Homemade Baby Food

When Riley was a baby, I made most of her baby food.  I had the time and thought that it was worth the effort.  When Tyler came along, I quickly changed my mind.  I was so busy taking care of two, that I just went with the store bought stuff.  With Will, it was more of the same.  Gavin is now at the age where he is eating baby food, and my sister referred me to www.onceamonthmom.com.  She has a great site dedicated to once a month cooking, but the baby food section is what caught my eye.  I felt a renewed desire to make and freeze Gavin's baby food.  In all honesty, some things are super cheap to make on your own, and some things are the same as store bought.  Today Gavin hung out with me in the kitchen and taste tested as I made the following meals:

Brown Rice and Avocado Mash

                                    

Cannelini Beans and Kale

Cinnamon Butternut Squash and Apples

                                    

Cauliflower, Tomatoes and Carrot

                                    

                                    

Strawberries and Pear

Banana Blueberry Oatmeal

                                    

As I have been taste testing these baby food combinations, I was surprised at how good they all are.  It led me to find similar grown up recipes like :

Quinoa, tomato and avacado salad (you can substitute the quinoa with brown rice)

White bean and Kale salad

Butternut Squash Apple Soup

Mashed Carrots,Cauliflower and Herbs

Strawberry Pear Salad

Oatmeal Banana Blueberry Muffins

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Thai Peanut Sauce

These spring rolls are so easy, and a perfect light dinner for a warm evening. There are different ways to tweak this, according to your family's preference.

Spring Rolls

rice paper*

rice vermicelli*

cooked shrimp, halved

carrots, julienned

cucumbers, julienned

shredded lettuce

fresh cilantro

fresh mint

*You can find these ingredients at an Asian market.

Cook vermicelli according to package instructions. Dip rice paper in warm water until they are just pliable. Layer lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, herbs, vermicelli and shrimp in middle of paper. Fold up ends and tuck tight as you roll them up. If your rice paper feels a little stiff as you roll, don't worry, it will soften up as it sits.

Thai Peanut Sauce

1/4 cup natural peanut butter, no sugar added

2 t soy sauce

1/2 t sesame oil

1T brown sugar

1T fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup water

1 clove minced garlic

* optional - 2 T red curry paste, we don't add it, because we are spice wusses.

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour into a saucepan and stir and heat until thickened.

Fresh Beet Salad

My sister in law makes a variation of this every time they come to the states to visit. I always assumed I didn't like beets, because who likes beets? This is so good and so good for you. I have only ever used the fresh beets. Some say you can use canned, but it will change the taste. Fresh beets are better for you anyway. Just a little warning, beet juice stains. Be careful when you are handling them, especially when they are cooked.

Fresh Beet Salad

3 fresh beets

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 cloves minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Cut off stalk of beets, but don't cut off root. Keep skins on. Boil in a covered pot for 45 minutes. Remove beets from pot and place in a strainer. Run under cold water. Remove the skins (they should slide right off). Cut off root. Cut the beets. I prefer to dice them, but you can also slice them. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and chill for 2 hours. It is important to cover the salad unless you want your entire fridge to smell like garlic.

Beets are full of nutrients. They are an especially good source of folate and fiber.

Hummus

Ingredients:

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup tahini

1 T olive oil

1 t salt

Place all ingredients in a food process and blend until smooth. Optional - garnish with paprika,fresh parsley or drizzled olive oil.

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm water

1T dry yeast

1T salt

6 c whole wheat flour

1/3 c honey

1/3 c oil

Place water, yeast and salt in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups flour, oil and honey (*hint - if you measure and pour the oil first, then the honey will just slide right out of the measuring cup). Mix well. Add remaining 3 cups flour. Knead for 10 minutes. This is important. It needs to be 10 minutes so that the gluten will break down. Form into loaves. Let rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Veggie Flat Bread Pizza

A good, healthy variation to store bought or restaurant bought pizza.

You will need:

*Package flat bread (Naan, whole wheat flat bread, soft wrap bread for sandwiches), or better yet, make your own. This recipe and this recipe are fantastic. I omitted the herbs in the second one, just because my kids won't eat anything with flecks, speckles, chunks, etc. in it.

*1T olive oil

*Low fat part skim shredded mozzarella (about 3/4 to 1 cup per pizza)

*Lots and lots of fresh veggies. We used:

Fresh baby spinach sauteed in olive oil with 3-4 cloves sliced fresh garlic

Sliced cherry tomatoes

Sliced mushrooms

Some other suggestions:

Thin sliced red onion

Artichoke hearts

Olives

Thin sliced zucchini

Thin sliced bell peppers

Kale sauteed with olive oil and garlic

Once you have all of your ingredients prepped, these come together really fast. Place a few pieces of the flat bread on a cookie sheet. Brush with a very light coating of olive oil. Sprinkle each flat bread with 1/2 cup cheese. Layer the veggies. Sprinkle another 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of cheese over the veggies. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned a little on the edges. Delicious. You can also make these with meat, we just are fans of the vegetarian version.

Smoothie Kits

Have you ever tried the Yoplait Smoothies you can buy and make at home? They are so good and are a pretty simple concept and one you can adapt to your tastes. Presenting smoothie kits:

For 4 kits that make 2-3 servings each, you will need:

1 large container vanilla greek yogurt (it is more expensive, but is packed with protein)

1 bag fresh spinach

1 large bag frozen berries (no sugar added, just berries that have been frozen)

1 container fresh orange juice (like Simply Orange)

Quart size freezer bags

3 ice cube trays

Place spinach in a food processor and get it as close to a paste as possible. You may need to add a little water. Put spinach paste in one ice cube tray and place in the freezer. The paste may not fill up all the openings. Fill another ice cube tray with the greek yogurt. Place that in the freezer also. Fill the third with the orange juice. Carefully add that to the freezer with the other trays. Once everything is frozen solid, place the following in each quart size freezer bag:

4 yogurt cubes

4 orange juice cubes

3 spinach cubes

1 cup frozen berries

When it is time to make the smoothies, place contents of bag into a blender. Add 1.5 cups milk and a banana. Blend until smooth.

Homemade Brownies

My mom gave me this recipe years ago, and my family likes it better than the boxed kind. It has 5 ingredients, 6 if you add chocolate chips. You can even make several batches of the dry mix and store them in Ziploc bags in your cupboard. When you are ready to make them, just add the eggs and butter.

Homemade Brownies

2 cups sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

1 cup flour

3 eggs

1 cup butter, softened

Optional : 1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Batter will be super thick, like frosting. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Steel Cut Oats

I heard about steel cut oats a few months ago, but never bought them because they are so expensive. It is $7 for a 1 lb container at my local grocery store. The main difference between steel cut oats and rolled oats is the way that they are processed. Steel cut oats are simply the whole oat kernel, cut into small pieces. The are tubular in shape and result in a nuttier tasting oatmeal. Rolled oats have been steamed and then sent through a roller to be flattened. Because both are the same nutritionally, you need to base your decision on other factors.

1. Steel cut oats are significantly more expensive than rolled oats.

2. Steel cut oats are a whole grain with minimal processing, so they take longer to cook and longer to digest. This is both a good and bad thing. They are more work to prepare, but they keep you fuller longer.

3. Steel cut oats don't get all slimy after they are cooked. In fact, you can leave a pan of cooked steel cut oats in the fridge for up to a week, and the consistency won't change.

I prefer steel cut oats to rolled oats. They just taste so much better to me. I was lucky because Aldi's carried them at a fraction of the cost a few months ago. I bought 10 containers and put them in my food storage. You can also buy a 50lb bag from Honeyville Grain (http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/search.aspx?find=steel+cut+oats) for $58. This is a little over $1.16/lb compared to the $7/lb at most grocery stores.

Steel cut oats need to cook for at least 20-30 minutes on the stove. There is a quick trick a friend taught me, that makes the cooking so simple.

Boil 4.5 cups water. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Add 2 cups steel cut oats to the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and put a cover with a lid. Let it sit covered overnight. In the morning you just scoop some into a bowl and then pop it in the microwave for a few minutes. Put the rest of the covered pot in the fridge and scoop out as needed throughout the week.

Whether you prefer steel cut or rolled oats, oatmeal is a fantastic food that lowers cholesterol, promotes weight loss, and is packed with nutrients. Everyone should make it a regular part of their diet.