Zucchini Bites

These were delicious, I made them for a 3 moms and 3 kids and they were a hit with everyone I think!! The meal plan has it for a snack but we made extra and had them as lunch!  Great way for kids to get in their veggies!

Recipe from: http://myhealthymealplans.com/

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini
• 1/8 cup Marinara sauce
• 3 ounces mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 8 black olives, sliced

Instructions

1. Cut zucchini into diagonals, about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Arrange slices on a baking sheet.
3. Top with marinara sauce, cheeses, and olives.
4. Broil in oven, on high for 2-4 minutes. Watch carefully- they cook fast!

Sweet Potato Tots

Well I had lots of mixed emotions on this one, I thought I was going to hate and and Jackson would love it, turned out Jackson hated it and I loved it!  The meal plan says to have this with a dipping sauce, I chose ranch dressing and that made it great (but really doesn't ranch make everything great).  The recipe was a little time consuming for me but I was also making it with a toddler helping :) or trying to help. 

Jackson never really had sweet potatoes when he was starting baby food and that could have been our problem. I'm sure if you're kids had sweet potatoes they will love this!!! The meal plan said to serve with watermelon for lunch.

I used just cracker crumbs for my breadcrumbs because, well, we're in the Netherlands and I haven't seen any sort of breadcrumbs yet!

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 1 lb), cut into 2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• Cooking Spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Peel the potatoes and then boil in salted water in a pot for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender.
3. Drain off all the water and cool the potatoes.
4. Using the side of a box grater, grate all of the potatoes into a bowl.
5. Place the flour, whisked egg and breadcrumbs in THREE separate bowls.
6. Take about 1 tbsp of the potato mixture and shape into “tots”.
7. Roll the tots into the flour, followed by the egg, then the panko bread crumbs, coating lightly.
8. Place onto a sprayed baking sheet and coat evenly with cooking spray.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
10. Cool and serve.

Notes

Calories: 199; Fat: 2g; Carbs: 38g; Fiber: 3g; Protein: 6g

Recipe from: http://myhealthymealplans.com/

Honey-Glazed Carrots

This recipe comes from Cooking Light-first foods again.  I am not a fan of cooked carrots but actually really liked this!!! Very simple to make and Jackson seriously chowed down on these carrots.  I'm pretty sure he ate about a cup of carrots!!!

1 1/2 quarts waer
5 cups thinly sliced carrots
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated orange rind
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add carrots; cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Place carrots, parsley, and remaining indgredients in a large bowl; toss gently.  8 adult servings 1/2 cup

I didn't have any parsely and I didn't use pepper but really the orange rind and honey really made this recipe yummy!! A nice sweet and citrus flavor to go along with our veggies. I did about a 1/2 recipe because I was just making these for Jackson.  Next time I will make it for the whole fam :)

Oven Roasted Green Beans

So we're on the hunt for veggies that Jackson will eat not in their pureed form.  Fruits have not been a problem at all, but I suppose veggies are harder because as parents we are not eating as many vegetables as we should be.  I found the recipe for these green beans in my babyfood cookbook called Cooking Light, First Foods.

We're having brats on the grill with oven roasted green beans and grapes.

Oven Roasted Green Beans Recipe
1 pound green beans, trimmed
2 tsps extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Place a jelly-roll pan in oven for 10 minutes. Place beans in a large bowl.  Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss well to coat.   Arrange green bean mixture in a single layer on preheated baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 8 minutes or until crisp tender. 


To be honest, I have no clue what a jelly roll pan is, even if I did I'm sure I don't have one here!  I did however preheat the pan I was using while I baked the buns for our brats and then used the same pan for the green beans. 

I can't believe I am saying this but these were a HIT!  Not only with Jackson but with Josh too.  Josh said he would eat them any time and prior to this he did not like green beans!! Jackson chowed down too.  My cookbook said to serve kids 3-5 beans, well Jackson took down more like 8-10!  We will definitely be having these again and it's so easy to just throw them in the oven, probably even faster than boiling or steaming!