Flourless Banana Nut Cake

Its Fathers Day! :) Sometimes you NEED cake for breakfast, its one of those happy Sundays. So I tried to keep it simple and as healthy as I could without (hopefully) losing the taste.
Here goes...

Ingredients :

Wet Ingredients -
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanila Extract
2 Ripe Bananas
1.5 Tbs Unsalted Butter

Dry Ingedients -
1 Cup Almond Meal
0.5 Tbs Baking Powder
0.5 Cup Coconut Palm Sugar
1 Tsp Nutmeg
1 Tsp Cardamom
1 Tsp Kosher Salt

Method -

Mix all the wet ingredients and whisk thoroughly. Separately, mix all the dry ingredients and finally combine together thoroughly.

Bake at 350F for 35 minutes or till the cake is cooked in the middle and the sides are slightly brown.
Cool for another 15 minutes and serve warm.

Hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did

Broccoli and Cheese Heaven

Ok people, I am back with a really yummy tried, tasted and tested recipe for your growing babies! As they get older, they realize what "vegetables" are, they understand the social bias on "broccoli being eww" and "Watermelon being yum". Veer's school teacher always mentions how Veer spits out broccoli and says "No More" and feasts on the Pizza that maybe comes along with it. So I thought maybe its time to hype those vegetables that have a bad reputation. Broccoli was the first challenge and ofcourse staples like green beans will follow ( in my next post).

So I decided to play with textures and add a few yum ingredients but still sell it as Broccoli. So now in his little mind, broccoli is back to being a little yummier than what it was when it was served with Pizza! :):)

Broccoli and Parmesan Fritters

Ingredients -

1 Egg
Half a cup Quick Oats
1 cup Steamed Broccoli
Quarter Cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt, Oregano, Pepper to taste
Olive Oil to pan fry

Method -

Combine the above ingredients in a blender and mix thoroughly to make (pancake like) consistent batter. Pan Fry in olive oil. Enjoy is as a side with soup/rice.

You can also play around with the consistency ans make pancakes instead of fritters, I would go with the easy sell.

Veer loves fritters and knows when he sees them, so I stick to those!

Finger Food : Egg and Cheese Bites

It has been a while since I added any posts to the blog. We made a HUGE move and landed up all the way on the west coast. No complaints so far, except that we miss all our lovely friends. The weather has been great and we are slowly settling in.

Veer has been quite a trooper and has settled in just fine ( ofcourse he was jet lagged and has still not slept through the night), but he is absolutely LOVING the weather :)

I thought I will share this easy and nutritious recipe with you guys. Its got all the basic breakfast basics, so use it as a quick breakfast or a late afternoon snack - your call.

Egg and Cheese Bites

Ingredients :

1 Boiled Egg
Shredded cheese
Half a boiled potato
Diced Onions
Cilantro
Almond meal mixed with water to make a consistent paste (used for binding)
Salt, Oregano
Olive Oil

Method -

Mix all the ingredients, make tiny balls and saute it on medium flame. Serve warm.

Green Pasta :)

We always try so hard to pack in those greens and I have discovered one way to make it very appealing. Pairing spinach and kale with bow-tie pasta (or any pasta of your choice)

As a general rule for feeding pasta, I always overcook it to make it super soft, easy to chew and saute the cooked pasta in a splash of butter,Parmesan and black pepper.

As for the pasta sauce, I decided to break away from the traditional marinara and try my luck with some "greens". It worked for now, I'm sure he will catch on and call me out someday! If he doesn't, his dad will. Lets enjoy this while it lasts, but hey - it was yummy so lets just go with the flow.

Green Pasta

Ingredients :

Cooked pasta
Half onion (finely chopped)
1 Tomato (finely chopped/tomato paste)
Spinach-Kale puree
1 clove garlic
Oregano, Basil, Salt to taste
Half a cube of cream cheese triangles ( the secret ingredient that makes everything so YUM )

Method :

Saute onions and garlic till fragrant. Add in the tomatoes and spinach puree. Bring to boil and season with herbs and salt. Turn of the gas and add the cream cheese cube and blend well.

Add cooked pasta and serve :)

Easy - peasy - super yummy!

Finger Food : Savory Semolina Pancakes

When you are tired of the snack or breakfast combos such as - yogurt+banana, berry smoothies or peanut butter and crackers, you can try this variation. Veer is not really a fan of the usual flour pancakes as they are dry without the syrup and the syrup is way TOO sweet for his liking (thank god for no sweet tooth, right?)

I tried these savory pancakes with a Greek yogurt dip that I picked up from TJ - Kale and Spinach Greek Yogurt Dip (Click Here )

Semolina Pancakes

Ingredients :
1/4th Cup Roasted Semolina(Rava)
2 tbs greek yogurt (plain)
1/4th Cup water ( adjust based on how thick you want the pancake)
Salt
Garlic Powder
Turmeric
Cumin
Shredded Cheese ( can also use grated veggies )
Butter

Method :

Combine all the above ingredients(except cheese/veggies) in a bowl and mix thoroughly. On a griddle add some butter (to grease) Use a small ladle to transfer the pancake batteron the griddle and spread evenly. Sprinkle cheese on one side and flip eventually.

The pancakes are usually crisp and a fun afternoon snack with a dip or with tea/coffee ( for you! )

Fall classic : Spiced Pumpkin and carrot soup

Oh dear god its Fall! No more care free summer, its that time of the year where we cant dress the babies up too warm but have to convince them to throw on a light jacket with socks and shoes! Yikes... SO HARD!

Its also that time of the year where there are pumpkins everywhere.. so in the spirit of using in season produce, here is a yummy spiced pumpkin soup that worked well with Veer. (and not to forget his constant sniffles) Can't wait to stop the (Nosefrida) nightmare on the poor soul. Liquid slightly spiced soups, definitely help calm those sniffles.

Pumpkin and carrot soup (served with quinoa and warm semolina bread)

Ingredients

1 small sweet pumpkin
Half a small carrot
Quarter boiled potato (optional)
1/4th cup unsweetened almond milk (or any other milk of your choice)
1 small shallot
1 clove garlic
1 pinch nutmeg
Oregano to taste
1 tsp organic maple syrup/honey (over 1 year)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Method :

Steam/Oven roast the small pumpkin and steam the carrot and potato.
In a deep pan shallow fry the garlic and shallot, add in the oregano. Once fragrant, add in the boiled/roasted veggies, nutmeg, salt, pepper, maple syrup/honey and mix thoroughly. Finally add the almond milk and bring to boil. Blend the soup in a blender and garnish with Parmesan cheese (optional)

I served this soup with a side of quinoa and some fresh semolina bread that I picked up this morning from a local bakery.

Happy Fall!

Lunch : Beet soup with Buckwheat crackers

Maybe it is the color or the self lingering sweetish taste of Beet itself, Veer almost jumps out of his seat when he can see Beets for lunch. As the weather is changing on us, he has caught a mild cold and a runny nose. So I thought maybe some warm beet soup may help soothe him. He was quite a happy baby after his meal and even tried to grab the spoon and eat himself ( obviously splashing the bright red all over himself)

If you care about what your baby is wearing or if you are planning to feed your baby outdoors, please carry a bib or better still an extra pair of clothes :)

Roasted tomato and Beet soup

Ingredients :

2 small roma tomatoes coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 small beet ( peeled and grated fine) ***
1 small onion
salt and pepper to taste
Oregano to taste
Vegetable broth/warm water
Olive oil

Method :
 Place the coarsely chopped tomatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil, garlic and oregano on it. Roast the tomatoes till they are soft at 350F (about 15 minutes).
Personally I am a fan of toasted or sauteing vegetables instead of steaming them. Roasted helps retain the nutrients and enhances the taste of the veggies.

****You also have the option to steam the beets  instead of grated and sauteing them. If your baby likes texture, the grated beets add a nice feel to the soup. If your baby is a fan of velvety soups, then I would steam the beets.***

In a deep pan, saute the onions and grated beets. Add the vegetable broth and roasted tomatoes. Bring to boil. Finally add salt and pepper and blend the soup to get a thick/chunky consistency. You can add more broth/water based on the consistency your baby likes.

We had this soup with Buckwheat crackers and a little quinoa on the side for a complete meal.
For the buckwheat crackers we use, please click here : Buckwheat Crackers