Very Veggie Chili

With Sarah moving her family and all earthly belongings to a new house soon, you're probably going to get a lot of me for the next week or so (for that I am very sorry).  Sarah pretty much awes me with her ability to juggle large amounts of things, so she may pop up and post more than you would expect, but either way, she WILL be back, I promise.  In the meantime, I'll try to keep you busy so you forget that she's the interesting one and is occupied elsewhere ;)

One of the things my family has always loved is a good bowl of chili....chili with the cheese all melty, and the cornbread all YUM.
I'm making myself hungry.
This is my go-to recipe when I'm making chili.  It's been lovingly developed over time at my house, and as a matter of fact, we're having this for dinner again tonight.  Oh yes.
Not only do my sprouts ask for this recipe, it freezes well and is packed with veggies, so it really can be a complete meal in one bowl.  I highly suggest you get a very large pot, because I almost always double this and throw the extra in the freezer for a quick meal some other night.

VERY VEGGIE CHILI

1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey, browned and drained

1 chopped onion

olive oil

1 T. minced garlic

2 cups cooked (or 1 can rinsed and drained) kidney beans or black beans

1 green pepper, chopped

2 cups organic frozen sweet corn

3 large carrots, chopped

2 cans petite diced tomatoes

2 cups water

 1 1/2 T. chili powder 

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp dried oregano 

2 tsp. salt

cheese for topping (skip if you need this dairy free, of course!)

Firstly, please note that all of these spices are 'to taste'.  Most of my kiddos like their chili mild, so we make this recipe and then daddy adds his spicy ingredients to his own bowl. These amounts will get you to where my family likes it--if you like it stronger, experiment until the taste is right for you! 

In a large stock pot, saute onions and garlic in a little olive oil over medium heat until onions begin to soften and turn clear.  (BTW, often I will throw my meat in there and brown it at the same time).
Add carrots, green peppers, corn, beans, tomatoes, and water into the pot.  Add spices and stir well to combine.  Bring to a boil and then simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and veggies are at desired tenderness  (I've simmered for as little as about 25-30 minutes, and I've simmered much longer according to my needs.  Don't forget to taste test for your spices!)  Serve hot, topped with cheese or sour cream.

NOTE:  This recipe can also be adapted for your slow cooker--throw your ingredients in and let it simmer in there instead!

One day soon I will share my GF cornbread recipe that we often eat with this chili.  Perfect for GF tummies AND regular tummies, too! :)

Chunky Monkey Mac 'n Cheese

Hi guys! I'm sitting here with my 3 little ladies and they've just finished eating one of their absolute favorite recipes ever! I thought I'd take a break from the packing chaos (we're moving in A WEEK! How is it that all of our "stuff" keeps multiplying??!!) and upload this recipe for you all! I created this recipe as a weight-gain recipe and it sure does a good job! If you stick around to read more on this blog, you'll probably realize that I LOVE using coconut milk in many of my recipes! It is super thick and creamy and can be used to replace many other types of milk in recipes! In only 1/4 cup it boasts 100 calories and 10 grams of fat so it really packs a punch for those needing to gain weight! Many Mac n' Cheese recipes call for evaporated milk or whole milk, so I figured why not coconut milk? I promise you this recipe does not taste coconut-y at all! For those of you whose children are dairy free, I'm still playing with this recipe and trying to substitute a sweet potato puree in place of the cheese but so far my attempts haven't been a big hit with the little ladies! We are low-dairy here, and one of my girls is low carb due to blood sugar issues, so this is definitely a rare treat for my girls!

My oldest loves this recipe so much that as soon as she hears I'm making it, she repeatedly squeaks, "Thank you Mama....Mac n' Cheese....Love it! Thank you Mac n' Cheese Mama!!!" all while hugging me over and over. I kid you not! When my littles were younger I used to make this recipe and put it in the blender with some warm bone broth and make it into a puree! It's a hit with all of the little ladies here (and Mama has been known to sneak a few bites here and there too!!)

My favorite type of gluten free pasta to use with this recipe is brown rice pasta (Tinkyada brand). One of my girls had a rice sensitivity for some time so we've also used quinoa pasta as well (although it doesn't have the same smooth texture as brown rice pasta in this recipe).

You can serve it as the main dish or as a side dish, whatever meets your family's needs! This recipe keeps well in the fridge for about a week.

Well now that you're all amped up to try a recipe to fatten up the little ones in your house, here you go!

CHUNKY MONKEY MAC N' CHEESE

8 ounces shell pasta of choice

1 can whole fat coconut milk (13.5 oz)

3 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

2 bags shredded mild cheddar cheese (I've also used many other types of cheeses-whatever I have on hand!)

1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (alternate option: replace all of half of the milk with bone broth)

2 large eggs, whisked

1/8 to 1/4 tsp. mustard powder

1 tsp. pink sea salt

Dash of black pepper


Begin heating water for the pasta in a small saucepan.
In a large saucepan, heat coconut milk, butter, and coconut oil.
Whisk 2 large eggs and stir into the warm mixture in the saucepan.
Add mustard powder, nutmeg, sea salt and pepper and stir.
Add 1 bag of shredded cheese at at a time and mix until both bags are melted.
Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently for 10-15 minutes while the pasta cooks.
Boil pasta and drain.
Pour pasta into cheese sauce mix and let sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
Enjoy!

(I apologize for the lack of pictures. As soon as we're settled in our new house I will take some pictures and add them!)

Frosty Banana 'Ice Cream'

This is the new 'special treat' kid on the block at our house.  I don't even know where the idea came from....a friend mentioned it, then another friend, then suddenly...it's all over the place!  Have you tried it?  It's

Frosty Banana Ice Cream!
Yum.

This mama recently has been experimentally dropping added sugar from her life, and though I don't have a problem with special treats here and there, I love that we can FEEL like we're eating a special treat and yet, we're still eating bananas!  I also love that my little one with lactose issues can enjoy a frozen treat just like the rest of us because this can be made completely dairy free (and it's gluten free, too!)  Here to help us with taste-testing today is my own Little Critter (he's not my sprout with lactose problems, but he WAS a big fan, by the way)!
Here's how you make it:

FROSTY BANANA 'ICE CREAM'

serves 4

6 frozen bananas, cut into chunks

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 T. cocoa powder

2/3 cup oat milk (or other milk--regular, almond, coconut...)

mini chocolate chips for garnish, if desired

variation: try without cocoa powder if you don't love chocolate, or add a good dollop of peanut butter for peanut butter banana!

Place chunks of frozen banana in a food processor.

Add vanilla, cocoa, and milk, and process until smooth.  

The 'ice cream' will have a 'soft serve' consistency.  Eat it immediately or stick it into the freezer for a little while to firm it up to your liking!

The taste test is in...Critter votes for MORE (He doesn't realize how much he has left on his face)!

And there you have it!  5 minutes, no added sugar (unless you throw in a few chocolate chips), and happy kids on a hot day.  WIN.

Baked Oatmeal 'Muffins'

Hi, all!  Deanna here.  I'm so excited for this new blog adventure with Sarah and all of you.  If there's one thing I spend time doing online, it's looking for recipes that are healthy and yummy, so I can't wait to see all of the new food ideas that will be born in this space!
I thought I would start off with my recipe for baked oatmeal muffins.  I am not usually a creator of recipes from scratch.  I am more of a 'find a recipe online and then change it to fit my needs' kind of gal. So when I am posting a recipe that isn't fully mine, I will also link back to where I found the original recipe.  That way, the recipe author is getting credit, and you can see both versions if you'd like to. Ok?
Ok. Let's get started!

So this recipe I would say is a rather mild flavored recipe.  If you are looking for something that smells and feels exactly like a delicious blueberry or apple cinnamon muffin but is healthy, you might be a little disappointed.  It's tasty, but it's more like baked oatmeal than a crumb-topped muffin.  Just shooting straight with you from the start.
Here's why I love this recipe, though:

Kid-friendly--my kids DEVOUR this recipe and I do mean devour.  They will eat them all day long. They will eat them in a box, they will eat them with a fox....ahem.  They will eat them here or there, they will eat them anywhere (ok, now I'm really done).
Easy and quick--a few minutes worth of effort and I am done.  All I have to do is keep remembering to take them out of the oven and put another pan in.
Healthy--my kids love these for snack too, but we also eat them for breakfast.  They feel like they are eating something other than oatmeal (which they can get tired of sometimes), but really, they are getting all the nutrition of a good ol' bowl of oatmeal and fruit, which mommy loves too.
Freezes well--I can double the recipe and keep some for that week, and freeze a whole batch of others that are easily pulled out of the freezer and used whenever we need quick breakfast.  I LOVE that.
Versatile--this recipe lends itself very well to whatever fruit or additions I have on hand, and that's perfect for us because sometimes we have blueberries, and sometimes we don't.  Sometimes we want raisins...and sometimes we don't.  This recipe works with whatever you want to add, which makes it a great base recipe in my book.

So without further ado:

BAKED OATMEAL MUFFINS

(original recipe found HERE)

makes 20+ muffins

3 eggs

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup natural sugar (brown sugar works too!)

1 ripe banana, sliced and quartered

1 cup fruit/additions of your choice (blueberry, apples, nuts, raisins, mini chocolate chips...we change it up often)

5 cups old fashioned oats (we use GF oats)

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup ground flax

1-2 T. cinnamon (based on your preference)

2 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350.  

Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce and sugar together in a large bowl.  Add banana and fruit (sometimes I add more than 1 cup if it looks like it needs more additions)

In a separate medium bowl, mix oats, salt, baking powder, flax, and cinnamon.  

Dump dry ingredients into the wet and mix well.  

Pour in milk and stir to combine.  

Scoop into muffin tins (use paper muffin cups!).   These won't rise a ton, so don't worry about filling your cups almost to the top.  Bake 35-45 minutes or until lightly browned.  

Cool completely before eating (the paper will stick while they are still warm--once they are cool, they will peel much more cleanly!)

This recipe is very forgiving, so I do play with it a little each time.  If it looks too wet, I add a few more oats.  If it looks too dry, I may add a little milk.  If you like it sweet, add a little more sugar.  I cut ours down because my kids don't miss it and we generally try to avoid sugar when we can.  If you add the full amount of sugar, you will want to increase your milk to 2 1/2 cups.

Let us know how they turn out (and if you have any creative additions to share, we want to hear those too!)

Back to the beginning {toddler weight gain smoothie recipes}

Well over a year ago, we began to collaborate on a series of nutrition posts for our personal blogs.  Being adoptive mamas with undernourished children ourselves, we shared our personal recipes for high nutrition/high calories drinks in hopes that it would help other parents in similar situations.
Over a year later, those posts are still regularly circulated, and we realized that there are so many parents who are interested in real food, real ingredients, and realistic recipes to nourish their families.  Thus, Dandelion Sprouts was born.  We are not chefs or professionals.  We are just real mamas who have experience with adoption, undernourishment, special diets, and finding kid friendly foods that make children (and their parents!) happy.
You can read our Great Big Nutrition Series posts HERE and HERE and HERE.
As for our mostly highly searched recipe post, we are happy to share that with our readers again today to kick off our new blog!

Deanna starts us off:
Ok, so the first thing I want to make sure that we highlight is that these recipes are NOT for infants.  This is not formula!  These recipes can be used as high nutrition/high fact/high calorie drinks for children who are undernourished or would otherwise be drinking something like Pediasure, but in NO WAY is this intended for children under a year old.  It's not a replacement for breastmilk or formula, so please don't use it for babies!
Phew.  'Nuff said about that.
The second thing I want to encourage you to do is learn about your ingredients.  Don't take our word for it!  This recipe is one that I play with and change often for Aleck, and you will have the best success if you experiment with what works for you.  So change it!  Adjust it!  The confidence to do that (at least for me) comes from practice and from understanding your indgredients.  So learn about your food and then leave us in the dust!  Seriously :)
So Aleck's recipe makes about 16 oz. give or take.  I blend mine in the morning and use it for one whole day, so the recipe makes about enough for an entire day for us--sometimes I mix it with coconut milk or bone broth for the last bottle, but in general...one whole day.  This recipe has a TON of good fats in it, but it isn't a good 'snack' recipe.  Aleck has gained almost 4 pounds in 6 weeks, so it definitely works, but as he becomes well-nourished, I'll be adjusting the recipe again for his needs.  It's not your average smoothie :).

Aleck's recipe
2/3 cup pure coconut milk (canned)
1 cup bone broth (homemade--do not use store bought!)
1/2 T. blackstrap molasses
1 scoop powdered goats milk
1 heaping T. sunflower seed butter
up to 1 T. chia seed gel or flax meal (this will move bowels, fyi)
splash of juice
probiotics (we use Culturelle)
Nordic Naturals baby DHA (fish oil)

Put all ingredients into the blender and whip well.  Thin to desired consistency (you may need a y cut nipple for thickness if your child uses a bottle).

Aleck does not care about the taste, and will drink this totally straight.  It has a pleasant, lightly 'nutty' kind of flavor, but if your child needs something with a different flavor, think of this as a 'base' recipe and add bananas, berries, a dollop of raw honey or a little yogurt.  It's a total experiment!

You can clearly see how love and nutrition has made a huge difference in Aleck's weight gain in just 6 weeks! (click pictures for a larger image)

Sarah is up next:
Deanna did a super job explaining what these recipes should and should not be used for!  Just as she said, no two recipes really look alike.  You can vary this greatly depending on your child's specific needs and preferences!  The ONE MUST-USE INGREDIENT for me, though, is bone broth!  This is certainly a 'staple' of these recipes.
Unlike Deanna, I make each of my bottles/drinks individually.  It would save a lot of time if I made the base drink at the beginning of the day, but this just works well for us because I do often change or add ingredients based on their needs that day, so making the recipe each time allows me to do this.  This is much easier to do for kiddos who are not liquid dependent since they need less bottles/drinks throughout the day.  Again, there's no wrong way to go about this!
When we met Mila at 7 months old, she weighed only 7 pounds.  Mila came home around 9 pounds at 8 months old (Yes, that means she gained 2 pounds just from love and likely from increased feedings since we were at the orphanage twice a day to feed her!).  She was tiny and malnourished and very sick.  Within 3 weeks, she was up to 12 pounds, 10 ounces!  This almost 4-pound weight gain in 3 weeks home was prior to her airway and heart surgeries, so clearly her lack of weight gain wasn't only due to medical issues!
We did follow doctor's orders and put her on Nutramigen to start.  I was not very happy with this formula at all (ingredients list=yuck), but it kept Mila stable and gaining some weight until her open heart surgery.  I didn't feel comfortable using a homemade recipe in a child under 1, and didn't have enough time or resources at that point to do the research needed to formulate a recipe that would give her what she needed as an infant.  As soon as she turned 1 we started her on the recipe below.  Even though we wouldn't suggest these recipes for babies, I'd TOTALLY suggest using bone broth as a base for powdered formula!  I used the bone broth as a base with Mila's Nutramigen before we eliminated it!

Mila's Recipe (12-14 months old):
(Mila was 100% liquid dependent at this point so she got 4-5 oz. every 2-3 hours, with one overnight feeding.  She would only take 2 oz. at a time when she was newly home (formula),  and we worked our way up to 4-5 oz. at a time by a year old)
4 oz. warm bone broth (chicken or beef--chicken is easier on the belly)
2 scoops powdered goat's milk
1 tsp. olive oil
1 cooked egg yolk
1 oz. canned pure coconut milk (whole fat!)
1/2 tsp. Nordic Naturals Children's DHA
Vitamin D supplement (Nordic Naturals)
Blend all ingredients together, serve warm.

Mila's Recipe (14-18 months old):
(around 16 months old, we decreased her 'milk' intake to 5 oz. 4 times a day and dropped the night feeding.)
4 oz. warm bone broth
1 scoop powdered goat's milk
1 tsp. coconut oil (1-2 bottles daily)
1/2 tsp. Nordic Naturals Children's DHA
1 oz. organic pear baby food (stage 1 to sweeten and thicken)
Vitamin D supplement

At this point, Mila was eating solids, and we added many of the 'superfoods' into her food directly.
When Mila reached her goal weight, we began replacing this recipe with coconut and almond milk.
This pictures shows how much Mila grew in her first year home, thanks to the love of a family and good nutrition!

Sofia has only been home for 6 weeks, but has already gained 4 pounds!  It's important to note that Sofia (just like Zoya) was a decent weight when we met her.  However, she was still diagnosed as undernourished due to lack of proper nutrition and vitamins.  In her before and after picture, you can clearly see that in addition to her weight gain, her dark circles are gone and her eyes are much brighter and full of life....her skin is much clearer....her hair is growing a lot and overall, she just looks a LOT healthier! (No editing was done on any of these photos, by the way!)

Sofia's Recipe (15 months-current 17 months old)
(Sofia gets 4, 4-5 oz. servings daily)
4 oz. warm chicken bone broth
1.5 scoops powdered goat's milk
1 tsp. coconut oil (in 1-2 bottles daily)
1/2 tsp. Nordic Naturals Children's DHA (only in the first bottle)
Vitamin D supplement (first bottle)
Vitamin B-12 supplement (first bottle)
Standard Process Probiotic (Prosynbiotic, one bottle daily)
Personalized Standard Process supplements (via nutritional response testing)
either 1/2 T. raw honey or 1/2 T. blackstrap molasses (I do 2 with honey and 2 with molasses daily)

As Sofia grows and gains weight, I change the recipe.  She is at a good weight right now, so I've decreased the powdered goat's milk to 1 scoop per bottle.  I will probably drop her servings/day from 4 drinks to 3 this week.  I still think it's really important, though, to keep her on the bone broth for a lot longer because it's so healing to the body!
Sometimes I replace 1 oz. of the bone broth with pear juice or juiced greens (purchased already juices because I don't have time for that!) coconut water, coconut milk or almond milk.  Recently I started giving all the girls a few ounces of goat's milk kefir, so I add that to her bottle every day as well!  I want to make sure her palate is introduced to a variety of flavors so she may be more likely to eat a diverse selection of foods.  I don't want her getting stuck on having to have her bottle made one way, so I make very little changes--an ounce here or there--of something new.  I also add flaxseed oil if she gets a little constipated and that seems to help a lot!  I can't put ground flaxseed in her straw cup so I add that to yogurt instead.

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We welcome you, and hope that this space will become a place where moms (and dads!) in all kinds of situations can discover the joy of real food in real life as we all seek to nourish our own little sprouts!