Soren's Purple Plate

Babies, kids, and parents eat together. Simple, healthy food ideas.

Broccoli Omelet

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Eggs or no eggs?

As a first time mom, everything is anxiety-causing, especially when just starting to introduce your baby to solids. I wasn’t an exception. I worried about which foods to give, how to offer them, which ones to avoid, how to store food, whether to give it the second day, whether to reheat (and potentially lose nutrients), how to freeze, etc. I was trying to listen to my motherly intuition but my brain often took over and needed proof, facts, research, medical advice. Ahh, the reality of doing this baby business the first time around. Moms of multiple kids laugh at people like me and themselves when they remember how it all started. Anyway, by 8 months I let go and relaxed. By then, baby led weaning was fully underway and I was more brave about everything.

That said, being concerned about eggs as a first food is a pretty justified fear. Egg white is one of the big allergy-triggering foods. Many pediatricians still recommend to avoid it until 12 months. Egg yolk, on the other hand, is commonly known as a great first food for babies. I did do my research and found out that these days the more progressive crowd of doctors are suggesting to offer whole eggs right from the start. Our pediatrician has also encouraged me to give Soren anything (except for honey) right from 6 months of age. So I did. At 7 months, omelets was (and to this day is) my son’s favorite food. You will see many variations of them on these pages.

Adding vegetables to an omelet is a great way to add nutrients. For those little ones who refuse vegetables, sneaking them in an omelet is a good way (or an attempt) to get your baby to eat them. I have nothing against hiding vegetables in dishes. The most important thing is for your child to receive as many nutrients, flavors, textures, colors and food groups as possible early! Do whatever it takes and whatever is easier to accomplish it.

METHOD

There is no particular trick to this omelet. Whisk 2 eggs with a little bit of milk – mothers, coconut, cows – whichever your child is taking these days. Add chopped leftover steamed broccoli. Cook on low heat on a pan covered with a lid. Until Soren turned 12, I scraped the top of the omelet discarding the crispy bottom. If you leave the omelet in a pan to cool off, then your omelet will not stick.

If you don’t have any egg allergies in the family, I would encourage you to offer it to your baby as early as 6-7 months.

Good luck.

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Apple – Sweet Potato – Zucchini Pancakes

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Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Snack. Travel food. An oldie but a goodie. Super easy to make. These pancakes can be made with a cooked sweet potato (think leftovers) or with raw. If using raw, make sure to finely grate it and squeeze excess liquid.

Apple Zucchini Sweet Potato PancakesApple Zucchini Sweet Potato Pancakes

Apple – Sweet Potato – Zucchini Pancakes
 
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These pancakes are perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or travel. They take a bit longer to prep but are worth the wait. Enjoy.
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Ingredients
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 small sweet potato
  • 1 apple
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup oat flour
  • ½ cup semolina flour
Instructions
  1. Grate zucchini and apple on medium grater. Squeeze the juice out with hands.
  2. Grate raw sweet potato on fine grater or mash cooked sweet potato with a fork.
  3. Combine apples, zucchinis, sweet potato and semolina. Let it sit for 20 minutes for the semolina to absorb the moisture and expand.
  4. Beat eggs with a fork and add to the mixture followed by the oat flour. Add salt for babies over 1.
  5. Panfry carefully. Serve with yogurt or sour cream.

 

Pumpkin Oat Muffins

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Pumpkin muffins

When Soren turned ONE, we entered the unknown world of snacks. I’m not much of a snacker myself so to come up with diverse, colorful, nutritious snacks for the baby on a daily basis was kind of stressful for me. Fruits, vegetables and yogurt were the obvious choices but I wanted to also add some muffins, breads, scones, etc. I browsed the isles of Whole Foods and other supermarkets but couldn’t find any brand that didn’t have a long list of ingredients (some hard to pronounce). I try to stay away from foods like that. Baby crackers and snacks of all kinds have acceptable food labels but questionable nutritional value (too much of refined flours or too much sugar).

I decided to start learning to make my own breads and muffins. I’ve never been much of a baker. Firstly, the science is too precise for my impatient nature. Secondly, to bake with unrefined flours and unprocessed sweeteners is hard. Thirdly, because in my small New York apartment, the oven happens to be old and huge so to use it often with a baby roaming around is dangerous and messy (I store all my pots and pans in it). And lastly, my husband would divorce me. He actually has a sweet tooth and enjoys anything baked. The problem is he eats it all at once and then yells at me with accusations.

After a bit of talking him into it, we bought the Breville convection oven. Yes, we sacrificed the precious counter space. But it was totally worth it because now I can bake all kinds of delicious goodness from sweet potatoes to frittatas and cakes. No more excuses.

Today’s muffins are based on Cookie&Kate recipe. I love this girl’s blog. She is doing such an amazing job creating healthy and diverse foods.

I skipped salt and ginger called for in her recipe, used only 1/4 cup maple syrup. For a real breakfast treat, stick to half a cup of maple syrup.

Pumpkin Oat Muffins Pumpkin Oat Muffins Pumpkin Oat Muffins

 

Pumpkin Oat Muffins
 
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These Pumpkin muffins taste more like a breakfast bread than a dessert. If you like sweet baked goods, add more maple syrup. Enjoy!
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Serves: 10 muffins
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée
  • ¼ cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves
  • 1¾ cups whole wheat flour
  • ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, beat the oil and maple syrup together. Add eggs, and beat well.
  2. Mix in the pumpkin purée and milk, followed by the baking soda, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice or cloves.
  3. Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined. If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins, like nuts, chocolate or dried fruit, fold them in now.
  4. Bake at 325F for 23-25 minutes. Cool before taking out of molds.