Black Bean and Quinoa Patties (Baby and Toddler Recipe)

When Dennis and I began experimenting with giving Weston solid foods we soon discovered that black beans were his absolute favorite. We began by smooshing black beans between our fingers and giving them to him. Then I made him a black bean, red pepper, onion puree. When he started to prefer picking up foods with his fingers and feeding himself, I came up with the recipe for these patties. When they are cooked, these patties crumble into nice finger sized pieces that he can pick up and stick in his mouth- all by himself!

INGREDIENTS
1 can of black beans
2 cups of cooked quinoa
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup of red pepper
1/4 cup of green onion
1/4 cup of corn
1 egg
2 Tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste

COOKING DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well until combined.
3. Spray two baking pans with oil.
4. Place heaping spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking pans leaving about ½ inch in between each spoonful.

5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

This recipe makes 12-15 patties depending on how large your spoonfuls are.

After the patties have cooled place them in a Tupperware or glass storage container and freeze. Patties will keeps for about 1 month.

To prepare them for your baby or toddler, place patties on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 15-20 second intervals depending on your microwave until heated to desired temperature.

You may find that you don't have all of the ingredients needed to make a recipe or that you have something similar but not the exact ingredient. You may also find that your baby or toddler may not like some of the ingredients listed or you may not be comfortable feeding them certain ingredients yet, like seeds. For instances like these, I've offered some recipe variations below, but its always fun to experiment with what you have. Who knows? You might just find your babies new favorite combination!

Recipe Variations
Substitute green onion with red or white onion.
Substitute red pepper with yellow, green, or orange pepper.
Substitute egg yolk for the whole egg if your baby cannot yet have egg whites.

-Jenn

Sweet Potato and Lentil Patties (Baby and Toddler Recipe)

I love making these for Weston. One of the first solid foods he ate was sweet potato and he absolutely loved it. I can't get enough of watching his little hands scoop up pieces of these patties and shoving them into his mouth and then making the sign for "more."

These patties are still soft in the middle after baking so they are nice and mushy for babies and toddlers and with sweet potatoes about to be in season these are a great addition to the Thanksgiving and Christmas table for your little ones.

Ingredients
2 Sweet Potatoes peeled, chopped, and steamed
1 cup of cooked split peas
2 Tbsp of flax seed
1 tsp of cinnamon

Cooking Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. If you haven’t done so already, steam the sweet potatoes and cook lentils
(To cook lentils bring approximately 1.5 cups of water (or broth) to a boil. Add 1 cup of lentils.  Allow the water to return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until lentils are soft.)
3. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
4.  Spray a baking pan with cooking oil.
5. Spoon the mixture onto the baking sheet sheet.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

This recipes makes 18-24 patties depending on how big your spoonfuls are.

After the patties have cooled place them in a Tupperware or glass storage container and freeze. Patties will keeps for about 1 month.

To prepare them for your baby or toddler, place patties on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 15-20 second intervals depending on your microwave until heated to desired temperature.

You may find that you don't have all of the ingredients needed to make a recipe or that you have something similar but not the exact ingredient. You may also find that your baby or toddler may not like some of the ingredients listed or you may not be comfortable feeding them certain ingredients yet, like seeds. For instances like these, I've offered some recipe variations below, but its always fun to experiment with what you have. Who knows? You might just find your babies new favorite combination!

Recipe Variations
Substitute green lentils with yellow or red lentils or peas (cooking instructions are the same).
Substitute flax seeds with poppy, chia, and sesame seeds or omit the seeds altogether.
Omit the cinnamon.
Add 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.

-Jenn

Squash,Carrot, and Potato Patties (Baby and Toddler Recipe)

These squash, carrot, and potato patties are a great way to incorporate fall seasonal produce into your baby's diet and use up those extra vegetables from your CSA box. 

INGREDIENTS
2 russet potatoes – shredded
2 carrots- shredded
1 yellow Squash- shredded
1 egg
1 cup of flour
½ onion-finely chopped or shredded
3 garlic cloves –finely chopped or pressed using a garlic press
¼ cup of green onions- chopped
1 Tbsp of olive oil or other cooking oil
1 tsp of basil
1 tsp of oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

COOKING DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix until well combined.
3. Spray two baking pans with oil.
4. Place heaping spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking pans leaving about ½ inch in between each spoonful.

 5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until patties are a golden brown.

This recipe makes 18-24 patties depending on how big your spoonfuls are.

Cooking tips: For shredding the potatoes I use the coarse side of a cheese grater and just grate it directly into the bowl. I use my Kitchen Aid to mix the ingredients together (mostly because I just love an excuse to use the Kitchen Aid) but it can always be mixed by hand.

After the patties have cooled place them in a Tupperware or glass storage container and freeze. Patties will keeps for about 1 month.

To prepare them for your baby or toddler, place patties on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 15-20 second intervals depending on your microwave until heated to desired temperature.

You may find that you don't have all of the ingredients needed to make a recipe or that you have something similar but not the exact ingredient. You may also find that your baby or toddler may not like some of the ingredients listed or you may not be comfortable feeding them certain ingredients yet, like seeds. For instances like these, I've offered some recipe variations below, but it's always fun to experiment with what you have. Who knows? You might just find your babies new favorite combination!

Recipe Variations:

Substitute russet potatoes with any other kind of potato.
Substitute herbs with other herbs such as parsley or Italian seasoning or omit herbs all together.
Substitute yellow squash with zucchini.
Substitute egg yolk for the whole egg if your baby cannot yet have egg whites.
Omit onions or garlic depending on your baby's taste.

-Jenn