Adventures with Solid Food #13: Cucumber

This sums it up pretty well:

http://flic.kr/p/cnYD2C

Cucumbers were the easiest puree to make -- you peel and seed them, then throw them in the blender! I will say to double the amount of cucumber. I bought 2lbs, but after peeling and getting the seeds out, I wasn't left with much. Atti does not like cucumbers by themselves, but really likes them when mixed with peaches.

Up next:

Zucchini

Adventures with Solid Food #12: Eggplant

The twelfth food for AMD is eggplant. I have really been lagging on the blog posts as of late, as I have been making DIY pore cleanser masks that made me break out (all over!), and doing all kinds of other things - like raising a baby!

Back to the "meat" of the post - eggplants. Every time I think about eggplants, I think about the movie The Coneheads.

I have never really had any cooking experience with eggplants, so all of this was new territory! I only used one eggplant and had to peel it and then cut into cubes. I had no idea that they had tiny seeds in them! The recipe said to leave the seeds in, so I did. After cutting them into cubes, I cooked them on the stove with some water until they were tender. Then I blended them up and they were good to go! One eggplant made a little over 24 oz.

http://flic.kr/p/ch9qkC

Review:

 

 http://flic.kr/p/chaUXQ

Meh, they're all right. They are pretty bland, but Atti eats them up when we mix in eggplants with other, more delicious foods.

Up next:

Cucumber

Adventures with Solid Food #11: Mango

http://flic.kr/p/cdDfNh

Believe it or not, Atti Murph has had eleven different kinds of solid foods! Compared to the disaster that was the prunes, mango puree was a walk in the park. I bought 2 12 oz bags of frozen mango chunks. Prep work done! All I did really was put both bags of mango and some water into a pot and cooked them until they were soft. Then I pureed them in our fancy new Ninja blender for only a few minutes and they were done! They made about 3 cups or 24 oz of food. I have learned to not fill up the ice cube trays to their maximum capacity and to leave room for the cubes to expand. This has made getting the cubes out much easier and I end up saving more food in the process.



Review:

 

 http://flic.kr/p/bWf5Ge

Will and I were both pretty excited to have Atti try mangoes. We thought for sure he was going to LOVE them. But his reaction was really more of a "meh" than anything else. Maybe it was also because he woke up earlier than usual. Who knows, but hopefully he warms up to them. Otherwise, I may have to keep these mangoes for myself!

Up next:

Eggplant

Random:

This is post #500!

Adventures with Solid Food #10: Prunes

Oh, prunes. I have never really been a fan of prunes. But they were on the first foods list, and I want Atti to be a not picky eater, so I made them. Making these prunes into puree became the bane of my existence. I started with a regular 18 oz can of pitted prunes from HEB. There seems to be really no measured amount of water to put in, you just have to keep putting water in to thin the puree. So here I am, blending, adding water, blending some more, adding more water... you get the idea. Suddenly, there's this smell in the kitchen. I'm not sure what or where this is coming from, but I know that it's not good. Then, the blender stops. Craps out. Dies. Dead.

Dead. Dead.

Yep, the prunes killed my blender.

Meanwhile, I have some Granny Smith apples on the stove to make applesauce and they boil over. The prunes with water are still in the dead blender and are not finished...

What to do?

We have to buy a new blender.

Crap.

So, I get online and read reviews for all of these different blenders. We finally decide on one and find it at Bed, Bath & Beyond. The three of us jump into the car (we did manage to put a onesie on AMD before jumping in), and found ourselves a fancy new blender. We get home and I unpack everything, read how to put it all together, wash everything, and finish making the flipping prunes.

In all of this madness, I only took two pictures of the process.

http://flic.kr/p/bVhYJP

http://flic.kr/p/ccEeAS

And our new Ninja blender! Atti enjoys his Ninja food!

http://flic.kr/p/ccEi8W

Review:

http://flic.kr/p/bVmjme

He seems to think prunes are all right... sometimes he likes them, sometimes not so much.

Side note:

The prunes are pretty gooey. Even frozen. I don't know. We'll see how the next batch comes out.

Up next:

Mango Tango!

Adventures with Solid Food #9: Sweet Potatoes

http://flic.kr/p/c6kPBs

I am trying to blog about the foods faster, so here we go! Today, Atti tried sweet potatoes for the first time! I made these about two weeks ago and they have been sitting in the freezer just waiting for Atti to try them. With frozen purees, from what I have read, they can last up to 6-8 weeks.

I used the book 201 Organic Baby Purees again, it's the only book I have and it's pretty good. This recipe took the longest, because I had to heat up the stove, bake the sweet potatoes, peel the skin, cut into small pieces, and then finally blend the taters while adding cooled boiled water to thin the puree.

http://flic.kr/p/c6DiZW

As you can tell from the picture, these two fat taters made a TON of food! I shelled out and purchased these fancy ice cube trays from amazon. These babies were made in New Zealand and I really like them. They make 1 oz food cubes, which we really like since our previous ones were only 3/4 oz. The only con I have is they can be somewhat tricky to get the cubes out. You can't twist the trays, you have to press one side of the cube for it to slide out.

http://flic.kr/p/c6DMmf

 

 Review:

 

 http://flic.kr/p/c6pefy

He really likes them! He is also now a big pro eating with the spoon. We have increased his spoon feedings to twice a day! Woo hoo!

Side note:

You may have noticed that Atti has been sitting in a different seat to eat. First, we sat him in our high chair, but he is too small for it and kept sliding all over the place. Then, we put a cart cover inside the high chair and that helped a little bit, but it also made a huge mess and I washed that cover every single day. Not kidding. So Atti and I went to Target and bought the tray for his Bumbo seat and it has been working great! We don't have to worry about him sliding all over the place which seems to make feeding times easier for everyone. As a bonus, after breakfast/lunch, we can just wipe down the tray and put some blocks there and viola! Instant play time after a meal. We now feed him in the living room after putting down a table cloth on the carpet (because, really).

Up next:

Prunes

As always, check out our flickr page for all of the food and Atti pictures here:
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindarenee/

Adventures with Solid Food #8: Pears

This time I'm going to do something different:  blogging about making pears the lazy way -- through photos! I used this recipe from simplybabyfoodrecipes.net found here: http://www.simplybabyfoodrecipes.net/2010/07/simply-pear-puree.html

Ms. Gardner also has a facebook page called The Baby Chef found here:
https://www.facebook.com/thebabychef

I had no idea I could just link her recipes! Here are some pictures of the process:

http://flic.kr/p/c6D6VL

Review:

http://flic.kr/p/c4HW4b

He really likes pears! So far he's a pretty good eater and likes most things.

Side note:

The pears came out pretty runny after being pureed in the blender. They did great in the freezer and were really easy to make!

Up next:

Sweet potatoes!

Adventures with Solid Food #7: Peaches

I decided to take a tiny break from veggies to start with some fruits before Atti's SIX month check up on the 23rd. I think the only veggies we have left are sweet potatoes, and those are in the pantry waiting for me to get to this week.

Someone asked me why I use frozen foods instead of fresh foods. "Don't y'all have farmers markets out there?" Yes, we do, but really, frozen foods are just as good and all of the prep work is already done. All I have to do is get them out of the bag, cook them, and viola! They are ready to be pureed. And as a new mom, I realize that time is not something I have an abundance of these days. So basically, I use frozen foods because it gets the job done faster! Can you go to farmers market and buy fresh fruits and veggies? Absolutely! With everything else, you do what is best for YOU and your baby.

Now, on with the show (or blog, rather)!

What I used:

1-16 oz bag of frozen peaches (peeled, sliced, and ready to be cooked!)

4 tablespoons water (I always use filtered water versus tap water when cooking his foods)

Blender

Ice cube trays

What I did:

So, like any other time I'm ready to make some baby food, I just turned the bag of peaches over to see how much water I needed and how long I needed to cook them. This time, however, I turned the bag over and found this:

http://flic.kr/p/bWfDzW

Hmm. I know how to thaw peaches, sure. But how do I cook them? I know, I'm probably putting too much thought into this and making it overcomplicated (have you met my husband?), but I really want to do this the right way and didn't want to overcook the peaches... not like that would be the worst thing ever, but still. So I pulled out my new book, 201 Organic Baby Purees by Tamika Gardner, who is also the author of simplybabyfoodrecipes.net (go check her out). I know what you're thinking, "I thought you weren't doing organic foods?" I'm not buying ALL organic foods, meaning, I'm not shopping at Whole Foods and only buying the organic foods (have you seen how expensive that stuff is?). I guess I am going the organic route in that I'm making my own baby food versus buying it?

So I followed these directions, only with frozen versus fresh peaches:

http://flic.kr/p/bWfEyC

The peaches with 4 tablespoons of water only made two cups, which again, does not fill up both of the ice cube trays.

http://flic.kr/p/bWgp6d

 

 

http://flic.kr/p/bWgqaq

Review:

 

http://flic.kr/p/bWMfTs

 

Atti LOVES peaches! He loves them so much we had to heat up a second ice cube because one just wasn't enough for him! I think they are his new favorite OF ALL TIME!

Side Note/Funny:

This is how I labeled the bag of frozen peaches:

http://flic.kr/p/bWgrdo

You're welcome!

Up next:

Pears

Adventures with Solid Food #6: Yellow Squash

Can you believe Atti has had six different kinds of solid foods? Me neither! Time flies for sure!

Here we go:

What I used:

1-16 oz frozen yellow squash

Blender

Ice Cube trays

What I did:

I again just followed the cooking directions from the bag. Usually, the instructions give you a range of cooking time, depending on your preference. I always cook the maximum time to ensure the food is extra tender for the blender.

http://flic.kr/p/bSYV1k

http://flic.kr/p/bE5bkU

The 16 oz bag with 1/2 of water made about two cups of puree. Unfortunately, two cups doesn't go very far. The puree didn't fill in all of the ice cubes in the trays.

Review:

http://flic.kr/p/bEYuVC

Atti likes the squash all right. They are pretty bland, so when I mix the squash with another food, he can really only taste the other food. He is getting to be such a good eater! He is also such a distractable guy!  In the video, he keeps looking at Will. I'll go ahead and blame Will for Atti being so distractable.

Up next:

Peaches!

Adventures with Solid Food #5: Green Beans

 

http://flic.kr/p/bSgxeH

I was asked the other day if I am making organic food for Atti. The answer is no, I'm not going all organic, it's just too expensive. So far, I have bought regular store brand frozen veggies and fruits and they have been working pretty well. Also right now it's pretty easy since Atti is only eating single fruits and veggies, like applesauce, green beans, peas, and etc. I have only been purchasing the 1 pound bags for his introduction to the new fruit or vegetable. The great news about doing it this way is that it takes less than half an hour from start to finish to make! And the food usually lasts a couple of weeks! Right now in my freezer we have fuji applesauce, peas, carrots (I made 2 lbs the other day), and green beans! We have also started mixing different foods together, which has been fun!

Anyway, to the point of the blog, here's how we made green beans:

What I used:

http://flic.kr/p/bDtbV7

1 - 16 oz. bag of frozen green beans

Blender

Ice cube trays

What I did:

 

http://flic.kr/p/bDtcbE

I just followed the directions on the bag on how to cook them. Usually, it gives a time range for how long to cook them, and I always go with the longest amount of time so that they are extra tender. I then pour the green beans with the water used to cook them into the blender and blend away on the puree setting. We have a Black & Decker blender that we received for our wedding. It was previously only used for smoothies and margaritas!

 http://flic.kr/p/bDtcqQ

Review:

 

http://flic.kr/p/bSq8Cz

Atti likes the green beans all right, but they are much better with some carrots or apple sauce mixed in!

Side note:

1 pound of green beans plus the 1/2 cup of water didn't make a whole lot. Without filling each cube up to capacity, it still didn't fill up the full two ice cube trays. So maybe next time I'll make two 1 pound bags! They also froze kind of weird, like they have lots of ice chips in the bag even though I make sure I close up the freezer bag each time. Maybe it was just this batch.

Up next:

Yellow squash

For all of our pictures from making our own baby food, check out our set on flickr:
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzvxTK2

Adventures with Solid Food #4: Peas

So, I'll say it. I don't like peas. Yep. I'll eat peas in other dishes, but you will never hear me say that I really want peas by themselves as a side dish or something. It just doesn't happen. But I started making peas and had Will finish making them so that Atti Murph can try them. Here's how it went down:

What I used:

16 oz. bag of frozen peas

Blender

Ice cube trays

What I did:

Same as with the carrots, I just followed the cooking directions from the frozen peas bag. I then poured the cooked peas with the water needed into the blender. Will blended and blended (and made a giant mess in my previously clean kitchen) until the peas were nice and soupy.

http://flic.kr/p/bAdsnC

After that, Will ladled the peas into two ice cube trays. This made the perfect amount! In the morning, I popped the peas out and put them into a freezer bag. In the morning, I microwave one ice cube for 30 seconds and they are good to go!

Review:

While Atti eats one whole ice cube of peas, he does not have the same excitement about them as he does with bananas and carrots.

http://flic.kr/p/bQhkdg

 
Side note:

The peas do fit through the bottle nipple along with the cereal and milk. This makes for faster feedings for lunch, dinner, and bed time!

Up next:

Grean beans and Fuji applesauce!

Adventures with Solid Food #3: Carrot Puree

http://flic.kr/p/bMTJx2

What I used:

16 oz. frozen carrots

Blender

Ice cube trays

What I did:

To cook the carrots, I just followed the cooking instructions on the frozen carrots bag. After the carrots were nice and tender, I cut them into smaller pieces, then poured them and the water that I used to cook them into the blender and pureed until smooth. I then spooned the mix into ice cube trays and let them cool. After they cooled, I put the lids on and put the ice cube trays in the freezer overnight.

This made two ice cube trays full of carrot puree!

http://flic.kr/p/bNhDJa

The next morning, I moved the ice cubes from the trays into a freezer bag. These I have been microwaving for 25 seconds.

http://flic.kr/p/bNhEyT

Review:

The carrots are a big hit! Atti loves them! Compare the video below to the applesauce video, there's a huge difference!

http://flic.kr/p/bN8bZv

Up next:
Peas! 

Adventures with Solid Food #2: Applesauce

A friend of mine recommended the book Baby Love  and I checked it out from the library. I like the book so much I had to buy it from Amazon! We had some Braeburn apples lying around the house, so why not make some applesauce? I made this on Saturday and I would say it took less than 20 minutes total, from getting the apples out of the fridge to putting the ice tray in the freezer! I adapted the recipe to only use 2 apples instead of 5. This made one ice tray full of applesauce!

Atticus is still on the fence about it, but he has been eating an entire cube (3/4 oz.) every morning with his cereal. Yesterday I bought some frozen veggies to try for the upcoming weeks. So don't worry, he'll get vegetables!

What you'll need:

2 medium Braeburn apples

4 oz water

Blender

Ice cube tray

Here is the recipe I used:

Wash and peel apples

Cut into small chunks

Cook for 7 minutes with lid on with 4 oz water



Puree in blender

Pour into ice tray and stick in freezer overnight



The next morning, I popped all of the applesauce-cubes out and put them in a freezer bag. In the mornings, I just microwave one for about 20 seconds and it's ready to go!

Adventures with Solid Food #1 - Bananas

Atti Murph has been eating cereals for about two weeks now (woo hoo!). He's tried all of the cereals that are recommended as "good firsts". I have been waiting for him to get used to the cereals and try to not hate eating with a spoon before jumping in with fruits and veggies. While on vacation, I think we only practiced eating with a spoon once. This did not help things. We had two bananas that were about to turn, so I thought what the heck? And jumped right in with bananas and eating with a spoon!

Here's what we did!

First, I mashed up a small bit of banana and mixed it up with a splash of warm milk (I'm using breast milk)
I made another bowl with an oatmeal and barley cereal mix, with about 3 oz of breast milk.

I sat Atti Murph in his high chair, added the tray and we jumped in!

The first time we tried to feed him with a spoon, he did not enjoy it to say the least!

During the feeding, I first gave Atti a small spoonful of banana. He didn't seem to hate it, so I did a couple more spoonfuls before adding in some cereal. This was the best feeding with a spoon ever!! He did such a great job! He talked and even smiled! He finished all of the banana, so I added a little bit more directly into the oatmeal. After a while, he started getting fussy, so I warmed up the cereal a bit and poured it into a bottle for him to finish. Unfortunately, he had a hard time with the banana mixed in with the cereal. Pieces of the banana would get stuck and blocked the rest of the food from getting in his belly. I did have to pull some banana out a few times before he could finish. Next time, I won't mix in the fruit into the bottle. He seemed to really enjoy the banana! I mashed up the rest of the banana and put it in the fridge, as well as mashed up another for the freezer.

Here's a video of our session.

 

You can see all of the pictures and videos from our banana session on our flickr page located here.

Baby Food

At Atti Murph's four month appointment, our doctor cleared him for cereals! This is a huge milestone and also a little bittersweet. I am no longer the sole provider of his food, but now he has an easier time getting that belly full of food! We started with brown rice cereal on the 19th of March. Will and I opted for brown rice versus white rice and picked up Happy Bellies Brown Rice Cereal and Atti seemed to like it pretty well. While on our first big vacation, Atti also tried barley, oatmeal, and organic brown rice, all from Gerber. We found out that he likes the oatmeal, loves the barley, and hates the organic brown rice from Gerber. We haven't looked for the barley here in town, but I really hope we can find it!

Soon, we will begin with fruits and veggies. I have heard and read from lots of different people that we should start with veggies first. Our doctor said it doesn't matter which we start with. I'm on the fence. I do know that I would like to try making my own food so that I know what's going in that belly that keeps growing! I have done a lot of research on it (I'm a big researcher) and I think this week/weekend I will start gathering all of the essentials and start cooking! I will be posting which foods he likes/hates/is not impressed with, as well as recipes and pictures on how I'm putting this business together.