ethan's weekly eats

I'm honestly shocked that I made it through a week of fresh, healthy and fun toddler meals. It's been a week of utter and sheer chaos -- which might explain why Saturday and today's lunches were bits and pieces of leftovers from the rest of week. At least Ethan was a big fan of each of his lunch options this week, so that has to count for something. Right?

MONDAY:

Like I mentioned last week, Ethan is really into dipping these days. These eggplant bites were perfect for dipping!

To make these, I sliced up an eggplant into tiny pieces. I brushed them lightly with organic olive oil and sprinkled them with a little bit of black pepper and garlic powder. I then rolled them into a mixture of grated organic Parmesan cheese mixed with 2 tablespoons of fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs. Once coated, I arranged them on a baking sheet and baked them for 10 minutes at 300 degrees. At ten minutes, I turned them over and continued to bake them for another 10 minutes until both sides were crispy. I served them with a little cup of Ethan's favorite organic marinara sauce for dipping.

TUESDAY:

Tuesday was a bit of a busy day! My two cousins came in to visit and spent the day with Ethan and I. Ethan had leftovers of the Zucchini Parmesan that I made him last week, only this week he ate the pieces on their own without additional sauce or cheese. He can't make up his mind these days.

WEDNESDAY:

Wednesday's lunch was an open-faced Portobello sandwich with spinach, tomato and Muenster cheese. After my huge success with mushrooms last week, I tried my luck again but this time with organic Portabello mushroom caps.

To make these, I marinated the mushrooms with a mixture of organic olive oil (2 tablespoons), balsamic vinegar (1 tablespoon) and freshly minced garlic. I basted the mushroom caps with this mixture and then sprinkled them with some black pepper. I baked them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, removed them from the oven and added a slice of cheese on top of each mushroom cap and continued to bake them for an extra 3 minutes. I made this an open-face sandwich by placing the Portobello on top of a slice of whole-wheat bread and then topping it with organic spinach leaves and a slice of tomato.

THURSDAY:

Oh, Macaroni Cupcakes. My intentions were to use cucumber slices as the bottoms to these "cupcakes" but I couldn't find the cucumber I'd purchased so I used tiny pieces of whole-wheat bread. I ended up finding the cucumber the very next day. It's been one of those weeks, really. I can't even tell you how many times I've lost my car keys this week. Anyway!

To make these, I placed tiny circles of whole-wheat bread into the bottom of a very lightly greased muffin tin. In the mean time, I boiled some elbow pastas. I used Dreamfields low-carb, high fiber pastas which are so very yummy. Once the pasta has been boiled and drained, I mixed it with a handful of organic mozzarella cheese, hand-grated zucchini and a few (3-4) florets of pureed cauliflower. I tightly packed the muffin tins with the pasta mixture and baked at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes. I drizzled them with tomato sauce "frosting" and they were ready to go!

FRIDAY:

On Friday's lunch menu were these super-cute Kale & Carrot Quinoa Nuggets which thankfully were both a huge hit with Ethan and made a ton of leftovers. On Friday, he ate them plain. On Saturday, he dipped them in hummus. On Sunday (today), he dipped them in marinara sauce. They're easy to freshen up, they keep well and they were a huge hit.

These are a little more elaborate than the other meals this week, but they're worth it. You'll need: fresh kale (chopped up really tiny!), one large carrot (I hand-grated a full carrot), 1 1/2 cups coked quinoa, 1/4c wheat germ, 1 egg, 5 ounces fruit or vegetable puree (I used an Ella's Kitchen 'The Purple One' organic pouch which is made up of blackcurrants, blueberries, apples and bananas) and shredded cheese (I eyeballed it and hand-grated some fresh organic cheddar cheese). Mix up all of your ingredients until combined and they should form a sticky, heavy "dough." I lightly greased a cookie sheet, placed a cookie cutter on it and shoved in the doughy mixture. Once you lift the cookie cutter, the mixture should stay in it's intended shape.

I baked these at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, flipped them and baked for another 10 minutes.