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Baby Food Revelation

3/4/2013

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As promised...I will now reveal the way to get 100% natural (free of any preservatives & other crap) baby food delivered to your door for 1/4 the cost of buying it in the store.
I kind of tricked you.
The solutions is simple, really. Make it YOURSELF!
The delivered to your door part is because we still use Coborns for our grocery delivery, so technically the ingredient(s) were all delivered to my door step :) Sneaky, huh?
Before you decide to stray away from the page because you're ticked that I made such an obvious solution seem like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow...just give me a listen.
I have no time in my day. If someone could PLEASE tell me how to add 4-5 hours to every day I would really appreciate it. The moral of that story is...I have no time to do things that will take up lots of extra time in my day. There's no spare room. I can't take up a hobby...or deep clean my house...or pluck my eyebrows...there isn't enough time. 
So if I can find a way to make homemade natural baby food for M.D., then so can you! It's honestly idiot-proof. 
Here's a step by step of what I did this weekend. 
I decided I wanted to start M.D. on some sweet potatoes. Apparently you're supposed to hold-off on the green stuff when starting the food introductions and I'm not loving the rice cereal as I feel it has no real nutritional value (except iron...but he gets that from his formula). So sweet potatoes won out.
Last Friday I went on our Coborn's grocery order page and added 4 sweet potatoes to our delivery for Saturday. Downside to delivering produce online = you don't get to pick WHICH sweet potatoes you get. However, there is a freshness factor that they rate ALL produce on which I've found to be very accurate (especially with bananas...you can order based on how green/yellow you want them to be when they're delivered. Love it.)
My total for 4 sweet potatoes came to $4. $1/potato.
They were delivered Saturday. We were out of town visiting my family so all of our groceries were waiting for us on our front step when we arrived home...including M.D.'s potatoes.

Baby Food Sweet Potato Step-by-Step

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First, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
Second, scrub those little potatoes till they shine
Third, cover a baking sheet with tin foil and plop those suckers on there.

Once your oven is ready to go...throw those puppies into the oven. Set your timer for 50-60 mins. Depending on the size/shape/etc it may take longer than 50 mins but you will want to check them at that point.
Ours took right around 60 mins to finish out. You want them to be really soft in the middle so they're easy to whip up. That long skinny one took less than 60 mins but I just let him hang out in there with his buddies until they were done.
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Once they're done...take them out of the oven. Let them cool. I didn't let mine cool. I was impatient.
The next step is to peel them. If you waited for them to cool you can use your hands to do this step. If you're like me, and impatient, you will want to use a fork and knife to complete this step.

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You'll want to chop them into chunks to make them more blendable (not a real word). Next, throw them into your blender. I LOVE my Ninja blender for making homemade pesto, smoothies, etc. and it once again proved its' worth with these sweet potatoes. If you're making the sweet potatoes as a "first food" you will need to add some water. That is the only "additive" in this recipe. Water. Can't get much better than that.

Finally, fill your baby food storage jars/trays with your homemade creation :) I filled 6 baby bullet fridge storage jars and 1 freezer tray (with 6 slots). The jars are big enough that, right now, M.D. eats about 1/2 a jar as a serving. He ate 1 jar's worth on Sunday, but it was over the course of 2 feedings. Total Cost = $4. Total Cost of 12 jars of 100% natural baby food (trick question...this doesn't exist. In order to JAR food and store it on shelves it HAS to have some kind of preservative added...but let's just pretend...) So total cost of 12 jars of baby food MOST comparable to what can be homemade = Approx $12 (see this link).

Fun Fact: Did you know that most babies will have consumed 600 jars of baby food by the time they reach 1 year old? So, by making your own baby food you could theoretically save around $400/year.. Awesome. I haven't tested this price comparison with other veggies & fruits yet. I will report back on those potential savings/recipes as they come.

Best part about homemade sweet potatoes = THEY TASTE DELICIOUS :)
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Check out those baby blues :)
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I have time to cook...wait...I don't.

2/15/2013

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Finding time, especially during the week, to cook dinner is nearly impossible. I get off work around 3:30 and head up to my MIL's house to pick up baby M.D. from daycare. I get there about 4...chit chat till about 4:30 and get home around 5pm. Then it's dog's out in the yard, M.D. out of his carseat (diaper change, bottle, etc), and then it sets in...HUNGER! But what to make when it's already 5:30(ish)? Well..here are a couple of my recent go-tos. NO, they aren't particularly healthy..but they're fast, easy, and delicious.

#1) Crockpot Chicken & Mushroom Soup
Ingredients: Chicken Breasts, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Canned Mushroom(s), Brown Rice.
This shouldn't even COUNT as a recipe because it's so simple it's DUMB. But it's really delicious. All you need to do is throw some frozen or thawed chicken breasts in your crockpot. Add in some cream of mushroom soup (add in # of cans relative to # of chicken breasts). I usually do 2 cans of soup for 4 chicken breasts. Then add in another can or two of mushrooms (unless you don't like mushrooms..in which case you can skip that step). Then turn on your crockpot and go to work. That's it. When you get home throw some instant brown rice in the microwave and serve your chicken mushroom soup goodness over the rice. Yum-O.

#2) Irish Skillet
This receipe takes a LITTLE more time but it's honestly worth it.
Ingredients: 1lb hamburger, Bacon slices (just a few), Onion, Cabbage head, frozen hashbrowns, beef broth (1 cup), apple juice (1/4 cup).
I love this recipe because when I was nursing M.D. I couldn't have cabbage and I LOVE cabbage (he couldn't stand it apparently...) so it's nice to be able to make & enjoy this dish now that he's on formula.
Cut up a few bacon slices and brown them in a pan with the hamburger & chopped up onion. In a separate pan cook up those frozen hashbrowns.
Once the meats are browned, drain the grease, and add your cabbage (chopped), beef broth, and apple juice (I just use water instead of apple juice because we never buy it). Let that simmer until the cabbage is nice and steamed (medium heat). Once your cabbage is done add in those cooked hashbrowns and mix everything together.
It's honestly DELICIOUS!!
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I have a few more to share but I can't reveal all of my secrets yet :) I will do another quick & easy recipe blog later on.
Happy Friday to everyone! This weekend Steven & I are going to his work X-mas Party and the rest of the weekend we will be playing "Where's M.D.?" and supervising tummy-time.
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