So my newest adventure is in baby food. I have been amazed at how much one little jar of baby food costs (41 cents and up) and with extensive research decided to make my own baby food. It is not as difficult as I thought, and I have already learned several tricks along the way.
* Food should be steamed before pureeing in the blender. This prevents the loss of nutrients
* When steaming, an electric steamer is better (healthier) than the microwave
* When pureeing you can mix in either formula, distilled water, or breast milk
* Motts unsweetened applesauce is exactly the same as the tiny containers of the baby food applesauce (only apples, water, ascorbic acid)
* Carrots need to be organic because of the higher nitrate level found in those that are not
* Sams is the best place to buy fresh fruits/veggies in bulk (especially the carrots)
* Do not use canned fruits and veggies but rather frozen if you cannot buy fresh
* After pureeing you can freeze the food in ice trays. Then put in baggies to label and store for future use.
Today I need to begin my next batch of food. The menu is: green peas, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Yum Yum!
You can also plop a cube of carrot or sweet potato puree in mac and cheese, spaghetti sauce, soup, etc to sneak extra veggies in for the big people, too. My kids still have to eat veggies that are obviously veggies, but it's nice to get some bonus ones in there, too. :)
This reminds me of when Jeff was a baby. At about 6 months, we went to Fort Worth, decided to eat at Joe Garcia's and realized we had no baby food. Melinda carefully mashed up some rice and beans for him. He absolutely refused to eat baby food ever again! 22 years later, Mexican food is still his favorite meal.
I got whichever of those cookbooks Jerry Seinfeld's wife did from the library. There's some good ideas, but most involved too much cooking. :) The vegetable thing is a looooong process for some kids. We're still working on Patrick at 5, but he eats a bunch of different ones now. For so long it seemed like corn, green beans, and peas were it.
Yes, making it is actually pretty easy. Have you heard of the book Super Baby Food? I used it with both kids and it is very helpful, it even tells you when to introduce certain foods and gives you recipes to try.
i put jars of baby food in lots of things--pancakes, mac and cheese, scrambled eggs. squash makes everything really light and fluffy. it's my favorite one to mix in.
there is an excellent book at Barnes and Noble right now in the baby/parenting section that teaches parents how to make their own baby food from age 6 months to even food for toddlers....i would reccommend it
Cade has given me a whole new insight on prayer that I just had to share with you. Every time we pray before our meals and at bedtime he always says, "More pray." So, what do we do but pray again. In fact, we pray several times.
This little guy humbles me as a parent and a Christian. He causes me to slow down when I want to rush ahead and get things done. He causes me to see that in my own life what I need is "more pray".
Did I tell you that Cade and Rylee are going to be in the Red Apples class together? Maybe he can help Rylee with her prayers. She just bows her head then says Amen....followed of course by clapping : )
I knew a little boy who wanted everyone to stop at snack time while he prayed over EVERY individual raisin ... his mom finally taught him to pray for ALL the raisins at once!
How was Cade's first day at preschool this year? Rylee screamed like a crazy person! It seemed to help her a bit when she recognized Cade in her class.
hey donna--just the opposite. as narrow, as i could find. however i do have some elmo slippers and spiderman slippers that are a pretty generic width. does cade still like elmo (did he ever---maybe i'm remembering wrong).
Just wanted to share this really helpful site I found for meal planning and recipe ideas. It has thousands of recipes that you can sort through by either prep time, the number it can feed, cook time, type of food you are looking for, etc.
It is also really neat because after you plan your weekly meals it will generate a shopping list for you. The best part is it FREE! This really has been nice for me because I am able to plan meals based on which items are on sale in the stores or items I already have on hand. Happy cooking :)
ooh, thanks! I will definitely check it out. Now that school is starting up again :/ we're going to have to start eating at home more (we usually go over to Phil's parents house most nights).
This has really been an eventful summer to say the least. It was so wonderful to have John home over the past few months, but now he is gearing up for the beginning of school. He is hoping to become and ITS (Instructional Technology Specialist) for the district this year. He has an interview next Tuesday. So we shall see.
So here are the highlights of our crazy summer :
May 16- Ben was born
June 23- John's 29th birthday
July 2- Cade's adoption
July 14- my 31st b-day
July 24- our 9th anniversary
August 2- we tore out the carpet in John's "man-room" and had new flooring and shelves installed. We also had the transitions and quarter round finished throughout the house and tile put in the master bathroom. That leaves only one carpeted room in our house! We hope to replace that with laminate in December or summer '09.
Is it just me or does time seem to go by faster when you have children? Most days all I remember is waking up then there is a bunch of stuff in the middle and bedtime again. Maybe it is more like the movie Groundhog's Day without the groundhog. Oh well, I hope everyone has a wonderful day.
I'm taking my kid to college Thursday. ask me again if time goes faster with children.... where is that little girl that used to hang out around here? ;-)
Praying you have a safe and wonderful trip. I remember the day my parents took me to college it was one of the most exciting/sad days. ETSU was not far from the metroplex, but the moment my parents drove away it seemed like a million miles .
lol! Tell John good luck with the interviews! I agree, I can't/haven't gotten a whole lot accomplished this summer except spending and loving every possible second with my boys! OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE BOOKS AND MANIPULATIVES!! THEY ARE SO AWESOME. PHIL SAID I WAS LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE WHEN I WAS GOING THROUGH IT! THANKS AGAIN!!
On July 2nd we officially adopted our sweet little boy, now known as Cade Aaron Mynatt. It's been over a year since he came into our home, and an up and down ride since then, but we're so happy to have him as part of our family. Thanks to everyone for your prayers over the past year!
