ethan's weekly eats

Through the holiday chaos and sea of leftovers, Ethan has still managed to give me a stamp of approval for some new toddler meals. These days, he has a rapidly growing interest in cooking and helping me cook, which has made things both more fun and also more difficult -- especially when your toddler is The Hulk and can rip oven locks off with a single hand. While Ethan is still a far cry from a picky eater (he ate an entire slice of raw onion tonight at dinner, a smell I couldn't get off of him no matter how many times we brushed his teeth at bedtime), I'm noticing it's becoming more and more about the presentation and delivery: if it's fun to make, it tastes better. If it looks pretty, it tastes better. I don't dare to not consult him these days on his lunches (how is it possible he's already old enough to tell me what he feels like having for lunch these days?!) but meal time is still going well. Here are some recent favorites.

MACARONI AND WHEAT GERM

This is an easy and quick meal to prepare, which has been a bonus the last couple of weeks -- and why Ethan has had this several times over the last few weeks. My go-to pasta if I'm not cooking for my husband (since he's gluten free) is always Dreamfields but we've been dabbling more with Mueller's Hidden Veggie pasta. Either are a hit. Most days, Ethan has been asking for this with tomato sauce: pasta topped with sauce, sliced tomatoes and sprinkled with organic wheat germ. Sometimes we substitute the sauce for shredded cheddar cheese and other times we'll even do both. However you prepare your pasta, the finishing touch is always topping it with sprinkles of wheat germ, which is an excellent source of fiber and fortified with so many wonderful nutrients. Ethan approves.

VEGGIE PIZZA

Like I said, Ethan is big into helping cook these days. One of the easier things to do with him in the kitchen is making our own pizzas. We prefer the delicious, organic crusts by Rustic Crust which also come in a gluten-free option for my husband. Making our own pizza is fun because it allows Ethan to add whatever toppings he chooses, selecting each one carefully from the refrigerator and handing it to me. Mostly I use everything he chooses, minus the times he brings salad dressings, grape jelly and yogurt. His favorite pizza to make is this veggie pizza. We start by layering leaves of fresh, organic baby spinach and arugula directly on top of the crust. Then comes the sauce -- I'm all for boring marinara myself, but Ethan enjoys anything with big chunks of muh-muh-matos so he usually wins. Next comes the cheese and then an assortment of vegetables. For Ethan, he loves topping his pizza with zucchini, yellow squash and pineapple.

CUCUMBER CREAMCHEESE FLOWERS

Ethan loves cucumbers, especially when he's teething (and when aren't they teething? Does the madness ever stop?). I sliced up a cucumber and topped each slice with a spread of organic creamcheese. I arranged them like flower petals and filled the center with a circle of fresh pineapple (Ethan's on a citrus kick lately). This was a really fun lunch to make together and serve. Ethan loved that it was in the shape of a flower!