Toddler Food Round 1 (also known as mini things my husband will gobble up)...

I have been trying to expand my little man's menu lately. At ten months he is eating a lot of the same things we are, but not everything. I like to make a few things each week just for him, which are easy to pull out for any meal (and can easily be brought to playgroup, the park, and all the other places we venture during the week).

The above mini pumpkin spice muffins are a staple in our house (for all of us). Click here for the recipe.

First up this week: Rice and Bean cakes

I found the recipe here, but tweaked it (see below).

Makes 18 - 24 mini cupcake size servings (I use a small cookie dough spoon to fill each cup)

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup pinto or black beans
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or any other cheese - I like parm too)
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp salt

Prep and Cook

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F and liberally grease a standard muffin tin.
2. In a medium mixing bowl combine the rice, corn, beans, cheese and green onions. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, chili powder, cumin and salt.
3. Add the egg mixture to the rice and stir well. 
4. Divide evenly between muffin tin and sprinkle with additional cheese (holds it together a little more)
5. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until the cheese is slightly golden.
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Here are mine...

They went missing quickly, as my husband thought they were yummy too. Now our whole family enjoys them! 

Next on the list were Banana-Pumpkin "Pancakes"

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2  teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons pureed pumpkin

Instructions

1. Mash banana in a medium bowl and then mix in pumpkin.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg
3. Add eggs to banana and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Whisk in salt and cinnamon.
4. Preheat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Spray griddle with cooking spray and use a tablespoon to drop batter onto griddle. Let set for a few minutes, and then flip with spatula. Cook for an additional minute or two on remaining side and remove to plate.

Makes about 8 - 10 baby pancakes (I use a small cookie scoop for each pancake). The whole family likes to eat these! You can easily triple the recipe and make regular sized pancakes.


Since, I was still cooped up with a sick baby... I kept cooking!

Mini Spinach and Feta muffins

This recipe is from another great mom, the only thing I changed was the type of feta (I use Mediterranean - it just gives them a little more flavor).  You can find the recipe here.

 The whole family loves these too! They are great for breakfast/brunch!

Sensory Activities .. Round 2

There are hundreds and thousands of pins showing great sensory activities. I tried sensory bags as tummy time when my LO was younger, but he wasn't totally on board. 

Well, I figured why not try again? First we tried the water bottled with glitter (maybe glitter overload - whoops mommy) and shape buttons. He is mildly interested at first. Later, he found it in the ground and decided it was a good chew you and slightly intriguing. 

Next up: ribbon box, so he could chew and pull in various ribbons. This one was a little more fascinating and has a longer play life. I will definitely keep bringing it out, as he can figure out a few new skills with this one. 

It was easy to make, as I had plenty of ribbon around and a shoe box. I just tied the ribbons at different lengths, so they couldn't come through the box completely. I also used various textures. 

Last up for this week: sensory bag (again), except I used water instead of hair gel. It makes a much better noise and would be easier to clean up if he broke into it. He is enjoying it much more now! 

I will definitely keep trying sensory activities. I feel they will become more interesting as he gets older and will come in handy during cold winter months! Plus, I normally have everything in the house already (like this time).

Sewing Adventures: Door Jammer & Elephant

I bought a sewing machine over the summer with the high hopes of creating a Halloween costume for B! I am not there yet, but I have made two projects now.

The door jammer... Allows a door to close softly and not wake the baby. Such a lifesaver! 

It is just two rectangles of fabric (about the size of a 3 x 5 index card), some batting, and pretty ribbon to tie the handles. 

Then I made a cute stuffed elephant for my friend's new baby girl (who has an elephant themed room). The template can be found here: http://birchfabrics.blogspot.com/2013/07/free-pattern-tutorial-henry-helga.html?m=1

She turned out to be super cute! 

You can add rice to the feet to make it stand or fill the entire elephant with rice to make it a cool/hot boo boo healer (or door stop). 

Next project: Dinosaur for Beckett! And then his Halloween costume!