Creamy Fruity Protein Pops

Ice pops in late September? It might seem like I'm late to the party, but moms out there with a teething toddler can relate. For the last month, Baby G has been obsessed with ice pops, and I don't blame her.

It was a lot easier before she connected our freezer with her beloved pops. That plus her learning sign language has led to more ice pop meals than I care to admit. I am thrilled she can communicate, but every power has its price. After she went through a tray of nine pops in two days, I knew something must be done.

I made pops with spinach with hopes that it would slow down her love. She kept demanding them, but wouldn't finish them. To be honest, I felt kind of bad about the whole thing. I always swore I wouldn't hide greens in food and here I was deceiving on her on an already pretty wholesome snack. I mean, my pops are generally filled with fruit and ground flax seeds, is that really the worst thing I could feed her?

My goal with this pop was a little more nutrient oomph plus the same fruity goodness. We had some ridiculously ripe mango from the CSA that I needed to use so I combined that with silken tofu and frozen blueberries. Fresh fruit, vitamin C from the blueberries, and creamy protein from the tofu. 

For those of you not familiar with silken tofu, it's a less dense version of tofu that does not need to be refrigerated and has the power to create non-dairy creamy dishes and desserts. Vegan cooks know what's up. I have seen it used in everything from macaroni and cheese to chocolate mousse.

Creamy Fruity Protein Pops

1 cup fresh mango, diced

[1/2] cup frozen or fresh blueberries

6 ounces silken tofu (half the package)

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into ice pop molds. This makes 9 small kid pops and 2 adult ones.

Allergy notes: If you are dealing with a soy allergy, try subbing in Greek yogurt. You'll still get a nice dose of protein. Dairy allergy, try a [1/4] cup of almond milk.  You may not get the protein, but you will get some added calcium provided that your almond milk is fortified.

Question for the moms: what snacks have helped your LO through teething?

Homemade Cereal Bars

Baby G is walking.

I hope this explains my absence the last two months.

This summer has been filled with early morning runs, park expeditions, yoga/wrestling matches (Baby G has mastered the body slam during my Shavasana), and lots of wine after G is down for the night. 

As the summer draws near, my writing work is ramping up and I couldn't be more excited. Next week I will be giving a talk in Verona on healthy after school snacks and I have some projects that are in development but I can't wait to share with you. First, this talk next week, I will be at Verona Chiropractic on Wednesday August 20th from 5:30-6:15 talking about healthy after school snacks and lunches. If you are interested, call 608-497-3000 to reserve a spot by Monday, August 18.

This is one of the recipes I will be sharing next week. It has been a major go-to recipe for us all summer. I developed it for my last cookbook, Homemade Snacks and Staples, because I lived on Nutrigrain bars growing up. Next time you are in the store, read the ingredients and you will see why I made my own recipe (spoiler alert: over 40 ingredients!).


I have been making these so often lately that I have developed some shortcuts. I thought it was easy when I first made it, but now I have it down to an assembly line science. This makes two dozen so I keep about six in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. It's a great little morning treat. If Baby G sees them, she has to have one. They are dangerously good.

Homemade Cereal Bars

 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
[1/2] cup quick cooking oats
1 [1/2] teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
[1/8] teaspoon salt

[1/2] brown sugar, packed
[1/2] unsweetened applesauce
[1/2] cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
[3/4]- 1 cup jam of your choice*

*homemade is best, but otherwise look for jams that have fruit as the first ingredient and no high fructose corn syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350 (dg)F. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan (or two 12-cup mini muffin pan).

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together butter, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture. You may need to use a wooden spoon and/or your hands to get it all combined.

4. Use a small cookie scoop to scoop dough into muffin pan (approx. [1/2] tablespoon of dough). Flatten dough into pan. Add a teaspoon of jam to each on. You can do two different jams if you'd like- I usually do apricot and blackberry.

5. Scoop another [1/2] tablespoon of dough for each bar. Then flatten into disk and seal the muffins.

6. Bake 18-25 minutes until tops are golden and starting to crack. 

7. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. To thaw, either take out and sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes or put in microwave for 20 seconds- if you heat it up, the jam may be hot so be careful when giving it to your little one.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Berry Patch Puree

I hesitate to refer to any of my baby foods as Baby G's favorite. At only 8 months old, I have a hard time getting my mind around the idea that she has a favorite. There's so much that she hasn't tried and this whole eating thing is brand new. How do I know if she likes or doesn't like anything? Sometimes she seems to prefer eating her toes, but I wouldn't guess that she likes how they taste.

So, I won't say this is her favorite. I will say she consistently eats it. And these days, that is saying something.

Why pumpkin?  Pumpkin is a great super food. It is high in fiber, low in fat, and 1 cup of canned pumpkin puree has 3 grams of protein. And it's packed with beta carotene which is converted to Vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is great for the eyes.

And because I had a whole bunch of canned puree leftover from some recent cookie baking. Sometimes reality is a little less sexy....

Pumpkin Berry Patch Puree

[1/2] cup mixed berries

[1/4] cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree

[1/2] banana

dash of ground nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients in the blender and puree until you reach your desired consistency. It makes approximately 1 - 1[1/2] cups.

2. Store in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Beyond the Puree

This puree has a nice sweet taste to it. It would be great swirled in yogurt.

Combine this with some cream cheese and spread on a half tortilla. Fold it over and cook it in a dry frying pan to make a sweet, dessert quesadilla. Cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side and 1-2 minutes after you flip it.

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Does your baby have any favorites or strong likes/dislikes? How can you tell?