Sweetie Yogurt

Fruit and yogurt is always a winning combination.  This is one of our favorites, with sweet potato added for a heartier meal.

Sweetie Yogurt

1 cooked mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup mashed mango
1/4 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup plain yogurt

Heat the mashed sweet potato, mango, and banana in saucepan, mix well, remove from heat.  Add yogurt and combine.

Yum!

Banana Cinnamon French Toast

Good morning, baby!  Ready for another breakfast recipe?  This time it's french toast.  I think french toast is one of the most finger-food friendly breakfast foods because the bread stays solid even when baby gets it soggy, unlike some pancakes and eggs.  This one is sweet without toppings!

Banana Cinnamon French Toast

1 slice bread
1 egg
Half a banana
2 Tbsp apple juice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat egg in small bowl.  Add half a banana and mash well.  Add roughly 2 Tbsp apple juice (eye ball it to the consistency you like) and a sprinkle of cinnamon (about 1/2 tsp).  Take your slice of bread (I used whole wheat but you can use whatever you like) and dip in the bowl.  Coat both sides well, and cook in greased pan.  You may need to pour some of the mixture over top of the bread in the pan, since the banana will likely roll off the bread when dipping.  Don't pour it on too thick, but do try to get most of the banana onto the bread.  Cut it up and serve!

Avocado Fruit Salsa

Here's one the whole family enjoys.  This is my boy's favorite way to eat avocado.

Avocado Fruit Salsa

1 small avocado

1 peach

1/4 cup cut Mango (I didn't have any but I bet it'd be delish)

1/2 banana

Lemon juice

Lime juice

Combine cubed avocado, peach, and mango in a bowl.  In another bowl mash 1/2 a banana and add lemon juice and lime juice (a bit less than you would use for yourself).  Pour the banana mixture over the cubed fruit like a glaze.  Mash LIGHTLY* with a potato masher.  Serve either as a sticky finger food or spoon feed.

*The way you serve this will determine how mashed you make it.  If your baby won't eat chunks off a spoon and you need to feed it as a finger food, keep the cubes mostly in tact.  If your baby will eat this off a spoon, you can mash more thoroughly, but it should be far from a puree.

My husband and I ate this with chips and LOVED it!  It's a good mild salsa.  Feel free to add more lemon, lime, and jarred mango salsa to it for you!

Tip:  If this flavor is too strong a flavor for your baby, try using baked apple instead of the mango and less lemon & lime.

Banana 'Lady Finger' Pancakes

Breakfast is my favorite meal to serve to my little mister.  He loves eggs, pancakes, and fresh fruit, so he loves breakfast!  I find myself making a lot of banana pancakes, so here's a fun version to mix it up!

1. Cut a banana in half, then in half lengthwise.  Cut each of these four slivers in half so they keep their width and length, but are thinner.  I fed two that were too small to cook to my baby while he waited.

2. Make pancake batter.  You can use the following whole wheat recipe, or a boxed mix!

     1/2 cup whole wheat flour

     1/2 tsp baking soda

     1 lightly beaten egg yolk

     1/2 cups milk*

     1/2 Tbsp oil

{*Substitute breast milk or formula for babies under one year of age.}

This recipe makes just about the right amount to coat one banana.

3. If your baby likes cinnamon, add some to the pancake batter.  Great compliment to the banana!

4. Dip the banana 'fingers' in the batter, then spoon batter over top of them.  They should be coated, but not too thickly!  Remove from bowl with a fork, and place on greased frying pan.

5. Cook like a pancake!

6. I rip these in half to help cool them down and make the size manageable as finger food.

Enjoy!