What Sawyer's Eating: Pancakes 5 ways (grain, dairy, & gluten free)

We try to stay as close to gluten and grain free as possible. Sawyer isn't allergic, but it's much healthier for him (and us)! That's not to say that he never gets oats or rice, but if there's a way to make something without a bunch of gluten then I usually do it.

These pancakes are so simple and there are so many different combinations that you can do. I'm going to show you the few that I have been alternating here for Sawyer's breakfast. Most of them start with the same base (egg and banana) and then I change up what I add to it.

Here are the ingredients that I choose from (again, sorry for the crappy phone pic):

*almond butter
*peanut butter
*egg
*banana
*sweet potato
*canned pumpkin

Combination 1:
Pumpkin Spice

1 egg
1 banana, mashed
2 tbsp canned pumpkin
pinch of pumpkin pie spice

Combination 2:
Sweet Potato & Nut Butter

1/2 a small baked sweet potato
1 tbsp almond or peanut butter
1 egg
pinch cinnamon

Combination #3:
Banana

1 banana, mashed
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
* you can add blueberries to this one as well!

Combination #4:
Peanut Butter Banana

1 banana, mashed
1 egg
1 tbsp peanut butter

Combination 5:
Almond Butter & Banana

1 banana, mashed
1 egg
1 tbsp almond butter

For all combinations, simply mix the ingredients and cook. I prefer to cook mine in coconut oil. Again, the possibilities for combinations are pretty endless. You could also substitute applesauce for the eggs and avocado for the bananas, but I haven't tried those yet.

Sawyer loves these topped with plain greek yogurt. I have another recipe I will share in a day or two for Apple Pumpkin dip- he loves to have it on top of these pancakes as well!

What Sawyer's Eating- Gluten/Grain free Pumpkin Muffins

Little Man loves pumpkin. Maybe not as much as some of you die-hard pumpkin spice fans, but he is really loving it lately. I usually hate buying cans of pumpkin because most recipes don't call for the whole thing and I end up wasting it. But I have 3 pumpkin recipes I'm planning to share this week and the best part is that you can use the same can for all of them. No waste!

First up are these Grain Free Pumpkin muffins. This is the second batch I have made for him because he loved them so much. I like giving them to him as a snack because they're filling, but they're not full of empty calories, sugar, and other junk.

(I apologize for the crap pictures-- I had to take them quickly with my phone instead of my camera)

Ingredients:

1 cup of almond flour
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 eggs
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup of honey, agave, or maple syrup (I used maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350*

In a mixing bowl, combine almond flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt.
Add wet ingredients and mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups- about 3/4 full.
Bake 20-25 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched.

Allow to cool and then freeze, if you want. I usually keep them in the freezer and pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds.

If I weren't cooking these for Sawyer, I would probably add some pecans and chocolate chips!

What Sawyer's Eating: Peach, Mango, Banana, & Spinach Smoothie

My little man has been sick for almost 3 weeks now. He had a cold that developed into pneumonia. He took antibiotics and was better for about 2 days and is now sick again. Coughing, sore throat, super congested, and a fever. He is normally a fantastic eater, but these days it's hit or miss depending on how he's feeling.

On days that he doesn't eat much, I make him a smoothie. It's an easy way to get something nutritious in him!

Today's smoothie was a mix of what I had on hand in the freezer. I always try to keep some sliced bananas in the freezer for this very reason! They are pretty potent, so I don't add many. This recipe made enough for Sawyer and me both.

Ingredients:

1/4 of a frozen banana
2-3 frozen peach slices
3 frozen mango chunks
handful of spinach leaves
1/2-1 cup almond milk (I tend to make these pretty runny so that Sawyer can drink them through a straw- adjust for your own taste)
I add everything to the blender and pulse until it reaches the consistency I want! So easy!

What Sawyer's Eating: Avocado & Coconut Milk Popsicles

Little man loves avocado. It was the first food we gave him when he started solids and it's still one of his favorites. I was at Kroger this morning and saw that they had popsicle molds on sale (BOGO!) and decided that I would try my hand at making a healthy popsicle for him.

These are super simple- the prep time is only about 5 minutes! My plan was to just do avocado and coconut milk, but at the last minute I tossed in some spinach, because why not? These popsicles aren't very sweet, but I like it that way. I don't think he needs tons of sweets at this point in his life. If your baby is over one, you could add in some honey. You could also add in some banana as well, if you wanted.

If you don't have popsicle molds, you can pour the mixture into ice cube trays and serve in a mesh feeder.

Ingredients:

2 Avocados
1 cup of coconut milk
handful of spinach

Combine everything in a blender or food processor and blend until combined. Fill molds and freeze! Easy as that! This made 12 popsicles in the molds I had.

Warning! When you fill your molds be super careful. I pushed the handle into the mold too hard and spilled an entire tray all over my floor.

These guys are super messy, but my little man went crazy for them! I think they felt good on his gums!

What Sawyer's Eating: Baked Sweet Potato Pancakes

I'm not sure that I should even classify these as baby/toddler food. They are so good and I had to keep myself from eating all of them!

Sawyer has pretty much stopped eating pureés at this point. I still make him some fruit ones to eat with his yogurt, but for the most part he eats whatever we eat. I like to have some homemade finger foods on hand for snacks and lunch, though. One of our favorite side dishes is roasted sweet potatoes mashed with parmesan cheese, garlic, and spinach. Since I wanted something that Sawyer could feed himself, I figured that I could take my recipe and turn it into a pancake for him to pick up. Sawyer loves sweet potatoes and garlic, and I love sneaking in spinach, so these are right up both our alleys.

These pancakes (or puffs, whatever you want to call them!) are super simple and quick to make! You only need 4 ingredients- sweet potatoes, spinach, parmesan, and garlic. If you are dairy free, these will still work without the parmesan cheese.

I gave him these for dinner along with homemade veggie soup and he gobbled them up!

Ingredients:

2-3 small sweet potatoes (enough to equal 2 cups mashed)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large handful of spinach, cut thinly
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Pinch of thyme
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350*.

Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and microwave until soft. You can also bake them in the oven, but I didn't have that much time.
While the potatoes are cooking, heat the olive oil in a pan. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted- about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Once the potatoes are cooked, slice them in half and scoop the potato into a bowl. Add cheese, spinach and garlic mixture, and a pinch of thyme.
I scooped everything into a ziplock bag, cut the tip off, and piped the mixture onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. You can also just scoop it out with a spoon if you don't feel like piping. I think piping makes it go a little faster, though.

Bake for 20 minutes, let cool, and enjoy!

What Sawyer's Eating- Banana smoothie!

Most mornings, I make an almond butter, oat, almond milk, and banana smoothie for breakfast. Sawyer always wants some of it, but he can't have nuts yet so I try to gulp it down when he's not looking. Today I decided to make him a "smoothie" that he could enjoy with me.

This recipe is great because you only need 3 ingredients; 2 if your bananas are already frozen. These "smoothies" can be completely tailored to your baby and you can use it as a base for other ingredients once your baby is ready for oats and yogurt.

Ingredients:

1 banana, sliced

1/2-1 oz of breastmilk (or formula)

1/2 c of ice (if your bananas aren't frozen)

In a food processor or blender, add bananas and ice, if using. Blend until bananas are smooth. If your baby is older and can handle chunks, feel free to not blend as much. Add breastmilk in small increments until desired consistency is reached.

This normally makes 2-3 servings for Sawyer, so keep that in mind if you don't want leftovers. I put the rest in the fridge and it keeps for 2 days.

Now that Sawyer is eating yogurt, I will probably start to add yogurt or other frozen fruits to his smoothies.

Although the photo shows the smoothie in a glass with a straw, I actually gave it to Sawyer on a spoon. Please don't give your baby anything in a bottle except milk or formula- they can choke!

What Sawyer's Eating: Plum, Blueberry, & Spinach Pureé

This pureé is one of Sawyer's favorites. He'll eat it on its own or mixed into yogurt for breakfast. I've also given him a frozen cube in a mesh feeder to help with teething. It was a super messy hit! I love it because I can hide spinach in it-- always a success in my book.

My two favorite things about pureés are that they are completely customizable and really low maintenance. If you don't have spinach, you could sub out another leafy green. I've also used peaches in place of the plums and he loved it just as much. If you think you don't have time to make pureéd baby food, just give it a try. You literally chop the fruits/veggies, go play with your kiddo while they're steaming/cooking, and then dump them in the blender/food processor.

Ingredients:

4 plums, peeled, pitted, and chopped

1 cup of blueberries (I used frozen)

1 handful of spinach

In a small saucepan, heat plums on medium low heat for about 10 minutes. Add in blueberries and spinach, cover, and cook for 10 more minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the food processor. Pulse until combined. If needed, add some of the reserved cooking liquid until desired consistency is reached.

Let cool, then transfer to ice cube trays and freeze.

What Sawyer's Eating- Cherry, Raspberry, and Banana Puree

I had originally planned to share my recipe for the beef stew I made for Sawyer today, but decided to share one of the things I made this morning, instead.

Sawyer is at an in between stage with foods at the moment. He still eats purees, but he also loves to pick things up and feed himself. I typically give him a puree of some kind in the morning, a puree and a finger food at lunch, and pieces of whatever we are eating for dinner.

We are also experimenting with yogurt. If you've been reading my posts, then you know all about our supposed issues with dairy. I am still dairy free, but I gave Sawyer yogurt a few weeks ago. We thought that he had a reaction, but it was actually teething and a cold, so I tried it again a few days ago. So far so good!

We try to eat as organically as possible in our house. Some things we go conventional on, but dairy is one of the things that must be organic. We get the organic, plain, full-fat greek yogurt from Whole Foods. If you've ever had plain greek yogurt, it's not amazing. I refuse to give him the yogurt marketed for kids, as it's full of sugar. The kinds that come with fruit in the bottom are pretty bad, as well. So I make fruit purees to mix in with his yogurt.

This puree is actually really good! I had to stop myself from eating all of it. It takes all of 5 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to make. I found it on BabyFoode. She included cinnamon in hers, but I left it out of mine. This woman has amazing ideas!

Ingredients

2 bananas, chopped
1 cup of raspberries
1/2 cup of pitted cherries (I used frozen)
Steam everything together for 10 minutes. Puree in food processor until desired consistency is reached. If needed, use some of the reserved steaming water to thin.

I let it cool, then portioned it into 1oz servings in an ice cube tray. Once they were set, I transfered to freezer bags. In the mornings, I thaw one cube and add it to Little Man's yogurt!

What Sawyer's Eating- Grain Free Banana Muffins

I love to cook and bake. When we found out we were having a baby, one of the things I was most excited about was making him baby food. Healthy, organic food and saving money are really important to me. Making Sawyer's food is so much cheaper than buying prepared food (especially organic baby food!) and I love that I know exactly what is in it. There is nothing wrong with store-bought food at all. These are simply the reasons why I've chosen to make our own.

We didn't introduce solids until he was 6 months old and have chosen to stay away from grains until he's a year old. We also suspect that he may have a slight dairy and gluten intolerance, so we are avoiding those things as well.

I've had a few people ask me for recipes/suggestions for homemade baby food, so I think I'm going to start documenting them here every week or so. Especially because we're almost finished with monthly updates (HOW do I have an almost one year old??).

You don't need fancy equipment or a ton of time to make your own food. I use a colander and pot to steam the veggies, then I puree them in my food processor or with my immersion blender. I typically take an hour on the weekends to make Sawyer's food for the week. It doesn't have to take that long, either. You can take some of whatever you are making yourself for dinner and puree it, too! One of the best pieces of advice I have is to plan your meals and your baby's meals at the same time. I try to use the same ingredients for both, to keep the grocery bill down.

Because I have a photo, I'm going to share a recipe for grain-free banana mini muffins. I found the recipe at Detoxinista. Normally, I like to play around with recipes and add my own touches, but since I'm pretty new to gluten free baking, I stuck completely to the recipe. Now that I've seen how it works, I'm going to try it next time with zucchini, carrots, and applesauce instead of banana.

Ingredients:
2 large bananas (the more ripe they are, the sweeter the muffin!)
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350*

In a small bowl, mash bananas with fork until relatively smooth. Mix in the egg, followed by the rest of the ingredients.
Since I made these for Sawyer, I used a mini muffin pan. Be sure to use cupcake liners, as these muffins stick. Spoon the batter into the liners (I filled them to the top) and bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Sawyer loves these! I wrapped them in plastic wrap, put them in a Ziplock, and stuck them in the freezer. I thaw one or microwave it for a few seconds and give it to him for his morning snack. I love that it's grain free and there are no added sugars!

Next up- Baby beef stew and Blueberry & Spinach puree!