Sophia likes plain veggies about half of the time I offer them to her. Grilled Zucchini, Broccoli etc. Sometimes she gobbles them up, and others she spits them out of her mouth and gives me a look like I have tricked her into eating something horrible. However, she will always eat veggies when they are mixed into a main dish such as quiche, pasta or frittata. I love to make frittatas in the summer, so I decided to make some individual veggie frittatas for Sophia. She did not spit these out, she loved them.

Personal Organic Veggie Fritatta

Ingredients

• 8 Large Organic Eggs
• 1/4 Cup Organic  Whole Milk (you can leave this out and add an extra egg)
• 1/2 Cup of Chopped Onion
• 2 Cups of Chopped Organic Zucchini
• 4 Cups of Organic Baby Spinach
• 1/3 Cup of Organic Gruyere or Organic Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 TBSP Organic Parmeasn
• 1 TSP Organic Dried Basil or 2 TBSP of Chopped Fresh Organic Basil
• 1 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1-2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 TSP Salt
• 1 TSP Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 375
2. Add olive oil to pan on medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes, add garlic and saute for 1 minute. (If you are using dried basil, add it to the onions while they cook.) Add chopped zucchini to the pan with the onions and garlic.  Remove onion, zucchini, garlic mixture when the veggies are soft. (approx 10 minutes of cooking). 
   
   



3. Add baby spinach to the pan with 2 TBSP of water. Cook spinach until wilted (2 minutes). Remove spinach and wring out excess water with paper towel. Chop up spinach.
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, add the milk, grated cheese, chopped fresh basil (if you are using fresh basil), salt and pepper.
5. Add the spinach and zucchini to the egg mixture.
6. Grease Muffin Pans (I would highly recommend using an olive oil cooking spray (Trader Joes sells this) or Canola Oil spray to the muffin pan. I tried this with butter only and the frittatas stuck to the pan.)
7. Pour Mixture into the muffin pans.
8. Cook at 375 for 12 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly on the top.

Serving Suggestions: This is a great summer dish for the entire family. Serve with a large green salad for the adults. For babies ready for finger food you can cut these up into pieces. For younger babies you dice up and feed with a spoon.

Storage: I like to freeze these so I have a healthy dinner or lunch option ready to go.

I’ve blogged about my love of TOMS shoes before- whether it be the original slip on’s or their summer espadrilles, I am always a fan of this humanitarian company and their ability to offer a product that is functional, good looking (some of friends think I have been living at the beach too long to love the way these look- but I disagree, I am obsessed with the comfortable fashion they provide) and at the same time, completely charitable and benefiting our brothers and sisters in need. Now, they’ve done it again by introducing an eyewear line that is fit for the trendy consumer.

Just like the shoes, with every pair of eyewear that is purchased, a person in need will receive the eye care that he or she needs.  Click here to learn more about the program…

The look is very So Cal, with a touch of Ray Ban influence…I for one will be sporting the Classic in Navy with light blue…which ones will you rock?

Want to add some more protein to your little one’s diet? Ever try Quinoa? Quinoa, pronounced “Keen-wah” is 12 to 18% protein. Just a half of cup of Quinoa will meet your child’s protein needs for the day. Quinoa is considered a “perfect protein” because it contains all 8 essential amino acids. In particular, quinoa is high in lysine, an amino acid important for tissue growth and repair. It’s also a good source of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and it has a high iron content. This grain like seed is similar in texture to couscous and a great substitue for rice or other grains. The soft texture of Quinoa is perfect for little ones who are just starting to eat foods with a more lumpy texture.

There is a great new cafe in our neighborhood called Jane. They have the most amazing muffins. Sophia always wants to try what we are eating so I gave her a few bites of my blueberry muffin. She loved it! Big surprise, it was probably the closest thing to dessert she has ever tried. Well, I decided an occasional few bites of a cafe muffin is fine, but I wanted to give her a healthy muffin option with less sugar. After searching on-line for inspiration I found a recipe for Pecan Quinoa Muffins by Martha Rose Shulman in the NY Times and I decided to modify that recipe.

Lets start with a great basic method for cooking quinoa.

Basic Steamed Quinoa by Martha Rose Shulman

1 Cup Quinoa
3 Cups Water, Vegetable or Chicken Broth
1/2 Tsp Salt

Instructions

1. Place Quinoa in a strainer and rinse until the water runs clear. (this is a very important step, otherwise the quinoa will taste bitter)
2. Bring the water or stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the Quinoa and salt. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is translucent and tender and each grain displays a little thread. Drain quinoa and return to the pan. Cover the pan with a clean dish towel, replace the lid and allow to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Fluff and serve.

Yield: 4 Cups Cooked Quinoa

Storage: Cooked quinoa will keep for 3-4 days in your fridge. I usually freeze quinoa in baby food freezer tray. I use Kidco Baby  Steps Freezer Trays because they are BPA/Phthalate free and have a lid.

Serving Suggestions: For younger babies starting to eat textured food, add a 1 ounce serving of Quinoa to a 1 ounce serving of any puree in your freezer (butternut squash, carrot or peas). The result is a risotto like dish. For older babies, mix with a puree and then add diced chicken, mushrooms, peas and parmesan cheese. (if you are finished making purees, just leave it out and mix with chopped veggies and some parmesan cheese).

Mini Blueberry Banana Quinoa Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup organic quinoa flour (you can purchase organic quinoa flour, Bob’s Red Mill) or grind 1/4 cup of quinoa in a mini food prep or coffee grinder and sift). **I highly recommend purchasing the quinoa flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large organic eggs
1/4 cup organic maple syrup or agave nectar
3/4 cup organic buttermilk
1/4 cup organic canola oil
1 teaspoon organic vanilla
1/2 cup of organic frozen blueberries thawed (I love Trader Joe’s Wild Organic Blueberries)
1 ripe banana mashed until it is smooth (this is optional, but I think it adds a nice flavor and little more sweetness to the muffins)
Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the middle. Oil mini muffin pan. Sift together whole-wheat flour, quinoa flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, maple syrup or agave nectar, buttermilk, canola oil and vanilla. Quickly whisk in the flour mixture, then fold in the cooked quinoa, blueberries and banana. Combine well.
3. Spoon into muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove from the mold and cool on a rack.

Serving Suggestions: These are slightly sweet and moist muffins (don’t expect your typical cake like coffee shop muffin). The mini muffins are a great finger food for babies. You can give them the entire muffin…watch out it gets very messy with little ones who are just learning to self-feed OR break the muffin into pieces and allow your child to feed herself. These muffins are great for breakfast or a snack. They freeze well.

Other Quinoa Recipe Suggestion: Baked Quinoa with Spinach and Cheese, another recipe from Martha Rose Shulman. I followed this recipe exactly and Sophia really liked it. It was also a great healthy side for our family meal and a yummy leftover lunch for Mom. When I make this again, I will freeze small portions of it in the baby freezer trays to heat up for Sophia’s lunch or dinner.