Baby Food Making

First taste of baby food, carrots

When Sawyer was a baby, my mother and I got together every week and made his baby food. We would visit the farmer's market or produce section at the grocery store and experiment with all different types of food for him.

Now that Scout is old enough to try foods, we have started the tradition again. We have already made carrots and sweet potatoes...he has approved of both. My mom found small containers at Dollar General (4 for $1) since I had thrown all Sawyer's out. They are the perfect size.

To  help other Moms out there who might be going through this same stage, I have compiled my entire list of baby food recipes in this one blog, in order.

For us, it saved money but also was comforting to know exactly what we are feeding our boys.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Have fun!

Carrots

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/06/adventures-in-baby-food-making-carrots.html

Sweet Potatoes

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/07/adventures-in-baby-food-making-sweet.html

Squash & Green Beans

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/07/adventures-in-baby-food-making-sqaush.html

Spinach

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/07/adventures-in-baby-food-making-spinach.html

Peas

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/08/adventures-in-baby-food-making-peas.html

Apples

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/08/adventures-in-baby-food-making-apples.html

Beets

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/08/adventures-in-baby-food-making-beets.html

Plums

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/09/adventures-in-baby-food-making-plums.html

Bananas

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/09/adventures-in-baby-food-making-bananas.html

Pears

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/09/adventures-in-baby-food-making-pears.html

Peaches

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/09/adventures-in-baby-food-making-peaches.html

Cherries

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/10/adventures-in-baby-food-making-cherries.html

Turnips, Egg Yolks, Mangoes, Lima Beans

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/11/adventures-in-baby-food-making-turnips.html

Chicken

http://www.hamratime.com/2012/10/adventures-in-baby-food-making-chicken.html

Ooh I like that: Kale Smoothie

Jokes on you Sawyer!

I am always trying to think of ways to incorporate veggies in an indiscreet way for Sawyer. He is going through a phase of judging food by its cover (lettuce looks like grass so it is yucky!) I decided to invent my own kale smoothie with some high nutrient dense ingredients to see if he would like it and to my surprise, he did. Looks like I was able to pull a fast one on our smart little guy so he can still get the fruits and vegetables he needs, score!
It may not look pretty but you could always add more blueberries to hide the green.

INGREDIENTS
(for 1 smoothie)
1 cup Baby Kale (cleaned, de-stemmed)
1 banana
1 cup blueberries
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup milk/almond milk/soy milk (your choice)

Looks so pretty!

DIRECTIONS
- put all ingredients in a blender and blend, easy peezy!

Enjoy!

Ooh I like that: Sprout Snacks, Veggie Crumbles and 3-in-1 Trike

Healthy Snacks + Cute packaging!

I know I promised an "Ooh I like that" post that wasn't food related..sorry I sort of lied! These two things are too good not to share. But don't worry, I also have a new toy to rave on.

Healthy Snacks from Sprout

My mom stumbled about the company Sprout through Facebook and decided to order some of their snacks and meals online for Sawyer to try. We haven't tried all the options she got yet but he has fallen in love with their little snack pouches of fruit and yogurt bites. They are all natural with no artificial ingredients or coloring. They have some really unique flavors too. His favorite is the Purple Berry & Carrot, I tried them and they are delicious.

Smile-inducing snacks!

BUY IT HERE: About $4.99 for 8 packages
http://www.sproutorganicfoods.com/toddlers/toddler-snacks/fruit-veggie-crispy-chews/purple-berry-carrot

Eat Your Veggies...and protein!

As you may know, I don't eat red meat. I plan to expose Sawyer to all types of food so I try not to limit him to just what I eat. BUT on this particular occasion I wanted him to try a new product I found called "Yves Good Ground: Veggie Ground". I heated them up in a skillet with 2 eggs, milk & cheese (sort of like a breakfast scramble). It was yummy! I have to admit, it looked disgusting but the taste was great. Sawyer even liked it! The package is equal to 1 pound of ground beef and is low calorie but high protein. I plan to use it in spaghetti, for meatballs, and even in Hamburger Helper. The Sky is the limit.

Might not look too appetizing but it sure tastes good.

BUY IT HERE: It was about $3.50 at Walmart but on their website there is a bunch of other places
you can purchase it as well: http://www.yvesveggie.com/products/store-locator.php

Sawyer's 1st Trike

our little biker

We love to ride bikes and we figured it was about time to get Sawyer's his own little bike. We had seen a Little Tikes trike when we were at Silver Dollar City and it looked so cool! When I researched them online they were a pretty pricey, but to my surprise about a week later they were on zulily.com on sale. His sweet Grandparents decided to get it for him. The great thing about this trike is it is adjustable to different age groups starting at 12 months and adjust until they are independent riders.
Stage 1-Guided- For a parent to push and control-When the blue waist bar is installed the child will be unable to turn the wheel
Stage 2- Learning- Kids can learn how to pedal and turn with parents help
Stage 3- Independent- The push bar is removed for kids to go on their own with parent supervision

The 3-point harness keeps them secure as they learn to ride. One of my favorite features is the UV protective shade canopy. It even protected Sawyer from the rain when we were at the zoo. I can't wait to see Sawyer learn to use it on his own, he already loves to ride in it. I will warn you it takes a little bit to assembly, I would recommend hiding it from your little one until it is completely assembled because Sawyer threw a fit waiting!

BUY IT HERE: Original price is about $109 but you can get it on sale if you look. http://www.littletikes.com/kids-toys/3-in-1-trike-with-deluxe-accessories-blue

Kitchen Experiments: Crescent Roll Chicken Enchiladas

Our family loves anything that involves cheese and bread so when I found this yummy recipe while scouring the web for dinner ideas, I knew it would be a hit. It is like little pockets of cheesy/chicken goodness. It is super easy to put together, I made them in about 10 minutes.

I did change it up a bit on a couple things. I added our new favorite cheese (Velveeta Shreds Queso Blanco, yum!) and spinach. I have been trying to incorporate hidden veggies in our meals for Mr. Sawyer, he didn't even notice the spinach. I also did 2 cans of crescent rolls instead of one (luckily I had an extra) because the filling made way more than enough for just one package. We had ours with some Skinny Girl Sangria and it was a delicious meal, Sawyer had milk of course.

Thanks OhBiteIt.com for the idea!

Original recipe here: http://www.ohbiteit.com/2013/01/crescent-enchiladas.html

INGREDIENTS

2 Container (8ct.) Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

3/4 Cup Milk

1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Fiesta Blend)

1 Cup Velveeta Shreds  Queso Blanco

1 Can of Chicken Breast

1 Can of Cream Of Chicken Soup

1 Can of Chopped & drained Green Chiles.

1/2 Can Chopped & drained Spinach

STEPS

1. In a medium bowl combine the chicken and 1 cup of the Cheese ( I mixed the two kinds). Break up the chicken and incorporate the cheese with a fork. Set aside.
2. In another medium bowl mix together the Soup, Milk, Green Chile and Spinach. Set aside.
3. Lay out the 2 containers of Crescents and add about a tbsp. of the Chicken mixture to the wide end and roll it up.
4. Spread a small scoop of the Gravy mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish and place the filled and rolled Crescents in.
5. Pour the remaining gravy over the top of the Crescents, making sure to cover them completely.
6. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Cheese.
7. Bake it uncovered at 350 for approx. 25 minutes.

If you can tell he is saying "Emmm!"

Perfect mix!

Kitchen Experinents: Zucchini Chips

I sort of made this recipe up after realizing I had a food day at work, I have made squash chips like this before but thought I would try it with zucchini instead. Nothing like Impromtu healthy creations.

Ingredients:

1 zucchini

1 cup parmesan

1 ziplock freezer bag

1 egg (I used 1/4 cup egg beater egg whites)

1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon parsley

Step 1:  Preheat Over to 425. Slice up the zucchini in too thin pieces (I like them thin so they turn out crispy)

Step 2: In a bowl pour egg/egg beaters

Step 3: coat your zucchini slices with egg

Step 4: fill ziplock freezer bag with garlic salt, parley and parmesan

Step 5: Throw in egg-coated zucchini and shake up

Step 6: put chips on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. I waited until they turned light brown and all of the cheese was melted

Step 7: Take out of the oven and add more parmesan on top if you desire (I sure did)