My Tiny Toddler ate Black Bean Paste and a Recipe for Homemade Vegetarian Nachos

How to Feed a Constantly Hungry Toddler without ever Handing them a Fruit Cup

Will is 21 months old and never stops eating. At a recent event with family at the Archie Bray in Helena, MT he carried around an adult sized piece of handmade, wood fired pizza for an hour and refused to let anyway take it away.



William Helix is a tiny legend in our family and group of friends. He's not on the growth chart for another child his age, but exceeds at everything else and never stops eating. We also don't give him prepackaged food like fruit cups, Ritz crackers, etc,  with the exception of organic granola.

To solve this predicament we cook. We cook a lot and often. Sometimes its two dozens muffins, some days its dehydrating fruit we bought in bulk from Bountiful Baskets (this weekend it will be apricots!) Tonight I was able to save enough freshly made black bean paste from his hungry little fingers to make a yummy vegetarian variation of our homemade nachos. Here's how it looked:

 

Vegetarian Nachos for a Toddler, a Mommy, a Preschooler and a Kindergartner

1 package small corn flour tortillas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
popcorn salt to taste
1 large can black beans
1 teaspoon cumin
3 cloves raw garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions
2 Roma tomatoes
1 avocado
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Sour Cream

45 Minutes total with interruptions such as diaper changing

I announced I was making dinner. Several helpers appeared to eat dinner as I made it. I fended one off but the toddler remained.

I cut tortillas into quarters, spread them on a baking sheet and rubbed them with vegetable oil. Toddler rubbed vegetable oil in his hair. I lightly salted the tortillas with popcorn salt and then put them in a 425 degree oven to bake for 20 minutes, watching for burning and over browning, and kindergartner believes burned chips taste like "grossness."

As chips baked, I opened a can of black beans, a large one that I bought on impulse because it was on sale. Drain the liquid, put it in a mixing cup and added the cumin, minced garlic, and some diced green onions. I added garlic as colds are going around my work and we needed a good antioxidant boost. I then used my new toy, a sweet Cuisinart stick blender to create paste.

As I set the blender down and away, Toddler took a hand full of bean paste and started eating it like a voracious puppy.

I diced the tomatoes, sliced avocado, and chopped the rest of the green onions. I shredded the cheese, and Toddler ate a handful of it.

When the chips were done, I microwaved the bean paste for 30 seconds as Toddler yelled that it was too far away from him.

I then assembled on each individual plate this order:

Chips
Small bunch shredded cheese
Bean Paste
More Shredded cheese
Vegetables
Microwave 20 seconds to melt all together

My kids love sour cream so everyone got a dollop on top of the nacho assembly. Toddler ate a handful of it and demanded more. Toddler was out of luck, and therefor demanded a fork for his finger food and ate chips on a fork and the rest of the assembly at will.