No Chicken Noodle soup

My four year old has always loved chicken noodle soup. Even as an infant, we would spoon the broth-soaked carrots, celery and noodles onto his high chair tray and he would gobble it up, pounding his fingers together for more.

This is one of my favorite quick and easy recipes and we almost always have everything on hand. However, I’m not usually prepared enough to have picked up chicken at the store or thawed some out from the freezer, so we usually do “no-chicken noodle soup”.

No Chicken Noodle soup

Ingredients*:

-       ½ onion, chopped

-       2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped into coins

-       2-3 celery stalks + some of the celery leaves, chopped

-       1-2 quarts chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian or vegan option) (I like the organic one from Costco or I’ll use some homemade if we have it in the freezer)

-       1 – 1½ cups of small dried pasta

-       Olive oil, salt, pepper

-       Fresh herbs: thyme, parsley, roughly chopped, and 1-2 bay leaves

*All ingredients are organic whenever possible

Note: As with most the recipes I post there are always substitutions that can be made if you don’t have all the ingredients listed. Don’t let that stop you from making what could be a yummy home-cooked meal. 

I used to shy away from recipes when I didn’t have all the ingredients or I would find a recipe to make and then go out and buy all the ingredients and have so much waste when I didn’t use all of something. (Like that whole bag of celery - seriously though, could Trader Joe’s start selling just half that amount of celery?). Side note: When my husband doesn’t want to buy a whole big stalk of celery, he’ll go by the salad bar section and pick up the amount we need there. 

Directions:

Add olive oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and salt and pepper to olive oil. Cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. If veggies look dry or are sticking to the pan, add a bit more olive oil. If you get dark bits of onion, don’t worry, it’ll just add more flavor. Add chicken broth and herbs, scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil. Add pasta, cover, turn down heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until pasta is done. If your soup seems too thick add a bit more broth or water and let cook for a bit longer. If your soup seems too thin, let it cook with the lid off so that some of the liquid evaporates.

Spoon into bowls (let your toddler add an ice cube if they want). Serve with a chunk of yummy crusty bread. The crusty bread is especially good for teething infants. Soak the crust of the bread in the broth and then give to your baby. To help them work on their pincer grasp, spoon the veggies and noodles directly on to their high chair tray. I was terrified of my babies choking with most foods, but the broth soaked veggies are perfect and will just melt in their mouth.

Substitutions:

-       If you don’t have olive oil, use butter or ghee or coconut oil or avocado oil

-       If you don’t have an onion, use leeks or green onions (white parts only) or shallots. You could also add a bit of onion powder to the carrots and celery while they are sautéing. Just make sure you have enough olive oil in the pot and you don’t see any more powder before you add the liquid.

-       No celery, try a bit of celery seed.

-       Other veggies you could add: frozen peas, frozen corn, leafy greens like spinach or kale. I like to roughly chop the greens before adding. My kids tend to eat them better that way. The four veggies I listed here would all be added at the end, as they don’t need to sauté like the onions, carrots and celery.

-       If you don’t have enough chicken broth, add water or vegetable broth. I usually add water directly to the empty broth carton and then pour that straight into the pot.  If makes me feel like I’m getting every drop of flavor.

-       If you don’t have pasta, add rice or potatoes. If using uncooked, you’ll have to cook a bit longer. Add the potatoes at the same time as the veggies.

-       For the pasta we usually use macaroni or orzo because that’s what we tend to have on hand. I love adding alphabet pasta for the kids too. I’ll usually combine it with one of the other pastas. I’ve also used mini dried tortellini or ravioli. It makes it a bit heartier and sometimes it’s all I have in the pantry.

-       If you’re making this for a younger child, I would add more pasta to make it a bit thicker and easier for them to eat. We started using these spoons for broth soup with the kids and it’s much easier for them and slightly less messy.

-       Fresh herbs really make this 30 minute dish feel slow-cooked. Tarragon and rosemary would be good in this too. A great way to test it is to smell the herb and if you like it toss it in. If your kids don’t like green flecks in their food, you can tie the herbs up in a cheesecloth and put the whole bundle in the soup to steep.  If all you have is dried herbs, use them generously. The more flavor the better.

If you happen to have a rotisserie chicken or any cooked chicken or turkey in your fridge, chop this up and add it with the pasta.

Homemade baby cereal

Food manufacturers have done their jobs well when it comes to baby cereal. We've come to believe that it should be baby's first food and that we need to buy something special in order to make it.

When we first discussed introducing solids to our oldest over 4 years ago our pediatrician suggested rice cereal. I did some research and found that rice can contain small traces of arsenic which can build up and have adverse effects on babies tiny bodies (studies can be found here and here). For this reason we decided to start with oat cereal instead of rice.

A friend gave me an organic oat cereal for babies from a brand I knew. We made it following the directions on the box. The thin grey cereal was not something I even wanted to taste. But I thought that this is what we were supposed to feed our baby - the doctor had told me, my friends did it - so we gave it to him. After 3 days it just didn't seem right that I was giving him something I didn't even want to eat myself. Aren't we supposed to teach a baby what good food should taste like?

I did more research and found that in other parts of the world baby's first food is much more flavorful: in France it might be leek soup, in Thailand a banana, in Italy veggie purees or semolina pasta. It's really only in the US that we've come to believe that babies need bland food with little flavor.

That said I still wanted him to have baby cereal as part of his diet. We eat a lot of oatmeal and it felt like a good vehicle for introducing other foods.  It can easily be made more flavorful with spices and herbs and fruit and veggie purees. And it doesn't need to come from a box. It is so easy to make and significantly less expensive than buying baby cereal from the store.

Homemade baby cereal
Ingredients
 - organic old fashioned oats
 - water

Directions
Using a food processor grind up oats, pulse oats for about 15-30 seconds until finely ground. This can be stored in an airtight container for later use.
To make the oatmeal I do a 1:2 ratio for oats to liquid. Add 1 cup water and 1/2 cup oats to pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and stir until mixture becomes thick and creamy.

Notes:
Oatmeal can be thinned using breast milk or formula. Add to the oatmeal after it's cooked, as breast milk and formula should not be boiled. Adding breast milk or formula may help introduce a new flavor since it is a familiar taste to the baby already.
Do not add salt as you might when making oatmeal for yourself. Babies can't process excess salt and should be avoided when making them food.
Feel free to add spices like cinnamon or nutmeg to boost the flavor.
Do not add honey for babies under the age of 1 year old, or any other sweeteners like agave or syrup.
You could also use a combination of water and milk to make it creamier.
Try adding fruit and veggie purees. Oatmeal is such a simple dish it lends itself well to both savory and sweet dishes. My youngest really likes it mixed with an apple - spinach puree.

If you have older children they might love helping you grind up the oats in the food processor. Since you don't have to be precise with the measuring they can scoop out the oats and pour it into the bowl of the food processor themselves. My kids also really like seeing the cause and effect of pulsing the food processor.

Age: 4-months+
Store finely ground oats in sealed container in pantry.
Store cooked oatmeal in fridge for 3-5 days. May need to be thinned with water or milk when re-heating.