Baby Food, Recipes and More!

I have been talking to a lot of friends lately about baby food. I think, especially as a first time mom, you're not always quite sure where to begin and what are the best options. I'm not claiming I'm any expert on the subject, but I have read may research articles and books throughout my undergrad experience, as well as experimented with a few things that seem to work quite well and wanted to share a few tips and tricks that I've discovered. As mentioned in my previous post, "Baby Bible: Save Our Sleep" Tizzie Hall has a lot of great suggestions. Here are a couple pages from her book that I have used as a guide line to making my own baby food. Not only does she break up different foods and when to eat them, but she has an expansive list of  many different nutritious food options. This list has helped me out a lot when it comes to expanding my horizons and giving Livy a variety of delicious food options to try rather than repeating the same foods over and over.

Commercial baby foods are good to have on hand when you need to take baby food on the go, because homemade baby food can't be out as long as the commercial baby food. However I have found a tremendous difference when I've given Livy homemade baby food verses commercial. She thoroughly enjoys homemade baby food a lot more than the commercial baby food. The food is also more nutritious and fresh than the commercial, as well as a cheaper option. I simply buy the baby food I am making that week, peel, core and cook the baby food as necessary (through steaming the baby food because simply dropping them in boiling water loses even more nutrients) and then add the softened food to my Vitamix mixer, or any other blender/food processor. 

The Silicon ice cube trays have been my favorite!

One of the best ways I have then frozen the baby food is by adding them to ice cube trays because then you have smaller portion sizes that are perfect for starting out! I used to waste so much baby food because Livy wasn't eating all of it, and I was trying to mix up the food I would give her each day by giving her one savory and one sweet option per meal time. By the time I got to the others again, they had been in my fridge for the recommended three days and so I would throw them out. 

These jars are the best to store your baby food in because the labels aren't paper so you can easily put them in the dishwasher without paper getting all over. The glass baby food jars are also the best because you can put them in the microwave as needed. However, Livy loves me smashing them and giving her the "shaved ice version" in this Summer heat!

Believe it or not, none of my milk was saved through pumping!
This milk-saver was perfect as I started nursing. The first few
months I was able to save around 6-8 ounces per day!! The next
months I was able to save 3-4 just by placing this in the opposite
breast as I nursed. I now have a lot of  breast milk I can add to
Livy's baby food!

A simple way to store breast milk is
by cutting down a box and storing it in
your freezer. Remember to put the date
and ounces on your milk bags!

Recipes!!

You can create your own as you go but here are some ideas. The pictures above of the zucchini and carrots are straight zucchini and carrots. The pictures above of the baby food in the ice trays and jars I used some strawberries and raspberries because they were in season, and then some added breast milk. She loves it! (*Note: only use thawed breast milk to recipes your child is eating immediately, DO NOT refreeze!) I was also able to get some recipes (made specifically for my Vitamix, but you can do them without a Vitamix you just have to make sure to peel, core and cook your fruit and vegetables.) 

Derived from Vitamix Whole Food Recipe cookbook

Fruit  

2 cups (300 g.) fresh or frozen, thawed

• Bananas, peeled
• Peaches, pitted, peeled
• Avocado, pitted, peeled
• Papaya, peeled, seeded
• Mango, pitted, peeled

2 cups (300 g.) steamed, fresh:

• Apples, peeled, cored, seeded
• Pears, peeled, cored

Vegetable

2 cups (260 g.) steamed (fresh or frozen)

• Sweet potatoes, peeled
• peas
• squash, peeled, seeded
• Carrots
• green beans
• spinach
• corn

Meat

2 cups (280 g.) boneless cubed cooked meat:

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Pork 
• Beef
• Veal
• Lamb

Directions for above: Choose one or more items from the list of sample ingredients and prepare accordingly. Place into the Vitamix container along with 1/4 cup (60 ml) water, formula or breast milk and secure lid. Blend for 20-30 seconds. If mixture is too thick, remove the lid plug and add additional water, formula or breast milk, 1/4 cup (60 ml) at a time through the lid plug opening. Continue blending to achieve desired consistency. Serve immediately or freeze excess baby food. 

*To get more nutrients, use the cooking water when blending

* When making batches of baby food for freezing, only use freshly-expressed breast milk- never use frozen breast milk that has been thawed.

Vitamix Recipes by Frankie Lyons

Apple, Pear, Raisin, Cinnamon

• 2 cups natural applesauce
• 2 pears
• 1/4 cup raisins
• pinch of cinnamon

Blend ingredients together

Apple, Pear, Blueberry and Strawberry

• 2 cups natural applesauce
• 2 pears (peeled or not)
• 1 cup blueberry (fresh or frozen)
• 4 strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 banana

Blend all ingredients together 

* You can add spinach

* If you only have one pear that's okay

Tropical Delight

• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 mangos, peeled and diced
• 1/4 fresh pineapple, peeled and diced

Put bananas in blender first. Blend all ingredients together

* You don't need to cook fruit for vitamix. Just have soft ingredients; example: Add 2 cups applesauce

Avocado Cantaloupe

• 1 Avocado, peeled
• 1/2 ripe cantaloupe, peeled and cut into chunks

Blend ingredients together

Butternut Squash Medley

• 1/2 Small squash, peeled and diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
• apple juice

Cook veggies and spices in blender and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup apple juice (or more if it won't blend)

*use tamper stick with Vitamix

Pumpkin Banana

• 1 small can of pure pumpkin
• 2-3 bananas
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

Blend all ingredients together

add more bananas if you want to mask the pumpkin flavor

ENJOY!!

Baby Bible: Save Our Sleep

So many people have asked me, and my siblings who use this book, how we have gotten our child (children) to sleep through the night and today I am sharing our secret. I was first introduced to Tizzie Hall's book titled, Save Our Sleep, by my sister in-law. She calls it her "Baby Bible" and as soon as Livy was born I completely understood why! This book is seriously incredible. Whether you're a first time mom or a seasoned mom, this book is a must!

 My Sister in-law has used this book for all five of their children and has consistently received incredible results, as well as my Sister for her three children. This book gives expert advice on feeding whether you're nursing, bottle feeding, or a mixture of both. Hall breaks down each stage, along with growth spurts in your baby and has a schedule to work accordingly. Livy quickly started consistently sleeping from 8:00pm-8:00am when she was just 8 weeks old! This not only has helped me to be a better mother, because I have been able to get the rest I need to function properly and play hard when Livy is awake, but it has also been an incredible benefit to my marriage. Ruben and I know exactly when we can have someone come and watch Livy because of her consist schedule, and we also have every single evening available to spend time together or get things done.

Many people have heard of friends that have their children on a strict schedule and have problems such as the baby not sleeping unless they're in their own crib, or they can't go out because they have to stick to the strict schedule. Let me just tell you, this is NOT the case with Hall's book. In fact, she encourages you to go out, go on walks or for a drive etc, in order to encourage your baby to be able to fall asleep in different places during their scheduled "nap" time. If anything I feel like I have more time than most mothers because I know exactly when I can do things and how much time I have to do them before I have to feed Livy again. Hall's book also includes solid food information, medical advice, schedules for parents with multiple children, babies that have colic, disabilities, or other issues etc. It truly is amazing! I could go on and on. If you're looking for a "Baby Bible" this is it! This book will seriously save your life and definitely your sleep!