Leftover Makeover: Toddler Meals

Often when I have bits of good things here and there, I will use them for food for my 1 year old, A. Here are two super easy and nutritious meals that use almost all leftovers. Not really great recipe format- more like some ideas....

Scrambled Lentils
I have mentioned before that I add cottage cheese to my scrambled eggs to up the protein factor, but they are the perfect vehicle for lots of things. Steamed, mashed broccoli, asparagus, spinach, obviously cheeses and meats. A loooooves scrambled eggs and eats them about once a day. Yesterday I added about a quarter cup of cooked lentils to four eggs scrambled with a splash of whole milk and a heaping tablespoon of cottage cheese. She gobbled them right down (well about a third anyway- she had some more today and even I had some with some sour cream and a piece of crumbled bacon for breakfast). Lentils are a great food to cook in advance and freeze in ice cube trays- they can be added to pasta dishes, soups, stir-fry, etc. We love them.

Kiddie Carbonara
So this is not real carbonara (not even close) but it has peas and pasta in it, so we'll go with that. Earlier this week I had quite a bit of leftover orzo pasta from a side dish. I specifically set aside some without sauce for use later. To about a cup or cup and a half of whole wheat orzo, I added a quarter cup of leftover peas (w/ a tiny bit of butter). The I shredded up some leftover ham and tossed in just a bit of shredded cheddar cheese and let it all melt together. She and my 4 year old, N ate all of it. Good whole food.

Egg-ceptional Baby Grub

Have I posted this before?? I think about posting it regularly so it seems like I have already written it :) Egg yolk is one of the most perfect foods for babies- they are full of protein and good fats and they are cheap and easy. I usually hard boil some eggs to keep in the fridge for easy finger foods but sometimes I forget.

Infants can't eat egg whites until they are over a year old because it is such a common allergen (one of the top 5 food allergies actually) and scrambling an egg yolk gives less than appetizing results. What I have found is that if you place an egg yolk in a dish with about a tablespoon of cottage cheese instead of milk, you get a much much better product. They are creamy and smooth, have an extra protein punch and my little lady loves them.

Round them out with tiny chunks of banana (try dusting them with rice cereal or oatmeal to make them easier for tiny fingers to pick up and swallow) and you have a great start to a busy day of cuteness!