Prunes: Say what now!?

I wanted to break away from the normal Thursday post to throw in an extra, albeit very necesary, recipe: Prunes!  It was about this time in my "foodevers" that I noticed Jackson wasn't, well, pooping as he normally did. Sorry, theres really no cute way to say that. Apparently once you start introducing puree's and solids it's pretty much inevitable. 

Anywho, my mom suggested prunes so I took to Pinterest to find a good way to puree them. After researching a few different pins I settled on a prune, cloves and pear mix and it worked so well....Jackson didn't really care for it at first as you'll see below but he ate enough to do the trick.

So let's dig in! I made a pretty large batch so I could have it available whenever we needed it.

Ingredients

~ 4 Pears

~ 1 bag pitted pruned (I use the Trader Joe's brand)

~ 2 cups hot water

~ 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1) Place prunes in a bowl submerged in hot water while doing step 2.

2) Clean, core and chop pears and place in a steam basket for about 10 minutes. Set aside the pears  to let cool some and reserve the water.

3) Add the pears, prunes and ground cloves to your blender or food processor until smooth adding water as needed.

This recipe yielded about 24 ounces of puree and stored in the freezer nicely. I would suggest using within 3-4 days when storing in the fridge.

Enjoy!!

Hated It (insert two snaps- in "Z" formation if your fancy) 

Baby Food Month 5: Part 1

Welcome to baby food month 5!! For those following along we are now working on puree's for our 5 month olds :-) Time flies! Dr. Udekwu, the coolest pediatrician in Pittsburgh who encouraged me to share these baby food endeavors, suggested we start to increase Jackson's food to two meals a day. So this month my goal was to make much larger batches and introduce a variety of new foods! We will still only introduce one new food at a time but now every three to four days. 

I did three batches to start out the month so the focus of this post is on green bean, butternut squash and pear, and pea's. The butternut squash and pear was a repeat from last week,  check that post for recipe details. We are a fan of squash so this is a staple we will probably always keep available in the freezer.

New to the mix were green beans and pea's. Green beans need to be washed, ends broken off, and rinse again. Once they are cleaned place them in a steamer for 3 to 5 minutes and then drain them in cool water to stop the cooking process and preserve the color. Next, puree them adding some of the water from the pot they were steamed in until smooth and set them aside to let cool completely. Lastly, once cool, you can package them using your fresh squeezed station or similar.

I purchased the pea's fresh form Trader Joe's but I've used frozen before too. I love the color of this one! If your making a large batch like I did here bring a large pot of water to a boil, add about 4-5 cups of peas to the pot and reduce the heat and simmer for about 7-8 minutes. Blend them in a food processor or blender adding reserved water from the pot as necessary.

Below is a picture of each batch.

Enjoy

From L to R, green beans,
butternut squash and pear, and peas

Note: At this stage each individual fresh squeezed package holds 4 ounces of food and equals one meal.

Baby Food Month 4, Week 4: Butternut Squash, Pear and Oats

This is the final week of baby's first month of puree's! We haven't run into any allergies so far and I've learned that I don't have a picky child (thank goodness)!  Now this was my first time making butternut squash ever lol. I had no idea how to even cook it so I took to Pinterest and found that you can cut it in half lengthwise and bake it in the oven. You can check this out on the website I used, The Healthy Foodie. I later found that I prefer to just peal the outer skin, cube it and steam it but both ways work good.

The pears were just pealed cut and steamed and then both were mixed together in the food processor with a couple tablespoons of oats.

The final result was more of the same and another successful batch my kiddo eagerly consumed.

My goal for Jackson is to introduce him to 50 different fruits and vegetables, chicken and cod, eggs, and some cheeses and herbs before his first birthday! If your following along our food list so far includes.

Bananas

Apples

Peaches

Pears

Avacado's 

Broccoli

Spinach

Butternut Squash

Oats

Next month begins more complex puree's where I did 3 to 4 ingredients per batch. We also started 2 meals per day in month 2!

Baby Food Month 4, Week 3: Spinach and Peaches

This spinach and peach batch was the last of the two ingredient, fruit and vegetable puree's. It really tasted just like peaches and was Jackson's favorite so far. Prep was the usual wash and cut.

The peaches and spinach steamed really quickly and blended smooth.

What I think I enjoy the most about making Jackson's food is how fresh it looks! When I was pregnant I came across the Yummy Spoonfuls Instagram page and saw the following picture. 

@Yummyspoonfuls Instagram

It shows the different between an Organic baby food from the shelf at the store and her Organic homemade baby food. This is when I new I was making my own food and if I didn't have time I would be ordering her's. I really do enjoy it though and I have even been recruited by a few friends to make their little one's food! I still follow the Yummy Spoonfuls page now and it has really helped me change how I grocery shop and prepare our foods as a family. Below are the finished packaged pouches of our spinach and peach batch! As always if you have any cool recipes please share in the comments!

Thanks for reading,

Brittini Rae

Baby Food Month 4, Week 2: Broccoli and Apple

Bananas and avocados went over very well week one so we moved on to broccoli and apple. I know it's kind of a weird combo but I've seen the contents of some of the store bought baby foods and to me it was no stranger than those lol. Side Note: Up until this point I had been pairing a fruit with a vegetable but I was later told by a few experts including Agatha Achindu CEO of Yummy Spoonfuls that you don't need to add something sweet and that your child's pallet is developing in these early months. So I learned from experience for the next time around.

Now this was another super easy puree. I steamed the broccoli and apples for a few minutes to cook and soften them, added a bit of the water they were steamed in and blended them in my Cuisine Art food processor. The one you see here was getting a little busted and I've since upgraded thanks to my in-laws and their awesome Christmas gift. Check out our new one here its great for typical daily use as well as baby food blending. I opted out of the smaller baby versions, the blade spins the same on all of them.

My husband gave it the side eye and said it looked gross but I tasted it and thought it was pretty good! I couldn't get anyone else to try it though. Nonetheless my test subject loved it and couldn't get enough and thats all that mattered to me! So this broccoli apple combo was a HIT! *pats self on back*

My Happy Baby :-)

Traveling with Breast Milk and Baby Food

Traveling with a kid changes the game! But even when your without your baby but your  breastfeeding or pumping it can be stressful if you don't plan. In this post I'm going to highlight two of my traveling experiences, one with my son and one without. Hopefully you find these helpful!

My best friend Cassandra got married last August in Mexico when Jackson was just 3 months old. We won't even talk about the anxiety I had from the thought of leaving him at home for 3 days. Jackson's pediatrician had already let us know it would be best to leave him home and to also dump any milk I produced after being in Mexico for a few days. Dump my milk?  I was horrified! To top it off I had no idea how to fly internationally or domestically with breastmilk but the thought of dumping my whole first day of milk while traveling was just crazy. That wasn't happening. So, I devised a plan! 

First,  I planned out Jackson's milk for the 3 days we would be gone. Fortunately this wasn't too difficult. Over the week before we left i stockpiled in the refrigerator mostly as opposed to the freezer to make it easier on my mom. I put the milk in a cooler with ice packs in pre rationed bottles to take it to my moms and then put everything in her fridge.

Next, I called the resort we were staying at to make sure they had a refrigerator in the room and then read up on TSA's policies and procedures on traveling with breast milk, baby food, infants etc - print these out and throw them in your purse just in case you run into someone who tries to play you. I knew I wasn't going to have much milk to bring back but I wasn't wasting any more than I had too.  I got my supplies together for the flight which included my lifesaving Madela handheld pump, ice packs, milk storage bags, extra ziplock gallon bags (for fresh ice if the ice packs thaw) and a nice sized cooler that fit in my carry-on/purse. Now, it has been my experience that people at airports are extremely accommodating and sympathetic to moms lol. It's like they hit you with the Hunger Games tribute salute and let you navigate your way through checkpoints without difficulty (for the most part).

When I got to the airport I didn't have any milk because I waited to pump until the flight (don't ask why I know its a semi public space but I figured I didn't have anything else to do so I could have a good session without interruption. I had absolutely no problem getting into Mexico; they didn't even look in my bag. I pumped again when we got to the the resort in Mexico and to my surprise with all the hustle and bustle they were both really good pumps about 16 each so now I had about 32 ounces I had to keep fresh until we went home in less than 2 days. Everything else I had to dump (insert horrified face again here). I pumped 4 times a day while there and tried not to look at how much milk I was pouring down the bathroom sink. Nonetheless we had a great trip and I took advantage and drank lots of drinks lol.

The hubs and I at the airport

3 months postpartum!

The bride on her wedding day :-)

Bestie Crew DaVonna, Cassandra and Shinora (L to R)

Returning home proved to be a bit less "seamless" but still relatively simple. Before we left the resort I stopped at the concierge desk and picked up my ice packs from their freezer. Then at the airport I ran into a TSA officer after coming back in to the United States who began to open the gallon ziplock bag i had the milk storage bags in. I quickly whipped out the TSA guidelines I printed out and asked him if he could not. He fell in line. Not sure if it was my mom stare down or if he just felt bad for me but he left the milk alone and sent me on my way. All the trip home took was one stop at Starbucks for fresh ice and we made it back with cold milk!

Picture mail from my mom :)

The next trip was more of the same but with Jackson this time and some homemade baby food. We took a direct flight to Atlanta for our cousins baby shower. I have a new respect for babies on planes lol. From my experience I've decided to remember a few things for future trips. One, I'll try and plan my flights during a nap time or with some things to keep him occupied. This is for you more than people on the plane. If your kid is fussy no other mom on the plane will blink an eye. It happens. They're going to feel worse for you than they will be irritated. People without kids don't matter. As soon as they have kids they'll be praying for you too (see the meme from the story above). You on the other hand may get anxious or overwhelmed. All I can offer here is that you try and remain calm and remember that it happens to the best of us but you're no good to your baby worked up :-)

Also, remember to take advantage of those special lanes. When airport workers see you with your stroller they will direct you to all the shortcuts- take them up on everything. It's like when you were pregnant and everyone was super nice and accommodating and then you gave birth and they don't even look your way anymore. Get it while the gettin's good!

We stayed with family so everything milk wise was pretty simple. His food was pre portioned and frozen in Infantino Fresh Squeezed pouches. Check out my weekly posts of homemade baby food each Monday!

I opted to leave my electric pump at home again and stuck with my handy dandy handheld! We only stayed a 2 nights but we had a great time with the family! There were 4 babies born between Arpil and November from 1st cousins so our holidays and family get togethers have officially changed forever :-)

Jackson and Peyton with my mother in love and cousin Jenn

Jackson hangin with his cousin P!

NOTE: If your breast milk or food is in a frozen state they won't examine it at TSA but the milk must be used within 24 hours once its completely thawed. Small amounts of dry ice will keep milk completely frozen while ice packs might actually speed up the thawing of frozen milk.

First Foods! Bananas and Avocados

Jackson's pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start some solids when he turned 4 months and I was so excited to take a stab at making his baby food at home! She gave me a few tips and let me go from there. First she suggested we introduce one new food each week so we could notice any food allergies.  Next, she suggested a few foods to start with and a few to shy away from including meats, cheeses, nuts etc. She gave me a soft guideline and I kinda did my thing from there (checking in with her at appointments along the way). Today I'm sharing Jackson's banana and avocado puree from week one. Each week I hope to highlight and share in an entry some baby food successes and failures we've had at 4210!

Okay, so I chose bananas and avocado's first because I'm slectively lazy and they were the easiest not requiring any steaming, cooking or boiling.

I'm talking super easy here. I blended ripe avocado's and bananas (1:1) with some breast milk in a food processor until smooth.

When it was creamy I pulled out my Infantino Fresh Squeezed Station (which I love) and filled the squeeze packets with the puree'. I think I made about 6 pouches with 2 bananas, 2 avocados and a few ounces of breast milk. I quickly learned to make larger batches of food with each prep. What I love about the pouches is that they store air tight and are disposable. Your avocados stay nice and bright green until your ready to use them. They freeze and refrigerate very nicely.

Side Note: Keep the orange tops. It took me a while to realize that the tops are reusable and can be washed... Wasted a little money there.

I've been using this station for 4 months now and I still love it. I use them more for applesauce and smoothies now but at 9 months my kid holds them and eats from them himself without help. Small mom victories!

Avacado and Banana Puree

Happy Monday folks!

Brittini Rae