Toddler Treats: Nut Butter Hors d'oeuvres

We're back from our 4th of July weekend. It was nice to have some time away and over those few days I got to visit an excellent restaurant and learn some new recipes. More details will be coming on those in the upcoming days. For now though, I wanted to post the recipe for the toddler treats that I mentioned last time. While they may not be very visually appealing (my friend calls them "turds"), they are pretty healthy and the kids usually love 'em.

So here it is, courtesy of my friend Debra. I believe the original recipe can be found in Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron.

Nut Butter Hors d'oeuvres

3/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter (You can also use creamy almond butter)
1/4 cup mashed cooked beans (Pinto beans work but you can try any kind)
2 tablespoons tahini or soft butter
1/4 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup crumbled shredded wheat cereal (Suggestion: Use your food processor to shred it)

Mix nut butter, beans, and tahini in bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes until soft and melted. Mix in wheat germ and cereal. Drop mixture by tablespoons onto plate, aluminum foil, or waxed paper (You can also roll the mixture into small balls by hand). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

Debra suggests freezing the whole batch and then just taking out a serving at a time when you need it.

The recipe also has the following note: The dry ingredients (the germ and the cereal) can be mixed half and half or in any proportion as long as they add up to one cup. Actually, you can use any quantity as long as you can form cohesive balls. Also, you can substitute part of the dry ingredients with ground oatmeal or ground whole germ corn flakes.

Let me know if you try them and how your kids like them. Just remember that this recipe includes nut products, so be careful about feeding it to your children unless you know they don't have any nut (especially peanut) allergies and that they are the appropriate age for this kind of snack. If you have any great toddler or kids recipe ideas of your own, feel free to share them in the Comments section or to send your ideas to atourtable@hotmail.com. I'm always looking for new, healthy ideas that'll keep Lima interested.