don’t eat dairy products.

So what’s the problem you might ask? It’s green! I am very lucky in the sense that little E will eat most foods, especially fruits and vegetables but a lot of kids cry and scream at the sight of a green vegetable in front of them. What’s my solution? Make it into pasta! Kids love pasta, and may even welcome the fun colors on their plate! Here’s my recipe for homemade Kale pasta:

Makes one pound of pasta:

1 cup of whole wheat flour

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup ground flax seed or wheat germ

3 eggs

2 cups of lightly packed kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

Bring a small amount of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Throw in the kale and cook until wilted. Drain the kale, rinse under cold water, place kale in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze all the excess liquid out. Place the kale and 3 eggs into the blender and pulse until incorporated. (There will still be tiny pieces of kale, it won’t be completely smooth) Add in the flours and flax seed and pulse until the pasta turns into a ball. If it feels sticky add a little more flour until your dough ball is smooth, but don’t over pulse!

Flatten out the dough and run through your pasta maker at the thickest setting a few times until smooth. Then gradually adjust the setting, thinner and thinner until you reach your desired thickness. Finally, cut the pasta into whichever shape you like. (I did pappardelle, but feel free to do spaghetti, angel hair or linguini. Or even more fun, keep the pasta in sheets, fill with a mixture of ricotta, egg, nutmeg, salt, pepper and parmesan and make tortellini or ravioli!)

Your fresh pasta, will cook in boiling salted water in about 3-4 minutes depending on how thick you cut your pasta. I served mine with a sauce of olive oil, oregano, red pepper flake, garlic, fresh diced tomato and basil. Enjoy!

You can also substitute the kale for spinach or Swiss chard.

Vegetarian Families

I wouldn’t say we are a vegetarian household but we are pretty conscience about how much meat and animal products we eat. More and more families are either completely eliminating or decreasing their intake of animal by-products. Things like meatless Monday and vegan Thursday are being practiced in many homes across America. Not only is adapting a vegetarian lifestyle healthier for you, it’s also ecofriendly. Raising and slaughtering animals for food uses up valuable resources and pollutes the air and water increasing our carbon foot print.

E and I eat vegetarian about five out of the seven days a week and we don’t miss the meat. The challenging part to being vegetarian is getting enough protein. Protein is made up of building blocks called amino acids. The amino acids that the body can’t produce are called essential amino acids. Essential amino acids come from the food we eat. Meat, poultry, eggs and soy all contain complete proteins which are made up of all nine essential amino acids. Incomplete proteins such as vegetables and legumes need to be eaten together in order to make them complete. Here are some examples for your family, baby or toddler:

Baby:

• Pureed lentils with barley cereal
• Hummus made with tahini
• Pureed black beans with sunflower seed butter

Parents/Toddler:

• Peanut butter on whole grain toast
• Lentil vegetable soup with barley and kale
• Black Bean and quinoa salad
• Spinach Salad with walnuts and chickpeas
• Hummus with whole wheat pita

Other vitamins that vegetarian families need to make sure they are getting enough of are B12, calcium (if your family is vegan) and iron. Foods rich in these vitamins are calcium fortified soy, almond or rice milk, fortified cereals, dark leafy greens such as kale, collards, mustard and Swiss chard, broccoli, tempeh, edamame, lentils etc.

Remember, just because you or your family is vegetarian or vegan doesn’t necessarily mean you are living a healthy lifestyle. You still need to watch out for saturated fats, bad cholesterol and foods that are calorie dense. 

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding and are vegetarian/vegan make sure you are getting enough nutrients for you and baby and that you continue to take your prenatal vitamins. Make sure you let your obgyn and pediatricians know that you plan to be vegetarian throughout your pregnancy as well as bring up your child vegetarian. That way they can ensure everyone is getting enough of what they need.

Below is one of my favorite vegetarian recipes. It is dairy and gluten free and very nutritious!

Lentil and Kale Soup

Serves 6 for a starter; Serves 4 for dinner

2 tsp. olive oil

1 cup onions, small dice

½ cup carrots, small dice

½ cup celery, small dice

¾ cup tomatoes, small dice

14 oz. green lentils, picked over*

2 quarts homemade or low sodium vegetable broth (look for gluten free versions if necessary)

4 cups of kale, chopped small

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or deep pot and add onions,celery and carrots. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and let sweat for 10 min stirring pretty constantly. Add tomatoes, lentils and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 35-45 minutes until lentils are soft and barely falling apart. Add the kale to the soup and let simmer until wilted. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and serve.This can also be pureed and given to baby!

To make this soup even heartier you can add diced potatoes when the tomatoes go in or serve with a whole grain baguette.

*Lentils, as well as other dried legumes should be spread out on a tray and picked over before cooking. 9 times out of 10 you’ll find little pebbles in your lentils, it’s no big deal just didn’t get picked out during the drying process.