Yummy Hummus

Hummus is a delicious dip! I love using it for carrots sticks, pita wedges, and on a sandwich.  Hummus is pretty easy to make and also easy to buy.  If you have a food processor, but have never made hummus you need to give it a try.  It is seriously easy.  One of my favourite variations on hummus is Green Pea Hummus. The sweetness of the peas lend a nice flavour to the hummus.  The recipe below is a my variation of Green Pea Hummus.

You can find this recipe and others in my Baby Food Zine.  If you have a baby or a friend with a baby who will be starting solids, I have aHandy Baby Food Introduction Checklist and a Baby Food Zine that explains how to introduce food to your baby to avoid food sensitivities or allergies and it has some recipes, like this one below.  If you are interested in this you can order it online, from me!  Just visit my Baby Nutrition Counselling page.

Babies and Toddlers love hummus!

It is easy to dip or eat off of the fingers and it is nutritious.  Chickpeas are a great source of fiber, folic acid, iron and magnesium.  They are also a great source of protein.  If you eat hummus with a grain (whole grain pita, corn tortilla) it is a complete protein; great for vegetarian and vegan babies and moms.  Green peas are legumes, like chickpeas.  They are also a source of fibre, protein, iron and magnesium, as well as potassium, and B vitamins.    Green Peas can be one of the first foods to introduce to a baby while chickpeas can be introduced at nine months, when babies are ready for more protein.

Note:  Chickpeas can be allergenic, however for the most part you only need to be concerned if there is a history of food allergies in your family.  Read more on food allergies here!

Green Pea Hummus

• 1 C chickpeas (cooked or canned)
• 1 C green peas (thawed from frozen or steamed)
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• 2 – 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp lime juice (or lemon)
• salt to taste

Place all ingredients, except olive oil,  in a food processor and combine.  Scrape down the sides as necessary.  Through the hole on the top of the food processor add olive oil until the hummus is smooth.  Taste and add salt as required.

I only use 1/2 clove of garlic to avoid overpowering the hummus, but if you really like garlic, add more!

Fish is Delish!

Fish is delicious,

but I often get frustrated because it seems like I can only figure out a few boring ways to cook it.  Another ingredient I struggle with are greens like chard, kale and spinach.  I like them for their flavour and love them for their nutrition, but something about a pile of greens on a plate doesn’t seem very tempting to me…  So I recently experimented in the kitchen and came up with an amazing and easy dish, that went over really well with my little guy and big guy… and I’ll tell you the big guy resists the greens!  Check out the recipe below!

But before the recipe a few words about fish and babies. Fish is really, really good for you and in North America we generally do not get enough in our diet.  Try to have fish at least once a week.  Full of Omega fats; fish is brain food – which is very important for our growing little ones!

What about Mercury? Mercury is a problem in large fish like shark, swordfish and tuna, too much mercury can cause neurological problems, especially for young children. Go to the Environmental Working Group Safe Fish List. These guidelines are for pregnant women, but I think they are good to follow for our growing children as well.

When can you introduce fish? If you follow strict allergy guidelines, it is one year.  If you are from any cultural background where fish is a major part of your diet, you would probably say much earlier.

• If you, your partner or your other child has a fish allergy, wait until at least one year or 18 months before introducing fish
• If you have no concerns about fish allergies, you can introduce fish at 10 months.  This is generally a good time to introduce animal protein
• A word about shellfish… shellfish can be highly allergic, more so than fish.  Wait until one year before introducing shellfish.  Again if there is an allergy in your immediate family wait until 18 months.

Fish ‘n’ Greens

This easy recipe uses one pot on the stove.  You can use the fish  and greens recommended or try it with salmon or tilapia, kale or spinach.  Serve it with mashed potatoes or brown rice.

• 1 Tbsp olive oil + 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 large vidalia (sweet) onions, sliced
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 large fillet of steel head trout, cut into 3 or 4 pieces
• 1 large bunch of Swiss Chard
• 1/4 lemon
• 1/4 tsp dill
• Sea Salt and pepper
• 1/4 C feta cheese

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter.  Add the onions, shallot and garlic, add 1/4 tsp sea salt and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until soft.  Place lid on pot, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes.  While the onions are simmering, wash the chard well.  Slice the chard leaves into large pieces and cut the bottom stems into 1 inch pieces.  Put the chopped stems in the pot.  Let simmer.  You can let these simmer for a minimum of 5 more minutes or a maximum of 30 minutes, the longer everything simmers the sweeter the onions will taste.  Place the fish, skin side down on top of the onions.  Squeeze the lemon over the fish and season with salt, pepper and dill.  Increase the heat to medium-high.  Place the chard leaves on top of the fish and put the lid on the pot.  Leave to simmer for 5 minutes.  The timing for cooking the fish will depend on the thickness of the fish.  The meal is done when the chard leaves have wilted and the fish flakes easily with a fork.   Put the greens on the plate, top with the fish and onions and sprinkle with feta cheese.