I am slowly re-surfacing from a crazy 3 months of moving TWICE, and getting back into the kitchen, and back to the business. I was delighted with my concoction I came up with tonight for my little 1.5 year old. He loves vegetables, but I haven’t had much luck with getting him to eat leafy greens, so thats what inspired this creation. The best news of all, he LOVED them. Check out the recipe below along with a few other favorites.
Collard Green and Mince Cakes
Ingredients:
4-5 large collard green leaves (destemed and chopped fine)
½ red onion
1 small bunch parsley
4 medium sized potatoes, (diced and boiled)
8 oz grass-fed ground beef
2 T almond flour
2 T gluten-free flour (optional)
2 eggs
½ tsp dried thyme
3-4 T coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Boil potatoes for 12 minutes, drain and mash. Set aside. Chop collards, parsley and onion (I use a blender or vitamix to chop fine.) Saute collards and onion in 1-2 T coconut oil for 2-3 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until beef is browned. Add collard mixture to the potatos and stir in gluten-free flour and almond flour. Scramble two eggs and while stirring the mixture (it will still be hot) add the eggs. Mix in salt, pepper and thyme. Heat pan with remaining 2 T coconut oil. When mixture is cool enough to touch, mold into small cakes and fry in coconut oil until golden brown. I promise, your kids will love them!
Other kid favorites:
Kale Chips
1 bunch kale, destemmed and cut into 2” pieces
1/8 cup high quality olive oil
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
Pre-heat to 375 degrees. Rinse kale, and dry completely. Remove stems, and cut into small pieces. In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the kale with remaining ingredients. Spread kale into one layer on cookie sheet. Roast in oven for 10 minutes until kale is crisp and dry.
Raw Apple Sauce
3 apples, cored and roughly chopped (leave skins on)
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5-6 dates, pitted
1 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 banana
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined but still chunky.
Chocolate Pudding Smoothie
1 avocado
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 banana
1 tablespoon raw cocao powder
1 tablespoon raw cacao nibs (add after blending for added crunch)
4 cubes of ice
Blend together until smooth and thick.
Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
For the cheese sauce:
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
3 T. fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 clove garlic
pinch of turmeric
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. mustard (dijon or yellow)
Directions:
Blend ingredients until smooth and creamy.
For the macaroni n’ cheese casserole:
8 oz. of gluten-free elbow or shell pasta
freshly ground black pepper
paprika.
*optional add-ins: roasted broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, spinach.
Mix together and enjoy immediately, or roast in oven for 30 minutes.
And, just for fun for a quick grab and go snack idea, my little boy’s recent favorites are Lundberg Brown Rice Crackers, and Seaweed snacks. Amazing!
