that's a wrap!

We used to break up all Nora's food into bite-size pieces for her to pick up and feed herself. But, one evening we were out for dinner at our favourite taqueria, Bandidas. I was eating their amazing breaded walnut tacos and had been breaking off little pieces for Nora. But she kept pointing at my taco, so I offered her a bite. Well, she never wanted to eat the pieces again...only the wrap and only the way momma does it. That was when I realized a whole world of new meal ideas was waiting for us.
Wraps, burritos, tacos, rotis, falafels...all basically one-handed meals, packed with delicious fillings and often nutritionally complete, meaning they have all 4 food groups. The outer shell can be a wholewheat or corn tortilla, a pita, a chapati or roti. This counts as 1 or 2 servings from the grain group. The dairy or alternatives group can be seen in the cheese or a yogurty sauce often added to help everything hold together. The veggies can be cooked or raw, from sweet potato to cabbage, or you could even put fruit in them, like mango. Of course the meat and alternatives group is often fulfilled with legumes, but can also be fish or chicken, or eggs for a breakfast burrito. As you can see, the possibilities are endless!
Over the years, I've been perfecting my wrap technique. They are so easy to overstuff...but then they lose their one-handed eatability. No one likes a wrap that falls apart, so another thing I've discovered is the final skillet searing. After you've filled and rolled your wrap, you place it in a dry skillet over medium heat. Allow it to brown on one side then flip and brown the other. This helps seal and crisp up the shell and also warm and melt all the yummy cheese and filling. Then it's much easier to transport too and is such a perfect meal or snack if you need to eat on the bus, at your desk or on a hike.
One of our favourite camping meals is a type of wrap that can be modified for any need or preference. We call them Campfire Burritos and you basically just make your favourite burrito, wrap it in tinfoil and cook it in the glowing coals of your campfire. They are great for your first night out because you can make them ahead at home, keep them in the cooler and save the need for any food prep when you're busy setting up camp and settling into your weekend. Stay tuned for this summer and more posts from my camp kitchen...
Not that I'm all about convenience and one-handed eating. I also believe in the slow food idea...when you have time for it;) Although Nora still mostly eats with her hands, she is starting to master the art of the spoon (another post will be about creating the perfect texture of food to withstand the upside down test). I hope she'll be using a fork, and maybe even a knife, by the time she hits kindergarten. Otherwise I'll be feeling the wrath of Jamie Oliver! I just watched him lose it on some lunch ladies who never serve any food requiring more than hands or a spoon to eat. His new show is all about trying to revolutionize the way Americans eat, starting in the school cafeterias. On one episode he swapped chicken nuggets and french fries for a real piece of chicken (a leg or thigh, I think) and homemade wedgie potatoes. This required a fork and knife, which the American cooks didn't think kids could use. Jamie felt it could be part of the school's job to teach them if they didn't know how and encourage them to try new foods. I commend his efforts, am entertained by the show and truly hope something comes of it.
But even Jamie would approve of a hand-held meal, if it was packed with healthy and wholesome ingredients. This simple and satisfying wrap was inspired by one I had at a little cafe on Toronto's west side. They are so delicious and loved not only by Nora but also by my picky, meat-loving brother Jesse.



Sweet Potato & Chevre Wrap:
Makes 3

1/3 cup black beans, dried
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1 sweet potato
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup black beans, dried
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic
4.5 tbsps black pepper goat cheese/chevre
3 large wholewheat tortillas

Place beans in a pot with cover with lots of water. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes then turn off for 1 hour and leave covered to quick soak. Drain and rinse beans and then recover with fresh water. Bring to a boil then add the bay leaf and 1/2 tsp salt and reduce heat to simmer until tender, approximately 1 hour. This can be done a day or more ahead if needed. Drain and reserve cooking liquid and then mash beans lightly, adding cooking water back as needed to make them hold together.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 400F. Roast sweet potato until tender when forked. Allow to cool then remove peel and mash in a small bowl with oil, cinnamon, cloves and 1/2 tsp salt. This can also be ahead of time, if needed.
Spread 1.5 tbsps goat cheese on each tortilla, then top with 1/3 of the beans and 1/3 of the sweet potato. Roll them up and sear in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown on each side.

Nutrient Information (per wrap):

541 Kcals
22 g Protein
19.5 g Fat
73 g Carb
11 g Fibre
4.5 mg Iron
176 mg Calcium
178 RAE Vitamin A

food, nutrition and nora

I learned a lot about how and what to feed kids when I was studying to be a dietitian at UBC a few years ago. I was really interested in it because I knew I wanted to start a family soon after finishing school, but also because I was keen to start my private practice and counsel parents on feeding their families.
It was all just theory, research and anecdotal evidence until last year when my daughter, Nora, started eating solid food. Now I'm waist-deep in my own personal anthropological experiment!
Before Nora started eating solids, I was so excited and couldn't wait to start feeding her. But, I quickly became overwhelmed with the extra work on top of an already busy life with a 6-month old. There was the time it took to make food, to feed her, to clean up afterwards and then sometimes she wouldn't even eat anything! I had to consider food allergies, appropriate textures, the right nutrients, flavour, keeping her interested, keeping her regular...the list seems endless.
I really wanted her to eat mostly homemade food for a few reasons:
1. You know what's in it.
2. It's way more affordable.
3. It can be as close to nature as possible.
This last one is one of my overall philosophies for food and eating. It basically means eating foods that are processed as little as possible and so have less 'non-foods' added to them (for example, using steel-cut or plain, rolled oats instead of a package of instant, flavoured oatmeal).
Back in school, I had read a lot of the research on how to feed babies, especially the work of Ellen Sattyr (www.ellensattyr.com) , who talks about needing to offer a food to a baby more than 10 times before determining they don't like it. I definitely believe in the idea that the parent decides what foods and when to offer them, but the baby decides if they want to eat and how much.
But what we didn't learn in school and despite practicing as a dietitian and talking to parents, I had never had any experience preparing homemade baby food. Although I had a couple of kids cookbooks, I also ended up consulting a fabulous website (www.wholesomebabyfood.com) that gives great recipes for making simple baby foods like fruit and vegetable purees, cereals and teething biscuits.

So, throughout this blog, I hope to pass on my experiences, my recipes and my tips that I have developed over these last 6 months feeding Nora. She didn't start out as a great eater and I went through moments of frustration, worry and momma-meltdowns (e.g. my husband comes home to Nora and I on the kitchen floor, covered in peaches). Now, it's all paid off and she's doing really well with eating these days. It helps that we're reaching that 1 year marker when more foods can be introduced and she can mostly eat what we eat.
Tonight, for example, I made an amazing fish recipe (Snapper with Lemon & Capers), a barley pilaf and a green salad with cheddar and avocado. Nora ate it up! Even my husband gave it a perfect 10...

Snapper with Lemon & Capers
serves 3

1 lb snapper or other fish
salt and pepper
3 tbsps olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsps capers

Wash and dry fish, season with salt and pepper and place in a shallow dish. Whisk together oil, vinegar and lemon juice, then pour half of the mixture over the fish, reserving the other half. Marinate the fish in the fridge for 45-60 minutes.
Place dinner plates or a platter in the oven to warm. Heat a large skillet on high then add fish and turn down to medium. Cook 1-2 minutes then flip and cook another 5 minutes, unless very thick and then may need a little longer. Remove fish on plates or platter and cover with foil.
Turn skillet to medium-low and add remaining oil mixture and capers. Cook until reduced by half then pour over fish. Garnish with lemon zest.

Nutrient Information (per serving):
220 Kcals
31 grams Protein
9 grams Fat
2.5 grams Carbohydrate
0 grams Fibre
238 mg Sodium
52 mg Calcium
0.5 mg Iron
4 mcg vitamin B12