Jars a plenty

I am a jar saver.  I admit it.  They are one of those favorite things and I will recycle them if they begin to .... stack up.   I reuse them in lots of ways.

A little tip: To remove labels soak the jar in a container with a scoop of washing soda and hot water.  Fill the jar with plain water to weight it.   The label should peel off easily after an hour.

I am very lucky to have a walk-in pantry but there are lots of small items I add to King's food and the jars make it very easy to get my hands on it.  I keep these on a shelf near where I prepare food.  Here are some of those items that I recommend for using with your toddler's menu:

• Raisins
• Dried fruit (unsulphured apricots are our staple)
• Nuts (whole and ground)
• "O" cereal
• Wheat Germ
• Brewer's Yeast (aka Nutritional Yeast)
• Blackstrap Molasses
• Mini whole wheat crackers
• Kelp granules

Baby Food Purees

For Lisa.

I have been meaning to do this for awhile and when Lisa messaged about puree combos I decided to sit down tonight and transfer my notes to the blog.

Here are the stables to pureeing:


A great blender!  I have a Breville and can't say enough great things about it.  Worth every cent.


Ground ginger, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.


A nice 5-quart pot a large steamer.

I had the Baby Bullet but really used the small containers that came with it.  So shop for small containers designed especially for freezing and storing purees.  You will end up with a lot of these:



We started with rice cereal but only for a short while.  We then moved onto veggies and fruits.  Apples and pears were always in rotation.  He loved them with cinnamon.  You will figure out the amount of spice to add but start with a pinch and move up as you go along.  Spice is great to add to purees.

You will add the water from the steam pot to thin the puree in the blender.  However, never use the water from carrots due to the nitrates.

Here is my list:

Apples and Pears
Peeled, cored, chopped
Steamed and then pureed.
Cinnamon.
Note that apples take longer to steam so add the pears after the apples have been on for awhile.

Butternut SquashPeeled, chopped and steamed.
Ginger and a tiny bit of butter.

Sweet Potatoes and Apples
Peeled, chopped, steamed.
Nutmeg.

Frozen Peas
Steamed and Pureed.

Fennel and Carrots

Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes

Peach and Ginger

Sweet Potato and Apricots
Only use apricots that are unsulphured.

Yogurt with frozen blueberries with wheat germ
He still eats this every morning.

Edamame and Peas (Both from frozen)
Probably one of his all-time favorites.

Cauliflower and Apples

Mashed Bananas

Mashed Avocados

Carrots, carrots and more carrots
They are also great with sweet potatoes.

My notes aren't the best but I hope this helps.  I will add more as I remember them.

xoxo 

Links:

http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/index.htm#.UP9ghje5534
http://www.thehowtomommy.com/how-to-cook/how-to-make-baby-food-continued/