4 Ingredient Turkey Sticks

By Alicia of Lollygag Learning

Only four ingredients go into these easy turkey sticks! Nova loved exploring a new food and feeding herself this wholesome, simple dinner. They are great for Baby Led Weaning because your little one can grip the turkey for self feeding and the texture is easy to nibble on. If you want to try Baby Led Weaning, but find it a little nerve-wracking this would be a great recipe to try!

4 Ingredient Turkey Sticks

• 16 oz package ground turkey
• 1/4 c pumpkin
• 1/4 c baby oatmeal
• 1/8 tsp cumin

Mix ingredients together with hands and form into log shapes. Brown on all sides in an oiled cast iron pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.

I used canned pumpkin puree from the baking aisle. If you can’t find pumpkin you can substitute baked and mashed acorn squash, or you can even try a jar of butternut squash baby food puree. It’s fun to experiment with different ideas! My idea for this recipe was inspired by meatballs. The pumpkin holds the ingredients together as eggs would, and the oatmeal gives the turkey a light texture. When mixing ingredients together, you will be able to feel if you need to add a sprinkle of oatmeal or an extra dollop of pumpkin.

I made a batch of Turkey Sticks and used a flash freezing technique to store for quick meals. This process, a.k.a. freezer cooking, takes a lot of stress out of our dinner routine. I love being able to cook once, and freeze several portions. Not only does freezer cooking save me time, but it also saves me from throwing away leftovers that got too old.  

To flash freeze, line a baking sheet or cutting board with wax paper. Place the turkey sticks on the sheet, spaced out so they are not touching each other. Freeze several hours until frozen solid then store in a zipper freezer bag. To defrost, simply warm with your microwave or toaster oven.

When I defrosted the Turkey Sticks for dinner a few days later, I served them with steamed asparagus and diced cherries.

Another time, I served the sticks with a side of peas and pears for Nova, and Josie had a side of tortellini. 

Thank goodness I had my Bumkins Splat Mat ready to catch all of the mess! Josie (2.5 years old) is learning to keep her food on her plate, but the Splat Mat saves me a lot of sweeping and mopping after Nova’s meals. I lay it down under her chair before her meal then I shake the crumbs into the sink before tossing in the washing machine. It’s like a giant bib for the floor! Sometimes I even sit these sweet sisters next to each other and they both fit under the Splat Mat. They are too cute sharing their meals!

Featured Products:

Bumkins Splat Mat    Bumkins Waterproof Bibs

A Young Barista Makes for Healthy Eater

By Jessica a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist

Coffee is where it all started. One morning, I sleepily realized that showing my baby how to push the “on” button on the espresso machine would be like pushing a button on a toy truck or an elevator, but so much more productive and exciting for both of us. Brilliant. Oliver got to push a button and get hugs, kisses, and thank yous from me while listening to the loud buzz-hum of the machine and watching the mysterious dark liquid drip into a cup…all while being held by me, bursting with pride. I wondered if, on a subconscious level, he was ever curious about what was in the daily beverage that would transform his weary, sleep-deprived mom into a more cheerful, more engaged, temporarily less-exhausted version of herself.

Our mini-barista became indispensable to the morning routine. (One of his very first sentences was instructing his dad to “Make Mama latte.”) Soon, he was hanging out and watching me cook with keen interest. He got to stir the batter for pancakes, mash bananas for banana bread, and mix spoonfuls of applesauce into plain yogurt. 

I was on a mission to raise a child who was comfortable in the kitchen. Before my son was born, I had gone back to school to study nutrition and then after his birth, had taken a break from my graduate program to be with him full-time.  I reasoned that role-modeling positive eating behaviors (veggies – yum!) and introducing my child to the process of planning meals, shopping, and cooking would benefit him from a life skills perspective and a nutritional one. Plus, it would be a great way to test out those theories about shaping healthy eating behaviors that I had learned in school.  

Our baby quickly grew into a toddler who was eager to explore the many things he could do all by himself. All day long, Oliver and I had negotiations about things he could do with help or without help (or his least favorite category: oh no, never never never, you have to help me keep you safe and be helpful, please!). I knew it was my job to give him limits and it was his job to test those limits, but…it was going to take more than just a latte to get through that phase. 

Having playdates in the kitchen was a great place for us to practice working together by doing simple and safe food prep tasks. Of course, when he was just a year old, he couldn’t do anything in the kitchen by himself. Often, when we started a task, I would say “you start, I’ll finish,” or “I’ll start, you finish.” Either way, we were getting the job done together.

As he matured into an older toddler, he could do a little more and I could do a little less. Finally, he was able to do more and more things completely on his own. Sprinkling shredded cheese on a tortilla for a quesadilla, beating eggs, adding ingredients to a bowl of pasta, and putting a slice of turkey on a sandwich were things that he could do with a little help. Eventually, he learned to pour milk from a small cup into a bowl of dry cereal; it was kind of cool to have a toddler who could “make” his own breakfast. He was very proud of himself each time he mastered a new skill in the kitchen, which happened more and more quickly. 

Spending time together in the kitchen became a family tradition, so it was natural to let our second and third sons help out too. I credit these early kitchen playdates with getting each of them off to a good start as happy, healthy eaters. Each of them went through a “picky eating” phase (the researchers call it “neophobia”, or the fear of new foods). But I am confident that their cooking experiences gave them exposure to foods in ways that helped to minimize their neophobia.

Cooking with your child can be an adventure, a gift, a chance to learn; it can be an opportunity for science education, math practice, language development, and learning to work as a team. Best of all, kitchen playdates can be about creating happy memories in addition to delicious and nutritious food for the family.

Here are some ideas (thanks, Johanna Donnenfield, MS, RD!) for ways that your toddler can help out in the kitchen in five minutes or less:   

1. Fetch cans and packages from low shelves or cabinets
2. Peel bananas
3. Roll or crush crackers to make cracker crumbs
4. Slice soft foods (cooked potatoes, bananas) with a table knife
5. Pour liquids from small containers into bowl
6. Wash fruits and vegetables
7. Stir batters with whisks
8. Use a rotary egg beater (with supervision)
9. Place toppings on pizza or snacks (ants on a log)
10. Spread soft textures with a table knife

Sweet Start to the Morning

By Carly of Carly G. Media

We turned one of Cadyn’s favorite lunch in to a super sweet brunch: peanut butter banana french toast.

• 1 egg
• 2 slices of toast
• big spoonful of PB
• 1/2 banana sliced
• maple syrup

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg. Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on top of each slice of bread. Place the banana slices on top of one of the slices of bread. Place the other slice of bread on top of the first, to make a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Dip the sandwich into the egg mixture and place in the heated skillet. Cook until brown on both sides. Serve hot.

Winner, Winner, Soup's for Dinner

By Jessica a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist

“Souping” is officially a verb, as in “souping is the new juicing.” Once humble, now decidedly posh, a diet of soup alone has ascended the hierarchy of nutrition trendiness to the point where, as the New York Times reported, there are competing soup cleanse delivery services and cookbooks. Savory soups loaded with vegetables and flavored with herbs and spices are finally getting the attention they deserve, but breakfast smoothie bowls made with yogurt or milk and topped with fruit and granola are a different kind of “soup” that’s popular too.

As a Registered Dietitian as well as a minivan mom of three, I am delighted that nutritious, delicious soup is in the wellness spotlight. (Plus, I always like to think I am tuned into the zeitgeist, even though I left Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and moved to Phoenix 11 years ago.) I’ve been a fan of soup for years; after all, soups are comforting, hydrating, and there are a million different types to suit your fancy.

Whether they’re sweet or savory, warm or cool, broth-based and chunky or pureed to a creamy texture, soups can be tailored for everyone in the family. One of my favorite things about eating soup at home is that it’s easy to dish out quickly, so everyone gets to sit and eat together immediately.

Here are my top five reasons why soup is a clear winner for dinner:

1. Nutritious - Soup is an ideal way to add nutrient-rich plant foods into our diets. Vitamins and minerals stay in the saucepot and end up in our bowls. Cooking vegetables softens the fibers and increases absorption of certain nutrients; for example, the heart-healthy antioxidant lycopene in cooked tomatoes is more easily absorbed than lycopene in raw tomatoes. In a pinch, use frozen and canned vegetables, too. (Rinse canned vegetables to remove extra sodium.) Protein-rich beans, lentils, edamame and quinoa are vegetarian-friendly additions that contribute both protein and fiber. Mix in brown rice and whole grain pasta for a heartier dish. Lean meats, poultry and fish can be added too. Garnishing your soup with fresh chopped parsley, basil, or dill adds extra flavor and immunity-boosting power.

2. Flexible - There are so many soup recipes that can be adapted to accommodate food allergies, seasonality of local foods, and dietary preferences. Texture can be adjusted to meet developmental needs and sensory issues. Adding more chicken or vegetable broth easily thins out a soup. A one-year-old who’s still learning to eat with a spoon may find thin liquids challenging, so a thicker soup that’s the consistency of applesauce or yogurt may be easier to manage. To thicken, try adding a few teaspoons of oat flour or a slurry made from flour or cornstarch mixed with broth. Use local and in-season vegetables for peak flavor. During hot weather, try serving cool melon soups, breakfast smoothie bowls, and gazpacho.

3. Introduces new flavors– Every cuisine around the world has their soup specialties, so trying new recipes is a great way to introduce new flavor profiles to young taste buds. Italian minestrone, Chinese hot and sour soup, Japanese miso soup, Mexican albondigas, Ukrainian borscht, Indian mulligatawny soup, Spanish gazpacho, and Thai coconut curry soup are zesty gateways to international cuisines. For your very youngest soup-eaters, try adding a sprinkle of cinnamon or ginger to puréed butternut squash or sautéing lentils with a bit of coconut oil, garlic and onions before blending them to a creamy consistency.

4. Kid-friendly kitchen duties –Invite your little one to be your soup sous chef. Offer them the opportunity to help out with one – or more – of the simple cooking steps involved in the recipe. Preschoolers can rinse broccoli in a bowl full of water in the sink, strip kale leaves from the stems, and push buttons on an immersion or countertop blender to purée a soup. Elementary school-aged kids can peel carrots, scrub potatoes, grate cheese, and use a knife to chop onions, celery, and fresh herbs.

5. Time-saver - For especially busy days, soups can be made ahead of time and reheated right before serving. Try making a double batch and then freezing extras in small, easy-to-reheat portions. To save time prepping ingredients, use frozen, canned, and pre-cut vegetables. A variety of chopped vegetables is available in the grocery store, such as onions, garlic, and butternut squash. When you know you’ll be away all day, combine ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning and let your soup simmer to perfection so that you come home to a one-dish meal that’s ready to eat.

And sometimes, there just isn’t time for cooking. There are so many wonderful soups available in the grocery store that would make excellent back-up meals. Look for low-sodium versions when possible. You can also use store-bought soups or even combine a store-bought broth with a jar of pasta sauce as the base for a soup.

Simple Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 Butternut squash (2 lbs)

2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

½ - 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Slice a 2 lb. butternut squash in half lengthwise, and place the halves, cut side down, in a large baking dish with enough water to fill the dish about an inch high.

3. Bake the squash for 45 minutes, until soft.

4. Scoop the seeds out of the squash. Then scoop out the flesh and put in a large bowl. (Save the seeds and skins in a bag in the freezer for making broth, or put them into your compost bin.)

5. Add the chicken or vegetable broth and the grated ginger to the squash in the bowl.  

6. Use an immersion blender to puree the broth, ginger, and the squash until creamy. You can leave it as chunky as you wish. Add more broth for a thinner consistency.

Turkey Vegetable Rice Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

½ cup cooked turkey

½ cup cooked brown rice

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

4 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

Directions: 

1. Heat the broth on low-medium in a pot on the stove.

2. Add the frozen mixed vegetables to the broth and let them cook for 3-5 minutes.

3. Add the turkey and brown rice.

4. Stir in the soy sauce.

5. Add sliced green onions for garnish, if desired.

Breakfast smoothie bowl

Combine:

Plain yogurt

Berries – but use whatever is in season! Sliced bananas and frozen berries shine here.

Homemade granola: it’s sweetened already, but you can drizzle with a little honey if you want.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

This Creamy Mushroom Soup is one of our family’s recent favorite soups. It’s incredibly savory due to the umami-rich mushrooms.