Healthy Eater

I try to feed ButterBean nutritious, organic food whenever possible and have tossed around the idea of not feeding him meat. To test it out, a few weeks ago I made him some "tofu fingers" minus the cayenne pepper the recipe called for.

I was ButterBean was so hungry that I didn't snap a picture of the tofu fingers until our second helping. He gobbled them up so fast I hardly got a bite during our first round! Since this time he has also surprised me with his willingness to eat cooked kale! He has always like cooked spinach, especially with eggs, but I was expecting a gag or two when I gave him kale. I made this African Kale Stew, which sounded weird, but was good! I added black beans to up the protein factor for ButterBean. He passed up a banana (a tried and true favorite) for more kale! I've been blessed with a very NOT picky eater. He's just not a big fan of plain cheese. Other than that every texture, flavor, spice, and food group is fair game for him. I attribute some of this to my own diverse eating habits both while he was in the womb and while I was breast feeding him. And like his mama, he won't turn down dark chocolate!

African-Style Stewed Kale
adapated from Bon Appetit

Heat 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan. Add 1 chopped onion and 3 minced garlic cloves and saute until soft. Stir in 1 Tbsp. ground cumin and 1 Tbsp. ground coriander, then 1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes and chopped stemmed leaves from 2 heads of kale. Cover and cook until kale is just tender, about 15 minutes. Add one can of black beans. Stir in 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves or 3-4 cubes of frozen Dorot cilantro and simmer for 10 minutes; season with hot pepper sauce, if desired. Serve plain or over couscous.

Farmers Market

Minneapolis has great farmers markets and residents love them! Maybe it is because we only have a few months to spend outside. Maybe it is due to the push to "eat local". Whatever the reason, the Minneapolis farmers markets are bustling with people!
We have a couple small ones close to our house, but I've been exploring some others in the city. 
Last month, while Gatsby was out of town, ButterBean and I went to the Kingfield Market. This little gem was packed with people! I really enjoyed the variety thy were able to fit in a small space: veggies, herbs, handmade candies, a couple bakeries, cave-aged cheese, and a few food carts offering options like Thai food, gyros, and coffee. And a stage was set up with entertainment for the young shoppers. I haven't made it back there yet, but I plan on it.

ButterBean had fun with our Farmers Market Finds

Lettuce, and kale, and beets! Oh My!

One of the blogs I follow, Bogart Loves, has a stand there selling baked goods. She makes amazing macarons, and if you read my last post, you already know that I love macarons!
The main market down town has rows and rows of local vegetables, flowers, eggs, breads, and meats.  Saturday our little family ventured out in search of sweet corn!

Starting veggies early

We found it! We got a 14 ears (they threw in an extra 2 just in case we got a dud in there) and grilled some with my parents that night, We also got red and gold potatoes and white, orange, and purple carrots! I haven't decided what to do with the carrots yet, but the colors were too fun to pass up. I was also tempted to buy every tomato that we passed, but I'm hoping that the tomato plant in my back yard will give me a few of those. So far I've had lots of tomato flowers, but no actual tomatoes.

He actually does like carrots!

I love going to the market - you'll probably see more of ButterBean surrounded in produce. Hehe!