Toddler-Friendly Salmon and Kale Patties with Avocado Crema Sauce

Let's talk fish for a second.  People seem to have a love/hate relationship with fish, especially "fishy-tasting fish" like salmon or trout.  There are also many folks highly allergic to certain types of fish, but that usually falls into the shellfish category.  For some reason, a lot of parents I've spoken to are terrified to give their babies or toddler any sort of seafood.  I would highly encourage parents to introduce seafood to their children early so they can acquire a taste for it. Countless studies have been done on the nutritional benefits of seafood and it is recommended to consume fish 2-3 times a week. Chock-full of vitamins, minerals, protein, low cholesterol, omega-3s, and not to mention the fact that consuming seafood regularly has proven to lower the risk of chronic diseases.  Phew.  Have I made my point that fish is really, really, really good for you?? I am not going to get into the wild-caught versus farm-raised and sustainable fish issues.  I buy wild-caught fish for my family but not everyone wants to fork out the extra $2-3 per pound on wild, organic fish.  I also make that fish last. If you're serving just a broiled 4 oz fillet for dinner, then that 1 lb of fish will not last for more than one meal for a family of 4.  However, if you get creative with your fish, you can stretch it out! One of my favorite ways to prepare salmon is to make salmon patties.  My husband waited three years to tell me that he doesn't actually like salmon a whole lot.  I had been making broiled salmon with the same marinade every week for three years.  I guess it took him three years to gather up the courage to tell me. Smart man, he knows how to survive.

Anyway, I decided to get creative and figure out a way to make that man eat salmon.  Enter salmon burgers.  He will wolf those down two at a time and I have to smack his hand away from getting more.  I was a bit nervous about how my daughter would react to salmon as far as taste but I decided to make her a salt-free version when she was ten months old and see how she did.  She LOVED it!  No allergic reactions to seafood either, which was a huge relief.  The great thing about these patties is that you can eat them as a low-carb option over a salad, stuff the patties into some pita bread for lunch, or eat them as burgers for dinner with some sweet potato fries.  There are countless possibilities on seasoning them so it is a glorious way to eat the fishy-tasting fish.  But aside from deep frying (SO unhealthy), how do you cook these things properly so they hold together? I have a great technique which I will show you below.  Please note that my ingredients will yield roughly 8-10 large patties because I am completely and 100% OK with leftovers and not having to cook dinner every day :)

Ingredients:

Patties:

2 lbs fresh salmon (Time-saving tip:  ask the seafood person to remove the skin for you.  This is SO much easier than attempting to skin the fillet when you get home).

1 cup of minced red onion

3 cups of kale

1 cup of whole wheat breadcrumbs

3 tsp of Old Bay Seasoning

Salt to taste

Avocado Crema Sauce: 

2 avocados

2 cloves of garlic

juice of 2-3 fresh limes

1/4 cup cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

Heat a large non-stick pan on medium heat and when warm, add 2 tsp of olive oil

Use your chopper to mince your onion and keep that chopper handy for later

Add the red onions and saute for 3 mins until the onions begin to soften

Add the kale and continue to cook for another 4-5 mins until kale is completely wilted and the onions are cooked.

Remove the pan off the heat to let the veggies cool and start working on the salmon.  Keep the pan, you will need it later.

Back to your ol' faithful chopper we go.... (you know I love my Hamilton Beach one) and cut the RAW salmon into 2-3 inch pieces.  Try not to act like a sushi chef while cutting the raw salmon.  I do not speak from experience here or anything.  This process should be a piece of cake because you asked the nice person at the Seafood counter to skin the fish for you.  PLEASE TELL ME YOU DID THIS!

Throw the pieces of salmon into the food processor and give it whirl.  If you have a large food processor, you should be able to fit all 2 lbs of salmon into it without a problem but you may need to do a couple of batches if you have a smaller one.  I have found that raw salmon holds together and if you try and make these with fully cooked salmon or canned salmon, they will need a LOT of eggs and breadcrumbs to bind.  It should look like this when you've pulsed it for 15-20 seconds:

Add your kale and red onions into the chopper and run it one more time to mix all that good stuff into the salmon and to get the kale diced into teeny tiny pieces.

In a a large mixing bowl, add the one cup of breadcrumbs, Old Bay seasoning, salt, and salmon mixture, and mix very well.  The mixture will be oily from the natural fat from the salmon and it will be wet.  I only used one cup of breadcrumbs for 2 lbs of salmon because to me, it was enough to bind the salmon together and not too much that I felt overloaded with carbs.  

After a light spray of oil, get that large pan back on the heat and set it to medium.   You will not need to coat the pan with lots of oil because the salmon will release a lot of its natural good fat while it cooks. That will serve as enough oil for you to cook with.  It's like the salmon patties fry in their own fat--it's a truly beautiful thing to behold!

Form your patties and add them about four at a time to your hot pan.  Don't overcrowd the pan!

You will cook them for around 5 minutes on each side if you keep them on medium heat.  If you like them a bit more crispy, you can increase the heat to medium-high but only need around 3 mins. per side.  CAREFULLY flip the patties when it is time to change sides.  They should hold together really well but best to be safe.  If you have a meat thermometer, use it to make sure the internal temperature reads at least 145 degrees.  Since I started cooking for my toddler, I'm even more paranoid about under-cooking anything, especially seafood.  A meat thermometer ensures that you're not having to constantly cut into meat to check and see if it is done and prevents too much over cooking.  This is the one I use:

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Get a paper towel-lined plate ready for when your patties are all cooked and golden-looking.

Now it is is time to prepare the SAUCE.  Oh the sauce.  I think I could just eat the sauce with a spoon and call it a day.  You obviously don't have to make the sauce but it is just SO delicious with these patties, especially in a burger form.  You can use this avocado crema sauce for just about any meat dish but I think it pairs magnificently with seafood.

Since you used your super duper chopper for raw seafood, please do not use it again for this sauce.  If you have another smaller chopper, whip that out.  I am a chopper collector/hoarder so I have many.  I HATE spending time dicing/mincing/slicing things so I hold my choppers dear to my heart.

Cut open those two avocados and slice them into small pieces

Open up 2 cloves of garlic

Throw the whole garlic cloves into the chopper first and proceed to mince.  Add your avocado pieces, the juice of 2 limes, and your cilantro, and run the chopper again until the sauce is smooth.  It should be thick but not have any visible chunks of avocado.  Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste and you may even want to add juice from another lime.  We're huge citrus fans in our house so it just depends on your tolerance.  Try not to eat the whole bowl of sauce before dinner. Remind yourself that the sauce is even more delicious the next day, and the next day.  The beautiful thing about adding fresh lime juice to the avocado sauce is that it prevents the avocados from browning.  Win-Win!

If you're serving the patties low-carb, I would recommend putting a patty on a bed of mixed greens or arugula and adding a dollop (or five) of the avocado crema sauce.  We ate ours as burgers with whole wheat buns and sweet potato fries.  The 2 lbs of salmon should have yielded around 8-10 patties which can feed a family of four for two dinners.  I spent around $27 on my salmon because I bought the E.U. certified organic, blah blah, blah salmon and it has lasted the three of us three dinners since I yielded 9 patties.  My toddler eats a whole patty herself, she loves these so much.  Plus, there's kale in them so I feel like it is one of those super foods and feel so good when she eats this meal! These patties reheat very well in the microwave and freeze perfectly too!  Bon Appetit!

Toddler-Friendly Sneak-Attack Smoothie

It's 10 AM.  You know it's time to administer the dreaded, loathed, awful tasting vitamin to your toddler.  The dropper has been filled to the appropriate dosage with the nasty goo. Plastering a huge smile on your face, you hide the dropper behind your back and walk slowly towards your child, trying not to make any sudden movements.  They turn to look at you, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Toddlers know.  They just KNOW when you're about to do something they hate.  After a matrix- worthy fight scene, you've managed to administer maybe half of the vitamin to your baby while the other half is likely matting your dog's hair at that very moment.

Why go through this every day? Because they will choke on those delicious gummy vitamins that only older kids can eat.  Because they're no longer on breast milk or formula which is loaded up with vitamins already.  Because they have iron deficiencies.  There are a host of reasons that parents give their children a daily vitamin and I am a big believer in them for my family as well.  It's the whole GIVING the actual vitamin part that is awful.  I did a lot of research and finally found a powdered, food based vitamin that you can actually mix into your kid's food or drink.  I just didn't want to mix the vitamin in milk or something that couldn't mask the taste easily.  I also was having problems getting my toddler to eat whole fruits.  Blueberries diced into 1/36th of their size so she wouldn't choke.  Fresh strawberries that were hand selected for ripeness and sweetness.  All thrown on the floor in disgust.  What the heck was wrong with this kid?? She had the purees of fruits just fine. Then it hit me.  Puree. Smoothie. Make a smoothie! 

The smoothie accomplishes a few things: First, it lets me get that vitamin mixed in without a trace. Second, it allows me to sneak in more veggies and fruits so that if she has a picky eating day, I can do my evil laugh and know that she still got at least 2-3 servings of fruits and veggies.  Third, making smoothies can really help when your toddler is teething and doesn't want solids.  The cold smoothie will soothe those poor, swollen gums and you will feel better that your kiddo ate something a bit more substantial than milk that day.  

But I don't want to A) make a smoothie every day B) wash that dang blender every day or C) both A & B.  So what to do? Make a huge batch and just leave it in the fridge and dole out a serving every day? NO because all the research points to fruits and veggies losing vast amounts of nutritional value the longer they're sitting in the fridge after being prepared.  Enter freezer-friendly jars! I found some great plastic freezer jars on Amazon and just portion out the big batch of smoothie into those jars once a week.  I freeze them all immediately (thereby locking in all that nutritional goodness) and every morning while the little is pounding away her pancakes, I take a jar out of the freezer and leave it on the counter to defrost.  It usually takes between 2 - 2.5 hours to fully defrost so it's ready just in time for her 10 AM vitamin infusion and morning snack, which as it happens, is her smoothie!   This also works great for kids who attend daycare or school because moms can usually pack the smoothies in their lunch box which serves to keep everything else cold and the smoothie will defrost by the time snack time rolls around at school.  I stick a reusable wide-mouth straw directly into the freezer jar and just kinda hold it for her while she sucks it down.  I've tried to put the smoothie in her Zoli Bot Straw Sippy Cups but it's so thick she can't suck it out with those straws.  I'm including a link to the vitamin powder, jars and the straws I use below. I hope these ideas help! Feel free to modify the ingredients for allergies and for toddler taste.  

Ingredients:

2 cups of mixed frozen berries

1 cup of diced frozen mango

1 super ripe banana

2 cups of kale and spinach blend

1 cup of Kefir or Greek yogurt (I use the plain, unsweetened Kefir)

1 cup of milk (I use whole, but you can easily sub for anything you like)

1 cup of unsweetened applesauce

2-3 tbsp of agave nectar or adjust to taste

Throw all the ingredients in a blender until you get the consistency you desire.  It shouldn't be too thin/watery or too thick.  Remember, your toddler should be easily able to suck it up with a straw. 

Portion out the smoothies into 6-7 freezer jars and freeze.  Allow at least 2 hours to defrost before serving.

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Toddler-Friendly Eggplant Parmesan Meatballs

Vegetarian-friendly and carnivore-approved! When I took the meatballs out of the oven, my husband (raging carnivore) promptly ran over, popped one in his mouth and said "Why does it taste like there's meat in these?"  My toddler devoured these meatballs and I hope your family approves!  Feel free to modify for those with allergies.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant or 2 medium size - skin on, diced into 1 inch cubes

4 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup fresh basil

3 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs

Dried Italian seasoning

Olive oil

2 large eggs

1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese - grated

4 tbsp grated Parmesan

1 -2 jars of tomato basil pasta sauce

Cooking spray

Salt and pepper


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Using a very sharp knife, cut eggplant lengthwise and dice into 1 inch pieces

While you're working on the eggplant, get a large skillet warmed up on medium high heat and 1 tsp of olive oil

Once the pan and oil are nice and warm, slide in that eggplant off your chopping board

Add about 1/2 cup of water, season well with salt and pepper, and let the eggplant soften and cook for around 12-15 mins.




While your eggplant cooks (don't forget to stir every once in a while), prepare the rest of your ingredients.

Add your cheeses, your basil, your whole cloves of garlic to a food processor/chopper.   I love my Hamilton Beach chopper and use it ALL the time.  Here is a link to the one I use:

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Tip: If you're like me and are a major cheese snob and are a bit thrifty, you probably buy your cheese in hard blocks and not already grated.  This is excellent because with a hard core chopper, you can just cut the cheese (heehee) into large cubes and throw it into your chopper with the rest of your ingredients and it will shred the cheese for you.  I personally HATE grating cheese.  HATE it so hard.  Don't press pulse or puree or chop yet.  Resist the urge until your eggplant is cooked!!  You can use this 2 seconds of free time to check on your toddler who is probably now drinking out of the dog bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, add your bread crumbs and mix in your 2 tsp of dried Italian seasoning. Voila!  Whole wheat Italian-seasoned bread crumbs!

Beat your eggs in a separate small bowl and incorporate into your breadcrumb mixture.

By this point, your eggplant should look like the one in the picture on the top right and if so, it is time to hit the puree button on the chopper.  Carefully add the eggplant to your chopper and hit that glorious chop/puree/do all my hard work for me button.  DO NOT put that large skillet you used to cook the eggplant in the sink, you will need it later!

After a quick pulse, your ingredients should look something like this:

Pour that delicious eggplant batter (OK, that doesn't sound delicious) into your bread crumb and egg mixture. Add a bit more salt if desired.  I desire lots of salt, which is bad.  If you're dainty, you may prefer to spend an hour mixing everything in with a wooden spoon.  I use my hands because it's a zillion times faster and I kinda like the feel of squishing stuff.  I guess I'm a toddler too :)

Once your mixture is incorporated really well (don't forget the pesky chunks of breadcrumbs that like to stick to the bottom of the bowl) it shouldn't feel watery at all and should be a pretty dry consistency.

Line a baking sheet with some foil and spray the heck out of that thing with olive oil spray.   Roll the mixture into golf ball size meatballs and place on the baking sheet. You can whistle while you work, or watch old shows on Netflix that take you 30,000 times longer to finish because you have kids.   Depending on the size of your eggplant, you may get anywhere from 22-28 meatballs.

Spray the tops with some more olive oil spray and pop them into the oven for 25 minutes.

When you have around 5 mins left on the oven timer, prep the sauce

Remember that skillet I told you not to put in the sink? Well you need it now.  Open up a jar of whoop- I mean, pasta sauce and pour it all into the skillet.  Warm up that sauce good but not too good that you get splatters of pasta sauce all over your apron and scare your children.  Not speaking from experience here or anything.

When you hear that annoyingly loud BEEEEEEP from the oven, remove the meatballs and CAREFULLY pick up each one and place it into the simmering pasta sauce.  Simmer the meatballs for around 10 mins on low heat uncovered.

Coat them well with the sauce, you want that sauce ALL over those bad boys.  The meatballs should be quite firm but you don't want to risk breaking them, so just use a flat spatula to turn them carefully in the pan.

Chiffonade some basil (fancy term for chopping basil) and top it over the dish so it looks nice for 2.3 seconds before your family mixes it all up.

For those of you super Paleo cavemen people, you may be OK just eating these meatballs plain with a little sauce and maybe some of those zucchini noodles.  In our house, we eat pasta.  We like pasta on top of more pasta.  I usually make whole wheat pasta noodles so you can boil those up really quickly. You may need to add some more sauce if you're going to serve these with pasta which is why my ingredients list 1-2 jars of pasta sauce.  Pour some sauce over the pasta and top with 3 meatballs, a little basil and serve.