Moms Meet: Stonyfield Organic Yogurt {recipes}

I can't believe it is already October, I need to start posting my wordless Wednesdays again, fall is such a great time of year for pictures.  Plus, my son has his camera so there are some great 2-year old pictures! It is already seems that it will be a busy month.  We are booked every weekend, between bocce and parties, plus I need to start thinking more about my son's 3rd birthday that will be here before I know it.  But the real reason for this post...

We ended the month with a Moms Meet, I say we because a fellow Mom Ambassador and I joined together this time.  We sampled Stonyfield Organic Yogurts, and my cohort handed out Ecover samples for everyone to take home and try. (Which so far, I really like! It left my clothes soft and for an unscented detergent, left my clothes smelling clean and fresh!) But I am here to talk about yogurt... 

A little about Stonyfield...Stonyfield is based in New Hampshire and started off making yogurt just to support their farming school. It has since expanded and now is sold in most large grocery chain stores. Stonyfield now also buys there milk from family farms, supporting the local farms. (How that came about is kind of interesting, I would suggest checking out their website.) The yogurts are all organic. Here is their mission statement: "We’re committed to healthy food, healthy people, a healthy planet and healthy business."

We sampled all the types of yogurt that our local grocery store carries, I am sure the check out girl thought I was crazy buying so much yogurt!  The ones we tried; YoBaby, YoToddler, YoKids, Greek, Smoothies, Squeezer, and just regular fruit on the bottom.  Everyone really enjoyed them, we were all really happy that they weren't as sweet as some of the other kids yogurts out there and they weren't full of artificial colors (no neon pinks and purples here!) It took everything I had to keep my son from drinking all the smoothies before the sampling.  He loves his yogurt!  I know I will buy these from now on for him.  You can tell they don't have crazy stuff added, and that makes them really good.  They do have a Kids Greek also, but of course our local store didn't carry that.  It also didn't carry as many flavors as there are actually available which is also a bummer. 

The YoBaby, YoToddler and YoKids are made with your child's needs in mind. The baby and toddler are made with whole milk while the kids is low-fat.  All three have less sugar than the other brands.  The toddler also has added DHA.  I have nothing bad to say about them.

And of course, you can cook with yogurt so I made two different things using the yogurt. 


Lasagna Primavera
(adapted from Stonyfields recipe Lasagna Primavera)

2 c carrots, shredded
1 c finely chopped kale
2 c chopped mushrooms
1 q Stonyfield Organic Low Fat Plain Yogurt (to make 1 cup yogurt cheese)
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
2 1/2 c mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, shredded
12 lasagna noodles (I used no boil noodles)*
32 oz pasta sauce


1. For Yogurt Cheese: Using layered cheese cloth, strain the whey from 1 quart of yogurt overnight in the refrigerator. This should yield 1 cup of yogurt cheese. (I used a pitcher and a chop stick, put the yogurt in the cheese cloth and tie, like a hobo sack. Stick a chop stick or pencil throw the gathered cloth, not the yogurt part. The stick will keep it from falling in the drained whey.)

2.Preheat oven to 375°.

3.Using a large mixing bowl, fold the vegetables, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, herbs, salt, pepper and eggs into the yogurt cheese. In a 9"x13" pan place a couple of tablespoons of sauce on bottom, spreading evenly.

4.Place a layer of noodles in the pan, top with half of the vegetable filling, then half of the sauce, then some cheese. Repeat for the second layer. Finish with the remaining noodles and cheese. Bake covered with foil for 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 10 minutes for cheese to brown. Serve warm.

*For Gluten Free option: use gluten free lasagna noddles, or even zucchini thinly sliced long ways instead of noodles

Coffee Cake
(adapted from the Sour Cream Coffee Cake recipe from The Practical Encyclopedia of Baking by Martha Day)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup Stonyfield Organic French Vanilla Yogurt (plain or Greek would work, I just happened to use French Vanilla)



crumb (if you like a lot of crumb topping, feel free to add!)
1 cup brown sugar (I used just a little more)
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (you can use any nut combination, I just had these on hand)
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 375°, prepare a 9"x9" cake pan.

2. Make the crumb mixture, combine all ingredients until the butter is about the size of peas. Set aside.

3. Start the cake batter. Using a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth.  Slowly add one egg at a time until well combined.

4. In a medium size bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

5. Alternating between the dry ingredients and the yogurt, slowly add to the butter mixture. 

6. Pour half the batter into the prepared cake pan, followed by half the crumb mixture. Repeat. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*Gluten Free Option: use an all-purpose Gluten Free flour blend and add 1 tsp. xanthan gum. 



Label It Now – What You Need to Know About Genetically Engineered Foods

Batch Cooking Grains

Red Quinoa - Cooked

I have been introducing the 9 month old to new textures when it comes to food, I am finding that there are some that he has no problems with and others...well, it may take a while.  So this past weekend, I decided to do some batch cooking of grains and pasta. 

Most grains and pasta freeze well for at least a month and some longer.  I use a method I call, the stacked freezer bag method.  I use a Tupperware container that I am not using anymore to hold the bags.  I put about a 1/4 cup of the cooled grain or pasta into the bag (I use the snack size bags) and start layering the bags on top of each other.  They plastic container is good for keeping them in the stack.  When you are ready to use the bagged food, just thaw in the refrigerator over night, run under warm water, or remove the food from the bag and microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds (may need longer but I would always start at 30 seconds).

Foods that I have made and freeze this way are:

• Oatmeal (old fashioned - not instant or quick)
• Quinoa
• Pasta (alphabets and ditalini)
• Bulgur (whole kernel)
• Couscous

All of these foods can be ground in a food processor or blender to make finer so you can adjust the consistency to your child.

For more information on grains check out these brands:

Sunnyland Mills
Near East
Bob's Red Mill

All of these sites have recipes also.


*Please note, most contain or are wheat so if your child has an allergy don't use them.*

Alphabets

Whole grain organic vegetable pasta! I had trouble finding something that had a little more nutrition then the plain semolina pastas and I found this in the natural food section of our supper market. It is slightly more expensive then the plain pastas but it is larger and had more nutrition, so I feel it is worth the extra money. I make a week or two worth and freeze it in individual servings using freezer bags that I can stack.

Cheesy-Broccoli with Pasta

I have been trying to get more vegetables into my sons diet, right now it seems I always have a lot of fruits on hand and not as many vegetables, or maybe just not enough of a verity.  The staple vegetables that I have are carrots and sweat potatoes, I tend to get a lot out of just a little.  This past week at the farmers market I loaded up of summer squash and broccoli.  As you know from the last post the squash was a hit.  The broccoli I haven't tried yet, it has been steamed, pureed, and frozen; now i am just trying to figure the best combination to serve it.  Broccoli on its own with no seasoning can be pretty bland and gross if you are a kid (or my husband), so I want to jazz it up a bit.  I grew up with my parents adding cheese sauce on our steamed broccoli, and in college I added a pasta to the mix for a complete meal.  So using that as my starting point, I will try Cheesy-Broccoli with Pasta. Simple? I hope, but I think I am going to add a bit more for more nutritional value.


Here is the recipe that I am going to try out (may get adjusted once I actually prepare the dish):

Cheesy-Broccoli with Pasta

10 oz. frozen or 1-2 heads fresh Broccoli

1 1/2 cups of a small Pasta (cooked)

5 medium carrots, cut into small 1/4 cubes

1/2 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

First start off by steaming the vegetables, you can steam them together if you want to just mix and store everything as one.  As the vegetables are steaming in a separate pot start to cooking the pasta (you could even use Israeli couscous if you would like).  While both the pasta and vegetables are cooking, start the turkey by adding about 3 tablespoons of water to a frying pan, add the turkey.  Break the turkey up into small pieces and cook until no longer pink.

Drain the vegetables, pasta and turkey (reserving some of the cooking liquid).  Set the pasta and carrots aside.  Puree the broccoli and turkey, use some of the reserved liquid to thin out the puree if you need to.

In a bowl, mix together the puree mixture along with the pasta and carrots.  Add the shredded cheese into the mix.  Serve, refrigerate or freeze as desired.  Since there is meat in this meal, use within 1-2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Since I mentioned the nutritional value, I figured I should look it up and report my findings.  (I did my research on Nutritiondata.com.)

Summer Squash & Couscous

This is a new recipe that I came up with for my son, since it is summer, summer squash is in abundance. You could do this recipe with any of the different types of squash, I tried it with zucchini, yellow squash and pattypan squash.

This will make a lot of food, about 12-15 cups. It can be frozen for up to 3 months, or you can refrigerate it and use it within 3 days or so. This is also a good adult recipe, just don't puree the squash, use a skillet or roast it instead.

Summer Squash with Israeli Couscous

2-3 large Zucchini*

1-2 large Yellow Squash*

1 large Pattypan Squash*

3-4 fresh Basil Leaves

1 1/3 cups dry Israeli Couscous

Clean and cut up squash, (I removed the seeds and peeled some of the tougher skin off), place in your steamer or steamer basket and steam until very tender. Transfer to your food processor and add basil, pulse/puree until smooth or your child's desired consistency.

Prepare couscous as directed on the box, I use Trader Joes brand and it made about 2 1/2 cups prepared. Mix the couscous and squash mixture together and serve or spoon into freezable trays.

*Use all, one or any combination of squash. If your child is new to squash, I would recommend only using one and follow the 4 day wait rule.

For more information on Summer squash and the different types you can go to http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/ssquash.cfm

Organic or Not?

I struggle over buying organic and natural over just whatever is available every time I'm at the grocery store. I do however try to buy from the local farmers market when ever I can, and what is in season. But sometimes I just need to settle with what ever is at the grocery store. And I have to be honest, I would buy natural, organic, free range all of that all the time if it wasn't for the price of it all. There are times where I am just not willing to pay two extra dollars a pound. So for food I make for myself or husband I am not usually as picky since frankly neither of us grew up eating organic and so far we are fine; but, for our son I try to pay better attention.

There are foods that are usually higher is pesticides that are better to buy organic and there are some that aren't. But my personal rule is if he will eat the skin, I buy organic. Right now he doesn't eat the skins of apples or peaches but they tend to be high with pesticides so those I buy organic (but he will eat the skins when he is older.)

Below is a list to use as a reference:

The "Dirty Dozen", these have the highest pesticide and insecticide contamination. (Listed from highest amounts to lesser amounts)

• Celery
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Nectarines
• Bell Peppers
• Spinach
• Kale
• Cherries
• Potatoes
• Grapes - Imported

Source: Environmental Working Group. Go to foodnews.org for updates.

For more information visit www.EatingWell.com

Baby Protiens

When it comes to protein for your baby you have the small jars that always look like mystery meats, dairy, and certain grains. I had a mind set that making and pureeing meat would be gross and that I would probably just purchase the jarred meat. Well after using the first jar, the color was weird and the smell was unappetizing. I decided to give making my own a try. Believe it or not it isn't as gross as you would think and definitely better than the jar. Meats to start off with first, around 7 months but always check with your doctor; are turkey, lamb and chicken.

Baby Turkey
1/2 pound Ground turkey
1/4 cup water

In a non stick frying pan, over medium heat, combine the turkey and water. Cook, breaking
up the turkey until no longer pink. Let cool and drain. Reserve some of the cooking liquid.

Puree the turkey in a food processor and add water as needed to get a texture that your baby can handle, it will look paste like.

You can freeze for about 1 month or refrigerate and use within 1-2 days.

When it comes to dairy, and your child is old enough, baby yogurts, cottage cheese, ricotta and even some cheddar could be good options. (Yogurts are always good when your child is having really loose stools also.) You can mix fruit with the cottage cheese or ricotta to make a parfait or just something sweet that can be used for breakfast or snack. A little cheddar mixed with broccoli and/or pasta would also make a nice meal.

Fruity Parfait

So because there are so many great fresh foods to choose from this time of year, I have been able to make a lot of food for my son. I was freezing every thing in 1/4 cups but have since gone to the simple ice cube tray, why? Well I don't mix anything before freezing and by using just the ice cube tray you get a small cube and mix different cubes to make different combinations. (I have even cut cubes in half.) Now there are times when I take short cuts, like with Apples, it is just some much easier to buy a jar of applesauce, I still freeze it in cubes so it will last longer. I have also done the same with pear sauce.

The most recent recipe that my son loves is apples, blueberry, and banana. The only cooking that is required is the blueberry sauce. Mix all the ingredients together and add cereal, cottage cheese, or ricotta if you child is old enough. This is something I would eat for breakfast.

For the blueberry sauce:

10 oz frozen or 1 qt fresh blueberries

Steam the blueberries for about 10 minutes, discard most of the liquid reserving some of the now blueberry water.

Purée the blueberries to a desired consistency. At this point you can strain the purée or leave the skins in. Pour purée into a small sauce pan and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken slightly. Pour into the ice cube trays and freeze for up to 3 months or refrigerate and use within 2-3 days.

Baby Food

While I was pregnant I decided that I was going to make my own baby food. I wanted to know what was going in the food. So since my son was born I have made all his food. It is so easy to do and I don't know why more people aren't doing it. I take one day out of the week, usually Sunday, and make a big batch.

About 2 months before he was actually able to eat solid foods I started preparing and freezing vegetables. The first foods that I started with were sweet potato, banana, peas, butternut squash and apple. I started feeding my son around 4 months, but check with your peditrician before starting solid foods.

I bake the potatoes and squash because it will keep more nutrients opposed to steaming or boiling. The peas and apple are steamed. I keep the skin on the apples while I steam them so the nutrients from the skin will stay in the mixture, just let the apples cool and then remove the skin. You can just use a spoon to scrape the flesh off the skin.

Once the food is cooked just puree in a food processor until the desired consistency. You can add formula or breast milk to thin it down if you need to. Keep in mind that the peas will not get real smooth because of the shell, you can always strain the peas to make them smoother.

The banana is the easiest, you don't need to cook at all, just mash or puree until the consistency you want. You can even squish the banana in the peel and squeeze it in to the bowl, this works great when traveling.

When it comes to the cereals, I wanted to make my own but while doing research it is recommended not to feed homemade cereals until at least 6 months. So I just use the pre-made, I started with the Gerber rice cereal and now my son loves the barley cereal.

Some resources that I use:

Wholesome Baby Foods
www.wholesomebabyfood.com

Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron
www.superbabyfood.com