Tag Archives: baby food

Rainy Day Squash Boats

I’m all for rain, but what’s with the threatening skies every time I have a day off!? Not being able to hang laundry outside really throws a wrench into the rest of my week. 

Rrrrr…. :x

Oh well. It’s good for the garden, right? Besides, a rainy day is the perfect time to take care of some things on the To-Do list and spend some playtime in the kitchen!

To-Do for Today? Baby food!

Back when I was prego, I got a lot of cr*p from people when I said I wanted to make my own baby food (among other things…) I never said I wanted to make every single bite of it, but I did want my baby to eat homemade food whenever possible. You should have heard all the comments I got…“You just wait…you won’t have time”…”Must be nice to have that much free time on your hands”…”Ha ha…I said that, too, and then I woke up to reality.” I heard ‘em all. Some people just laughed at me and rolled their eyes.

For those people, this is for you.

I timed it, and it took me all of 20 minutes during my son’s midday nap to turn one organic mango and 3 organic peaches into 7 servings of fresh, healthy, beautiful baby food. I mean, come on…it’s not rocket science.

Only the nice fleshy parts are included.

One for the next day at Grammie’s house, and the rest for the freezer. He’s not eating a whole lot at once right now, so I’m still making small batches. Once we graduate up to big batches, it will be even more efficient. 

I paid a total of $5 for the lot, and I don’t have to worry about all these scary recalls. Priceless, in my opinion.

It’s that easy, and believe me, I don’t have ANY spare time on my hands these days.

Note to self: People will always tell you YOU CAN’T. Always know that YOU CAN. (especially when little eyes are watching your example and taking notes…)

Once that was done, the sun came out so grilling came to mind. I have vowed not to shop for a few days because I want to use up some of the masses of random groceries taking over my kitchen, so I started rummaging…

Hmmm….a few yellow summer squash from the garden. Those are fresh and perishable, so they definitely need to be involved here…

Quinoa needs to be used up….have a can of black beans….some tomato sauce…garlic, sea salt….hmmm….

Squash boats! Sort of. They were too small to dig out the middles and stuff, but they were happy to be topped with a yummy quinoa something-or-other.

Olive oil, salt and pepper.

Oh, too dark. Nope! Turns out they were just right.

Pot full o’stuff. More than enough for 2 dinners and 2 lunches!

I feel like this was missing something green, but my kale was buggy. Eek! A good dousing of hot sauce kicked it up a little.

In the end, I feel like I accomplished a few things: I spent very little, I used up some neglected pantry items, and I fed my family the way I want to without much time in the kitchen. 

Feeling like a pretty good mommy today… :D

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A lot of people say that they can’t eat a healthy made-from-scratch diet because they don’t have time. What’s your response to that excuse?

The zucchini/squash onslaught has begun! What’s your best recipe?

Reminder: don’t forget to enter to win free products from Turtle Mountain! I’ll be picking a 2 winners on Saturday, 6.26…

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Filed under Home & Garden, Parenting & Family, Recipes & Food, The Everyday

Burger and Fries!

I have some catching up to do!

What gets my vote for best 3pm snack this week? 

These guys, who made a surprise appearance at my desk during the afternoon slump! They arrived courtesy of my friend who happens to be a registered dietitian, so I ate one happily, no questions asked, and packed up the other for the Hus.

CHOMP!

Did you ever just get bored with your ol’ standby breakfast, only to eat it and realize why it became your breakfast of choice in the first place?

Yesterday, my cup runneth over with So Delicious coconut milk (beverage) and Granbiotics granola, topped with cranberries and one date, for good measure…

…along with more Mother’s Milk tea. I think this stuff is really working! I thought all that galactagogue talk might be a bunch of hooey, but my supply is increasing nicely. I still don’t like the anise flavor, but it’s not bothering me that much anymore. Besides, I never really liked handling poop or having bags under my eyes from sleep deprivation before either, but I deal. It’s all part of parenting, right?

Breakfast was fun. Little F is getting so curious about Mommy’s food, and he intently watches as I raise and lower my spoon for each bite, not aware that he’s imitating my motions with his mouth. It’s super cute, and I love that he’s watching me eat something healthy (most of the time… ;)

I just love being a mommy. Especially his mommy.

Daddy wanted burgers and fries, so I decided to oblige him, ABCGP-style!

I had a bunch of beautiful parsnips, courtesy of my favorite grocery store Produce Man (my Dad!) so I cut them up and made some parsnip fries! A drizzle of olive oil on one side, macadamia nut oil on the other, salt and pepper.

I also sprinkled a few with some chipotle powder a friend made for us out of our garden jalapenos…

400º for about 25 minutes…

A few were a little thin, but the core was really fat and I didn’t have much choice. Maybe smaller parsnips are better?

His burger: moo-cow. Mine: Sunshine!

Fresh salsa, crumbled feta, and basil from the garden, with a swipe of avo-hummus underneath.

Bruschetta Sunshine Burger, maybe? Either way, deeee-lish.

It was time to thin out the beet patch, so I found myself with these beautiful babies…

Not sure what I’ll do with them yet, but this new addition to the family sure is giving me some ideas…

I can’t think of a better present right now! Many thanks to Grammie Garden Pea!

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Do you eat the same thing for breakfast every day? Do you get bored? (I find that limiting my options makes it easier for me to make sure that A. I actually eat breakfast , and B. I make a healthy choice at 5am. Do you agree?)

What’s your favorite way to eat beets?

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Filed under Home & Garden, Recipes & Food

Local, seasonal food hits the spot!

It’s been a rough week. The best medicine? Local, seasonal, freshly prepared food from Emma’s Food for Life in Selinsgrove!

You know the conversation…

“What do you want for dinner?”

“I don’t know…what do you want for dinner?”

“I don’t care. Whatever you want.”

and so on, and so on…

We were fully engaged in that back and forth last night when we drove by Emma’s and I remembered that I had seen Lemon Quinoa on their specials board outside. I figured it would feature peas and asparagus, because that is what’s in season here right now, and it did.

I just may turn into a pea with the way I’ve been eating lately, but I guess that’s what eating local, seasonal produce is all about, right? If peas are in season, you eat a lot of peas.

So Emma’s it was, and it did not disappoint.

She: Lemon Quinoa (a thick, warm, creamy quinoa in a lemony sauce that reminded me of risotto! Comfort food at its finest. It had lots of greens, peas and asparagus. Sadly, it promised to come with a side of cabbage and beet salad, which was nowhere to be found :( ) It did, however, come with a little green side salad. I chose the lemon tahini dressing (not my favorite, by far )  The husbo chose the cilantro lime dressing, so I stole that :twisted:

Accompanying my dinner is some organic Mother’s Milk tea from Traditional Medicinals…it tastes like strong anise, which I despise, but it came highly recommended and I need the help right now in strengthening my supply. It tasted just a little better in my new W mug (a gift from my thoughtful husband!)

I poached us each a piece of salmon for a little extra sumthin’, and it was pretty tasteless until we realized we could dip it in the dressing. Cilantro Lime Salmon, coming right up!

He: The hus chose the whole wheat fettucine with bacon, peas and asparagus. It was really good…I had a bite with bacon in it, and I wanted to eat the whole thing! I guess there’s just no denying the seductive qualities of bacon. The one bite was enough, though…I don’t plan on becoming a bacontarian.

BIG portion!

 

These dishes didn’t really lend themselves well to pretty pictures, but they were delicious! I inhaled mine. Just what we needed on a night when I was exhausted, still a little concerned about my health, and not wanting to settle for any kind of fast food. (Sadly, we were left with a mountain of styrofoam containers. I was surprised to see that from a restaurant like Emma’s. Surely they could find recycled cardboard…)

Our boy joined in the feast with his new favorite…avocado! I’ve given this to him a couple of times now, and he just devours it! I always seem to have just a little left over whenever I use one, so this will work out perfectly! This was the most perfect avocado I’ve ever cut into (like BUTTAH!) and he said, “Mmmmmm….” with each bite.

Mortared and pestled…

Next time, we combine the ‘cado with a nanner. 

Newsflash: I’ve decided to cave a little on my dairy weirdness and eat some yogurt. I need calories, protein and calcium right now more than ever, and you just can’t beat the nutritients in Greek yogurt, so I looked up my old friend Fage….

This sucker comes with a lot of honey! I amped it up with a little Granbiotics granola and some walnuts…

I had forgotten how good this stuff is…

I’d go so far as to call this the perfect bite!

I guess a little yogurt now and then won’t hurt anything. But no fruity-bottomed ones, and you won’t catch me with a glass of milk in this lifetime, either…

Now, off to get groceries and skedaddle home to my boys. Last time I was in the store, I heard Jive Talkin’! I hope there’s a fun playlist today…I love grocery shopping!

Have a great Sunday, all!

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What’s in season now where you live? Have you had your fill of it yet?

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Filed under Product & Restaurant Reviews, Recipes & Food, The Everyday

Garden Pea Puree!

The last day of my 3-day mini vacation and it’s going to RAIN? So not cool.

Oh well. I decided to savor every minute of my day off with my boy anyway. First, I savored this cup of Granbiotics vanilla almond granola with So Delicious coconut milk, a few cranberries and half a nanner. I think I may have started a new love affair with coconut milk. It’s SO good (swoon-worthy even), and I love that it’s vegan and high in B12.

Don’t worry almond milk, I still love you and I always will…

The other half of the nanner found it’s way into a much smaller tummy. I’ve SO been looking forward to sharing food!

I felt like carrot casserole (funny, you don’t look like a carrot casserole:D ) Unfortunately, the carrots weren’t quite ready…

But the PEAS were! Woohoo! Some wouldn’t be so excited, perhaps, but me? I’m stoked to make Garden Pea Puree!

I shelled these bad boys and steamed them until soft in my (broken) steamer. 

I then pureed them in my little puree machine, which I proceeded to break. Looks like I’ll be investing in a better food processor even sooner than I thought! :(  The last step was pushing them through my strainer to remove any pieces that didn’t puree. Once your baby is past stage one foods, this step really isn’t necessary anymore.

The little bit I had time to pick yielded 4 servings when mixed with just a little water, 3 of which I put into one of my KidCo. BPA-free baby food freezer tray for another day (I have the food mill, too, but we’re not quite there yet.) I left the puree a little thick so I could thin it out with breastmilk before serving each cube (purees freeze better without the milk…save that for later, when you’re getting ready to serve.)

This puree turned out a rad shade of green! Can you tell by this little face that it tasted pretty good, too? 

Next time, we make the BIG BATCH!

Since Mommy and Daddy have a slightly bigger appetite, and lots of fresh produce to use up, we ended up with a bit of a hodge-podge for dinner  (My favorite! I’m so laid back and unstructured like that, you know... ;)  )

A little too yellow, perhaps, but super good with a super short ingredients list! Fresh corn, broccoli from the garden, Low & Slow white sweet potatoes, a yellow tomater, and a few tiny chicken tenderloins. (I ended up giving mine to the husbo…just wasn’t feeling the chix.) Oh yeah, and salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil. That’s it.

What color is your food?

A full day of healthy foods and baby snuggles. Rain or no rain, it doesn’t get much better than that.

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Do you make or plan to make homemade baby food? What is your favorite recipe?

What is your favorite pea recipe? I need LOTS!

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Filed under Home & Garden, Parenting & Family, Recipes & Food, The Everyday

Finally, a moment to sit…

Jeez…It feels like it’s been a week since my last post!

What a busy weekend. I still feel like I didn’t get anything done, but I always feel like that. I’m always thinking about what I didn’t do, instead of focusing on my accomplishments.

Maybe I should write it all down so I can see it on paper, because I know I did A LOT. Or maybe, I should blog about it…

I worked on Saturday from 5am until about noon, which makes for a pretty early morning with a 60-mile commute. I lucked out, though…it seems there were some white sweet potatoes, peaches and nectarines ripe for the taking, and nobody else wanted them. I took a bunch, and left a bunch behind in hopes that someone else in my office might take advantage of free produce!

Take a look at my booty (hee hee...)

Not a bad haul, eh? 

The little fam and I made a run to the local greenhouse and our favorite “Bent & Dent”, where we always find unexpected treasures. I picked up the first of my seasonal herb plants (cilantro and oregano) and stocked up on rolled oats, organic tea, breastmilk storage bags, and lots of other goodies for dirt cheap (mostly discontinued and close-coded items). It’s amazing how many organic products you can find at Bent & Dents and clearance aisles (although, I’m thinking that’s not a good thing, because it means nobody is buying them…)

I was feeling inspired by my sweet taters, so I threw them on the grill alongside some salmon (both in foil packets.)

I felt a salad coming on, so I started rummaging through the fridge to see what I had to use up. I sent the husbo to the garden to collect some greenage, and proceeded to build what shall hereby and forever be known as the Snowball Salad. 

It just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger

and it was OFF. THE. CHARTS.

DIY Snowball Salad

-Grilled lemon pepper salmon

-Grilled sweet potato chunks

-Garden greens (spizznach, beet greens, lettuce mix)

-Black beans

-Avocado

-One falafel ball

-Carrot

-Zucchini

-Mushrooms

-Oregano

-Italian vinaigrette

-Everything else in your fridge

One thing missing: Big spoonful of zingy salsa (I didn’t figure that out until I was done.)

No, I did not eat the whole thing. Yes, I came very close. I see more Snowball Salads in the near future!

And for dessert:

Any chocolate that comes in a black wrapper has to be good, right? Nope. It was very waxy, and very disappointing. Boo on that.

Big surprise of the day: Mommy and Daddy even had a few minutes at the end of the night to relax together, alone.  Mark that one in the record book! (and get your mind out of the gutter…)

Fast forward to Sunday morning:

Breakfast at Subway (See tomorrow’s post for more details…)

Grocery shopping

Home to clean like a hurricane, do 2 loads of laundry, and snack on this old friend from late last summer! It was still fantastic after a long sleep in the freezer. Don’t you love it when you do something great for yourself, and later you get to enjoy it and remember how cool you are? 

Pineapple Zuke Bread

 

…made a BIG FAT DELICIOUS CREAMSICLE!

This is one of my all-time favorite drinks. The Polar vanilla seltzer makes it smell just like a creamsicle, but it’s not nearly as sweet. I use about 1/4 calcium-fortified OJ to 3/4 seltzer. LOVE this

Made Finn’s dinner for tonight/lunch for tomorrow: funky white sweet potato puree.

This came out surprisingly smooth and creamy. I can’t wait to start making pureed everything.

Packed my lunch/breakfast/snack for tomorrow:

Has anyone out there tried these Evol Burritos? I’m very excited about it. That, and my tiny banana. I love that I can be excited about a bag lunch. (My kick-arse husbo bought me a new lidded oats mug!)

Then, finally, baby and I headed over to the ‘rents so Shane could paint at home in prep for the appraisal. No baby in the house with paint, No-VOC or not.

Upon our arrival, Mom was busy creating this lovely concoction:

Rhubarb and raisin chutney. Really nice with a grilled pork chop. Spinach and orange salad on the side. (Vitamin C + Iron = better absorption. Go Mom!)

Alright, so maybe I did get something done this weekend.  :)

It was a pretty good food weekend. Sometimes I feel like I’d have so much more time if I bought more prepared foods. Then, I tell myself to shut up.

Now, my sweet potato-filled boy is snuggled in his bed and I’m going to spend some time with my Mom. It’s Survivor finale night!

If Parvati wins, I’ll be so p’ed.

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Do you give yourself credit for what you get done, or do you tend to focus on the one thing you didn’t accomplish (like me)?

I didn’t get my run in this weekend. Something had to give. What did you NOT get done this weekend?


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