What's for Breakfast? - Strawberries 'n Cream Protein Muffins

I can't believe it's almost been a month since I last blogged.  That's ridiculous! I have been baking and cooking lots and lots, as well as working, so I guess life just kind of got in the way.  But now I must share with you all that's been going on in my kitchen! YUM TIME!

I'm still on a "healthy muffin kick" because I like the variety for Piper's breakfasts. She seems to enjoy them and now refers to them as "fuffins."  The only reason I refer to these as protein muffins is because they contain eggs and a lot of vanilla yogurt.  They also have no sugar or flour and are rich in fresh fruit, as well as plenty of oats for fiber. Overall, these rank pretty high on the tasty and healthy scale in my book.  Pip hasn't tried one yet but I can't wait to see her reaction when she sees such a colorful treat for breakfast!

Ingredients:

2.5 cups of oats (not the instant kind)
2 eggs
1 cup fat free vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup Splenda
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 and 1/4 cups sliced 'n diced strawberries, patted as dry as possible (3/4 of a cup set aside for sprinkling on top of muffins before baking)
1 tsp. lemon juice

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray 12 muffin tins with Pam cooking spray.
2.  Place all ingredients except the strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth.

3.  Pour into a medium sized bowl and stir in 1 and 1/2 cups of strawberries.

4.  Pour into sprayed muffin tins (3/4 full) and top each muffin with remaining 3/4 cup diced strawberries.

5.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, aaaaand....VOILA!

6.  Wrap any leftover muffins individually in cellophane and place in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with the date you prepared them so they can be frozen and enjoyed later!

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Foodie Baby: Sunshine Toast

I couldn't decide whether to title this "Foodie Baby" or "Foodie Flop" because it was much more the latter than the former.  I am a big believer in the egg, and ever since Pipes was 12 months old I have been introducing, and reintroducing, this small, edible, elliptical wonder. With the exception of french toast and one jar of egg salad a long, long time ago, every time I've introduced it has been shot down. At almost 20 months old, my current sneak-attack strategy did not work either. Here is my hopefully ignorant thought process:  "Hmmm, I know that Piper loves toast. Any kind of toast. What if I use a fun method I saw on Pinterest to make the egg seem like THE SUN INSIDE THE TOAST! YES, THE SUN! Oh goodie oh goodie, Pip loves the sun. And if she thinks the egg is the sun, then she will eat it! And she will love it! And she will love me for making it! Oh happy day, let's get this party started."  Well, as much fun as it was to create Sunshine Toast, when my daughter realized that the sun was actually an egg, I think I lost my best bud for a minute, as you can see from the pictures below.

~Ingredients~

1 egg
1 piece of bread
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. butter

~Directions~

1.  In a small skillet, melt 1 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
2.  In the meantime, cut a hole in the piece of bread using a glass or cup. I used a wine glass for a slightly small hole.

3.  Remove the circle from the bread and set aside. Or let your toddler swipe it and eat it, running gleefully around the house....

4.  Lightly butter the holy bread with the remaining 1/2 Tbsp. of butter.
5.  Place the buttered holy bread into the skillet, heating until lightly toasted, flipping and doing the same to the other side.

6.  Crack the egg into the hole and fry for a few minutes until the clear egg whites become white, then flip. Cook until egg yolk is mostly hard, with only a touch of softness when you press on it with your finger.

7.  Place your Sunshine Toast in all its glory in front of your toddler on their high chair tray. Beam with pride.

8.  Watch them give it a good 'ol fashioned college try.

Hmmm, this outer part is delish!

9.

I determine that this buttery toast is quite tasty.

10.

Ok what's going on. Why the hell is my toast so HEAVY.

11.  

Is this what I THINK IT IS??? No, Mama would never do that to me...

12.  

Apparently she would. And I'm kinda miffed about it. Gross egg.

13.  

Oh so now you give me strawberries? Where 's the egg...I know it's in there. You're trying to slip me eggs, Lady, and I'm onto you.

14.  

Alright, I trust you again....THIS time...

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Foodie Baby: Banana Frenchie Toast Sticks

I need healthy, filling, fast options and preferably things I can make in advance (while Pip helps of course) that can be frozen for future breakfasts during the week! I experimented with a pretty basic french toast recipe this morning and added some smashed over-ripe banana. It worked really well and the toddler-person seemed to really enjoy it! I also named it "Banana Frenchie Toast" in honor of her island home where bananas AND Frenchies grow abundantly haha!  Here's how I did it:

~Ingredients~

5 pieces of 100% stone ground whole wheat bread

3 eggs, beaten

1 and 1/2 over-ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

some butter and oil for the skillet

 ~Directions~

1.  Mix all of the ingredients except the bread together and beat until fairly smooth. The banana will make it a little lumpy.

 2.  Dredge the pieces of whole wheat toast thoroughly in the mixture until the pieces are very saturated.

 3.  Cook until both sides are golden brown.

 4.  Cover the surface of one side with just a little pure maple syrup.

 5.  Cut into appropriate-sized pieces for your little one and watch them enjoy!! Then comes just a little more work, and your done...

 6.  Cut the remaining banana french toast into strips.

 7.  Label a gallon-sized freezer bag with the date and what is inside and freeze for later use! Ta daaaa!

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