Hey, Mrs. Wilson!

I opened my email this morning to find this:

It really has nothing to do with making baby food, I was just completely stoked when I got it! I also got my first bit of ad revenue from BlogHer. It was a good morning.

When I was almost hit by an idiot on a cell phone for the bizillionth time earlier, I was reminded how much I cannot stand idiots on cell phones. Granted, when you’re on a long trip on a straight highway, pull it out. Knock yourself out. But really, to get anywhere in my little town takes less than five minutes. What could you possible have to talk to someone about in those five minutes? Put down the cell phone. There are other people on the road and they (I) will not see “I was on the phone” as a good excuse for t-boning or side-swiping me.

I’ve taken a tiny break from making Etsy items. I absolutely love working in my little shop, but our house goes on the market in two days. That’s not very much time to make it look picture perfect. I also haven’t sold anything yet. That’s okay. I know I have to build it up a little more and advertise a little more. It’s a work in progress. I enjoy it. Making things is like therapy for me.

I came across this blog yesterday via Biblical Womanhood. It is written by a man chronicling his life with a wife who has Cystic Fibrosis. His wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl about 3 weeks ago. She was 15 weeks early. The wife is on a transplant list for a double lung transplant. The man and his wife have very strong faith in God and see every day as a blessing. I am learning a lot from them about faith.

On to what the post is really about. When I first found out I was pregnant with Liliana, I decided to do the baby thing the old fashioned way. I was going to nurse her until she was one so that she didn’t have to have formula, I was going to cloth diaper her, and I was going to make all homemade baby food.

How well did I do on that? Well, she nursed until she was 7 1/2 months old and then it did not work with my schedule anymore. I wrote about how I hated that it had to happen, but it was either give her formula or have a nervous breakdown. I chose the formula. We did not even touch cloth diapers. I have made homemade baby food a couple times, but Liliana eats mostly store bought organic baby food. Why organic? I don’t know. That’s just what we buy.

I really want to feed Liliana more homemade baby food because it’s cheaper, tastier, and healthier. So today I’m on a mission to find some recipes that we can hopefully both benefit from. (You know, if you have a baby.)

Recipes:

First Foods: Prior to having Liliana, I did not know that you could make your own baby cereal. I thought the Heinz stuff was the only way to go. Like I said before, I’m not a think-outside-the-box kind of person.

Rice Cereal
1/4 cup rice powder (brown rice ground in blender or food processor)
1 cup water

1. Bring liquid to boil in sauce pan. Add rice powder while stirring constantly.
2. Simmer for 10 minutes, whisking constantly, mix in formula or breastmilk and fruits if desired.
3. Serve warm.

Other cereals: Oatmeal, Barley

Apples/Applesauce
(Use Gala, Braeburn, Rome, or Macs)
This recipe is written so that you may use any amount of apples you wish!

1. Peel, core and cut apple into slices/chunks.
2. Place slices or chunks into a pan with just enough water to slightly cover apples.
3. Boil/steam until tender; be sure to check on the water level and stir. That’s It! Easy Peasy!
4. Apples may be mashed with a potato masher to achieve a smooth applesauce consistency. If your masher will not achieve a puree type of consistency, then follow steps 5 - 7.
5. Reserve any left over water to use for thinning out the apples.
6. Place into your choice of appliance for pureeing and begin pureeing.
7. Add the reserved water as necessary to achieve a smooth, thin puree.
8. Add cereal (if desired) to thicken up the apples.

Prunes
(this is one I use a lot since my baby is usually a little backed up)

1. Soak dried prunes in warm water until they plump up or steam gently.
2. Once plump and tender, toss into food processor or blender and begin to puree.
3. Add liquid without sparing any. Prunes tend to become a pasty gluey consistency when pureed and the more water you add, the easier it is to puree to a texture your baby will tolerate.

More fruits: Apricot puree, Banana Applesauce Mush, Avocado,

You can make pretty much any vegetable into baby food by steaming or boiling it and then putting it in the blender or food processor. The ones I like the best are carrots and peas because they’re easy! I use fresh carrots and frozen peas.

You can put each of the non-cereal recipes into ice cube trays and freeze overnight. Take them out of the ice cube trays and put into a zip-lock freezer bag. Keep them in your freezer until you need them, thaw, and serve. Easy!

I’m going to look for and post some 9 month+ recipes tomorrow, as that’s the stage I’m getting into and I want to introduce Liliana to meat.

Ciao!