Pear Spinach Quinoa Baby Food

Pear Spinach Quinoa Baby Food

Yum!

Ingredients:

5lbs of peeled, sliced, and cored Pears

1 cup uncooked Quinoa 

4 cups Spinach

6 cups water

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

In your slow cooker, turned on HIGH, put all your ingredients in, pouring the water over and cover. Cook for 5 hours. Puree your cooked baby food, when finished cooking, until smooth. Divide up and freeze the extras in ice cube trays for easy access. Once your cubes are frozen you can pop them out and store in a Ziploc. Heat two cubes for 1 minute in the microwave in a mug when needed. 

Freeze the extras to keep that hungry baby happy!

Charlotte was a fan! She gobble it up as fast as she could! 

Parmesan Garlic Oil Pasta

Parmesan Garlic Oil Pasta

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Box Spaghetti

3/4 cup Olive Oil

1 head of garlic, minced

1/4 cup Parmesan

Directions:

1. Boil your spaghetti until al dente! No overboiling in to oblivion! 

2. In your large saucepan heat your olive oil, add in your minced garlic, and bring to a low simmer. 

3. When your spaghetti has finished cooking add directly to the garlic/oil saucepan with a ladle full of the pasta water included. Stir together for about a minute.

4. Add your parmesan cheese to the pasta mixture and turn off the heat.

5. Serve immediately and enjoy with a healthy dose of yummy veggies for an almost healthy pasta dish! :)

My husband is currently eating like a BEAST for Body Beast and I am eating like a BIRD for 21 Day Fix so I am trying to come up with cleaner recipes that I can add things to his portion and subtract from my portion. I served him up HALF of this pasta... yes, half a box of pasta all to his self. I added meat balls to his. Ten meatballs to be exact. The kids picked at their spaghetti, but they ate far more of the oil sauce spaghetti than regular tomato sauce... Over all win win! 

Power Salad

I recently started the 21 Day Fix, you can read more about that here, and one of the areas I was lacking in my diet was more green. I eat vegetables with every dinner, but your body needs more than that. I'm a busy mamma, as are  we all, so I decided to put together salads in containers to store in the fridge to be able to grab as I am heading out the door. This gives me NO EXCUSES! No excuse for not eating my salad that day! I bought the big bag of Kale and Spinach Mixed Greens at Costco, divided it up among the containers, adding Pumpkin Seeds and Sunflower Seeds, from Whole Foods to make the salad more hearty. I added a crumbling of Feta and Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to my salad when I am home, but left those out for my containers for fear of the Feta turning funky in a warm car (YUCK!) but if you have access to a fridge at work or something that you could go ahead and add it ahead of time. I have to admit, Kale has a bit of a funky taste... It takes some getting used too. I certainly will say it is not my favorite, but it is good for me. Adding the EVOO to the salad helps incorporate it all together without the added calories of a dressing! Enjoy your Power Salad on the go!

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Yield: 2-3 dozen 

Ingredients: 

1 32oz container of Greek Plain Yogurt

4 cups rolled Oats

6 ripe bananas

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

chocolate baking chips (60% or higher)

walnut halves

Directions: 

In your blender, add all ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy. Line your muffin tins with paper liners and pour your batter in about 3/4 way full. Sprinkle a couple baking chips and walnut halves on top of your batter. Bake at 350 F for about 18 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! Freeze the extras for a guilt-less treat later! 

I recently started the 21 Day Fix and these will count as a red and yellow. If you are interested in joining me in my 21 Day Fix journey, be sure to check out my page here! 

Oatmeal Apple Baby Food

Oatmeal Apple Baby Food

Ingredients: 

1 cup cooked Oatmeal

1 cup apple sauce (homemade or jarred)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup water

                            

Directions:

1. In your blender, add all the ingredients, and blend on high until smooth.

2. Portion out into an ice cube tray to freeze for individual servings.

3. After 24 hrs you can pop the cubes out and store in a ziploc bag. Heat each cub in a mug for 30 seconds in the microwave when ready to eat. Enjoy!!

Maple Pecan French Toast

Maple Pecan French Toast
Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients for French Toast:

1 loaf of white bread (I got mine from Panera) 

5-6 large eggs

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/3 cup milk

pinch of salt

Directions for French Toast: 

1. In a wide bowl beat your eggs, milk, salt, sugar, and cinnamon for about a minute until incorporated.

2. Slice your bread about an inch thick per slice. You should be able to get about 8-10 slices per loaf.

3. Dip your bread into your egg mixture and make sure it is completely coated on both sides. The bread only needs to be in the mixture for about 10 seconds per slice.

4. Place your bread on a medium heated pan. You should be able to fit about 3-4 slices per pan. Cook each side until golden brown. About 1 minute on each side depending on thickness.

Ingredients for Maple Pecan Topping:

1 cup Pecan halves
1 1/2 cup Real Maple Syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

Directions for Maple Pecan Topping:

1. In a saucepan toast your pecans for 1-2 minutes on medium.
2. Add your butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt to the pecans and let simmer for another 5-6 minutes.
3. Pour over your French Toast and enjoy warm!


I made up this recipe last weekend and it was so yummy!! I was given a loaf of Panera bread that I didn't know what to do with, so this was what I came up with. The kids devoured their French Toast and my husband, who previously had been the reigning French Toast champion in the house, tipped his hat to me! Mmmmm, those warm pecans on top of the sweet bread takes breakfast to a whole next level. Divine!