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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.

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry (GAPS-legal)

I used to make stir fry all the time. And I always used the packets of powder for sauce. Needless to say I have not used those in quite a while. Too many questionable ingredients (never quite sure what those “seasonings” are).

So that means making my own sauce to make stir fry. Well…that’s tricky too. I try to avoid all soy…including soy sauce. So that eliminates just about every recipe you find.

I wanted to make stir fry last night. But I had no idea what to use for sauce. So I came up with a very easy, very tasty recipe! So simple. I had a little beef soup leftover in the fridge…which has lots of good flavor. I combined the broth with a little bit of honey…ta da…sweet and sour sauce that is actually very nutritious! And we all loved it.

Now when I have just a bit of soup/broth leftover I’ll know what to do with it. And now I can make stir fry more often again. No bright orange/red sauce with high fructose corn syrup.

This is a great way to get a variety of vegetables in one meal. Last night I used zucchini, sugar snap peas, broccoli, carrots, beans and corn (cooked in coconut oil for even more nutrition). And I used some leftover pork roast (from the freezer) cut in cubes. So quick and easy. A big hit!

I’m so glad I now have a healthy, easy way to make stir fry. The leftovers make a yummy breakfast, too. This recipe is even GAPS legal and very allergen-friendly. You can serve it over rice or quinoa. It is great on top of butternut squash as well.

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry

2 cups meat of choice, cut in chunks (raw or cooked)
3 cups vegetables of choice cut up
2 Tbsp. coconut oil or other fat (butter, lard, palm shortening)
1 cup any kind of bone broth
1/4 cup honey

If meat is raw cook in coconut oil in hot pan (if it’s already cooked start with next step).

Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.

Cook the vegetables in coconut oil in the hot pan until done to desired tenderness.

Add in cooked meat. Add in broth and honey.

Simmer the mixture until the broth reduces and forms a sauce. Add more broth if the mixture is too dry. Add more honey for a sweeter sauce.

Serve over rice, noodles, quinoa or squash.. Top with crispy nuts if desired.

Homemade Sausage

We love sausage. A few years ago I would have never said that. I never ate sausage…I was scared of eating fat 😛  Now I know better. And will admit I actually do like it…always have. Just wouldn’t let myself eat it before (although I can still honestly say I don’t like brats…other sausage/hot dogs I do). I wasted too many years without good food. I usually get our sausage (pork) from a local farmer. But yesterday I decided to experiment and make my own. I had some ground chicken in the freezer. I had been planning to make chicken burgers. But then I thought it might be fun to make chicken sausage instead. It’s so easy. And so good!!! The best part…I know exactly what is going into the sausage and I can control the spice (we don’t like things spicy…especially Rebecca). I know there is no sugar. And I know I am using good quality unrefined sea salt. You can add whatever seasoning you like. I kept it very simple. I added one egg to the mix. Not sure that it’s necessary, but it doesn’t hurt either. The mixture was very moist, but cooked up well. I cooked the sausage patties in my cast iron skillet in a combo of palm shortening and lard. Lots of healthy animal fat. You can make a bunch of these at once and freeze them for easy breakfasts later. I used 1 lb. and got 10 good size patties out of it. You can use any ground meat you like…pork, chicken, turkey, etc. I will be doing this more often for sure. And I’ll have to experiment with shaping them into links. Any shape would work…maybe something fun to experiment with for kids 🙂  I didn’t actually measure anything. But I’ll try to give rough amounts. Basically just add what you like/season to taste. Final bonus…GAPS legal 🙂  Bring on the sausage!!

Homemade Sausage

1 lb. ground meat
1-2 tsp. unrefined sea salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. minced onion
1 egg (optional)

Mix all ingredients together. Chill for a bit. Shape into patties. Cook in greased skillet (use butter, coconut oil, palm shortening or lard) about 5-7 min. per side, until cooked through.

Egg Muffins (grain free, GAPS-legal)

Not much action in the kitchen these days. But I do still have to make dinner every night. Last night I just threw something together that turned out well. I had read about other people doing muffins with eggs. But I don’t think I ever actually read any of the recipes. So I didn’t have any quantities, etc. And I was really rushed making dinner. So I just threw a few ingredients together and baked it. Turned out great!!! Little muffins that are mostly just egg. You can add anything to them. I just added cooked breakfast sausage (thankfully I had prepped that earlier in the day) and a little shredded cheese. They could be dairy free without the cheese. You could add any kind of veggie too. This isn’t much of a recipe, but I’m posting it to remind myself when I need something quick for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And leftovers are great too! Eat them cold or warmed. A great thing for a busy mom of a newborn to have on hand 🙂  All 3 of us really liked these. And that’s saying a lot. Rebecca can be pretty picky when it comes to eggs. And she loved them.

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

Egg Muffins
(makes 9 muffins)

6 pastured eggs
1/2 lb. cooked breakfast sausage
1/4 cup shredded cheese (optional)
chopped veggies (optional)

Beat eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased muffin pan (I greased it with palm shortening…came out very easily). Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

GAPS Sauerkraut

Aside from bone broth one of the most nourishing and healing foods for GAPS is sauerkraut. It is recommended right from the start…starting with just the juice and then adding in the vegetable itself. So I figured I better try some 🙂  This recipe comes right from the GAPS book. Very simple. And only takes 5-7 days to ferment. I made mine even more simple since I didn’t have any carrots in the house…and they bother me anyway. So it’s just cabbage, water and salt. That’s it. It does take a little elbow grease to get the cabbage broken down. But still very easy to make.

I tried my first bite yesterday. It was pretty good. I only took one small bite…start slowly. So I can’t say if it had any impact on me or not. I’ll have to update again sometime. And I probably should be starting with just the juice anyway 😛  As I’m getting more into the GAPS diet I’m realizing that for now I don’t need/can’t handle tons of veggies. I always wanted to load up on them before…that’s how you get rid of constipation, right? When in reality all of the fiber aggrivates your gut when it’s not healed/not able to digest properly. And I think that’s why I’m finding so many veggies bother me. Until I get my gut sealed and healed I need to stick to only food that is very easy to digest…like broth, very mushy veggies, probiotic foods, etc. I can’t handle much fiber right now. The opposite of what I was told for years. No wonder I had so many problems! Slowly but surely I’m figuring this out 🙂  My goal is to start having a little of the juice and/or the cabbage with most meals. Hopefully that will help with digestion.

And not related to sauerkraut, but something else I’m finding…I think it may be the coconut flour that’s been bothering my tummy lately. Same issue…too much fiber for me to handle right now. Coconut flour is particularly high in fiber. So sad. Since it’s so good!! But all in good time. Until I’m doing better I’ll keep my grain free baked good intake to a minimum and stick with nut flours. I handle those better at the moment.

Anyway, here’s the recipe. I only made a small batch…one small head of cabbage. It made 1 quart.

GAPS Sauerkraut

1 medium size white cabbage or combo of red and white cabbage
2 shredded carrots
water
1 – 2 Tbsp. unrefined sea salt

Slice cabbage thinly. Add carrots. Add salt. Knead mixture well with your hands until a lot of juice comes out. If it is not juicy enough add a little water. Put the mixture in a glass jar for fermentation. Make sure the cabbage is covered with liquid and that there is at least 1 inch of headspace in the jar. Cover loosely with lid. Let ferment in dark place for 5-7 days. Check periodically to make sure the cabbage is submerged in liquid.

Grain Free Breakfast Cookies (gluten free, GAPS-legal)

I hadn’t intended to do much baking this week. But Sunday I was looking at some grain free blogs and came across a recipe for breakfast cookies on Comfy Belly. And I had to try them! I’ve loved breakfast cookies ever since I made them the first time. But sadly have not been able to eat them for a while. So I was very excited to see a grain free version. They taste very similar to my other recipe. So good!!! And super easy to make. I didn’t follow the measurements exactly…I was trying to use up what I had on hand. But they still turned out great! My plan was to make a half recipe…but it was kind of 1 1/2. I used 1 cup of my homemade almond-pecan meal and about 1/2 cup of boughten almond meal. I still used 1 egg, but only 1/4 cup of honey. Still plenty sweet. As usual I left out the baking soda and used stiff egg white instead. For add ins I used crispy sunflower seeds, raisin, coconut and a few chocolate chips. I know the chocolate chips aren’t really on the approved list. But like I said, I was trying to use a few things up and I had a small amount left in a bag. I made my cookies a decent size. I got 12 out of this batch. Another great, easy breakfast to have in the freezer! Love it. Serve it with a kefir smoothie and you’ve got one very nourishing, tasty breakfast!

These can be dairy free if you don’t use butter.

Grain Free Breakfast Cookies

2 1/2 cups of almond meal or almond flour (any nut flour will work really)
1/4 tsp. of salt
8 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, melted (or 1/2 cup of coconut oil or vegetable shortening, melted)
1/2 cup of honey
1 egg, separated
1 Tbsp. of vanilla
about 2 cups of nuts, dried fruit, seeds (or anything else your heart desires)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and blend with a spoon. Add the wet ingredients (except the egg white) and blend it well with a spoon.

Beat the egg white until stiff peaks form. Fold into dough.

Drop mounds of batter on the cookie sheets (I used parchment paper lined sheets). Space them about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 12 to 20 minutes (depending on how big you make them…mine took almost 20 minutes), or until they are starting to brown around the edges.

If you want them slightly crunchier (these are on the soft side), leave them in the oven at 200 degrees F for another 15 minutes or so, or in a dehydrator on a fairly low temperature for about 2 hours.

Cool and enjoy. Store in a sealed container

Coconut Flour Bread

I tried another coconut flour recipe today. This one comes from Maggie’s Nest. When I saw it I knew I had to try it…just a simple loaf of bread. Worked great!!! 

It’s very yellow, like most things you make with coconut flour (I think it’s because you have to use so many eggs with coconut flour). Very mildly sweet.

My daughter sure loves it. I had some with butter. I’m anxious to try using it tonight for a sandwich with cashew avocado chicken salad.

I again omitted the baking soda to make it GAPS-legal (did the egg white trick). I used butter this time. I’ll have to try it with coconut oil sometime.

This is a very simple bread to make. And a great one to have on hand (fresh or from the freezer) for many uses. I bet you could make it savory by adding herbs or make it sweeter by adding fruit. I’ll have to try that sometime.

You can even make it into pumpkin bread by replacing one egg with 1/2 cup of pumpkin and adding some cinnamon.

Coconut Flour Bread

3/4 cup coconut flour
6 pastured eggs, separated
1/2 cup butter, ghee or coconut oil (melted)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan very well, or line with parchment paper (I greased it well with butter…had no problems.).

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Combine coconut flour, egg yolks, butter/oil, honey and salt in a mixing bowl and beat with a whisk or spoon until you have a smooth paste (I used a hand mixer). Add in egg whites. Stir with spoon until well combined. Add lemon and mix lightly.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes.

*Replace one egg with 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin and add 1 tsp. cinnamon to make pumpkin bread.

Apple Cinna-Muffins (grain free, dairy free, GAPS-legal)

Another new grain free muffin attempt today. I found this recipe on Cooking GAPS. I modified it slightly – used coconut oil instead of ghee and did the egg yolk/white trick so I could eliminate the baking soda. They turned out well, but fairly crumbly. I think that’s because I used some of my homemade almond-pecan flour…which is quite coarse. And the quantity of apple made them not hold together as well. I’ll have to experiment a little to get them just right. Or maybe add an extra egg next time. The dough was very thick. But overall a great recipe. Very good flavor. Next time I’ll use muffin liners, too. That will help keep the muffins together. I’ll post the recipe the way I made it. This made 11 muffins.

Apple Cinna-Muffins
10-12 muffins

2 cups almond flour (I used 1 cup crispy almond-pecan flour, 3/4 cup almond flour and 1/4 cup coconut flour)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or ghee at room temperature)
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 large or 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

In a medium bowl, mix the almond flour, salt and cinnamon. In a small saucepan melt coconut oil. Add honey and vanilla. Add egg yolk to dry ingredients. Beat egg white until stiff. Add oil mixture to dry ingredients. Fold in egg white. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into paper lined muffin pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

Grain Free French Toast (GAPS-legal)

This isn’t much of a recipe. But it was a very tastey and exciting meal last night that I figured I’d share 🙂  When you start eating grain free there are a few things here and there that you miss…like french toast. I grew up eating french toast for breakfast almost every Saturday morning. So it was a wonderful treat to be able to eat french toast for dinner last night. Earlier in the week I made a batch of cinnamon raisin nut butter bread. Then I used that to make french toast. YUM!!!!! I drizzled it with honey instead of maple syrup (syrup tastes better…but not so good for the tummy) to make it GAPS legal. I felt like I got to eat dessert for dinner. And I didn’t have to worry about it making me sick. This is a very basic french toast recipe. I made it with kefir this time instead of milk to make it GAPS legal. Worked great.

Grain Free French Toast

6 slices nut butter bread (plain or cinnamon raisin)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk kefir
cinnamon (optional)

Mix eggs and kefir (and cinnamon). Heat griddle over medium heat. Grease griddle with butter, coconut oil or lard. Dip bread in egg mixture, coating both sides. Cook on griddle a few minutes on each side, until lightly brown and egg is cooked. Serve warm with honey.

If you are making a large batch you can keep the french toast warm in a 250 degree oven while you  make more.

Baked Bacon and Eggs (casserole and bowls) (Grain Free, GAPS-legal)

Yesterday for dinner I tried a recipe from Nourished and Nurtured for Baked Bacon and Eggs. Sarah’s recipe is for a casserole. I made them in individual cups  Pretty simple meal. And tasted great!!! What’s not to love about bacon and eggs baked together? 🙂  I lined some small pyrex dishes with the bacon, baked it for about 40 min., drained it and let it cool a bit. Then added the egg mixture and cheese and baked. Turned out really well. I’ll be making this again for sure. I had some leftovers for breakfast today. Still tastes great! I only made about a half recipe since I wasn’t making the full casserole. And I had to bake it at a higher temp since I was also roasting veggies. I used 3 strips of bacon per bowl. And 5 jumbo eggs total. And I just grated a small amount of cheese on top of each. I’ll have to try the full recipe sometime. I’ll post the original recipe and my modified recipe.

Baked Bacon and Eggs (8×8 casserole)

5-8 ounces nitrate-free bacon
10-12 eggs, preferably farm eggs
1/2 cup milk kefir (you can use whole milk, but then it won’t be GAPS legal)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp. Celtic sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Cut bacon slices in half (so they are half as long). Place bacon slices in square 8X8 glass baking dish, covering the bottom. The bacon slices should be overlapping. Bake the bacon at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, just until it starts to crisp. Depending on how much you have overloaded the pan, you may want to rearrange the bacon some after it has cooked for 15 minutes (since it will shrink away from the sides).

While bacon cooks, prepare egg mixture. Combine eggs, kefir, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and beat with a fork or whisk until well-combined and fluffy. When bacon is done cooking, rearrange the slices as needed to cover the bottom of the pan (since the bacon may have shrunk away from the edges). Pour egg mixture on top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and return to the oven. Bake casserole at 325 degrees for about 40-50 minutes, or until set. The eggs will puff up in the middle when they are near done, and will then deflate while cooling. Allow to cool slightly, then scoop and enjoy.

*Time-saving tip: If you will be saving the majority of the casserole to eat as leftovers, do not allow to bake completely. Rather, pull the casserole out when the middle is just starting to puff up, and then eat portions from the sides. This will ensure that the leftover eggs will not be overcooked when reheated. We store our leftovers in small glass containers. Then all that is required on the following days is to place the glass container in the toaster oven set at 250 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Baked Bacon and Egg Bowls (4 individual bowls)

12 strips nitrite/nitrate free bacon
5-6 jumbo eggs or 7 large eggs
1/4 cup milk kefir
1/4 cup grated paremsan cheese
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Cut bacon strips in half. Line each cup with 6 halves to cover dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until starting to get crisp. Drain. Set aside (you can do this ahead and let them cool if you want).

Combine eggs, kefir and salt in a medium bowl and beat with a fork or whisk until well-combined and fluffy. Divide egg mixture into prepared bowls. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until set. The eggs will puff up in the middle when they are near done, and will then deflate while cooling. Allow to cool slightly, then scoop and enjoy

Grain Free Peanut Butter Brownies (gluten free, dairy free, GAPS-legal)

Yesterday was a cold and rainy day (with thunderstorms and hail…at the end of April…yuck!), so Rebecca and I decided to bake. I saw a super simple recipe on Grain Free Foodies recently for peanut butter brownies. We gave it a try. It was very simple. Only 3 ingredients! The verdict…ok. Honestly they don’t have a ton of flavor. I think I’ll add a little more honey if I make them again (I used about 1/3 cup). They would definitely be better with something chocolate in them 😛  They got a little dark on the edges. I think that might be from the palm shortening I used to grease the pan. Rebecca really likes them. So that makes this a great recipe…not very sweet and GAPS legal…and Rebecca likes them. Score 🙂  The original recipe uses baking soda. I left it out. The texture is really good. I think I just still have a big sweet tooth. Hopefully at some point that will change and these will taste sweet to me 🙂

Grain Free Peanut Butter Brownies

1 cup peanut butter (or any kind of nut/seed butter)
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda (not GAPS-legal, it works fine if you leave it out)

Thoroughly mix all ingredients (an electric mixer works well). Pour into a generously greased 8″ x 8″ baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Do not overbake- these are so moist and chewy but get dry if baked too long.