Toddler Food – Baby Burrito Bowl

Ingredients

• 1/2 avocado
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown rice uncooked
• 1/4 can black beans
• pinch of ground cumin
• himalayan sea salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Directions

• Cook brown rice until soft and tender
• Rinse black beans under water
• In a small sauce pan, heat black beans on low heat and add cumin, salt, black pepper and squeeze of lemon
• Mash beans with a fork
• Add brown rice (about 1/2 a cup cooked) and mash with fork
• Mash avocado, add a small amount of lemon juice and add this to brown rice and black beans
• Mix well

Recommended for toddlers 1 and older

Baby Food – Brown Rice and Red Lentils

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp red lentils
• 2 tbsp brown rice
• 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• himalayan sea salt to taste

Directions

• Wash brown rice and red lentils until water is clear
• Boil with water, once water comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until rice is cooked and tender
• Add tumeric, himalayan sea salt and olive oil and mix well

Asian Rice Salad

I am posting this recipe now (it is on the dinner menu for tomorrow night) because the mung beans in this recipe take 8-12 hours to sprout.  Picture to follow – I’m sprouting my seeds!

Sprouting Method:

• In a bowl, wash 1/2 a cup of mung beans until water is clear
• Soak washed mung beans in about 2 cups of warm water
• Soak for 24-72 hours
• Drain thoroughly once mung beans are sprouted
• If seeds are hard, then it may take even longer to sprout

Ingredients

•  2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 two inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp raw honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or bragg’s liquid amino’s (soy sauce substitute)
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 2 cups snow peas, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1/2 cup mung bean seeds -see above for sprouting method
• 1/2 cup rice noodles
• chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions

• Whisk the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce and honey in a large bowl to make the dressing
• Add the carrot, celery and snow peas to dressing and toss
• Heat a large skillet over  medium to high heat and add coconut oil
• Stir fry the cooked rice until toasted, about 2 minutes
• Remove from the heat and let cool
• Add the rice and scallions to vegetable mixture and toss
• Divide among bowls and top with the lettuce, sprouts, cooked rice noodles and peanuts.

Variation – for those who eat seafood, you can add shrimp to this dish.  Just marinate the shrimp in a small amount of the dressing and then saute it and add to rice.

Serves 4-6

Prep time and cook time (excluding sprouting time for mung beans): 30-45 min

Brown Rice Pasta

Tempeh is a fermented soy product. Its a high in protein and a good vegetarian substitute for meat.

Ingredients

• 1/2 package brown rice pasta (we buy ours from Trader Joe’s)
• 8-10 baby bella mushrooms quartered
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 2 cups baby spinach chopped
• 2 cups pureed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp chopped basil
• 3 cloves garlic pressed
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 package tempeh (optional – see picture below)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt to taste

Directions

Sauce

• In medium sauce pan heat coconut oil on low-medium heat
• Saute onions covered with lid until translucent
• Add tempeh (separate into small chunks) – saute for 3-5 minutes
• Add mushrooms – saute for another 3-5 minutes
• Add garlic, black pepper, garlic powder, chili flakes, italian seasoning and sea salt
• Add tomato puree and balsamic vinegar
• Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes

Putting everything together

• In another stock pot – boil brown rice pasta as directed on package
• Once its cooked, drain water and add to sauce above on very low heat
• Add spinach and basil – cook for additional 3 minutes
• Turn heat off and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and Serve!