Baby Eats: Coconut Oil Banana Almond Butter

I am starting to have to sneak stuff into the boy. He has gone from ridiculous fantastic eater, to classicly picky kid. We have alway done the "hide it" in pancakes and muffins routine, but I recently branched out and ventured into the world of spreads and dove into coconut oil.

While I use coconut oil on his face and butt regularly, he had yet to have any in his diet and since the little dude could stand to grow a bit more, I thought it may be a good addition to his healthy fat intake.

Anywhoo, since he is basically part monkey and can't even look at a banana without losing his mind, I opted to use his fave fruit as part of this experiment. I was not wrong in assuming that he would enjoy it. Kiddo almost screams when he sees the jar of this coming his way now.

SUCCESS! Now get growing baby boy!

Coconut Oil Banana Almond Butter

• 4 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium banana
• 4 tbsp almond butter

1. Blend everything together and enjoy! Will do best in an airtight container in the fridge to keep the oil firm

Baby Eats - Quinoa Oatmeal Peanut Butter Pancakes

I love cooking, and now that I have a tiny gourmet on my hands I have even more reason to ensure we are always eating well.

Little E has been a champion eater since we started solids at the 6 month mark but I am always looking for ways to ensure that he is getting everything he needs. He is a vegan baby so I have to be aware that he is always getting enough protein, iron, calcium etc, from non-animal sources. For me this is easy, for him I sometimes find it challenging - not to get the food into him but to keep it interesting and not to offer the same meal every single day.

Pancakes are our go-to in the AM and today I tried to mix it up a bit. This has been my standard recipe for a while now (http://www.colourfulpalate.com/2011/06/22/vegan-banana-oatmeal-pancakes/) and as you can see its super simple. I've done an apple cinnamon version, a pumpkin spice version and a pear version and those went over super well, so I decided to be a bit adventurous today.

Since we ventured into peanut butter yesterday I thought a Peanut Butter Banana version may work well. And for an added UMPH, I tossed in some quinoa. And I was not wrong. LOL - E gobbled up 4 full sized cakes, in addition to an entire banana and 1/2 a pear. This boy has an appetite!

Quinoa Oatmeal Peanut Butter Pancakes

• 1/4 cup toasted quinoa
• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 medium banana
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 cup water

1. In blender (I use my Nutribullet) blend together quinoa, oats, flour and baking powder
2. Place dry mix into large mixing bowl
3. Again in blender, combine banana, peanut butter, milk and water
4. Add wet mix to dry and stir until combined 
5. If you find you mix is too thick add a tbsp of water until your desired consistency is reached
6. Cook up and enjoy!

Makes about 22 full sized cakes - I use a ice cream scoop to portion out my batter

Each one of these bad boys packs in:

• 70 calories
• 3g protein
• 10g carbs
• 3g fat
• 4g iron
• 2g sugar