Soren's Purple Plate

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

Beef and Veggie Meatballs

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Beef Veggie Meatballs

I like to experiment with various meatballs. Every time I add something different but always try to keep the ingredients very healthy. I have to say these meatballs came out so delicious that I will try to make them every week. I urge you to try. As with everything I cooked before Soren turned one, I set a portion aside for him and add salt and pepper to the rest of the mixture for me and my husband. Hope you like them.

Serve them with more vegetables on the side. A perfect meal, if you ask me.

 

Beef Veggie Meatballs

 

Beef and Veggie Meatballs
 
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These are easy meatballs packed with nutrition. They can be enjoyed by babies as young as 6-7 months.
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Recipe type: meatballs
Ingredients
  • 1 lb (1.2 kilo) of lean ground beef ( I use grass-fed 85% lean)
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2-3 celery stalks
  • 2-3 tbsp of pumpkin seeds
  • 1-1.5 large potato (boiled, cooled off and grated)
  • a big bunch of cilantro
  • 1 egg
Instructions
  1. Quarter the onion, roughly chop the celery. Place it in a blender together with pumpkin seeds and cilantro. Pulse for a few seconds until chopped (not too long so it doesn't turn into a puree).
  2. Place ground beef in a large bowl. Add the green mixture from the blender, grated potato and one egg. Mix well (I use hands).
  3. Pan fry. They are a bit more delicate than regular meatballs so treat them with care while pan frying.
  4. TIP FOR BABIES: I brown the meatballs slightly on each side and put them in a pot with a tiny bit of water on the bottom to steam through. Cover the pot with the lid and steam for 5-8 minutes on very low heat. This will endure that the meatballs are evenly cooked through and safe for your baby.

 

Quinoa Chicken Veggie Stew

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Quinoa Chicken Veggies Stew

This stew is perfect for both adults and children of all ages beginning from 6 months (if you are doing Baby Led Weaning. To learn about Baby Led Weaning, click here). When Soren was still under 1, I would  usually prepare all the ingredients and would have 2 pots or pans going: one – for the baby, in which I would cook without salt, and the other one for adults. It doesn’t take any longer to cook this way, you would just end up with an extra pot to wash afterwards. No big deal.

The stew proportions don’t matter here since you literally can not screw it up. Put as much of your favorite ingredients as you like.

Quinoa Chicken Veggies Stew

Quinoa Chicken Veggie Stew
 
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A healthy quinoa stew. Baby Led Weaning appropriate from 7 months.
Recipe type: dinner, casserole, lunch
Cuisine: healthy
Ingredients
  • 1 lb of chicken (breast or thighs)
  • 1 cup of quinoa
  • 1 large leek
  • 3-4 carrots
  • 3-4 celery stalks
  • 1 large red pepper
  • 1 apple
  • a bunch of cilantro
  • a bunch of parsley
  • water or chicken stock
  • Spices: raw garlic, coriander, red pepper flakes (avoid for babies)
Instructions
  1. Heat the pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté cubed chicken with leaks (cut in circles or half circles) for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the carrots and half of celery.
  2. In a food processor (I find Cuisinart mini food processor indispensable in the kitchen), puree the rest of celery and the apple. This puree adds sauciness to the stew. Add it to the pan together with red pepper, quinoa and enough water/chicken stock to cover quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Add more water if required. Five minutes before you turn off the stove, add the garlic, cilantro, parsley and the spices. Don't forget the salt for adults.

 

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.

 

Bok Choy Soba Noodles Sauté

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Ok, so this is one of our family’s favorite dishes. It’s easy to make, as most things I cook, and it’s also very yummy and nutritious. Noodles can be tricky with little babies who have just a few teeth but I would still encourage you not to exclude them, especially soba noodles (made of buckwheat). Every new texture, color and flavor adds invaluable experience to your baby’s early life setting a great foundation for diverse food tastes and flavor open-mindedness. You’ll thank yourself for offering as many new foods as possible when you see you toddler finish an adult-type dinner when the rest of the kids around are barely interested in mac&cheese. When cooked well, noodles can easily be gnawed by your little munchkin; just chop them up into small pieces.

Now, a word on bok choy. Did you know that it is one of the highest nutritionally ranked vegetables out there? One cup of cooked bok choy provides more than 100% of the recommended amount of vitamin A (it beats cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli) and close to two-thirds of vitamin C. It also has a ton of vitamin K, potassium, folate and Vitamin B6 (needed for proper brain development among other things).

A note on Baby Led Weaning. Go easy on the soy sauce for toddlers and skip all together if offering to babies under 1. I would have 2 pans going: you are chopping all the veggies anyway; it will take you no time to make 2 portions.

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Bok Choy Soba Noodle Sauté
 
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A quick go-to dish, this soba noodle sauté with bok choy provides a great source of Vitamin C, K and A. Easy to make and full of flavor. Babies can eat it as well if you skip soy sauce.
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Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
  • 1 pack of soba noodles
  • 2-3 heads of portobello mushrooms
  • 1 large bunch of bok choy
  • 1 cup of frozen peas
  • 3 spring onions
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • lemon
  • 3-4 tbsp soy sauce
  • ½ -1 tbsp sesame oil
  • Optional: red pepper flakes
Instructions
  1. Cook soba noodles in boiling water for 6 minutes (or check the packaging for cook time). Drain, rinse with cold water. Set aside.
  2. Slice mushrooms and sauté them in olive oil together with minced garlic for 5 minutes stirring a few times (make sure garlic does't burn).
  3. Wash bok choy and slice each lengthwise into 3 strips. Add peas and bok choy to the pan. I also added a few broccoli stems (optional). Sauté for 6 minutes. If mushrooms didn't give enough water, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to create steam.
  4. When bok choy is wilted and almost cooked, add chopped spring onions, cilantro (the more the better), soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, red pepper flakes. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 2 minutes. Soy sauce is very salty but still check to see if you want to add more salt.
  5. Add soba noodles to the pan, spray with a little lemon, mix well and serve.

 

Salmon Risotto Balls

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I am constantly searching for foods that can be fun for Soren to eat. My family likes stews and ragus, which are delicious and nutrient-filled but require a spoon, are messy to take with us on a trip or if we are going out. These rice balls or risotto balls are so easy for any kind of activity, whether you have a kids’ party at home, need an adult appetizer, traveling, going out or looking for a healthy snack.

These are very easy to make. You can use leftover dinner or make them from scratch.

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Salmon Risotto Balls
 
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These colorful salmon balls are easy to grab for the little hands. Kids love to be independent at a table when given the opportunity. They can be used as a complete dinner for the little munchkins or as an appetizer for the adults. Use last night's dinner leftovers or make from scratch. Enjoy.
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup cooked salmon (I used baked)
  • 2.5 cups cooked arborio rice
  • 4 spring onions
  • 1 cup chopped steamed asparagus
  • 1 tsp of fresh thyme (or dried)
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ tsp of paprika
Instructions
  1. Rub salmon with olive oil and a little lemon juice (lemon juice is optional but nice). Season it with salt (skip for babies under 1), pepper and thyme. Bake salmon at 350F for 12 minutes. Cool. Flake with your hands making sure to remove any bones.
  2. Cook arborio rice. 1.5 cup uncooked rice yields about 2.5 cups of cooked rice. Arborio is a sticky rice and is ideal for this dish.
  3. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with your hands.You can use asparagus or any other steamed vegetables (peas and/or zucchini would work great too).
  4. Form little round balls and bake for 20 minutes at 350F.