Homemade Baby Food Yummies

Baby food puree is a yummy way to provide completely nutritious meals for your baby. We hear about those “super foods” that are supposed to give us optimal health like quinoa, whole grain oatmeal, blueberries, sweet potatoes and more. We try eat these foods regularly, and now your baby can too! Here are some puree recipes you’ve got to try for your little angel!

Frozen Peas, Corn and Quinoa

Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Let cool.

Boil frozen corn and peas until cooked through, about 10 minutes, and drain.

Blend quinoa, boiled corn, and peas, adding water until you reach desired consistency.

Let cool; I recommend storing in Squeeze Packages.

Roasted Blueberries, Banana and Whole Grain Oatmeal

Place banana and blueberries on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Lightly drizzle blueberries with salt, pepper, and cinnamon.

Roast in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Blend roasted bananas, blueberries, and whole grain oatmeal cereal (it’s in a powder form), adding water until you reach desired consistency.

Let cool; I recommend storing in Squeeze Packages. (Did I mention I love these things!!)

Spinach and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Peel sweet potato and cut into large chunks. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Lightly drizzle sweet potato with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Blanch spinach and drain.

Blend roasted sweet potatoes and blanched spinach, adding water until you reach desired consistency. Let cool and store.

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Labor Day Crafts For The Kids

Labor Day is a day to free yourself of responsibilities and a perfect time spend with the family. Doing an activity with kids is always fun, and you’re left with a lovely craft that you can cherish forever. Here are some ideas for crafts for labor day. 

Awesome Baby Shower Gifts!!

Technology seems like it’s advancing everyday. But innovation stretches much further than cool gadgets and tablets. Check out these original baby gifts from BuzzFeed. My favorite is number 9 on the list, “The WhyCry Baby Cyring Analyer.” Read more about the cry analyxer and all of the other products here!

 

19 Mind-Blowing Baby Shower Gifts For The 21st Century

 

No More Nighttime Nightmares

Like potty training, training your baby to go to sleep at the right time tends to be challenging. Think about it, achieving a full nights rest for yourself can be quite the struggle.

Recall a time when a hot room kept you up into the late hours of night, or maybe your sleeplessness traces to a wondering mind. Whatever the case, we are human, and so are our babies. When we find ourselves sleeping at inconsistent times, or going to bed with a lot of energy, our schedules are thrown off. Just like us, our baby needs a consistent and thought out sleep routine.

This article lays out 7 common mistakes made when sleep training a baby. I hope this helps and sweet dreams 🙂

 

The 7 Worst Baby Sleep Training Mistakes You Can Make

 

 

 

Spaghetti Squash

I was hesitant at first, but I tried it and I’m sold on spaghetti squash, my newest addition to the grocery list! The squash actually tastes like pasta with it’s noodle-like texture and buttery flavor. It’s pretty simple to make too. I just put the entire thing in the microwave for about 10 minutes, cut it in half, and remove the seeds. Then just scrape all of the squash out and it’s ready! Just be careful after you microwave it because it gets really hot. Wait a few minutes before you start going to work on it. You can add your favorite sauce to the squash, replace it for noodles in any recipe, or enjoy it alone! It’s definitely worth a try! 

8 Things I Didn’t Know About Food Cravings

I read this really interesting article that explains what causes food cravings. My personal problem is that I LOVE to snack. Chips, pretzels, nuts, cereal, crackers…you name it. After a long day at work, right around 8 o’clock, all I want is to curl up and crunch on something. The funny thing is, during the day I don’t get the temptation to “munch.” So, here are some facts behind why we experience food cravings, who experiences them, what triggers cravings, and ways to fight them. The article went into a good bit of detail, but here’s my summary:

1. Cravings are innate– Back in the day, we used to crave foods because we lacked nutrients. Our brains reward us with positive feelings after we fulfill these cravings. (like going to work on a bag of chips)
2. Women crave more– Women have a tougher time ignoring their cravings than men do. In the old days, women had to eat more in order to feed a baby, so when we evolved these temptations were more powerful in women for survival reasons. Now, this tendency  isn’t very helpful for the waste line.
3. Our unrealistic diet plans backfire- Women tend to set a diet plan that is too strict, so when we can’t fight the urge to eat something, we think “Screw it,” and pig out. We do this because we don’t know when we’ll do it again….but “Screw it” can happen a few times too many.
4. Processed foods increase cravings: Naturals foods don’t contain sugar, fat and protein together.(think about it…meat, veggies, fruit, milk…) Processed foods do. Your brain craves artificial foods that contain all of these more than food in its natural form.
5. Whole foods are more work to eat: A doughnut and a banana have the same amount of sugar, but can you plow through a box of bananas like you do doughnuts? Nope.
6. Triggers: Take note of everything you eat and when. Try to avoid triggers and come up with alternatives to keep yourself occupied.
7. Schedule: If you stick to a schedule, with no exceptions, you can’t mindlessly munch while watching TV. (MY PROBLEM!)
8. Wait a second…or a few more: When you feel a craving coming on, wait 10 minutes before you give in.

Here is the link to the article if you want to read the entire article!

Control Your Cravings for Good

 

 

Relive Your Childhood

This adorable list I found on BuzzFeed makes me that much more excited to start a family. It goes through 23 adventures you get to truly experience as you raise your kids. Don’t lie, it sounds like loads of fun to blow bubbles, play with puppies, dress up for Halloween, rediscover the wonders of Disney Land, and so much more. Certain things are that much more special on round 2:) Enjoy…

23 Amazing Things You Get To Relive Through Your Kids

Easy Recipe To Make a Boom For The Fourth!!

I don’t know if I’m the only one, but half the reason I get excited about holidays is so I can prepare festive recipes. July 4th is coming up on Friday, and I can’t wait to get going in the kitchen! One treat I’m looking forward to making is actually my own recipe. (IT’S GOOD I PROMISE) I call it “Red White and Blue Angel.” It’s SUPER easy to make and actually pretty healthy (don’t tell your kids or the macho men it’s healthy because they LOVE it and can’t tell) shhh…

Here are the ingredients:

1. 1 box of angel food cake mix (I use Betty Crocker)

2. 2 tubs of fat free cool whip

3. 2 1oz boxes of vanilla sugar free pudding

4. 4 cups of milk (I use almond milk, but whatever you prefer)

5. 2 cups sliced strawberries (frozen or fresh)

6. 2 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh)

7. (Optional) 2 low fat cinnamon graham crackers (crumbled)

8. Triffle dish

Directions:

1. Bake the angel food cake in two 8 inch round pans

2. While cake is baking, prepare both boxes of vanilla pudding and set in fridge (you may have left over pudding)

3. When cake is finished, let cool completely

4. Place the first round cake on the bottom of the triffle dish (it’s okay if it falls apart a little!)

5. Pour about a third of the combined pudding mixture so that it completely covers the cake

6. Evenly spread a generous layer of cool whip over the pudding

7. Sprinkle half of the strawberries and blueberries over the cool whip (1 cup of each)

8. (optional) sprinkle half of the graham cracker crumbs over berries

9. Place second round cake over the berries and then repeat after #5!!

10. Once your masterpiece is finished, let it sit in the fridge for at lest 3 hours. (Overnight is preferable, the longer it sits, the more the cake will absorb the pudding)

11. ENJOY!! (mouth is watering just writing out the recipe…)

Healthy Food for Babies

This is an awesome guide that gives you a list of healthy foods to ensure a nutritionally complete diet for your baby. Avocados, sweet potatoes, fruits and chicken…YUM! You may want to whip of some of these foods for yourself! I hope this helps. 🙂