Homemade baby food

Our little man is growing up, and with that comes the introduction to something besides breast milk and formula...real food! Introducing your baby to food can be exciting and scary. There are so many different brands and types of baby foods out there. Jarred meats and stage numbers are confusing-and gross looking!

If you haven't shopped for baby food then you don't know how costly it can be. Simple purees can cost .75 for a mere 2.5 ounces! Baby food is such a simple thing to make. I am the first to admit that I am not a cook, but knowing what is going into my precious babies' mouths is important to me. So, I put on my apron and channel my inner Diane Keaton ala "Baby Boom." (Am I the only twenty something that is obsessed with this movie?)

We choose to feed our children organic fruits and vegetables. Brian and I feel like limiting the exposure to chemicals and pesticides is the best choice for our family. If you haven't switched to organic fruits and vegetables, you can start by switching out conventional produce in the "Dirty Dozen".

Step One: Get your helpers ready. AKA- Strap your toddler into her high chair and fill her plate with lots of yummy foods to keep her busy.

Step Two: Bake or steam your fruits and veggies. Today I baked sweet potatoes and put apples and pears into the crock pot. I find the crock pot method to be very easy. I simply cut up the fruit, cover with water and turn on high for around 3 hours or until it is soft.

Step Three: Puree! I use a small Cuisinart food processor. There are all sorts of appliances that you can use to puree your fruits and veggies. I like the mini processor because it will see me past baby food making and be a useful kitchen appliance for many years.

Step Four: Pour pureed baby food into tray for freezing. I have a lidded tray made by OXO that I bought of of amazon. Once the cubes have frozen I pop them out into freezer bags and label them with the contents and date. FYI-Sweet potatoes and squash look very similar, so unless you like feeding your baby mystery vegetables I suggest labeling everything.

And there you have it...easy peasy! Happy baby food making.

Resources that I use. www.wholesomebabyfood.com and the book titled, " Cooking For Baby" by Lisa Barnes

Homemade Bread

I've been wanting to bake bread for my family for a long time. We buy our bread at a local grocery store, Dorothy Lane Market. Fresh bread can cost $4.50 a loaf from there. I'm ok with that though, the quality and taste are top notch. It is our goal, as parents, to teach our kids to love real foods. Not squishy wonder bread and super processed candies. We try our best to introduce Julia, and eventually David, to fresh and local real food.

Enter Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. If you haven't heard of this, google it! If I can do this anyone can.

I had been longing to learn this method of baking fresh bread for months. I watched YouTube videos, read blogs and googled my little heart out. Santa must have been watching. The wonderful book showed up under my parents Christmas tree (Thanks Mom!) The week after Christmas, I began baking.

Without further ado, these pictures are worth a thousand words.

Step One: Mix dough, let it rise then put it in fridge for easier handling. This is what it looks like after being in the fridge overnight. It is all yeasty and bubbly.

Step Two: Dig into the bowl with floured hands and shape the dough. This takes 1 minute tops. Drop it into an oiled pan, let rise for an hour, then cut vents on top.

Step Three: Bake the bread for 35 minutes, then cool on rack. We have yet to let the bread cool before tearing into it.

This fresh bread costs around .60 a loaf using all organic ingredients. YUM!