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Category: Kid-friendly Recipes

It is so important to cook homemade, healthy food. But it’s not always easy to find kid-friendly recipes.

That’s where I come in. I’ve got hundreds of kid-tested and approved recipes that won’t keep you in the kitchen for hours or stretch your budget too thin.

I focus on allergy-friendly, whole foods. But I always cook with kids in mind. I take all sorts of feeding challenges into account too.

We’ve dealt with every allergy possible, so I’ve created recipes that are gluten free, nut free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, corn free, coconut free and more!

Kid-friendly recipes don’t have to be boring. And they are certainly not limited to chicken nuggets and pizza every night.

A nourished child will enjoy a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Get your kids in the kitchen with you and start cooking! Have fun with food and your kids will learn to love eating.

Grain Free Zucchini Muffins (dairy free, GAPS legal)

Last week I made cold beet soup. In the post on Health, Home and Happiness where I got the recipe was a link for zucchini muffins that sounded good. So I tried them yesterday. These are about the easiest muffins to make. I made them in a couple minutes while I was unloading groceries 😛  And they are really good! As is, they are kind of a savory muffin, so I added a little honey for sweetness. They have a very mild flavor. I also added blueberries to half of them. It’s good. But I think I like them better without the berries. I bet cinnamon and raisins would be really good. They are definitely an eggy type muffin. This recipe is a very good base. I want to play around and see what other combinations I can come up with. I made the batter in the food processor and used 1/2 crispy almonds and 1/2 almond flour. I also only made a half recipe. I got 12 medium size muffins out of it. I didn’t have time to grease a muffin pan. I just used paper liners and omitted the tallow. Worked fine. I served these with fresh pea soup for dinner, had some with butter for a snack and had some with cashew butter for breakfast. They are good any time of day!

*Edited 8/5/11 – I made a batch of sausage zucchini muffins last night for dinner (added 1 lb. of cooked sausage to the batter…although any ground meat w/ some seasoning would work fine). So good!! Especially served drizzled with honey (or maple syrup if you’re not doing GAPS). After starting GAPS/going grain free I was missing the pancake sausage muffins I had been making. But these totally make up for it 🙂  And I’m getting extra veggies and eggs in my diet to top it off. Love it. I will make these again for sure. They make a great breakfast. I just eat them cold with a little honey over top.

Grain Free Zucchini Muffins
~24 muffins

2 cups almond flour (I used half crispy almonds and half almond flour)
6 eggs
2-3 medium zucchini (about 2 cups shredded)
½ tsp. sea salt
4 Tbsp. tallow to grease muffin pan
(4 Tbsp. honey – optional – my add in)
(1 lb. cooked sausage – to make sausage zucchini muffins)

Puree all ingredients (except sausage if using) in a blender or food processor or shred zucchini with a grater and mix all ingredients with a fork. (Mix in cooked sausage) Pour batter into well greased muffin (or use paper liners) tins or a small loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Cherry Pie

A couple weeks ago we found out that our local orchard would be getting tart cherries! I didn’t think we could get fresh tart cherries around here. So I ordered 5 lbs. They came pitted so I didn’t have to do anything to them! Justin has wanted me to make a real cherry pie with tart cherries for years. And I always tell him I would but I don’t know where to get the cherries. Well, we finally have them. Picked them up yesterday morning. And can you guess what else we did yesterday morning? Made cherry pie 🙂  I don’t think I’ve ever had fresh cherry pie myself. I’ve never liked cherry pie…probably because most people use boughten pie filling (gross). This turned out great! I had to have a tiny taste…and even I like it. It was probably one of the uglier pies I’ve ever made…trying to roll out dough in a hot kitchen with a crying baby and a toddler that won’t stop picking at the dough is a bit of a challenge. I was happy to just get the crust in the pan in mostly one piece 😛  But it still tastes great. And I even let Rebecca make a mini pie for herself with the crust scraps.
Justin gave this two big thumbs up. I used my usual crust recipe and the filling recipe from the Food Network. This was quite easy to make. I didn’t add the butter or the sugar on top…I was lucky to actually get the pie done/in the (toaster) oven. I’m sure it would have been good, but it isn’t necessary. I froze the rest of the cherries so I can make another pie sometime or maybe try another cherry dessert with tart cherries.

Cherrry Pie

1 prepared double pie crust (recipe below)

4 cups fresh or frozen tart cherries
1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I used cane sugar/rapadura)
4 Tbsp. cornstarch (I’m sure you could use arrowroot instead or some people use tapioca)
1/8 Tbsp. almond extract (optional)

1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, to dot
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar, to sprinkle

Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well. Add the almond extract, if desired, and mix. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently (took me about 3-5 min.). Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornstarch.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 8 to 9-inch pan. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of bottom crust. Place top crust on and flute the edge of the pie. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Pie Crust (double)

2 cups flour (white or whole wheat or a combo of the two)
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cups + 2 Tbsp. palm shortening or cold butter or lard
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vinegar

Combine flour and salt in food processor. Add half of the shortening and pulse until it gets crumbly. Add remaining shortening and pulse until it looks like small peas. Add water and vinegar. Process until dough forms. Remove. Split into two parts. Use immediately or wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Pummus (grain free, dairy free, egg free, GAPS-legal)

Pummus | Homemade Dutch Apple PieI love both pesto and hummus. And I eat quite a bit of both lately…great snacks that keep me satisfied and away from sweets. I’ve even recently started eating them for bedtime snack. Last night I had this with sliced cucumbers.

After having to make pesto without cheese I wanted to find a way to boost the nutrition and flavor.

Then I thought…why not combine the two dips I love into one? So I did…YUM!!! Pesto hummus…pummus 🙂  So good, so healthy and so easy to make.

I’ve been using peas lately to make my pesto since they are easier on my tummy than raw spinach (plus raw spinach has oxalates). And I like the bit of sweetness from them. You could use any combination of greens you like. Maybe next time I’ll add some of our basil. You can use any kind of nuts. And you could even leave the nuts out. It depends if you like to have more of a pesto taste or a hummus taste. This is so versatile.

This is great to have on hand for snacks. It is a great way to get more vegetables in your diet that are easy to digest. And even better, its a great way to get healthy fat in your diet. You can even mix egg yolks into pummus for more nutrition.

Do you like pesto? Do you like hummus? Put them together and try a batch of pummus!Pummus | Homemade Dutch Apple Pie

 

Pummus (Pesto/pea-sto Hummus)

3/4 cup peas/spinach/basil (any greens you like)
1 cup navy beans (soaked and cooked)
1/2 – 3/4 cup cold pressed EVOO (depends how thick you like it)
unrefined sea salt to taste
garlic powder or fresh garlic to taste
1/4 – 1/2 cup crispy nuts (optional)
(egg yolk)

Combine all of the ingredients (except egg yolk) in a food processor or blender and process until well blended. Add more seasoning and EVOO to get desired taste/texture. Add egg yolk to individual serving if desired.

Fermented Vegetables (GAPS-legal)

I finally got around to making some fermented veggies yesterday. I followed the directions in the GAPS book. It doesn’t give quantities, but it tells the method. I used cabbage, beet and carrot. GAPS also suggests cauliflower, but I’m avoiding that right now. I hope I do ok with the carrot in this form. It was super easy to do. I made 3 quarts. It takes about  week to ferment. I’m anxious to try this when it’s done! This is a great probiotic food that will aid in digestion. The veggies and liquid should be added to your diet gradually because of the probiotics.

Fermented Vegetables
makes ~ 3 qts.

1/2 large green or red cabbage
2 large carrots
1 large beet root
cauliflower (I didn’t use this)
salt
garlic (I just added some garlic powder)
3/4 cup kefir whey
water

Chop veggies into bite size pieces or shreds. Season with salt to taste. Add chopped garlic or garlic powder. Mix. Distribute evenly between 3 wide mouth quart jars. Add 1/4 cup whey to each jar. Fill with water so that all of the veggies are submerged. Seal jar. Let ferment on the counter for 1 week before transferring to the refrigerator.

Egg Wraps (grain free, dairy free, nut free, GAPS-legal)

Last night for dinner we had wraps. A fun, easy Friday night meal. But instead of the traditional tortilla/bread I made wraps out of eggs. I’m sure it’s not a novel idea, but I had never done it before. I got the idea from a cooking magazine at my OB’s office (I guess those long waits are good for something :P).

The wraps are so easy…just beat some eggs and cook in a pan. And they taste great!! What a fun, nourishing GAPS friendly way to enjoy a sandwich/wrap.

The whole family loved them. Even Rebecca…and she will rarely eat eggs. She thought it was so fun to make little sandwiches with hers. You can use any kind of filling for them. We had them with pesto, chicken and bacon…YUM!!!!

I cooked the eggs in palm shortening (so they wouldn’t stick). You could use any kind of fat – butter, coconut oil, etc. They were a little “greasy” to hold. I could have put them on a paper towel to dry before serving I’m sure. But we don’t mind messy fingers when you’re getting healthy fat 🙂  This would also make a great, quick breakfast (if you don’t mind cold eggs…I sure don’t :). Cook the wraps the day before. Then fill them with whatever you want in the morning (cheese, veggies, etc.). I’ll keep these in mind the next time I have leftover meat/veggies…stick them in an egg wrap. I used about 1 egg per wrap.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager.

Egg Wraps (makes ~ 4)

4 eggs
salt

Whisk eggs and salt.

Heat a small pan on low/med-low heat. Add butter, shortening, coconut oil or lard. 

Ladle about 1/4 of eggs into the pan, covering the bottom.

Let the eggs cook a few minutes, until set. Flip and cook another 30 seconds or so.

Serve warm or cold with desired fillings.

Pesto (grain free, GAPS-legal)

Yesterday I made a batch of pesto. And I realized I don’t have a recipe for it posted on my blog. I guess I don’t normally use a recipe. I just toss in what I have on hand and taste as I go. But I figured it might be a good idea to post a base recipe. So I’ll do my best to give quantities. Yesterday I used basil, spinach, walnuts and pine nuts. You can really use any combo of greens/herbs and nuts you like. Pesto is good on so many things (pasta, pizza, quiche, sandwiches, salads, etc.). I realized yesterday it’s a great way for me to get more evoo in my diet. I LOVE pesto. I eat it plain…by the spoonful 😛  So I’ll be making it more often now I think. The veggies are pureed, so easier on my tummy. Plus lots of healthy fat. And no sugar. And ready to go any time. Exactly what I need. I had it yesterday for lunch mixed with avocado and raw egg yolks. YUM!!

Pesto

1/2 cup crispy nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios or almonds work well)
3-4 cups spinach or basil (or any other green/herb you like) washed well
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup cold pressed EVOO (you may need more or less depending on what consistency you like)
celtic sea salt to taste
chopped garlic or garlic powder to taste

Process nuts and greens and seasoning in food processor until smooth. Pour in EVOO while processing until pesto is desired consistency. Add cheese and process again. Adjust seasoning if needed. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

GAPS Pancakes

When doing the true GAPS diet from start to end, the first baked good allowed/suggested is nut pancakes (in stage 3). Why I haven’t made them yet? Who knows 😛  Maybe because the GAPS book doesn’t actually give a recipe…just the ingredients (no amounts). But I did a little searching and found a few versions. I made a small batch yesterday to try. So easy!! And very good. I used some leftover roasted summer squash in mine. It wasn’t totally pureed and still had some seeds…and they still turned out great. Rebecca and I both liked them (Justin hasn’t tried them yet). They only take a few minutes to make. Great snack to have on hand when I need something more solid/filling. And they work well in place of bread/buns. I used one last night for an open face sandwich (with cashew avocado chicken salad). So good. I’m anxious to try them as hamburger buns. And just as regular pancakes too. I like how simple they are…and you don’t have to add sweetener. I’ll be making these often now. I’ll have to make a bigger batch and freeze them to have on hand.

GAPS Pancakes (nut butter pancakes)
makes 8 – 10 small pancakes

2 – 3 Tbsp. squash or zucchini, deseeded, pureed
2 – 3 Tbsp. nut butter
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients together. Fry in butter or ghee on hot skillet.

Homemade Golden Grahams

We used to eat cereal every day for breakfast. It’s been over a year since we stopped doing that, but every once in a while Justin still would like a bowl. But I can’t justify buying cereal knowing how bad it is for you and what a rip off it is. So I did a little brainstorming. And yesterday I made a new batch of graham crackers. But I used part of the dough to try making homemade golden grahams. I used the same recipe. I just rolled it out much thinner. Then I added a little sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar on top and cut it into small squares.

Did it work? I think so. Not sure if they are more like golden grahams or cinnamon toast crunch, though. Either way they taste good. Justin tried them this morning with milk. He likes the flavor. The down side is that I was baking them with the regular grahams. So I couldn’t leave them in the oven to crisp up (grahams were still baking) else they would have burned. So they didn’t get as crunchy as I would have liked. Aside from that they do look and taste like cereal 🙂  I’ll have to make another batch that I can leave in the oven long enough to crisp. A great, healthy way to get your cereal fix. Even if we don’t use the rest of this batch as cereal it makes a great snack for little ones. Great finger food.

12/5/12 – I updated the recipe this week after making a new batch. It got two thumbs up from the whole family (even our little guy that doesn’t normally like sweet stuff)! Do you miss having a bowl of cereal once in a while? Try some homemade golden grahams. Crunchy, sweet, delicious!! Eat them plain, mixed in yogurt or with milk. So good.

Homemade Golden Grahams

2 cups whole wheat flour (or a combination of organic whole wheat and all purpose)
1/2 cup rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar) or brown cane sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. honey (sometimes I substitute molasses for some of the honey to give extra graham flavor)
1/2 cup butter, coconut oil or a combo of both, melted (butter works best for golden grahams to give the crunch; coconut oil works best for cinnamon toast crunch to get the lighter/crispier texture)

cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling on top (optional…if you want it more like cinnamon toast crunch)

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter/coconut oil in sauce pan. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add the liquids: honey, vanilla and butter. Stir well until a nice ball of dough is formed – not crumbly (if too dry add more honey or butter/oil).

Split dough into 3 equal parts. Cut 4 pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet. Lay one piece on table. Put 1/3 of dough on the paper. Lay a 2nd piece of parchment on top of dough. Squish the dough down a little with your hand. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough between the parchment paper. Roll the dough until it is very thin (1/16th” or so). Remove the top piece of parchment paper.

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Put parchment paper back down. Roll over lightly to press cinnamon in – if making cinnamon toast crunch.

Cut into small squares (with pizza cutter). Place on a baking sheet (on the parchment paper…just move the whole thing onto the baking sheet). Repeat for rest of dough.

Bake for 8 minutes*. Turn the oven off, but leave the cereal in to get crisp. Remove after 5-10 min. Let cool completely. Store in airtight container or in the freezer.

*The cereal should be baked on the top oven rack. It works best to do one pan at a time to avoid burning.

Grain Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (gluten free, egg free, GAPS-legal)

The farmer’s market started this week. And what are some of the first things there every year? Strawberries and rhubarb!!! A great combo for desserts. Yesterday Rebecca and I experimented with a grain free crisp. I didn’t have a recipe, and I didn’t measure anything. So I’ll do my best to write down a recipe. I used honey to sweeten it. And a combo of almond flour, coconut flour, chopped nuts, honey, coconut oil and butter for the topping. Turned out quite well. A little liquidy since I didn’t/couldn’t add any kind of starch/thickener. But still very good. And the liquid at the bottom worked well for syrup on top of the ice cream…on top of the crisp 🙂  Justin and Rebecca had some with vanilla ice cream. I was “good” and ate it plain. Still a nice treat. And very healthy! One more dose of coconut oil in my day 🙂  And healthy fruit. I would even consider serving this for breakfast. Really it’s quite healthy. Add some yogurt on top. A great treat for breakfast. This is a fun dessert to make with kids. Aside from the chopping Rebecca could help me with everything. And, yes, the last picture is the crisp in a princess bowl (hard to tell)…it was Rebecca’s snack…all I had time to get a picture of.

This post is linked to Grain Free Tuesdays at Hella Delicious.

Grain Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

3 cups diced rhubarb
2 cups chopped strawberries
1/3 – 1/2 cup honey (to taste)

Topping:
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup melted coconut oil, butter or a combo of the two (I used both…it’s dairy free if you just use coconut oil)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used crispy walnuts and pecans)
1/4 cup honey

Grease 8×8 baking dish. Combine rhubarb, strawberries and honey. Pour into dish. Combine topping ingredients. Drop or press on top of fruit. Bake at 350 for 30 – 40 min. (until fruit is cooked and topping is slightly brown). Let cool. Serve plain or with ice cream, whipped cream or yogurt.

Carob Muffins (grain free, gluten free, dairy free)

Another long morning here with both kids up and raring to go earlier than usual. A long morning with no plans means…time to bake! I had actually semi planned on baking anyway, so I did have something in mind. I made another grain free muffin. I wanted to experiment with making one that was “chocolate.” I used carob instead to make them healthier. I can’t say these are GAPS legal because carob is on the no-no list 🙁  But I had one anyway 😛  They turned out well. I used my strawberry muffin recipe as a base and modified some things. I did add a few peanut butter chips to give a little extra flavor (not healthy, I know…but it’s only a few in each muffin). These are almost more like a cupcake…you could definitely use them that way. I’ll have to try making some frosting for these sometime. These are good…Rebecca and I both had one. I think next time I’ll add a little more honey and a little more chocolate extract to bump up the flavor a bit. And I might add another egg to add a little more moisture. But overall very good. And great texture. My other experiment was using mostly ground crispy nuts instead of regular almond flour. I just ground a mix of almonds, pecans and walnuts in the food processor until it was almost like nut butter (a little more coarse). Then used that in combo with a little almond flour. Still worked great. I’ll do that more often now so that my baked goods are easier on the tummy. And I don’t have to buy almond flour. A fun experiment. And tastey too. Not great pics…I was holding Abram and couldn’t adjust any camera settings, zoom, etc. And the muffin I took a picture of hardly had any chips (the small one I gave Rebecca to try).

This post is linked to Grain Free Tuesdays at Hella Delicious,

Carob Muffins

1 1/2 cups of nut meal, nut flour or ground nuts (I use ground crispy nuts)
3 large eggs, separated
1/3 – 1/2 cup of honey
1/4 tsp. of sea salt
2 tsp. of vanilla extract
3 tsp. chocolate extract
1/4 cup carob powder
1 cup add ins (optional…chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, carob chips, dried cranberries, dried cherries, etc.)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with liners or grease with oil or butter.

In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In separate bowl mix all other ingredients (except add ins) until smooth. Fold in egg whites. Fold in add ins. Fill muffin cups.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes. Makes 9 – 10 muffins.