Another Freezer Find: Happy Baby Food

I was in the freezer section of my local Target and found frozen organic baby foods. The brand is Happy Baby Food and they had several different flavors to choose from. Most where fruit purees, which I couldn't see spending the money on when I make them already. But, I did buy two different varieties of meat entrees for 9 month olds and up; Chick Chick and Gobble Gobble w/ Paradise Puree.

CHICK CHICK INGREDIENTS :

organic peas, organic spinach, organic butternut squash,
organic chicken, water, organic sweet potato, organic zucchini, organic brown rice

and

GOBBLE GOBBLE INGREDIENTS:


water for cooking, organic potato, organic sweet potato, organic turkey, organic butternut squash, organic apple, organic millet, organic prune, organic oregano, organic garlic powder

PARADISE PUREE INGREDIENTS:
organic bananas, organic mango, organic peaches, water for cooking, organic amaranth

They have salmon too, but I didn't see it at this location. These are great for those afraid to try making meats on their own, or for those short on time. They are expensive though. They were 3.99 a box. The box of Chick Chick has four servings (3 cubes equal a serving) and the Gobble Gobble had two servings of turkey and two servings of fruit puree. We've only tried the turkey and puree so far. When I thawed them out in the microwave I was surprised how watery the turkey was. It smelled good though. I mixed the fruit with the turkey and it was still too thin, so I added some cereal to thicken it up. Despite the looks, Drew really enjoyed it and ate it very quickly. I will buy this again in the future.

Earth's Best Teething Biscuits

I decided to try out some Earth's Best Teething Biscuits the other day. They are recommended for babies 9 months and up. Drew is 8 1/2 months, but has been eating food since he was four months and was doing all the things recommended on the box (crawling, eating thicker foods, using fingers to pick up foods, etc.). These are hard, very very hard. Drew only has two front teeth. These became more of sucking biscuits than teething biscuits. And you all know what happens when you suck on a hard cookie for a long period of time don't you? A huge, sticky mess. We are talking all over my shirt and pants, Drew's clothes, face, hair, etc. We both had a bath after this snack. Drew liked it, but not worth the mess in my opinion.

Ditalini Rigati Pasta

Ditalini Rigati is the perfect size and texture for finger foods. I made 1/3 a cup of uncooked pasta and it was more than enough for three days worth of servings. Below are some storage tips from a website called Mrs. Weiss:

Can I cook pasta ahead of time or reheat leftover pasta?

You can, however best quality comes from cooking pasta right before it's served. To cook ahead, prepare as directed on package, tossing with vegetable oil. Store, tightly sealed in plastic bags 3 to 4 days. When ready to serve, boil water; remove pasta from plastic bag. Immerse pasta in boiling water 1 minute or until heated through. Drain in colander and serve.

Can I freeze pasta?

Combination dishes with red sauce (like lasagna) freeze best. Cooked pasta without sauce does not freeze particularly well.

I cooked the pasta according to the directions, about 9-10 minutes in boiling water (no added salt), stirring occasionally. I added a dash of olive oil to the pasta to keep it from sticking while being stored in the refrigerator. Drew likes the pasta plain. I plain on trying out some new recipes later using the pasta.

Finger foods already!!?

Well, kind of anyways. It's hard to say "finger" foods when the baby can't figure out how to get the food from her clenched fists into her mouth. There is a lot of frustration there when trying to shove the whole fist into the mouth in hopes of getting some food!

I tried zucchini and mango as finger food, or small squishy bites anyways, and it went pretty well. She is not totally over purees, but loved her puffs so much I thought I would see what happened with these.

I steamed the zucchini way too much though, and it was too squishy. She still liked it though. The mango was just frozen, organic pieces and I microwaved them to thaw and cut them up smaller. She liked this ok, but I think it may have been sweeter than she likes. I tasted it and to me it tastes like straight sugar!

Just when I think it can't be any easier...

I find this in the freezer section of my local grocery store...

It is organic, frozen winter quash with no added ingredients and already pureed. Just thought I'd share my latest fine.

Green Beans for Olivia!

Well, as usual, she loved them. There is nothing she doesn't like, she just doesn't want to eat a lot. Maybe she will be petite....

All I did was get a bag of frozen organic greens beans, and steam them in the Beaba. Then I pureed them with water, and they got pretty smooth. Not Gerber smooth, but pretty smooth. I froze the rest and they are good for 3 months. 

Butternut Squash! Pass!

So she loved another food! So far...she loves everything...I guess that's a good thing! Especially since I made about 48 servings of it!

Here is the "recipe"

Halve butternut squash, scoop out seeds and strings. 

Place in baking dish upside down with 1/3 inch of water.

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, or until you can easily pierce it with a fork.

Scrape out insides and puree to desired consistency.

I froze the leftovers, and they are good for 3 months. 

I had to break out the big guns, the 9 cup food processor, since it was so much. It worked just great!

I added a tiny bit of water, but that was all it took. Olivia likes her food a bit "chunky" so whatever I make I have to add cereal to anyways. 

Banana-cado

I decided yesterday that banana and avocado may be a winning combination. She likes both of those fruits, so I thought, hey, why not put them together!? She loves it!

This is the second combo food I have done. The first was peas and carrots. That was also a winner! 

And also, my kid has gone from not really caring one way or another about food a couple weeks ago, to eating 2 oz a day happily, to now eating up to 3 cubes (oz) at lunch and dinner! With oatmeal mixed in also! She may be an eater yet....the question is, how will we afford to feed her!!? 

Yay for Pears

Drew gives pears two thumbs up. I had never had a fresh pear before, believe it or not. I thought I'd just peel them and mush them up, without having to cook them. I am not sure if was the type of pears we bought or if they were just not fully ripe, or what; but they were a bit harder than I had anticipated. I bought organic green pears. I ended up peeling them, removed the seeds, chopped them up and put them in a zip lock bag with a little bit of water. I microwaved (steamed) them for about 40 seconds and than again for 20 more seconds. They were still firm, but had softened up enough to make it easy to puree. I transferred them to the food processor and added some breast milk to help thin them up a bit. I froze the left overs.Drew really likes them. So far we have given it to him by itself and sometimes we mix it with oatmeal.

Peas!

Despite the terrified look on the child's face, Olivia LOVED the peas! She has now eaten them for three days, and can't get enough. Yesterday I took to feeding her in her diaper though, as that bright green is not so pretty on cute baby clothes! Some peas dropped on her tray, and let me tell you, she had the time of her life smearing it around! Straight to the bath after that.

I have to say, I tried them and they are soooo good. I don't know if it is because they are organic, or what, but I would eat it if I were her!

I blogged about making it a few days ago, so go back if you need to know those details.

Now that she has eaten a food she liked, I am excited to try more. It's fun!

Think Green: Fresh Organic Zucchini

OK, I am not sure why I am stuck on green food right now. I guess it is a subconscious thing or something. But, I do know that Drew was pretty happy with this new found flavor. Zucchini has a very mild flavor, so it wasn't too much of a shock to his taste buds. And, like everything else thus far, it was super easy to make. I pulled this from my Williams & Sonoma Cooking for Baby book.

Steam fresh sliced zucchini until very tender (5-9 minutes, leave the skin on)
Blend in a food processor (To your desired consistency)

Notes: You should not have to add any fluids to this. If anything, you may want to thicken it with cereal if it is too thin. I didn't have to do that this time around. Also, because you leave the skin on, the book suggest that you buy an organic zucchini.

I put the left overs in my new Beaba Multi Portion from Williams & Sonoma. This is my first time using this, but so far it is good.

We're Like Peas and Carrots

Awww, reminds me of Forrest Gump!

DD and I made peas and carrots on Thursday. As always, I used organics, and the peas were frozen, and the carrots were fresh. Who wants to shell peas anyways! It was super easy with my steamer/blender (see below). All I did was steam, and blend. I did use the reserved cooking liquid to thin them down, and plan on using breastmilk or water to thin it further, if need be, when it's time for Olivia to eat them.

The most interesting thing about this time was the comparison I did. I had some "canned" baby food leftover from a game at my baby shower. Now I am not bashing prepared baby food. I am sure that is what I ate, and lots of other babies are perfectly fine with it. But when I made the peas and carrots this time, I dug out those jars and actually tasted them both. The difference is amazing. The taste is completly different and the color is sooooo much brighter with the fresh food.

I am using the Fresh Baby freezer trays. BPA free, and they come with lids. Sounds good to me. They have been easy to use. I just freeze things in them, and then transfer them to freezer bags later.

Oh yeah, and Olivia didn't try any of the food yet. I plan on introducing them in a couple more weeks. She is still on the cereal, and is only just starting to get more interested in it. Since the sweet potatoes were a big FAIL, I decided to wait a bit longer for other "food".

Sweet Potatoes!

Hi guys! I'm happy to join Sabrina on this blog, and hope everyone enjoys our adventures. I have been excited about making baby food since I was pregnant. I have a weird obsession if you will, about knowing exactly what goes into my children's bodies, and I thought, what better way to start out then by making healthy, organic baby food!

We did start with rice cereal, a few days before Olivia's 5 month "birthday". I wanted to EBF for 6 months, but she got a late diagnosis of reflux, and the doctor thought the cereal may help. She was pretty gung ho about it the first day, and really hasn't been too enthused ever since. We use Earth's Best Organic.

This summer, I planted a garden, as I have for the past 4 years that we have owned enough land to do so. Honestly, this year was awful. Um, what did I think, that at 9 months pregnant, I would be out there in the TN heat, weeding a garden? Not only that, but I really didn't think about the timing. My cutely pregnant, second trimester self got out there in the spring, planting away all these veggies I could make into baby food. Didn't think about the fact that you can only freeze it for so long, and baby Olivia wouldn't be eating baby food until at least 2009, so what was I to do with all these baby friendly veggies?

Let them die....or become overrun with weeds! What do you expect, I was huge, and it was over 100 degrees in July! The only one salvaged was the sweet potatoes, and since you can keep them in a cool dry place for a long time, they were ready for me when I decided to embark upon my first adventure in baby food making. There was something oddly satisfying about knowing that the first veggie my daughter ate came right from our own land! I knew it was organic, and I knew it would be great for her.

I didn't know how easy it would be to make though! And I didn't know that she would hate it....

So I tried...for three days in a row. Still no go. Oh well. I have plenty in the freezer to try again later! She will like them....!

Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes
liquid of your choosing- breastmilk, formula, or water

Pierce the skin of the potatoes, and bake on 350 for about 45 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the potato goes in easily.

Remove and let cool.

Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the "meat" with a spoon. Puree using food processor or blender with desired amount of liquid until you reach desired consistency.

Fill ice cube trays with food and freeze. Remove from tray and store in freezer bag, removing cubes as you need them.

Recommended freezer life is 3 months.