Turtles? Porcupines? Hedgehogs?

What do you think?

Battle of the Sniffles

So, early on I wrote about how much I value these breakfasts as a tool to keep the little guy's immune system in tip top shape. Well, they saw us through to the beginning of March when all three of us were hit with a "winter cold." You know: sore throat, coughing, runny nose, no fun. You could almost see the germs hopping from one person to another. 

I was out of work for three days and certain things fell to the bottom of the priority list... like making cute pictures with food.

But we're back and I have a couple of updates to share. Like these fun pinwheel flowers and strawberry bunnies!

I've been trying to find fun things to do with strawberries, because they are so yummy! Ideas?

Giraffe!

It's always nice when my little dude recognizes what I've created for him. He's in the middle of a little cold, so I wanted to create a high vitamin plate this morning: pear, mango, strawberries and kiwi!

He immediately exclaimed, "Giraffe!" Love it!

Pear and mango giraffe

With strawberry and kiwi tree

Immediately recognized and promptly consumed!

Snowstorm?

There is currently a snow advisory and we're all waiting on a storm. So far, nothing. Except this huge, beautiful, nutritious snowflake hanging out in my kitchen.

Pancake, kiwi, strawberries and blueberries. 

We had pancakes and sausage for breakfast yesterday. I always make extra pancakes to freeze and re-heat later.

Leftover pancakes from the weekend make great art!

And I'm so glad that strawberries have finally come down in price. Hooray!

Imagine a snowstorm of these guys!

Love!

Some mornings I struggle for ideas, today was easy.

Chocolate pancake heart, joined by two cinnamon toast hearts with
butter and grape jam... and LOTS of fruit!

Raspberries, blueberries and strawberries round out the Valentine. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hungry Little Caterpillar

This guy has been on my mind for a long time. I forced myself to wait until I had the right ingredients, to put forth a solid effort and I'm glad I waited!

It's the very hungry caterpillar! It looks like he's already had his breakfast! I thought about adding a piece of chocolate cake and some sausage, to stay true to the book, but decided to keep it simple. 

 

Maybe soon I'll try the beautiful butterfly! 

You can do it too!

There is a very fun beach seen that can be found all over the Pinterest-sphere:

It's pretty simple. You need the following items: kiwi, banana and orange.

Cut off the top and bottom of the banana, slice it in half, then cut it into pieces and position on your plate like so:

Then, peel the kiwi and slice it from top to bottom into wedges. 

Finally, peel the orange and place it at the bottom of your scene. I think it would be a bit more cute if I was using a tangerine or clementine. 

The little guy loves blueberries and there is usually always room for blueberries!

I hope this blog has inspired you to start doing fun things with your food. You don't need a little one to enjoy these playful plates - all you need is a little patience and some good knives!

Ahoy!

Tuesday morning featured a sailboat with a school of fish for the little guy.

Pancake boat, apple sail, blueberry sea, grape fish and orange sun. 

And Tuesday evening featured an exceptional evening of dining with some lady friends. Big kid food can be pretty too!

Causitas, a potato appetizer that brought a party to my mouth. 

It was a delectable day all around! And for those of you in the Madison, WI area, I highly recommend Surco, the Peruvian restaurant on Cottage Grove Road. The service is questionable (not bad, just slow) but the wait is worth the amazing flavors they create in the kitchen!

"More kale please!"

Tonight, at dinner my heart just about burst. My little guy of 21 months declared, "More kale please!" I looked over at my mister and we shared one of those parenting moments that transforms insane amounts of sleep deprivation into a minor inconvenience.

Tonight's dinner: seitan barbecue and kale chips.

So what makes a toddler hungry for a vitamin-packed superfood? Turning said superfood into tasty, seasoned chips!

The kale chips were a huge hit!

This recipe is so easy, it's not even really a recipe. Cut or tear 3-5 leaves of kale into tiny pieces, toss in olive oil, season to your taste (I used Penzey's Smoky 4/S) and cook at 275 degrees for 20 minutes.

Yummy vegetables!

These "chips" were easy for this toddler to handle, tasty enough to warrant a request for seconds and packed with vitamins A and C. Triple win!

I love kale!

I know this guy's tastes could change any minute, on a whim. So I'm enjoying these moments and hoping that the more we expand his palate, the less likely he'll be to turn into a hotdog and macaroni and cheese monster. Fingers crossed!

Art is Hard

Some mornings are complete and utter fails and others are questionable and I roll with it. Today was the latter. I was going for an Antarctic scene: penguin, snow, igloo. And I wanted to get a kiwi into the mix. I got to work and wound up with this:

Igloo? Turtle? 

My thought process: Igloos can be green, right? Right. This isn't real. Maybe this guy even wanted his igloo to look like a turtle. And all of his other penguin friends are jealous of his awesome turtle house. Pretty sure penguins don't live in igloos. This isn't real. Oh, right. Does that even look like a penguin? Ugh. I'll just pretend this didn't happen. No, take a picture. It's art. Art can be hard, you have to work through it. Live and learn! Plus it will be yummy no matter what. 

So here you are, "Penguin and Igloo (or Turtle)!"

The most frustrating part? About a month ago I made a complete mess of a kiwi trying to create a turtle! I just couldn't get it. I think I see another turtle in my future...

Testing: Graham Crackers

I love to bake. I have my standard go-to recipes: chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies... sense a theme? This week I decided to try something different. Crackers. Graham crackers to be precise. I searched on-line for a recipe that was easy and for which I had all the ingredients. I found this recipe at Kitchen Simplicity and decided to give it a whirl. 

Crackers need to be thin. That means a lot of rolling. I'm not very patient when it comes to baking, so this was a flawed plan. 

Graham cracker dough. Roll, roll, roll. 

My usual sidekick was cheering me along. 

My little helper!

I scored them with a pizza cutter before they went in the oven, and they had to be re-cut when they were finished baking. If I do this again, I'll cut and separate before baking.

Fresh out of the oven. 

My crackers turned out to be kind of like graham cookies. A bit too thick. I didn't take enough time to roll the dough thin enough. Next time, I'll work in smaller batches

Cooling crackers. 

They taste just like graham crackers. It's pretty amazing!

They could be a bit thinner. 

They are a hit with the whole family and pair nicely with milk or a Scotch ale.

Regardless of their height, they are pretty tasty!

Graham Crackers

1 C whole wheat flour

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C brown sugar

1/4 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1/2 C cold unsalted butter, cubed

1/4 C water

1/4 C honey

Mix dry ingredients with butter until combined. Add water and honey. Roll out, cut into shapes and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 

Waiting for sunshine!

It has been a long, long winter. Luckily we're able to find a bit of relief in the fruity creations I whip up each morning!

Sunshine! Pancake, mango, apple and blueberries.

Sunflowers made of oranges, bananas, apples and kiwis. 

The keys to a successful fruit plate include: 1) variety, different kinds of fruit, pancakes, toast, etc. 2) although you want the pieces of food to be age-appropriate, they should be large enough to pick up 3) no pressure! I set it out in the morning and it's always gone by the time I get home. He may take his time to munch throughout the day and that's ok. He usually finishes his smoothie first thing, so I'm not worried about nutrition and calories.

Oh, also, I try to get in as much vitamin C as possible. Especially during winter!

Behind the Scenes

The time I spend preparing my little guy's breakfast is something I've come to covet. It's my morning meditation and reflection time. Don't get me wrong, I may pout or smash grapes if the banana doesn't bend to my whim, but in general, I love using the quiet time in the morning to create something that I know will be nourishing my little dude all day long.

Here is the process, from start to finish, which takes about 30 minutes:

Mama's nourishment is at the top of the list. Because you know. I'm the mom.

Coffee first. Always coffee first.

Then I make a quick smoothie for the little one. This is an easy way to get in some dairy and probiotics. I use an organic superfoods smoothie from the Co-op to supplement vitamins and add flavor. One bottle lasts me all week long. If you continue to follow the blog, you'll soon learn that I'm not so much for precise measurements - unless it comes to baking. So here's how I made the smoothie this morning with approximations when it comes to the measurements:

General smoothie recipe: 1/4 c yogurt, 1/4 c milk, 1/8 - 1/4 c green smoothie, powder from one probiotic capsule. Combine all ingredients in a cup and mix. 

Smoothie time!

 Coffee? Check! Smoothie? Check! Time to grab the art supplies.

Power drinks!

It's the end of the week, so we're running low on fruit. Here's what I was able to scrounge up: blueberries, grapes, pineapple, orange, apple, pear, banana and frozen buckwheat pancakes.

Gather the supplies.

What to make, what to make? I go through this every morning. I think about current events, time of year, exciting new words we've been practicing, peace in the middle east... sometimes my mind wanders.

This morning I realized I've never made a train! The train show is coming up in a few weeks, so I thought I'd give it a try. Once I have an idea, I usually try to find a picture to copy. For example, for the Harley Davidson I did last week, I google-image searched a Harley in order to get it right. Finding a picture of a train in this little boy's house was easy.

Find inspiration.

 Once I have the image in my head, the design goes fairly quick. There is a definite mess made and I eat many of the fruit scraps (I admit I need nourishment beyond a nice creamy coffee).

After the storm.

 Then I take a picture for posterity. And for you all.

Finished product.

 I set up the breakfast area and get myself ready for work.

Waiting for the little guy.

If the boys (baby and papa) are still sleeping when I leave for work, I count on a text message or e-mail to fill me in on the reception. I'm such a lucky mama!

Another (well, the only) satisfied customer!

Thanks for reading! This is a brand new blog and I'm working on my picture taking skills. Since I'm armed only with an iPhone it should be an interesting journey!

By Request

Pancake pyramids and mango sphinx  

Mango, apple and kiwi Harley Davidson

Pancake, orange, blueberry and mango balloons

Banana, blueberry and mango birthday cake