Thanksgiving break is almost over!!! Sad. But back from the holiday food and back to our normal healthy lifestyle. Sam did pretty good at the Thanksgiving meal except for when the family gave him 1/2 of a fried apple pie!!!!! (it was made with the new "simple" canned biscuit dough and mom's cooked apples...so I guess it could have been worse!). Sam loves green beans and he is also Mr. Independent so green beans are a great food for him to feed himself. However, lately in his diapers I am seeing whole pieces of green beans which leads me to believe he isn't chewing his food adequaetely. And we all know (hopefully) that if we aren't chewing our food which is an important part of digestion then we aren't reaping the benefits of the foods to their fullest extent. Back to the drawing board for me to try and provide some handheld foods that he chews up well enough. I have decided to do ground veggies and feed with a spoon until some of those back teeth come in. Tonight his veg/starch combo was very tasty, I would have eaten it myself! Actually, Austin and I are eating it almost the same combination, just not ground up obviously because we do have back teeth, lol.

2-3 organic broccoli florets
1/2 baked potato
7-8 organic baby spinach leaves (or Kale, or greens-whatever you have handy)
1/2 garlic clove
2 t chopped onion
pinch (or less) unrefined sea salt
1 t smart balance light butter (or organic olive oil)

1. combine the broccoli, spinach, onion, garlic and steam for about 10 minutes in the baby food cooker (or whatever method you choose). Also, remember when chopping up your onion and garlic to let it sit for about 10 minutes before cooking so that it can fully develop those anticancer properties.

2. Add in potato to steamed veggies and roughly chop/puree with about 1 t butter and just a shake of the sea salt.

I added back a little of the cooking water to the mixture to get the right texture. This should make more than enough for one meal. I had enough leftover to provide a small side for lunch tomorrow. Sam ate these vegetables with steamed salmon and a few bites of the homemade whole wheat bread. He seemed to really enjoy all of it!

Another food tried over break was turnip greens, Sam seemed to enjoy these as well. Due to the fact that he only has 4 teeth it will need to be well cooked. Sometimes Austin and I eat our greens not well done like you are used to eating, I like a little bite to mine. But for Sam's sake, it needs to be WELL done. If you are accustomed to southern style greens you may not like my recipe but it is healthier.

Turnip Greens

Chopped greens
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
red pepper flakes
salt/pepper
brown rice syrup
white vinegar
organic olive oil


1. combine all ingredients. I know the amounts are not specific but it really depends on how many greens you are cooking. Usually I do a decent sized pot full. As far as the vinegar goes I probably use around 1/4 cup (depends on your taste), brown rice syrup 1 tablespoon (estimate?), red pepper to taste, salt pepper to taste, olive oil probably about 1 tablespoon. It really just depends how you like your greens. We always put hot pepper sauce on it just before serving (leave this off for the little ones).

2. Cook at a simmer until the greens are cooked down until very soft, like cooked spinach.

Hope this isn't too different from the regular that has smoked meat, or fat back, or turkey necks, bacon, etc. I just can't stand all of the greasiness in my greens. Maybe it is because I didn't grow up eating greens, but learned to eat them once I moved to the deep south. But they are GREAT! You should really give them a try. If you like spinach it isn't much different. Actually, I think spinach has a stronger flavor than greens.

Hope you and your little ones enjoy!