Pumpkin Ricotta Muffins with Spinach & Kale-toddler approved!

Hey there!

In my never-ending quest to feed my 15-month-old variety, I decided to make some pumpkin muffins for her mixed with ricotta cheese and then realized I could get away with adding some greens in there too! These are pretty easy and really healthy! Sugar is not an ingredient in these muffins. So here is how I made them:

Dry ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp black pepper

Wet ingredients:

1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1/4 cup olive oil

Blend all of the wet ingredients together in a blender then add them to the mixed dry ingredients in a large bowl. Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees

Chop up 1 to 2 cups of fresh spinach and or kale leaves and fold that in at the end

Pour mixture into to baking tin (they will rise a bit)

Bake for 20 min or a few more if needed once you check them with the clean toothpick test

I have been topping them split in half with plain Greek yogurt and sharing them with Charlotte for breakfast or snack time. She is into them! Freeze some or keep in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days at room temp.

Enjoy!

xo-Adrienne

Toddler-friendly Tuna & Rice muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

2 five oz. cans tuna

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 TBSP mayo

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP ginger

1 TBSP honey

1 egg

2 chopped scallions

1 huge handful spinach chopped

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder and sesame seeds to taste

a drizzle of olive oil

To Do:

Mix with a spoon or fork all ingredients together and fill evenly into the mini muffin pan like I did here:

Or roll into balls and bake for 18 min in a 350-degree oven

Let them cool for 5 to 10 min before popping them out to cool on a rack or at this point eat immediately because you will want to because they smell so good~yay! They taste like and give you the feeling you are eating sushi!

This recipe made 24 mini muffins and 2 regular size muffins. I plan on enjoying these with Charlotte for lunch and freezing some to pull out weekly. All the good stuff (carbs, protein & veg) in them so I will serve with applesauce or fruit for her most likely today. She is such a good little eater and I hope and pray it never ends!

xo, Adrienne

Zucchini & Apple Oat Muffins

I made these today on a whim after looking for zucchini muffin recipes at the beginning of the week. I came up with my own based on what I had on hand and wanted to use. These are quite delicious and really very easy to make. Preheat oven to 350 and get your mini muffin pan out and ready. Spray so they don’t stick if not using silicone.

In a large bowl combine:

1/3 cup whole fat yogurt (good for babies and toddlers)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup oats

1 egg

1 small to medium sized grated zucchini (I left some skin on and took some off)

1 small to medium apple grated of your choice (I left some skin on and took some off)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp mini or full-size chocolate chips optional but recommended by me because I have a sweet tooth that can’t be tamed & I bet you do too!

Gently mix all ingredients together with a spoon and then fill muffin tin mostly all the way full as they will grow a bit in the oven but not overly.

Bake 18 min for mini style and I am guessing based on past baking of such muffins that a full size will take about 22 min so just check with a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean. Cool completely and then store in the fridge or freezer. (This amount made 20 minis)

I like this combo because they were super moist and full of mostly the good stuff! I know you and your little ones will like them too!

My Charlotte had two for a snack with her milk today and she liked them very much!

zucc and apple muffin

xo-Adrienne

Chicken & Veggie Mini Muffins

chicken m 2

Yesterday I made a trip to Trader Joe’s….my favorite grocery store! I limit my visits because I spend way too much money there. I mean way, way, way too much! I knew I wanted to use my mini muffin pan for some type of meat muffin so I chose ground chicken and this riced veggie pack to work with.

I haven’t given Charlotte many chances to try meat so far and I knew I needed to start ASAP to get her used to the texture and flavor. For this recipe, I took the pound of ground chicken and 1 and a half cups of the riced veggies which includes: onions, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. I also added 1/4 c panko breadcrumbs and 2 eggs. For just a bit of flavor, I added 1/4 tsp of thyme and 1/4 tsp of basil as well.

This made 24 mini muffins. The mix was pretty moist and wet. This was great though because these came out super juicy and not dry at all.

I baked them at 350 for 30 minutes and I ate a bunch as well as giving them to Charlotte over the next few days to try. I also froze some.

chicken m

Feeding these little humans can be quite tricky, messy & fun while also being frustrating. Thank goodness for my anxiety medicine! I didn’t have the time to devote to my older child as I wasn’t a stay at home mom with him. He is quite picky still when it comes to food but since I have the opportunity to work with Charlotte more I always keep that in the back of my head. She may not eat something today but I bet someday she will! She tries everything I give her and that is winning as far as I’m concerned!

**I also tried these with chickpeas instead of ground chicken and they came out great! I used a 15.5 oz can of chickpeas that I rinsed and chopped in the food processor for 10 to 15 seconds. I did everything else the same except I used 2 cups of the chopped veggies instead of 1.5 cups and I baked them for 15 min instead of 30.