Its no secret that I'm mom to a picky booger of a toddler. I love that kid, but I swear she keeps me on my toes trying to find foods she...
Its no secret that I'm mom to a picky booger of a toddler. I love that kid, but I swear she keeps me on my toes trying to find foods she'll eat every week! This week her favorites are milk, strawberries, applesauce, spinach/mango veggie pouches, toaster waffles (plain - sauces are apparently trying to kill her), dry cereal, oatmeal and occasionally rice.
Yep, I have a carb-loving kid that's for sure!
Because she's not the biggest fan of veggies on their own, yet turns up her nose at sauces, I try to include things like shredded zucchini and carrot in baked goods like mini muffins. One of the best purchases I've made for the kitchen since I had her was this set of silicone mini muffin pans. They ROCK and make baking up a batch of toddler-friendly treats a breeze. I've also used them for savory rice cups (rice + broccoli + cheese + egg) and they work super-well.
I have been trying to get my daughter in the kitchen more now that she's 3 and really seems to love the "dump and stir" part of recipes. Lately she's been obsessed with steam coming off pots on the stove, so we're working on safety with the stove and oven. Still, the stirring and pouring ingredients is her favorite, especially adding pinches of salt!
She helped me make up a batch of these fantastic little muffins and I've actually convinced her to eat several of them over the past few days. Its a miracle, I swear. These muffins aren't too sweet and you can add in extras like mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, raisins or dried cranberries. I went with this basic recipe and they were a hit in our house. Now, I can't vouch for next week, she'll probably switch to loving sauces and decide muffins are trying to kill her.
Toddlers...
Even if you're not trying to convince a toddler to eat her veggies, these are great for breakfast or as a snack with tea or coffee.
Zucchini Bread Mini Muffins
Ingredients
1.75 oz. whole wheat flour (I use Hodgson Mill brand)
3 oz. unbleached AP flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (just use a box grater)
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. clover honey
1 large egg
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and combine the whole wheat flour, AP flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together with a whisk in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, stir together the zucchini, milk, oil, honey and egg until well combined. Make a little well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the zucchini mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
Scoop about 1 tbsp. into each mini muffin cup (coat with cooking spray first if not using silicone!) and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe adapted from www.myrecipes.com
Click Here To Print The Recipe
.JPG)
