Thursday, July 10, 2014

Baby Food Recipes: Basic Veggie Blends


If you haven't read my first baby food post, Baby Food 101, then you'll want to read that first. It discusses some of my favorite ways to store my homemade baby food and my favorite machine to use to make it!
For this post,  I'll be sharing a few of my favorite veggie baby foods and veggie blends. I started my little one with carrots, peas, squash, green beans and sweet potato and I make them pretty much the same way.

First off, we'll talk about making Squash, Carrots and/or Sweet Potato Baby Food.  You can either bake them or boil them to soften them up, it's up to you.  Baking the sweet potato makes it a little bit sweeter & can be easier too, but either way is fine. If you'd like, you can also use frozen veggies. That is the easiest and fastest way. Frozen veggies are just as healthy as fresh ones and some believe they're even better for you because they are frozen at their peak.  

Squash, Carrots & Sweet Potato
1.  Place the squash, carrots and/or sweet potato on a cookie sheet.  Bake until soft (approx. 20 min).
--Or you can boil them in a pot of water completely submerged until soft.  

2. Once softened, peeled (carrots don't need to be peeled) and dice up. Place the squash, carrots and/or sweet potato in the blender, add some water and/or breastmilk and blend to the consistency of your choice. 

3.  Once blended,  pour into the containers you've chosen to store the food and either feed to baby within 3 days or freeze.  I always make plenty at a time so I freeze a portion and save a 3 day supply on the refrigerator as well.

Next, we'll do the peas & green beans. I like to buy the frozen peas and green beans since their are all seat to boil and prep.  The canned versions have way too much sodium not only for a baby but for an adult as well. If you opted for frozen carrots, spinach, squash or any other frozen vegetable combination, you can follow the directions below as well.  

Peas & Green Beans 
1.  Steam or boil them in a pot of water completely submerged until soft.
2. Once softened, place them in the blender, add some water and/or breastmilk and blend to the consistency of your choice. 
3.  Once blended,  pour into the containers you've chosen to store the food and either feed to baby within 3 days or freeze.  I always make plenty at a time so I freeze a portion and save a 3 day supply on the refrigerator as well.

And that's how easy it is.  If you are just starting off with solids, make each veggie individually and serve it to baby a few times before combining it with others.  I've combined all of these veggies for my little one (squash, carrots, sweet potato, green beans and peas) in various combinations and all together and he loved them all.  I also add oatmeal cereal to thicken it up a bit, especially after defrosting it.  







Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Baked Argentine Chicken Milanesas: A Delicious, No-Fail Healthy Dinner


Here's another one of my favorite low cal & sort of low carb recipes!  And the best part is that it's from  my native country of Argentina.  The dish for this recipe is Milanesas! Pretty much every culture has their own version, even typical American food, they just call it different names.  A milanesa is essentially a country fried steak or chicken cutlet except, for my recipe, it's baked.  So it's more like breaded baked chicken.  You can make it with fish, beef or chicken and the same recipe will apply to all three.  I prefer to make it with thin, milanesa cut chicken breast.  It's cut very thin, as a milanesa should be, and it's the healthiest part of the chicken. 

Regardless of what type you make, chicken, beef or fish, you can eat it plain, add some lemon juice, add some chimichurri or even top it with some marinara, tomato and cheese to have it Napolitana style.  That is one of my favorite ways but it's also a treat so I save it for my cheat days.  It's only a few more steps added onto the recipe in the end and directions to make it Napolitana are below.  So, enjoy it and let me know how you liked it in the comments below!  

Chicken Milanesa
--2 lbs Chicken breast cut thin with fat removed
  (can be substituted for fish or beef)
--2 eggs
--1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
--1 cup regular breadcrumbs
--Italian seasoning

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

2.  Crack the eggs in a shallow dish and beat to blend. 

3.  Pour panko and regular breadcrumbs into shallow dish. Add desired amount of seasoning. You can add any seasoning of your choice but I prefer Mrs Dash Italian seasoning since it's salt free and tastes great.

4.  Blend the bread crumbs and seasoning. 

5.  Dip the chicken into the egg so that it is completely covered on both sides.  Transfer the chicken into the bread crumbs and cover on both sides.

6.  After dipping each piece of chicken, place it on a cookie sheet and make sure to use olive oil spray or something to prevent it from sticking. 

7.  Place the cookie sheet with the milanesas on it in the oven and cook until golden brown. Typically it takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on your stove. 

8.  When done, remove them and they're ready to serve. In Argentina, they are typically served along side mashed potatoes.  You can squeeze a lemon on top, add chimichurri (a delicious Argentine pesto sauce) or make them Napolitana style (instructions below).


If you want to make them Napolitana style, take them out of the oven a few minutes prior to them being done.  Add a slice of tomato, some marinara sauce (homemade or premade) and a slice of cheese on top.  I like to use mozzarella but provolone and swiss work well too. Some also add a slice of ham but, if you're watching what you eat and your calorie intake, you may want to skip the ham. You can also use low fat or light cheese.  After placing your desired toppings on top, place them in the oven for a few more minutes and remove.  They're ready to serve!

Each regular milanesa (not Napolitana) will have approximately 160 calories, 3 grams of fat, 29 grams of protein and 9 carbs.  It makes a healthy main dish that you can pair with steamed veggies, mashed baked cauliflower, corn on the cob and/or a green salad.   I typically make at 2 pounds although it is just my husband, myself and my 5 year old eating them because we like to have leftovers.  They are delicious the next day as well heated up or in a milanesa sandwich!  Give them a shot and let me know what you think!