Dinosaur Fruit! [Tasty Tuesday]

Carson tried another new food recently: Dinosaur Fruit!  It was labeled at the store as "Dinosaur Pluot".  I'm not sure where the dinosaur part came from but a pluot is a plum/apricot hybrid!  I had never heard of this before and Carson likes plums and apricots so I decided to give it a shot.  He liked it a lot and it's a really pretty color, too!  I tried it too and it was actually really good - sweet with a tiny bit of tartness!

It even had a cute dino on the sticker!

A pretty red fruit!

Have you tried any new fruits with your babies or toddlers lately?

I'm linking up with Kristin today!

 

P.S. Yesterday I FINALLY took some time to catch up on my blog emails.  I had gotten ridiculously behind and every time I thought about it, it made me anxious.  I'm so glad to finally be caught up and I'm sorry if you got responses a month later, ha!  Better late than never, right?! :)

Pancake Muffins for Toddlers [Tasty Tuesday]

Before I start, let's just talk about how hard it was for me to write the word TODDLERS in my post title.  I'm going to pretend I'm not referring to Carson, ok?  He's totally a baby.  Forever.

Today I'm going to share a super easy finger food idea for your kiddos!  Pancake Muffins.  Intrigued?  I was when I heard about these through my mom's group.  They're SO easy and you can make so many different flavors and varieties!

What You Need

Pancake Mix + required ingredients for preparation (I used Aunt Jamima which only requires water!)

Add-ins (fruit, veggies, meat, etc.)

Mini Muffin Tin

How to Make

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare 1 batch of pancakes according to directions on the box.  Mix until there are no lumps, but do not over mix! 

Choose your add-ins and mix together in smaller separate bowls.  For this batch I used a few different add-ins: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and broccoli.

Using a teaspoon or cookie scoop, fill each section of your mini muffin tin about 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes.

Let your muffins cool for 5-10 minutes in the tray. 

**If you want to freeze your muffins, I suggest flash freezing now for about 5-10 minutes and then transferring to labeled ziplock baggies or airtight containers.

Carson LOVED his first pancake muffin.  He tried blueberry first so we'll see how the others go.  I made this batch with foods I knew he would enjoy and next time I might try to sneak in some foods he doesn't typically love (carrots, meat, etc.).

Love!

I'm linking up with Kristin today:

Tasty Tuesday: Colors!

I don't know why, but I love giving Carson a variety of colors in his meals.  One of his favorite foods lately is broccoli.  I added cauliflower to my grocery list thinking it might be a good alternative to broccoli and to switch things up a bit.  When I was at the store, I found PURPLE cauliflower!  I had no idea this existed.  [They also had orange!]  I googled it and found out that the purple color is caused by an antioxidant.  [Information here.]

Here is what the cauliflower looked like straight from the grocery shelf....almost pinkish!

Here it is before and after steaming.  It was pretty cool to see it change colors!  It also made the water in my pot a cool blue-purple.

Carson had to examine it first...

Trying it out....

Sharing with Mommy!

Here are some fruit & veggie finger food ideas to add some color to your baby's plate!

{Reds}

Strawberries

Watermelon

Raspberries
Apples/Applesauce (I make mine with the skin on)

Red Peppers

Beets

Red Grapes

{Oranges}

Sweet Potatoes

Mandarin Oranges (in moderation because of the citric acid)

Orange Peppers

Pumpkin

Butternut Squash

Cantaloupe

Carrots

Mangoes

{Yellows}

Bananas

Yellow Peppers

Peaches

Pears

Acorn Squash

Pineapple

Corn

{Greens}

Broccoli

Peas

Green Beans

Grapes

Spinach

Kale

Cucumber

Zucchini

Celery

Kiwi

Honeydew Melon

{Blues/Purples}

Blueberries

Purple Cauliflower

Blackberries

Eggplant
Purple Potatoes

Plums

Prunes

What is your favorite colorful food?  

I'm linking up with Kristin today!

DIY Yogurt Melts [Tasty Tuesday]

As a lot of you know, I make most of Carson's baby food.  When he was eating purees, I made everything.  Now that he's eating mostly finger foods, I still buy fresh/frozen and prep his food, but I do buy a lot of prepackaged "snacks" like puffs, yogurt drops, and crackers.  The yogurt melts, but I feel like we go through the bags SO quickly!  I figured it couldn't be too hard to make your own....and it wasn't!  These are great for teething babies since you serve them right out of the freezer!

What You Need
Yogurt {I used YoBaby Peach}
Drinking glass
Plastic baggie
Spoon
Scissors
Baking Sheet
Wax Paper (optional)

How to Make
Line your glass with your plastic baggie and spoon your yogurt into the cup.  I used about a 1/2 container of yogurt.

Remove your baggie from the glass and create your "piping bag":  Squeeze all the yogurt to one bottom corner of the bag.  Twist the bag above the yogurt.  Snip off a very small piece of the corner of the bag.

Line your baking sheet with wax paper. [This is optional but definitely makes for an easier clean up!]  Drop small dots of yogurt onto your baking sheet.  I filled an entire baking sheet with only a 1/2 container of yogurt!  As you can see, some of my drops got a little messy.  That's what happens when you're trying to keep an eye on the baby and make his snacks! ;)  You can make these as big or little as you like!

Stick the baking tray in the freezer for at least an hour or two until they harden up.  Once they are hard, you can remove from the baking sheet and store in an airtight container in the freezer.

*Note: These melt fairly quickly in warm baby hands!  The yogurt drops purchased at the store are freeze dried so these are definitely a little messier!


I'm linking up with Kristin today!

DIY: Butternut Squash Baby Food

 If you're a new reader and want to check out my other baby food posts, go here.  I made butternut squash a while ago, but haven't had time to share!  I'm not a huge fan of squash myself.  Ok, let's be honest....I don't like it at all.  Honestly, when I went to the store, I didn't even know which one was butternut squash.  Embarrassing?  Probably.  This is the squash I ended up with.  Baby led weaning, right?  Ha!

The first thing you want to do is cut your squash in half lengthwise.

 Next you'll want to remove the seeds and goop just like you would with a pumpkin.  In case you're wondering, goop is the technical official term.

 Next stick your squash face down in a baking dish with about 1" or so of water.

Stick the squash in your oven at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes.  Your squash will come out wrinkly.  Appetizing and not at all phallic!

Next you're going to scoop the "meat" out and stick it in your food processor. If your puree needs thinned out, you can use the water from the baking dish!  This step is very similar to making sweet potatoes.  I had to  process for about 3-5 minutes to get the desired consistency.

Finally you're going to spoon your squash into ice cube trays.  Wrap the trays in plastic wrap and freeze overnight.  Pop those squash cubes out and store in a labeled freezer bag for up to 3 months!

Carson LOVED the squash!

Carson LOVES Green Beans [cue sarcasm]

Next Tuesday I'm going to be sharing a new recipe for Tasty Tuesday!  I actually used the extra green beans from that recipe to make some more baby food for Carson!

After steaming the [frozen] green beans, I set about 1/2 of the bag aside in a covered bowl.  When we were done with dinner, I threw the beans in my food processor.  Like always, you need to add a bit of liquid (breastmilk, formula, or water).  Green beans are harder to get smooth so I had to process for quite a while.

Next I put the beans into my trusty ice cube trays.  I froze the beans overnight before placing them into a labeled freezer storage bag.  I got about 16 servings from a 1/2 bag of frozen green beans.

Here is Carson just LOVING the green beans.  Haha!  This was his first try.  He's actually getting used to them now.  I think he was thrown off by the flavor and the texture!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S! [Tasty Tuesday]

So who all has the Gwen Stefani song stuck in their head now?!  You're welcome. :)

Make sure to get out and vote today if you haven't already!!

Since I accidentally posted my original Tasty Tuesday post last week, you all get a bonus.  I made Carson's second round of baby food and I'm doing another [brief] how-to!  I was planning on sticking with veggies BUT we had 2 bananas that were going to be over ripe soon so I decided to use those.  It was SUPER easy.

Step 1: Peel your bananas and place small chunks in your food processor.  I tried to mash  my bananas manually with a fork so I wouldn't have to clean my food processor, but it was too much work.  I'm lazy!

Step 2: Add some liquid to thin out the mixture a bit.  You can use formula, breastmilk, or water.  I didn't need much this time and I actually ended up thinning these out a bit too much.  Because of that, we just mix it with oatmeal after thawing!

Step 3: Pour your mixture into an ice cube tray.  Freeze overnight before placing into a labeled freezer storage bag.  My 2 bananas made enough for about 10 servings.

Here are some pictures of Carson enjoying his bananas.  He wasn't totally sure at first but now he loves them!

Do you like banana goatee in this last pic?  hahaha!

Just Call Me Martha [Tasty Tuesday]

If you know me, you know that I'm fairly UNdomestic.  When we bought our house, I was determined to learn how to be more domestic.  I didn't and my excuse was that we didn't have the necessary tools.  Then we got married and got all of those "necessary tools" from our registry.  Shoot.  So then I promised [myself] that I would at least try to become domestic in ONE domain.  I became a baker.  Not like a Buddy Valastro  cake boss, but more like Betty Crocker.  (Because I used her box mixes!)

That was 4 years ago and now I'm much more comfortable in the kitchen.  I'm most confident in my baking/desserts, but I have also been trying tons of new recipes for dinners and I've even started meal planning!

After Carson's 4 month appointment, we were given the "go ahead" to start solid foods.  I knew I wanted to make his food, but I wasn't ready for my little baby to take that step because it meant he was growing up!  (That might sound ridiculous but I know other moms understand!)  We started out with [oatmeal] cereal and he loved it.  He ate that for about a month and I finally decided I needed to get some real food for this boy!

I've been using this site as a basic guideline for our journey into solids.  We decided to start with sweet potatoes and Carson loved them!  Making my own baby food used to sound so daunting but it was a lot easier than I expected!  Here's a quick little "tutorial" if you're interested.  Make sure to scroll to the end to see Carson enjoying Mommy's creation!

Step 1: Scrub your potatoes clean.  Using a super cute brush helps make this process fun.  Next, poke some holes in the potatoes with a fork and wrap each one in some aluminum foil.  Place on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes at 400 degrees.

 Step 2: Unwrap your potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes.  Cut each potato in half length-wise.  The potatoes should be very tender.  Scoop out the "meat" and leave the skin behind.  Put the good stuff into your food processor!  [Blenders work as well.  Check out this article if you're unsure which to use!]

Step 3: Add some breastmilk or formula to thin out your mixture.  I used about 1.5oz of breastmilk for each potato.  You can do more or less depending on your desired texture.  This was Carson's first food (besides oatmeal) so I didn't want it too thick or textured!  Once you add your thinning agent, process for about 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy.

 Step 4: Using a spoon, scoop your mixture into ice cube trays.  I bought my 3-pack of BPA trays for a few bucks at Walmart.  Wrap the trays with plastic wrap and stick them in the freezer.  Once the cubes are sufficiently solid, pop them out and stick them in a labeled freezer bag.  I labeled my bag with the food, date, and "use by" date.  I've read in multiple places that you should try to use frozen baby food within 1-3 months.

Step 5: Thaw your cubes and feed to your adorable baby!  Please make sure to read this very informative article on thawing and heating!