{Motherly Mondays...how to make your own baby food}

 here lately i feel like i've had several mom friends asking me how i make baby food purees or what combinations of flavors have worked best for viv which got me thinking, "maybe i should do a blog post on the matter, to hopefully help some other moms out there?" so that's what this is... 

i have always made all of viv's food. i just really enjoy doing it and i like knowing what is going into my little darling's body. she really has grown out of the eating pureed food phase. however, when we were traveling all month she picked up a few bad habits, one of them being that she is now too cool for veggies. just doesn't want to eat them. thinks its way more fun to throw them on the floor, like all the rest of the cool kids do these days.

 well, i outsmarted her. 

see, she is completely obsessed with the baby food pouches. like goes bonkers when she sees them obsessed. so i figured i would get some reusable, eco-friendly pouches (these and these got my pick) and fill them with my own nutritious blends of purees. that way she will still be getting in the nutrients of the veg, and hopefully keep her palette open to their flavors, until she outgrows this picky phase.

once you get in a groove, it's pretty easy to get some great blends made fairly quickly. for my most recent batch i steamed up some broccoli, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, and pears. this might seem like a long list, but it was pretty easy. i cooked the spinach and kale together in a saute pan with the lid on. the sweet potatoes and carrots (both were peeled and cubed before cooking) i boiled together until soft. the pears were poached (skin on) alone, then peeled after cooling. and the broccoli and peas i steamed together. i also used store bought applesauce and canned pumpkin puree (it's easier than making my own) and also added chia seeds to each blend.

*tip*

 one thing mr. w taught me (it's pretty handy having a chef in the house, i must say ;) ) is to reserve some of the cooking water to use in diluting the foods for blending. you see, during the cooking process some of the nutrients are extracted in the water, so it only makes sense to use that nutrient rich water instead of plain ol' tap to blend with.

i like to add spinach, kale, and chia seeds in every batch of puree. i have (jokingly) deemed it "the power punch", full of nutrients to keep her healthy and strong!

my thought process on what flavor combinations to make is pretty straight forward. i always start with the "power punch" base, add a couple veggies (sometimes i try to do all one color, either greens, oranges, etc..) and a bit of a fruit to sweeten it up a bit. if i find myself needing some new inspiration for flavor combos i simply hit the baby food isle next time i'm at target to see what they've come up with.

 after everything was cooked i used the ingredients to make four different combinations:

one

carrots

applesauce

pumpkin

cinnamon

'power punch'

two

peas

broccoli

pears

'power punch'

between blending batches two and three i realized it had gotten unusually quiet in the living room (rarely a good sign when you have a one year old)
i figured i had better take a peak to see what was up.
 this deliciousness is what i found.
 my babes, snacking on veggie straws and sipping her water while watching strawberry shortcake. this is when i realized i no longer have a baby.
 she's a toddler now.
i just can't believe it,
and don't really want to accept it.

three

peas

sweet potato

carrots

cinnamon

'power punch'

four

sweet potato

carrots

pears

'power punch'

*side note* 

several people have asked me what i use to blend down her food. for now i just use our cuisinart blender. fingers crossed by the time i'm doing this for baby #2 we will have invested in a vitamix. my dream...

and the finished product

i keep them in the freezer but have one thawed and ready for her at all times. so far, my trickery is working and she is downing them without even realizing she's eating her veggies. we'll see how long this lasts. ;)

UPDATE: it occurred to me early this morning that some of you might not know about chia seeds yet. i've talked about them some in past posts. they are amazing little power seeds filled with all kinds of goodness for your body. sorta like a flaxseed on steroids. if you'd like some more info on them head over HERE to one of my fav blogs to find inspiration for yummy healthy eating.

xoxo