Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts

Friday, February 15, 2013

Homemade Baby Food Stage 1: Carrot Puree



If you are new to making your own baby food take a look at Homemade Baby Food: How to Get Started. For a complete list of baby food recipes, click here. Also, follow me on Pinterest for links to even more great baby food recipes.

Carrots are easy for your baby to digest and are loaded with nutrients like Vitamin A and Vitamin C. You can see a complete nutritional breakdown here. When purchasing carrots, do not buy baby carrots as they are washed in a solution that often contains chlorine.

Introduction Age: 6-8 Months *Check with your pediatrician about when to start your baby on solid foods

Materials Needed:

Carrot Puree:
  1. Thoroughly wash and peel carrots.
  2. Slice carrots into thin discs.
  3. Fill pot with enough water to reach bottom of your steaming basket.
  4. Bring water to a boil and reduce to simmering.
  5. Fill steaming basket with carrot slices.
  6. Steam until soft (approximately 10-15 minutes).
  7. Puree in your choice of appliance.
  8. Thin puree as needed with filtered water. Do not use cooking water to thin as nitrates can be released as your cook.
To Freeze:

Spoon carrot puree into ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Place frozen cubes into Ziploc freezer bag or freezer safe container.

To Thaw:

Remove cube(s) from freezer and place in container in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Heat if desired and serve. Use thawed cubes within 24 hours or thawing. You may also thaw in microwave if you choose.

*Remember to use the 4 day wait rule when introducing new foods. Feed your child only 1 new food for a 4 day period to wait for any possible reaction.

Food Combinations:

Once your child has been introduced to several foods using the 4 day wait rule, you may begin trying different food combinations. Here are some foods that pair well with carrots:
  • Apples
  • Peaches
  • Green Beans
  • Peas
  • Winter Squash
  • Zucchini
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Meats (Chicken, Beef, Pork)
  • Brown Rice
*Remember to check with your pediatrician regarding your baby's readiness to begin solid foods and discuss any foods that may have an allergy risk for your child.


Some of the links on this website are "affiliate links." This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive a commission

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Homemade Baby Food Stage 1: Squash Puree


If you are new to making baby food take a look at Homemade Baby Food: How to Get Started.

Squash is a wonderful Stage 1 vegetable. Winter squash, like acorn or butternut, is high in vitamin A and calcium. There is a great resource here on the nutritional content.

Introduction Age: 4-6 month *Check with your pediatrician about when to start your baby on solid foods



Squash Puree:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
  3. Put squash in baking pan face down. Add approximately 1 inch of water to pan.
  4. Cook for 45-60 minutes or until you can easily pierce "meat" with a fork.
  5. Cool squash and retain cooking liquid for thinning puree.
  6. Scoop "meat" out of squash shell.
  7. Puree in your choice of appliance*. Add reserved cooking liquid to make it the desired consistency (thin, but not runny).
To Freeze:
  1. Spoon puree into ice cube trays.
  2. Cover ice cube trays with plastic wrap and freeze overnight or until solid.
  3. Pop out cubes and store in freezer safe plastic bags.
To Thaw:

Remove cube from freezer and place in container in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Heat if desired and serve. Use thawed cubes within 24 hours or thawing. You may also thaw in microwave if you choose.

*I use my Food Network 3-Cup Mini Food Processor . Since I like to use my mini food processor for the convenience of easy cleaning, I puree one half at a time.

Remember to use the 4 day wait rule when introducing new foods. Feed your child only 1 new food for a 4 day period to wait for any possible reaction.
Food Combinations:

Once your child has been introduced to several foods using the 4 day wait rule, you may begin trying different food combinations. Here are some foods that pair well with squash:
  • Rice
  • Apples
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Carrots
  • Meat (Beef, Chicken, Pork)
Remember to check with your pediatrician regarding your baby's readiness to begin solid foods and discuss any foods that may have an allergy risk for your child.

Some of the links on this website are "affiliate links." This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive a commission


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Valentine's Day Activities Round-up


With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought I would round-up some of the best activities, crafts, and recipes that I have found.

For more Valentine's Day ideas, follow me on Pinterest.



Biblical Based Valentine's Activities

FREE Printable Valentine's with Bible Verses
St. Valentine Scripture Wreath
The Greatest Valentine Preschool Bible Lesson
God's Conversation Hearts



Preschool Activities

FREE Valentine's Pre-K Pack
Valentine's Day Printables (1+1+1=1)
Valentine's Day Pre-K Pack (Over the Big Moon)
Valentine's Day Preschool and Kindergarten Pack (Homeschool Creations)
Valentine's Tot Pack and Expanded Pack (2 Teaching Mommies)
Valentine's Day Tot Pack (Lawteedah)


Valentine's Gifts/Cards

Heart Pencil Toppers
Brown Paper Valentines
DIY Sharpie Mugs
Cupcake Candy Jars
ABC Valentine's Printable
FREE Candy Printables
Bubble Wand Valentines
Blowing You Kisses Valentines


Crafts

Valentine's Heart Paper Plate Hats
Valentine's Lei
Valentine's Play Dough
Secret Message Hearts
DIY Valentine's Wreath
Valentine's Heart Cone Tree
Monster Mailbox
Free Valentine's Printables
I Heart You Blocks
Stitched Heart Bookmarks
Toddler Tape Paint Art
Valentine's Heart Wreath
Valentine's Day Hand Print Card
Valentine's Day Heart Sun Catcher Craft



Valentine's Games/Activities

Valentine's Tic Tac Toe
Valentine's Scavenger Hunt
Valentine's Day Science Play



Recipes

Strawberry Banana Sweetheart Pancakes
Strawberry Heart Mini Cheesecake Bites
Valentine's Floats
Heart Shaped Pancakes
Cherry Tomatoes and Cocktail Sauce
Marbled Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
Valentine S'mores Bites
Mini Heart Pizzas
Brown Sugar Blondies for Valentine's Day
Sweetheart Cherry Pies
Giant Valentine's Cookie
Valentine's Dipped Rice Krispies Treats
Strawberry Nutella Pop Tarts
Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Valentine's Snack Mix
Valentine's Fruit Pizza
Valentine's Day Heart Swirl Cookies

If you have a preschooler, check out my Valentine's Day Preschool Plans.

What are your favorite Valentine's Day activities? If you have a blog post featuring a Valentine's activity, please leave a link in the comments.






Saturday, February 2, 2013

Recipe: Strawberry Banana Sweetheart Pancakes



I just love Valentine's Day. It is such a great reminder to show the people we love how much we care about them. To kick off February, I wanted to make a special Valentine's breakfast for my family. I made some changes to my favorite pancake recipe and came up with these Strawberry Banana Sweetheart Pancakes. I love to incorporate fruits or vegetables into baked goods to add nutritional content. These pancakes turned out great and my girls gobbled them up.

 
Strawberry Banana Sweetheart Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon White Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg (Beaten)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Oil
2 Ripe Bananas (Mashed)
1/2 Cup Diced Strawberries

Directions (makes 12 pancakes):
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  2. Make a well in the center and add egg, vanilla, milk, oil, and bananas.
  3. Stir and combine ingredients. Batter will be lumpy.
  4. Heat griddle over medium-high heat. Lightly oil griddle.
  5. Pour pancake batter onto griddle (approximately 1/4 cup per pancake). Sprinkle diced strawberries on top of pancake batter.
  6. Cook until bubbles start to form on top. Flip pancake and cook until golden brown.
  7. Serve hot!
My girls enjoyed these without syrup because of the natural sweetness, but my husband and I added a bit of syrup and they were delicious. If you are looking to make these dairy free, you can substitute the milk for a non-dairy alternative such as almond, soy or coconut milk.

What is your favorite Valentine's meal to make?