So I've been tagged by Rhondi and Melissa to list 6 quirky things about myself. (I know. I'm pretty popular...)
Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking to them
5. Leave a comment for each tagged blogger to let them know they've been tagged.
1. I already know what I'm going to order before I get to most any restaurant that I've been to before. The chances of me ordering the dish exactly how it is listed on the menu is very slight. When you think of me ordering, think of Sally in "When Harry Met Sally." If I have never been to the restaurant before then I will probably go through the menu 87 times, make everyone else order before me, choose something, and then complain the rest of the time that I REALLY should have ordered the other thing I was thinking of ordering. Too much... I know...
2. I have a specific order in which I get ready in the morning including a very precise routine of what gets washed/shaved when in the shower. If the order is disrupted I don't feel fully clean the rest of the day. (I have become more flexible since having Liam because cleaning time is limited, but it still bothers me.)
3. I will swim in any lake, river, ocean, or stream, but I will not go barefoot in a hotel room, including the shower. To me, people germs are much more disgusting than nature germs. Now, this rule is up to interpretation at my whim. There are some inside places that are clean enough and some outside places that are not. I was watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 last night, and Kate mentioned word for word that she also has this "quirk." Lucky for me, Jon was watching with me and can no longer say that I'm the only person in the world that acts this way :)
4. When using ketchup packets, I put the ketchup on one fry at a time. If it is a regular fry, it goes on in a straight line down the fry. If it is a waffle fry (from chick-fil-a, of course) it goes on in straight lines down each crevice. If the ketchup is pumped into one of those little platic cups, I stir black pepper into it. Sue me.
5. Anytime I'm in the car I feel like I have to have a drink with me. Lately it's been Arnold Palmers from Chick-fil-A. I don't know why. Automobiles make me thirsty.
6. I cannot watch scary movies AT ALL. I can't even see trailers for scary movies. I once had a nightmare because I saw the cover of the movie "Hellraiser" at blockbuster. True Story.
I tag
1. Allison Portas
2. Hannah McBrayer
3. Ryan Hester
4. Megan White
5. Jen McGowan
6. Michelle Rigsby
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
"Goodbye Golden Age" - Jon Black
I heart folk music or "Americana" as the kids are calling it these days. Not only is this one of my favorite albums of the year in this genre, but one of my favorites, period. While more on the Ryan Adams end of the genre than, say, Gillian Welch, "Goodbye Golden Age" is still the perfect fall album - one you imagine relaxing to by a camp fire, or on an afternoon drive through the country with the windows down, or on the front porch in the cool of the day sipping a PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE!
Now, I'm not going to lie....Jon Black is my friend. He is from Cobb County (Big Chicken! Holla!), he and my husband ichat like tweenage girls about music and gear and comic books, and he was at my house a-pickin' and a-grinnin' a couple of days ago. Regardless, I would buy this record. If you played me this record and I had no idea who the guy was, I would still listen to it from start to finish at least once a day. I can't even narrow down my favorite tracks to list for you. It's that kind of record. Go here and listen to it and then go and buy it on itunes. It's only $9.99. I swear you won't regret it.
Jon will be in the Nville and other places near you very soon wearing a beard as black as his name and sharing his musical love for all to enjoy. Go see him! He'll rock your socks off.
www.whoisjonblack.com
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Yay Fall!
It's fall! Hooray! I think that most people in the south anxiously await the arrival of the autumn season. Summer in the south can bring a lot of great things like night swimming that you just can't enjoy anywhere else, but right around mid-August the heat and the humidity can be down right suffocating. This past week or so has been a wonderful and refreshing change. These area few of my favorite things about the fall:
Cute fall clothes!
Large Tennessee Oaks with Fiery colored leaves
Pumpkin Spice and Chai Lattes on cool mornings. (non-fat of course!)
Holidays and all the event planning that comes with them!
Holidays and all the delicious food that comes with them :)
Crisp breezes at dusk as the smell of bonfires fill the air.
Candy Corn
Mums
Pumpkin farms, hayrides, and corn mazes
Basically anything with the words pumpkin and/or spice in the description.
Football (in small doses of course.)
Soups and Stews and other warm and filling comfort foods.
Gourds and other fall decor.
Babies in pumpkin costumes.
Miniature Take-5's
Popcorn Balls
Shopping in the middle of a weekday without having to battle loitering teenagers EVERYWHERE!
Lunching at Chick-fil-A midweek without elementary school kids running rampant through the restaurant.
Cuddling under the covers with my honey on a crisp night while we're trying to save money by waiting as long as we can before we turn on the heat :)
Happy Autumn Everyone!
Cute fall clothes!
Large Tennessee Oaks with Fiery colored leaves
Pumpkin Spice and Chai Lattes on cool mornings. (non-fat of course!)
Holidays and all the event planning that comes with them!
Holidays and all the delicious food that comes with them :)
Crisp breezes at dusk as the smell of bonfires fill the air.
Candy Corn
Mums
Pumpkin farms, hayrides, and corn mazes
Basically anything with the words pumpkin and/or spice in the description.
Football (in small doses of course.)
Soups and Stews and other warm and filling comfort foods.
Gourds and other fall decor.
Babies in pumpkin costumes.
Miniature Take-5's
Popcorn Balls
Shopping in the middle of a weekday without having to battle loitering teenagers EVERYWHERE!
Lunching at Chick-fil-A midweek without elementary school kids running rampant through the restaurant.
Cuddling under the covers with my honey on a crisp night while we're trying to save money by waiting as long as we can before we turn on the heat :)
Happy Autumn Everyone!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Making Baby Food - part 3 - Actual Food!
And now, the piece de resistance -- the edible food part of this whole process :) My go to guide for making food has been www.wholesomebabyfood.com. There really are some great ideas and information on this site. There are also a ton of books on the topic with recipes and suggestions and such. I personally have one called "Mommy Made." It was given to me by a friend and has recipes from first foods all the way to toddler friendly meals that the whole family can enjoy. Regardless of your resource, you will need to check with your pediatrician for a food schedule. I know different resources suggest different schedules for introducing new foods. Liam is on an even slower schedule because of his history of GI problems and food allergies. Just double check to make sure that you aren't introducing something that will give your little one a belly ache or cause further digestive issues such as food allergies.
Here is the cooking gear I use/have used:
Steamer
It has been said that steaming food is the best way to cook food while maintaining the highest nutritional value. Steamers are definitely great to use, but not absolutely necessary. If you don't have a steamer or know you probably won't use one for anything but baby food, I wouldn't buy one of those big steamer/rice cooker combos. Maybe opt for a bamboo or metal steamer or choose a different method. One of the benefits of baby food making is the money you save. If you buy every gadget or piece of equipment you come across, you will end up spending more than you save. There are many more ways to prepare baby food using kitchen tools you already have.
Pot for boiling
I have definitely used these, especially when preparing frozen fruits and vegetables. Definitely a perfectly fine option for cooking all of your food.
Pan for baking
I use glass pans for baking fruit. You already have them anyway, so why not use them!
Strainer
A must have to get the fine texture necessary for more fibrous foods.
I ran across this super cool set with a stand and a pestle which would be awesome if I had the $100 to drop on it. If you already have one of these or are a trust fund baby, use away, my friend, use away...
Fit
It is very important to make sure your fruit and veggies are nice and clean and free of pesticides, herbicides, waxes, and other contaminants that may be on the outside of your produce. Fit is 100% natural and gets the job done. I already had this because I use it on the produce my husband and I eat anyway.
Now that that's over, I'll share with you some of what I've been up to. I always buy organic produce for Liam. Always, always, always. I just want him to have the simplest food possible, so I choose the ones with the least pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified ingredients, nitrates, etc... It's just a personal preference, not a prerequisite. I just figure if I'm going to go through the trouble of making his food to ensure it's purity, I don't want to negate that effort with other contaminants. Here are the foods that I did with Liam:
Peas
Carrots
Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans
Winter Squash
Summer Squash/Yellow Zuchini
Green Zuchini
Spinach
Pears
Peaches
Plums
Apples
Bananas
Apricots
Mango
Avocado
Prunes (never made these because of the rehydration involved - always bought the prepared variety)
Bananas and Avocados are the easiest of all to prepare. You just peel and mash or puree. You can add water if you need them to be smoother, but chances are you shouldn't.
The rest need to be cooked in some way to be soft enough to further prepare. We'll start with the fruit. You need to do your best to buy the ripest fruit you can find. Unripened fruit is typically more tart and less palatable for a baby, especially more acidic fruits like peaches and plums. It is often hard to get really ripe fruit because of the modern grocery store set-up, so I choose to bake my fruit to enhance the flavor and sweetness. I also read somewhere that baking preserves more of the nutrients than boiling because they don't leech into the water as much. I'm not a scientist, so I have no idea if that's true, but I figured I'd go with it. I start by preheating the oven to whatever I feel like, usually around 350ish. Then I get a glass baking pan (either 9x13 rectangular or 8x8 square depending on how much fruit I'm making) and fill it with an inch or two of water. I use glass pans because I feel like it is cleaner and with non-stick pans I wonder if the non-stick is leeching into the food. (I'm certain I saw a dateline or 20/20 about that somewhere...) I then clean the outside of each piece of fruit with my trusty bottle of Fit and cut them all in half. I then core/pit/seed each piece of fruit and slice an X in the skin of each half. (This makes it easier to peel once the fruit has been cooked.) Each half is placed flesh side down in the water and baked until tender. Then I remove the fruit and place it on a plate to cool before peeling and pureeing. I do not peel the fruit before I bake it for a couple of reasons. You want the fruit really tender so it will be easy to puree. If you bake "skinless" fruit in a pan of water it has the tendency to begin to disintegrate into the water while baking. Also when the flesh is exposed to the dry heat of the oven it gets tough on the outside. Then instead of being able to use all the flesh, you have to remove the tough part. That could be a whole serving of fruit you are getting rid of! As you are pureeing, you may notice that you need a smoother consistency. I just use the same water that I cooked the fruit in to thin it out. This water contains any of the nutrients that have escaped the food, so it's a great way to add it back in while receiving the texture result you are looking for.
Now we have veggies. Veggies are very good for baby, but a little harder to prepare because they are usually much more fibrous than the fruits. When preparing veggies, you often need a strainer. It is essential to have one for peas and green beans. Both of these have hulls and or strings that babies can choke on. Other foods that I have found may need one are winter squash and sweet potatoes. They sometimes have a stringy quality that is not acceptable for baby food. With the exception of sweet potatoes, green beans and peas, I peel, seed, dice and either steam or boil my veggies. My mother-in-law was sweet enough to give me a steamer, but I know that not everyone has one. Boiling is perfectly acceptable. I also steam or boil the peas and green beans, but obviously they don't need peeling, seeding or dicing. I mean, you can peel your peas if you want to, but I'm not :) When it comes to the sweet potatoes, I scrub the skins really well and then bake them. It is so much easier to turn the oven on 400 and throw a potato in the oven then going through the trouble of peeling and dicing and such. A sweet potato will take about an hour or so to get really soft in the oven, depending on size. Then all you have to do is scoop out the pulp, add water if desired, and strain if it needs it. You don't even need a pureeing device for this one! After pureeing and adding the appropriate amount of reserve water to any of the other vegetables, make the judgement call and see if you need to strain. With the exception of peas and green beans, this all depends on the produce itself and your babies development. Please, please, please don't pass up the strainer because it is more work. It is not worth making the food yourself if your baby chokes on it :)
Time Savers!
So, all this is fine and dandy if you have the time. If you are a mom, chances are you are strapped for time. I know I am. So, I often use short cuts.
Frozen Produce
This is probably my most used short cut. You can buy pretty much any organic produce peeled, deseeded/decored, cut up and frozen. My fave is spinach. I honestly do not prepare spinach unless it is frozen. It's too much work. The downside is that often times the selection is more limited.
Canned Produce
This is a little bit trickier considering all the stuff they usually add to canned foods, most notably MSG, sodium, and sugar. These are no-no's for little tykes. The only canned products I have used have been organic canned fruit in organic pear juice. Other than the fruit and juice, I think there is only ascorbic acid (aka Vitamin C) added for something...I don't know what. As long as you read the labels and are okay with what's in there, go for it. I promise I won't come and get you :)
Jarred Foods
Let's have a little heart to heart here. Lately, this is what I use most. Oh goodness...the cat is out of the bag! I started Liam on cereal at 4 1/2 months because of his reflux, so he was ready for more options right after he turned 5 months old. I always started each food with the jarred variety just to make sure he could tolerate before I made a load of homemade. Once it was a go I whipped up batch after batch after batch... This was until I was at home alone with Liam for three weeks straight. Up until then I had been staying with my parents, so time was a little easier to find. Once I got home...not so much... I spent the first few days making a ton of food to stock up and hold me over until Jon got home. Boy was I a frazzled mess! I used the homemade until each type started running out. I hadn't made enough to last me the entire 3 weeks, so slowly more and more jars entered our cabinet. I personally decided that spending quality time with my son was more important. At that point it had become a "one or the other" situation. I needed to simplify. So I did my research and settled on Earth's Best organic. It was the best option quality and cost wise for us. There are many brands of frozen fresh baby foods that may be a good option for you if you aren't pinching pennies like we are. Basically these companies make the food like you would at home and just package and freeze it for you to buy. If you can get these, do. You can usually find them at specialty or health food stores like Whole Foods. Unfortunately this was not an option for us, so Earth's Best was the way to go. Whole Foods and Babies R Us have the best variety, but Target is definitely cheaper. I try to buy as much as I can at Target and then get the other flavors from Babies R Us since they are often running sales making their prices better than Whole Foods. There are a couple of compromises I had to make here in terms of ingredients. Any jarred food with bananas has citric acid and ascorbic acid to keep it from oxidizing. Some of their mixed vegetable varieties have potatoes and/or corn in them which tend to have less nutritional than caloric value. Some of their fruit varieties have berries in them which can be allergens. So, I just waited a little longer on these options until I felt comfortable feeding them to my son. Liam is almost 8 months old and I literally started the berry varieties a week ago just to be careful. I have also bought "adult versions" of organic applesauce, pear sauce, etc... as it is cheaper per unit than buying the individual baby food jars which pretty much contain the exact same thing. With that being said, I love jarred food!
Finger Foods
I only exclusively used jarred food for a couple of weeks. Then he started finger foods, so I have been slowly working into that. Liam is now well on his way to being solely a finger food baby. I have stopped making the purees altogether because he is growing out of them and am replacing those with homemade finger foods. These are prepared the same way minus the pureeing. I'm just going to hold off on the peas and green beans until he has more teeth and can chew up those skins really well. I like making finger food a lot more because you get to cut out the mess and hassle that comes with pureeing, which I think is really the hardest part about making baby food. Aside from bananas and avocados, I'm still cooking the fruits and veggies, so check with your pediatrician on when you can start raw foods. I also am waiting until after Liam's 9 month appointment to introduce meats. Again, check with your pediatrician.
Well, that's the long and sh...long of making baby food! I really suggest you at least try it out. It is much cheaper than purchasing prepared foods and can be a lot less wasteful. As long as you think through everything, take suggestions from friends who have done it, and make sure you have everything you need, I think it is very doable. Good luck and happy pureeing!
Here is the cooking gear I use/have used:
Steamer
It has been said that steaming food is the best way to cook food while maintaining the highest nutritional value. Steamers are definitely great to use, but not absolutely necessary. If you don't have a steamer or know you probably won't use one for anything but baby food, I wouldn't buy one of those big steamer/rice cooker combos. Maybe opt for a bamboo or metal steamer or choose a different method. One of the benefits of baby food making is the money you save. If you buy every gadget or piece of equipment you come across, you will end up spending more than you save. There are many more ways to prepare baby food using kitchen tools you already have.
Pot for boiling
I have definitely used these, especially when preparing frozen fruits and vegetables. Definitely a perfectly fine option for cooking all of your food.
Pan for baking
I use glass pans for baking fruit. You already have them anyway, so why not use them!
Strainer
A must have to get the fine texture necessary for more fibrous foods.
I ran across this super cool set with a stand and a pestle which would be awesome if I had the $100 to drop on it. If you already have one of these or are a trust fund baby, use away, my friend, use away...
Fit
It is very important to make sure your fruit and veggies are nice and clean and free of pesticides, herbicides, waxes, and other contaminants that may be on the outside of your produce. Fit is 100% natural and gets the job done. I already had this because I use it on the produce my husband and I eat anyway.
Now that that's over, I'll share with you some of what I've been up to. I always buy organic produce for Liam. Always, always, always. I just want him to have the simplest food possible, so I choose the ones with the least pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified ingredients, nitrates, etc... It's just a personal preference, not a prerequisite. I just figure if I'm going to go through the trouble of making his food to ensure it's purity, I don't want to negate that effort with other contaminants. Here are the foods that I did with Liam:
Peas
Carrots
Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans
Winter Squash
Summer Squash/Yellow Zuchini
Green Zuchini
Spinach
Pears
Peaches
Plums
Apples
Bananas
Apricots
Mango
Avocado
Prunes (never made these because of the rehydration involved - always bought the prepared variety)
Bananas and Avocados are the easiest of all to prepare. You just peel and mash or puree. You can add water if you need them to be smoother, but chances are you shouldn't.
The rest need to be cooked in some way to be soft enough to further prepare. We'll start with the fruit. You need to do your best to buy the ripest fruit you can find. Unripened fruit is typically more tart and less palatable for a baby, especially more acidic fruits like peaches and plums. It is often hard to get really ripe fruit because of the modern grocery store set-up, so I choose to bake my fruit to enhance the flavor and sweetness. I also read somewhere that baking preserves more of the nutrients than boiling because they don't leech into the water as much. I'm not a scientist, so I have no idea if that's true, but I figured I'd go with it. I start by preheating the oven to whatever I feel like, usually around 350ish. Then I get a glass baking pan (either 9x13 rectangular or 8x8 square depending on how much fruit I'm making) and fill it with an inch or two of water. I use glass pans because I feel like it is cleaner and with non-stick pans I wonder if the non-stick is leeching into the food. (I'm certain I saw a dateline or 20/20 about that somewhere...) I then clean the outside of each piece of fruit with my trusty bottle of Fit and cut them all in half. I then core/pit/seed each piece of fruit and slice an X in the skin of each half. (This makes it easier to peel once the fruit has been cooked.) Each half is placed flesh side down in the water and baked until tender. Then I remove the fruit and place it on a plate to cool before peeling and pureeing. I do not peel the fruit before I bake it for a couple of reasons. You want the fruit really tender so it will be easy to puree. If you bake "skinless" fruit in a pan of water it has the tendency to begin to disintegrate into the water while baking. Also when the flesh is exposed to the dry heat of the oven it gets tough on the outside. Then instead of being able to use all the flesh, you have to remove the tough part. That could be a whole serving of fruit you are getting rid of! As you are pureeing, you may notice that you need a smoother consistency. I just use the same water that I cooked the fruit in to thin it out. This water contains any of the nutrients that have escaped the food, so it's a great way to add it back in while receiving the texture result you are looking for.
Now we have veggies. Veggies are very good for baby, but a little harder to prepare because they are usually much more fibrous than the fruits. When preparing veggies, you often need a strainer. It is essential to have one for peas and green beans. Both of these have hulls and or strings that babies can choke on. Other foods that I have found may need one are winter squash and sweet potatoes. They sometimes have a stringy quality that is not acceptable for baby food. With the exception of sweet potatoes, green beans and peas, I peel, seed, dice and either steam or boil my veggies. My mother-in-law was sweet enough to give me a steamer, but I know that not everyone has one. Boiling is perfectly acceptable. I also steam or boil the peas and green beans, but obviously they don't need peeling, seeding or dicing. I mean, you can peel your peas if you want to, but I'm not :) When it comes to the sweet potatoes, I scrub the skins really well and then bake them. It is so much easier to turn the oven on 400 and throw a potato in the oven then going through the trouble of peeling and dicing and such. A sweet potato will take about an hour or so to get really soft in the oven, depending on size. Then all you have to do is scoop out the pulp, add water if desired, and strain if it needs it. You don't even need a pureeing device for this one! After pureeing and adding the appropriate amount of reserve water to any of the other vegetables, make the judgement call and see if you need to strain. With the exception of peas and green beans, this all depends on the produce itself and your babies development. Please, please, please don't pass up the strainer because it is more work. It is not worth making the food yourself if your baby chokes on it :)
Time Savers!
So, all this is fine and dandy if you have the time. If you are a mom, chances are you are strapped for time. I know I am. So, I often use short cuts.
Frozen Produce
This is probably my most used short cut. You can buy pretty much any organic produce peeled, deseeded/decored, cut up and frozen. My fave is spinach. I honestly do not prepare spinach unless it is frozen. It's too much work. The downside is that often times the selection is more limited.
Canned Produce
This is a little bit trickier considering all the stuff they usually add to canned foods, most notably MSG, sodium, and sugar. These are no-no's for little tykes. The only canned products I have used have been organic canned fruit in organic pear juice. Other than the fruit and juice, I think there is only ascorbic acid (aka Vitamin C) added for something...I don't know what. As long as you read the labels and are okay with what's in there, go for it. I promise I won't come and get you :)
Jarred Foods
Let's have a little heart to heart here. Lately, this is what I use most. Oh goodness...the cat is out of the bag! I started Liam on cereal at 4 1/2 months because of his reflux, so he was ready for more options right after he turned 5 months old. I always started each food with the jarred variety just to make sure he could tolerate before I made a load of homemade. Once it was a go I whipped up batch after batch after batch... This was until I was at home alone with Liam for three weeks straight. Up until then I had been staying with my parents, so time was a little easier to find. Once I got home...not so much... I spent the first few days making a ton of food to stock up and hold me over until Jon got home. Boy was I a frazzled mess! I used the homemade until each type started running out. I hadn't made enough to last me the entire 3 weeks, so slowly more and more jars entered our cabinet. I personally decided that spending quality time with my son was more important. At that point it had become a "one or the other" situation. I needed to simplify. So I did my research and settled on Earth's Best organic. It was the best option quality and cost wise for us. There are many brands of frozen fresh baby foods that may be a good option for you if you aren't pinching pennies like we are. Basically these companies make the food like you would at home and just package and freeze it for you to buy. If you can get these, do. You can usually find them at specialty or health food stores like Whole Foods. Unfortunately this was not an option for us, so Earth's Best was the way to go. Whole Foods and Babies R Us have the best variety, but Target is definitely cheaper. I try to buy as much as I can at Target and then get the other flavors from Babies R Us since they are often running sales making their prices better than Whole Foods. There are a couple of compromises I had to make here in terms of ingredients. Any jarred food with bananas has citric acid and ascorbic acid to keep it from oxidizing. Some of their mixed vegetable varieties have potatoes and/or corn in them which tend to have less nutritional than caloric value. Some of their fruit varieties have berries in them which can be allergens. So, I just waited a little longer on these options until I felt comfortable feeding them to my son. Liam is almost 8 months old and I literally started the berry varieties a week ago just to be careful. I have also bought "adult versions" of organic applesauce, pear sauce, etc... as it is cheaper per unit than buying the individual baby food jars which pretty much contain the exact same thing. With that being said, I love jarred food!
Finger Foods
I only exclusively used jarred food for a couple of weeks. Then he started finger foods, so I have been slowly working into that. Liam is now well on his way to being solely a finger food baby. I have stopped making the purees altogether because he is growing out of them and am replacing those with homemade finger foods. These are prepared the same way minus the pureeing. I'm just going to hold off on the peas and green beans until he has more teeth and can chew up those skins really well. I like making finger food a lot more because you get to cut out the mess and hassle that comes with pureeing, which I think is really the hardest part about making baby food. Aside from bananas and avocados, I'm still cooking the fruits and veggies, so check with your pediatrician on when you can start raw foods. I also am waiting until after Liam's 9 month appointment to introduce meats. Again, check with your pediatrician.
Well, that's the long and sh...long of making baby food! I really suggest you at least try it out. It is much cheaper than purchasing prepared foods and can be a lot less wasteful. As long as you think through everything, take suggestions from friends who have done it, and make sure you have everything you need, I think it is very doable. Good luck and happy pureeing!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Making Baby Food - part 2 - Storage, Prep, and Feeding
Storage
So, once you have pureed to your heart's delight you now have to store all that your baby cannot consume in one sitting. According my research, you can store pureed fruits and vegetables for 3-4 days in the refrigerator as long as you haven't "double dipped." You're supposed to throw away the leftovers if you have double dipped, but I would be lying if I told you that I always did that. You can use a ziploc or any container with a lid to store your purees in the refrigerator. Storing in the freezer is a little trickier because you don't want to keep thawing and refreezing your batches. You need to be able to portion the food so that you can use part of it while the other remains frozen.
I personally do not have time to make baby food every day, so bigger batches and freezer storing are the way to go for me. After the puree freezes in the tray, I pop out each individual cube and put them in a gallon freezer bag labled by type. This allows me to make and store a ton of food without having to purchase 700 ice cube trays. In my insanity to protect Liam I also wrap each cube in plastic wrap before I put it in the bag. Unless you have temperature control problems in your freezer and are concerned about the cubes melting in the bag, this is not necessary. I just think it puts an extra barrier between the food and the freezer. Whatever.
In terms of storage gear, here are some of your options:
Freezer Storage Tray
This is what I use. I got them as a shower gift, so I didn't have to incur this cost. They are $10 a piece which isn't the cheapest. I like them because they are perfect one ounce portions and they come with a lid that seals very well. The lids are also grooved so that you can stack them on top of each other in the freezer and it keeps them in a neat stack. I vote for these if you can put down the cash or get someone nice to get some for you :) I would recommend buying at least 2 trays at first and then seeing how many more you might want after your first try. It really all depends on how much food you make. And you may decide you don't want to make all the food, so buying several could be a waste of money for you. I personally make a lot of food at a time, so 4-6 is good for me.
Pros: 1 oz portions, well sealing lids, stackable, sturdy
Cons: a little pricey
Ice Cube Tray
This is definitely a more practical option. There are dozens of different kinds of ice cube trays. Some have up to 60 cube capacity which would be amazing for large batches. I would recommend getting trays with lids to keep the other smells of the freezer from infiltrating the food. Salmon flavored pea puree? I don't think so... Lids also make them easier to stack for a neater freezer. If you don't have lids, plastic wrap works fine.
Pros: cheap, wide availability, size variety
Cons: may or may not have lids, variable quality
Prep Bowls
This is a great way to store fresh purees in the refrigerator. I personally have the glass prep bowls from pampered chef and love them! They are very durable and are the perfect size. You can store and feed out of them and they are portable. I also love that they have lids! They are not the least expensive thing you can buy, but because of their durability they will last you forever. They are also less wasteful than disposable options. Another similar and more cost effective option is empty baby food jars. I always thoroughly cleaned and sterilized the jars before I reused them. You could also use small tupperware bowls or ziploc bags. Just be sure to seal the food airtight to keep the freshness and freeze the leftovers within 3-4 days for safety purposes.
(Since I didn't do a real comparison all these I chose to leave out the pros and cons.)
Defrosting and Reheating
I personally do not like to use the microwave for anything concerning Liam's feeding. Don't be fooled, this fear is not founded. I know several people who heat all kinds of things up in the microwave for their children. This is just another example of my neurosis. I think its the radiation factor or something...who knows. So, by all means, use the microwave if you wish. Just make sure you stir the food thoroughly and test the temperature before you feed. This will avoid burns due to overheating and hot spots.
For those of you looking for an alternative to the microwave, here's what I do:
Boil water
Pour boiling water into bowl pan or other dish. Put cold or frozen food in prep bowl or baby food jar and let sit in the water until defrosted or heated to the proper temperature. You could basically use whatever container you are choosing to feed your child out of. I also use this method for bottles too. For some reason I don't think it is bad to microwave the water if you are short on time. I just put some water in the bowl and zap it for 2 minutes. Don't ask why...I will not have a suitable answer for you. If you are planning on traveling with your food, I would recommend leaving it in its frozen state to preserve the freshness. (This is unless you are going to use the food within a half hour or so.) Most restaurants will bring you a bowl of hot water for you.
Feeding
Obviously I am a fan of the prep bowls, but using a sectioned plate or bowl is good too. These are also usually easy to defrost in using the method above. One thing I would stress is the necessity of a lid that seals each section. I don't know about you guys, but I don't always feed Liam at home. The prep bowls are great for this because they seal each food individually. I made the mistake of getting a sectioned plate that didn't seal each section. I tried to take this places but ended up with pea/carrot/apple mess all over the plate and sometimes leaking out into the diaper bag. Gross. The frozen food will sometimes separate and the water will be sloshing around, so it is crucial to have a good seal. I found this plate recently and wish I had purchased it earlier. I haven't tried it yet, so I'll leave it to you to try. It's made by KidCo (they same who made the electric and manual mills I posted about last time) and is available at Babies R Us.
They also make an entire feeding system with many of the products I mentioned above. This is a great option if you can afford to save a little money by paying a larger lump sum up front.
Sorry, I know that was really long. I'm not fantastic at organizing my thoughts. The next post will be on Food and Recipes. (For you Melissa :))
So, once you have pureed to your heart's delight you now have to store all that your baby cannot consume in one sitting. According my research, you can store pureed fruits and vegetables for 3-4 days in the refrigerator as long as you haven't "double dipped." You're supposed to throw away the leftovers if you have double dipped, but I would be lying if I told you that I always did that. You can use a ziploc or any container with a lid to store your purees in the refrigerator. Storing in the freezer is a little trickier because you don't want to keep thawing and refreezing your batches. You need to be able to portion the food so that you can use part of it while the other remains frozen.
I personally do not have time to make baby food every day, so bigger batches and freezer storing are the way to go for me. After the puree freezes in the tray, I pop out each individual cube and put them in a gallon freezer bag labled by type. This allows me to make and store a ton of food without having to purchase 700 ice cube trays. In my insanity to protect Liam I also wrap each cube in plastic wrap before I put it in the bag. Unless you have temperature control problems in your freezer and are concerned about the cubes melting in the bag, this is not necessary. I just think it puts an extra barrier between the food and the freezer. Whatever.
In terms of storage gear, here are some of your options:
Freezer Storage Tray
This is what I use. I got them as a shower gift, so I didn't have to incur this cost. They are $10 a piece which isn't the cheapest. I like them because they are perfect one ounce portions and they come with a lid that seals very well. The lids are also grooved so that you can stack them on top of each other in the freezer and it keeps them in a neat stack. I vote for these if you can put down the cash or get someone nice to get some for you :) I would recommend buying at least 2 trays at first and then seeing how many more you might want after your first try. It really all depends on how much food you make. And you may decide you don't want to make all the food, so buying several could be a waste of money for you. I personally make a lot of food at a time, so 4-6 is good for me.
Pros: 1 oz portions, well sealing lids, stackable, sturdy
Cons: a little pricey
Ice Cube Tray
This is definitely a more practical option. There are dozens of different kinds of ice cube trays. Some have up to 60 cube capacity which would be amazing for large batches. I would recommend getting trays with lids to keep the other smells of the freezer from infiltrating the food. Salmon flavored pea puree? I don't think so... Lids also make them easier to stack for a neater freezer. If you don't have lids, plastic wrap works fine.
Pros: cheap, wide availability, size variety
Cons: may or may not have lids, variable quality
Prep Bowls
This is a great way to store fresh purees in the refrigerator. I personally have the glass prep bowls from pampered chef and love them! They are very durable and are the perfect size. You can store and feed out of them and they are portable. I also love that they have lids! They are not the least expensive thing you can buy, but because of their durability they will last you forever. They are also less wasteful than disposable options. Another similar and more cost effective option is empty baby food jars. I always thoroughly cleaned and sterilized the jars before I reused them. You could also use small tupperware bowls or ziploc bags. Just be sure to seal the food airtight to keep the freshness and freeze the leftovers within 3-4 days for safety purposes.
(Since I didn't do a real comparison all these I chose to leave out the pros and cons.)
Defrosting and Reheating
I personally do not like to use the microwave for anything concerning Liam's feeding. Don't be fooled, this fear is not founded. I know several people who heat all kinds of things up in the microwave for their children. This is just another example of my neurosis. I think its the radiation factor or something...who knows. So, by all means, use the microwave if you wish. Just make sure you stir the food thoroughly and test the temperature before you feed. This will avoid burns due to overheating and hot spots.
For those of you looking for an alternative to the microwave, here's what I do:
Boil water
Pour boiling water into bowl pan or other dish. Put cold or frozen food in prep bowl or baby food jar and let sit in the water until defrosted or heated to the proper temperature. You could basically use whatever container you are choosing to feed your child out of. I also use this method for bottles too. For some reason I don't think it is bad to microwave the water if you are short on time. I just put some water in the bowl and zap it for 2 minutes. Don't ask why...I will not have a suitable answer for you. If you are planning on traveling with your food, I would recommend leaving it in its frozen state to preserve the freshness. (This is unless you are going to use the food within a half hour or so.) Most restaurants will bring you a bowl of hot water for you.
Feeding
Obviously I am a fan of the prep bowls, but using a sectioned plate or bowl is good too. These are also usually easy to defrost in using the method above. One thing I would stress is the necessity of a lid that seals each section. I don't know about you guys, but I don't always feed Liam at home. The prep bowls are great for this because they seal each food individually. I made the mistake of getting a sectioned plate that didn't seal each section. I tried to take this places but ended up with pea/carrot/apple mess all over the plate and sometimes leaking out into the diaper bag. Gross. The frozen food will sometimes separate and the water will be sloshing around, so it is crucial to have a good seal. I found this plate recently and wish I had purchased it earlier. I haven't tried it yet, so I'll leave it to you to try. It's made by KidCo (they same who made the electric and manual mills I posted about last time) and is available at Babies R Us.
They also make an entire feeding system with many of the products I mentioned above. This is a great option if you can afford to save a little money by paying a larger lump sum up front.
Sorry, I know that was really long. I'm not fantastic at organizing my thoughts. The next post will be on Food and Recipes. (For you Melissa :))
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Making Baby Food - part 1 - Pureeing Gear
I started this post and realized it was going to be a bloody text book if I didn't split it up. So, I'm going to do this in at least 3 parts...maybe more...hopefully not. It just depends on how glib I am :)
I know this isn't for everyone. Heck, some days it's not for me either. But on the days that I actually get my rear into gear (did ya like that? rhyming, yeah?) I really enjoy doing this. It's kind of the same feeling I get from breastfeeding - just knowing that you are making and providing the best nourishment you can for your little one is such a joy. I also like knowing EXACTLY what is in Liam's food. It just helps me to sleep better at night. Anyway, for those of you interested in doing this, I thought I'd share some of what I've learned.
To get us started, here's some of the gear I've used to puree fruits and veggies for Lilo:
Electric Food Mill
This is probably my all around favorite way to process the food. Because it is electric, it does the job pretty quick. It is easy to use and easy to clean and does a good job of getting the food broken down. It's also fairly easy to store because it isn't very bulky. There are a couple of cons. I personally like to make a lot of food at once and freeze it, so I wish it was a little bit bigger so I wouldn't have to do so many batches. Because it has plastic blades instead of metal ones, I found that the food was a little too coarse for Liam at the very beginning. As soon as he got used to the whole "solid food" business, this was perfect.
Pros: electric, easy to use, easy to clean, easy to store, economical
Cons: doesn't hold a lot, doesn't get food extremely fine
Manual Food Mill
This one is really not as hard as it looks. Pureeing steamed carrots doesn't take that much elbow grease. It is great if you want to do one or two servings at a time or if you are just wanting to use the same veggies you are making for the rest of your family (before seasoning of course!) for your baby as well. The downfall is that it makes less food than even the electric one, so it is not super practical for large batches. It is also a little tricky to clean in that there are a lot of parts and a lot of crevices in those parts which equal a lot of trapped food. I can't stand crusty anything. Yick. The puree on this thing is even more coarse than the electric, so I wouldn't recommend it for some of the harder to break down foods (peas, green beans, etc...) or at least not at first, anyway.
Pros: easy to use, portable (comes with its own carrying case! maybe you could bedazzle it or write your child's name on it in puffy paint! ooooh, ahhhh...), easy to store, economical
Cons: doesn't do high volumes, hard to control consistency, doesn't get that fine, a little difficult to clean
Food Processor or Mini-Chopper
This is a good option if you already have one. If you don't, I wouldn't necessarily go spend a lot of money on a food processor just for this purpose when there are more economical options. You may consider the mini-chopper as a compromise if you are dead set on getting one. Buying a cheap food processor or chopper is never worth it. It will refuse to work properly and/or break...trust me... You mights as well toss your cash in the nearest trash can. If you have a food processor already, puree away! Just be ready to spend as much time cleaning as you did pureeing. Since I have both, I used the processor at first to make a finer puree, but I HATED cleaning that stinkin' thing every day. So, as soon as Liam was more advanced in the solid foods arena, I switched to the food mill.
Pros: a lot of control over consistency, large volume capacity (food processor), can use it for other culinary adventures!
Cons: expensive, large & harder to store (food processor), a pain in the you-know-what to clean
Wand/Hand/Immersion Blender
Sorry, this has many names. I will tell you that I freaking love this kitchen gadget. I love it. LOVE. IT. I do not personally have one because it is too expensive, but my mom does and uses it for everything - making baby food, making milkshakes and smoothies, "declumping" sauces and gravies, and so much more. This thing does a great job of making a super fine puree. I liked it so much because it is the easiest of all to clean. You just unplug it, wipe it down with some soap and a damp sponge, and rinse it off under the kitchen faucet. Bada bing, bada boom. You also don't have to worry about dirtying as many dishes as you can use this gadget in the same pot or dish that you used to cook the food you are pureeing. If you're out there and you are wanting to buy me a present, as I'm sure most of you do, this is what you should get me. But don't tell Jon. He feels the same way about my kitchen gadgets as I do about his musical equipment/instrument collection. We both need entire rooms to store them all. Oh wait, there is a room created for my collection...it's called the KITCHEN! Hello! What else would we store there?? Who has a music room? Anyone? Beuhler? I digress...
Pros - it's freakin' sweet, versatile, allows for consistency control, no volume limit, easy to clean, easy to store
Cons - way too expensive to purchase for this sole purpose
Another suggestion I have read is a blender, but I have not tried it. I stinkin' hate using a blender. Talk about crusty! It is so dang hard to get those suckers clean that it isn't even worth it to me. There's nothing like taking a big sip of a homemade chocolate milkshake only to find an old crusty pea skin or green bean string in your mouth. Sick!
So there's part 1. Next - Part 2 - Storage Gear....
I know this isn't for everyone. Heck, some days it's not for me either. But on the days that I actually get my rear into gear (did ya like that? rhyming, yeah?) I really enjoy doing this. It's kind of the same feeling I get from breastfeeding - just knowing that you are making and providing the best nourishment you can for your little one is such a joy. I also like knowing EXACTLY what is in Liam's food. It just helps me to sleep better at night. Anyway, for those of you interested in doing this, I thought I'd share some of what I've learned.
To get us started, here's some of the gear I've used to puree fruits and veggies for Lilo:
Electric Food Mill
This is probably my all around favorite way to process the food. Because it is electric, it does the job pretty quick. It is easy to use and easy to clean and does a good job of getting the food broken down. It's also fairly easy to store because it isn't very bulky. There are a couple of cons. I personally like to make a lot of food at once and freeze it, so I wish it was a little bit bigger so I wouldn't have to do so many batches. Because it has plastic blades instead of metal ones, I found that the food was a little too coarse for Liam at the very beginning. As soon as he got used to the whole "solid food" business, this was perfect.
Pros: electric, easy to use, easy to clean, easy to store, economical
Cons: doesn't hold a lot, doesn't get food extremely fine
Manual Food Mill
This one is really not as hard as it looks. Pureeing steamed carrots doesn't take that much elbow grease. It is great if you want to do one or two servings at a time or if you are just wanting to use the same veggies you are making for the rest of your family (before seasoning of course!) for your baby as well. The downfall is that it makes less food than even the electric one, so it is not super practical for large batches. It is also a little tricky to clean in that there are a lot of parts and a lot of crevices in those parts which equal a lot of trapped food. I can't stand crusty anything. Yick. The puree on this thing is even more coarse than the electric, so I wouldn't recommend it for some of the harder to break down foods (peas, green beans, etc...) or at least not at first, anyway.
Pros: easy to use, portable (comes with its own carrying case! maybe you could bedazzle it or write your child's name on it in puffy paint! ooooh, ahhhh...), easy to store, economical
Cons: doesn't do high volumes, hard to control consistency, doesn't get that fine, a little difficult to clean
Food Processor or Mini-Chopper
This is a good option if you already have one. If you don't, I wouldn't necessarily go spend a lot of money on a food processor just for this purpose when there are more economical options. You may consider the mini-chopper as a compromise if you are dead set on getting one. Buying a cheap food processor or chopper is never worth it. It will refuse to work properly and/or break...trust me... You mights as well toss your cash in the nearest trash can. If you have a food processor already, puree away! Just be ready to spend as much time cleaning as you did pureeing. Since I have both, I used the processor at first to make a finer puree, but I HATED cleaning that stinkin' thing every day. So, as soon as Liam was more advanced in the solid foods arena, I switched to the food mill.
Pros: a lot of control over consistency, large volume capacity (food processor), can use it for other culinary adventures!
Cons: expensive, large & harder to store (food processor), a pain in the you-know-what to clean
Wand/Hand/Immersion Blender
Sorry, this has many names. I will tell you that I freaking love this kitchen gadget. I love it. LOVE. IT. I do not personally have one because it is too expensive, but my mom does and uses it for everything - making baby food, making milkshakes and smoothies, "declumping" sauces and gravies, and so much more. This thing does a great job of making a super fine puree. I liked it so much because it is the easiest of all to clean. You just unplug it, wipe it down with some soap and a damp sponge, and rinse it off under the kitchen faucet. Bada bing, bada boom. You also don't have to worry about dirtying as many dishes as you can use this gadget in the same pot or dish that you used to cook the food you are pureeing. If you're out there and you are wanting to buy me a present, as I'm sure most of you do, this is what you should get me. But don't tell Jon. He feels the same way about my kitchen gadgets as I do about his musical equipment/instrument collection. We both need entire rooms to store them all. Oh wait, there is a room created for my collection...it's called the KITCHEN! Hello! What else would we store there?? Who has a music room? Anyone? Beuhler? I digress...
Pros - it's freakin' sweet, versatile, allows for consistency control, no volume limit, easy to clean, easy to store
Cons - way too expensive to purchase for this sole purpose
Another suggestion I have read is a blender, but I have not tried it. I stinkin' hate using a blender. Talk about crusty! It is so dang hard to get those suckers clean that it isn't even worth it to me. There's nothing like taking a big sip of a homemade chocolate milkshake only to find an old crusty pea skin or green bean string in your mouth. Sick!
So there's part 1. Next - Part 2 - Storage Gear....
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