Making your own baby food CAN be easy!

Making your own baby food isn't as scary as you think.  I want to share with you something that is going to make it even easier... a website: Wholesomebabyfood.com.  One of my "go-to" mommy friends told me about this website when I started feeding E solids and I've been hooked ever since. Not only will Wholesome Baby help you learn how to cook food for your baby, but it's also a great resource of what to cook for your baby and when.  

I tried to make a lot E's food, especially when it was single purees.  It is so simple. Do not let baby marketers fool you; while the Baby Bullet and Baby Breeza are great, all you really need to make baby food are some pots, pans, an oven, blender of some sort and ice cube trays.  I actually used our knockoff bullet blender that we got as a wedding gift and it worked perfect!  

Is your baby a beginner to solids? Start here for stage 1 foods and some basic pureeing.  Now that E is onto mostly finger foods, I want to find recipes I can still make in bulk and store in the freezer. This weekend I baked E some broccoli & cheddar cheese nuggets and wanted to share the recipe!

Broccoli & Cheedar Cheese Nuggets

1 16 oz package frozen broccoli, cooked, drained and chopped

1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3 large eggs [or 5 egg yolks]

{directions}

preheat oven to 375

[1] lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside

[2] combine all remaining ingredients and mix well. {* add seasonings if you like: garlic powder, pepper, extra basil or oregano; also can add fruit or veggie puree to substitute for eggs} 

[3] shape mixture into nuggets and place on baking tray. bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning nuggets over after 15 minutes. serve warm, crumble if baby needs.

I also found out that author of Wholesomebaby.com, Maggie Meade, is coming out with a book tomorrow called The Wholesome Baby Food Guide.  

Baby food doesn't need to be tasetless, processed and in a jar. It can be fresh, vibrant and delicious. In THE WHOLESOME BABY FOOD GUIDE, Maggie Meade will show you how easy it is to feed your baby homemade goodness. 

Based on the top-rated baby food website, THE WHOLESOME BABY FOOD GUIDE is filled with carefully researched information on nutrition, allergies, myths, and the best practices for introducing foods to your little ones. With more than 150 recipes, as well as storage tips, and allergy alerts, Meade reviews the three major stages of a baby's learning to eat: 4-6 months, 6-8 months, and 8 months and up.

Do you make your own baby food? Where do you find some of your favorite recipes? 

Making Baby Food and Giving Back

I'm all about making my own baby food for E. It is pretty simple, healthy and a lot less expensive than store-bought baby food.

Have you thought about making your own baby food, but you're not really sure where to start? Check out this class with Urban Baby.




Sunday, November 13th [1:00-3:00] at Logan Community Center in NE Minneapolis

Cooking w/ UrbanBaby [Cost $15/session]

This class is for pregnant moms or mothers with babies. This class will teach participants how to make fresh baby food at home, understand how to introduce solids to their baby and will set goals for making fresh food from scratch.

Urban Baby is a nonprofit organization in Minneapolis that empowers families to grow and cook fresh foods for babies, toddlers and young children. Busy parents can gain the confidence, skills and tools needed to make lifestyle changes necessary to feed their families healthy, delicious and affordable local foods.

All of the proceeds from this class will go to Urban Baby to help local families. I can't think of anything better than taking a class to help support healthy living and family time.

[note: if you aren't able to make the class, but are still interested in learning more or donating to Urban Baby, click here!]

Freezer Meals: The Family Dinner Made Simple

Growing up, my mom always had a hot home-cooked meal ready for our family each night. We all sat down around the table to talk about our day and were spoiled with her delicious cooking. HOW DID SHE DO IT!?!

Now that I am a mom and I have my own family, I want to be able to provide the same for them. I know E is just a baby now, but that time together is still important. One little problem... that means I have to COOK. Some days it seems like I barely have time to brush my hair [umm, kidding?] let alone cook a hot meal for my family.

Enter freezer meals and bulk cooking:


Freezer meals are meals you can cook ahead of time and then freeze until ready to eat. The best way to make freezer meals is by bulk cooking, where you cook several meals all in one day. [This also is a great idea for making your own baby food, but I'll save that for another day and another post.]

What's even better than bulk cooking and freezer meals? Find other moms who are looking to do the same thing and create a meal swap! This is what I am doing with two of my mommy friends. Every other month, we each pick out 5 different freezer meals to cook. We cook 3 of each meal [so 5 meals X 3[one for each family]=total of 15 meals]. Then we swap. So now, instead of having 5 freezer meals stored up, I have 15 different meals to choose from.

It may seem like a lot and overwhelming, but it is actually fairly painless. There are a lot of cookbooks and websites out there that are really helpful. Pick a weekend where you can have some help at home with the baby; go grocery shopping one day and cook the meals the next. Now you have a freezer stocked with delicious dinners and more time to spend with your baby and family.


Helpful Websites:

Fabulessly Frugal [explains freezer meals, how to shop, how to prep, and recipe ideas]
Once A Month Mom [seasonal recipes]

Great Cookbooks

Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer
Don't Panic, MORE Dinner's in the Freezer
Freezer Pleasers

My last tip: Buy these Glad Bakeware for your freezer meals. They stack nicely in the freezer, you can use them in the oven, and they are reusable! It's a win-win-win!

Have you made freezer meals before? What tips can you share?

Fall Has Arrived... Time to go Apple Picking!

As much as I love summer, there is something about fall that gets me excited every year. The crisp cool air, the smell of apples everywhere, pumpkin spiced lattes and of course... stocking hats!! [Baby E already has a minimum of 10 hats already and don't think I'm stopping there.] There are also lots of fun activities to do in the fall before the blustery Minnesota winter hits and everyone hibernates inside like bears.

Probably my favorite fall activity is apple picking. It is so much fun being able to go out on a nice sunny fall day with a big barrel and pick your own apples. There are so many apples to choose--apples for baking, for crunching, sweet apples and tart apples--I love them all! A lot of apple orchards also tend to have other fun activities like hay rides, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, barns full of warm apple cider, apple butter, jams and everything else you can think of apple.



Since this is Baby E's first fall, I am really excited to start him in on our little tradition. I know he will love grabbing at the trees [he is in that stage where anything is fun to grab at] and he loves eating apples, so I better stock up while they are in their prime.

Every year we normally go to a few orchards in Bayfield, WI where my parents cabin is. This year we aren't going to be able to make it up there in time for apple picking, so it looks like we will be going in the Twin Cities [day trip maybe?!]

I found this awesome website online called PickYourOwn. Where in Minnesota to find pick your own farms and orchards for fruit, vegetables, pumpkins and canning & freezing instructions! This site is great, not just for finding apple orchards, but all sorts of fun berry picking, pumpkin patches, corn mazes and even Christmas trees in the winter.

I wanted to share with you a couple other orchards that I researched:

Aamodts’ Apple Farm [Stillwater, MN]
They have a wide variety of apples [including Honeycrisp, a personal favorite]. They also have some great activities for the little ones like wagon rides, a goat farm, hay bale mazes and even a John Deere tractor farm!

Afton Apple [Hastings, MN]
Here they have apple picking, a pumpkin patch [picking starts the last week in September] hayrides and a 15 acre corn maze-wow!

Emma Krumbee's [Belle Plaine, MN]
Emma Krumbee's was named “Favorite Apple Orchard in Minnesota” by Minnesota Parent Magazine. With the variety of events, kids activities, apple & pumpkin picking, and homemade goodies [found in their restaurant & general store] it is easy to see why they are a favorite. The annual scarecrow festival also sets them apart from the other orchards.

Pine Tree Apple Orchard [White Bear Lake, MN]
You'll find weekend entertainment, pony & wagon rides, a corn maze; along with a large variety of apples and a pumpkin patch. Also Pine Tree has various homemade bakery products, caramel apples, and fresh cider- yum!

Minnetonka Orchards [Minnetrista, MN]
Another orchard with a variety of family activities including: hay rides, walking trails, a corn maze and of course pick your own apples. Also check out their unique calendar of events which includes music, family theme weekends and more!

Do you have a favorite fall tradition or favorite apple orchard that you go to every year?

Weekend at the Farmer's Market

Babies need to be introduced and exposed to many different objects, shapes, textures, patterns [the list goes on and on]. As parents we need to enrich their sensory experiences and what better place to do that than the Farmer's Market?




We try to go to the Farmer's Market almost every Sunday we are in town in the summer. It's the perfect family weekend outing. I strap baby E in his Bjorn and let him soak in all the different voices, colors and smells.

The Farmer's Market is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers. For as low as $5 you can pick up some of the most beautiful flower arrangements. Your baby will love listening to the local musicians and watch the balloon animal artists that you can sometimes find amongst the farmers. And for a special treat, take your baby on a complimentary ride in the horse drawn wagon.



Not only is this a great experience for your little one, but you are able to support local farmers and pick up some delicious treats for your weekly meals.

[NOTE: for all Twin Cities locations check out the St. Paul and Minneapolis Farmer's Market websites]