The Big O

O is for organic of course!  In an attempt to find fresh organic produce to make homemade baby food for my son, I have been shopping at the Momma’s Organic Market in Peoria, AZ.  The idea of a “winter” farmer’s market is still quite novel to me, but this market runs the third Saturday of every month from September to April.  They have some of the most beautiful fruits and veggies I have ever seen.  If you have ever cooked with local produce you know the difference, and the same goes when making baby food.   This organic market has a little something for everyone, and is a supporter of local small businesses.   In addition to their outstanding organic selection, they feature live music, food vendors, homemade goods, a book exchange, and story time for the kids.  It’s a really great way to spend your Saturday morning.   The Momma’s Organic Market is open from 9 am-2 pm.  For more information check out their website at http://www.mommasorganicmarket.com.

Momma’s Organic Market at Park West
9744 West Northern Avenue
Peoria, Arizona 85345
623-877-0096

If you are interested in finding a farmer's market in your area, check out the Local Harvest website.  Use this website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area.
http://www.localharvest.org/

Time To Give Thanks

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it is time to start thinking about what your little one is going to eat on the big day.  Dylan will be indulging in turkey and all the fix'ns, but he has been eating solids for quite some time now.  If you have a 6-10 month old who is eating Stage 1 and 2 foods, here are some tasty baby food recipes that will allow your baby to enjoy all the tastes of the holidays.  Remember to use the 4 day wait rule when you are introducing any new foods, and never add salt or sugar to baby's food.  Also be conscious of this when feeding baby pureed holiday dishes prepared by someone else.  Most people add extra salt, butter, and sugar to their holiday dishes.  If you are going to be eating at a close friend or relative's home, ask them to set aside some unseasoned veggies, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or squash so you can give them to baby with no worries.

Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Puree (6-8 months)

Ingredients:

2- 3 medium sized sweet potatoes

1 cup cubed butternut squash

Directions:

1.Peel and wash sweet potatoes and squash

2.Cut into cubes

3.Steam or boil until tender

4.Place sweet potato and squash into your choice of appliance for pureeing and puree until you reach desired consistency.  Add breast milk, formula, water or other liquid as necessary.

*Try adding cinnamon or nutmeg to sweet potatoes to make them even tastier!

Veggie Combo (6-8 months)

Ingredients:

Fresh or frozen green beans, peas, summer and/or zucchini squash, and small pieces of chopped carrots.

Directions:

1. Combine fresh or frozen veggies
2. Add enough water to just cover the vegetables.
3. Cook or steam until tender.
4. Puree vegetables in blender or food processor,
5. Add breast milk, formula, water or other liquid as necessary until mixture is of the desired consistency.

Apples & Turkey (8-10 months)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped & cooked boneless turkey
1/4 cup cooked apple (no skin or seeds), very soft.

Directions:

1.Puree turkey with cooked apples in a food processor or blender until desired consistency for baby is achieved.

Pumpkin Pie for Baby (8-10 months)

Ingredients:

Pumpkin puree

Plain yogurt

Baby rice cereal or baby oatmeal

Powdered Cheerios or gram crackers

Directions:

1.Combine pumpkin puree together with rice cereal or oatmeal and

2.Add yogurt and add a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg.

3.Top with powdered Cheerios or powdered gram crackers

Happy Thanksgiving!

Baby Picasso

Dylan's newly found interest in smearing his food all over his highchair tray, inspired me to nurture his creative side.  As I watched him squish his raspberries through his fingers and smash his avocado with his cup, I started thinking that maybe he could use these skills to create a work of art.  I remembered that a friend of mine recently had a playgroup at her house where she made homemade edible paint and put the kids in a blowup plastic pool.  They gave the babies paint brushes and let the creative juices flow.  The bath tub is also a great place for finger painting.  When it is time to clean up, you can just wash baby and wash out the tub at the same time.  I found the following recipes for edible "paint" online and the pudding paint worked the best of the three.  I am planning on letting Dylan "paint" some masterpieces for the grandparents for the holidays.  

Pudding Paint
• Instant Vanilla Pudding
• Food Coloring
What to do:
Mix pudding according to directions.
Add food coloring for desired color.
Finger paint on paper plates.
Completely Edible!

Kool-Aid Finger Paint
What you need:
• 2 cups flour
• 2 packs unsweetened Kool-Aid
• 1/2 cup salt
3 cups boiling water
• 3T. oil
What to do:
Mix wet into dry.

Jello Finger Paint
What you need:
• Any kind of flavored jello
• Boiling water
What to do:
Mix jello into boiling water until it is a good consistency for finger paint.

Read More http://www.ivillage.com/home-made-finger-paint/6-a-144533#ixzz14TNXxY9u

Table Manners

Dylan recently turned one year old, and a I swear the day after his birthday a switch turned and my sweet little boy started testing the waters of mischief.  This has become the most apparent during meal time.  We have been playing the "drop the cup game" for several months now, but he has taken it to a whole new level by flinging his cup several feet from his highchair, splashing milk or water all over the floor.  We have tried to give positive reinforcement with clapping and cheering when he puts his cup in the cup holder of the highchair, but now he will put it in the cup holder for 3-4 seconds to get the praise and then launch it when no one is looking.  Ahhhh!  And the cup is not the only thing flying these days, he is more interested in throwing food than eating it.  Beside the fact that he is making a huge mess, I am beginning to worry that he isn't eating enough because most of his meal ends up on the floor.  

We have been trying to introduce the spoon these days which has just added to the new excitement of meal time.  I bought some of those suction cup bowls to attach to the high chair and I will put 2-3 spoonfuls food that is thick in consistency and stick well to the spoon.  We have tried oatmeal, cottage cheese, and yogurt.  He actually has been doing pretty well with the spoon for the first few attempts, and then throws the spoon on the floor and goes at the food in the bowl with his fingers.  I guess it is a learning process...and other moms I have talked to are going through the same thing. 

Here are some tips for introducing baby to a spoon:
Taken from: How to Teach a Baby to Use a Spoon | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2104273_teach-baby-use-spoon.html#ixzz144URP

1) Wait until after your baby is ready to teach him. Babies can use a spoon around his first birthday. Although it takes a while to develop the skill, and it may seem like all he's doing is playing, the skill will develop.

2) Give your baby foods that stick to the spoon. Foods such as yogurt, applesauce or pureed vegetables are good at staying put.

3) Be patient. It takes a long time for your baby to use a spoon. In fact, she won't be great at it until well into toddler-hood in some cases.

4) Expect a mess. Food will be flung, dripped, dropped and splattered. Be prepared to clean up afterwards. Just remember that in order to learn, your baby has to try repeatedly.

5) Use a spoon to help teach your baby. This is especially good advice if there is concern for baby getting enough food. Try to sneak a spoonful of food in between baby's attempts so he can see how to do it and copy. If baby protests to your help, let him be. Offering finger foods is another option.

6) Encourage and praise baby for her attempts. She may get more on the floor and her clothes than in her mouth, but the important thing is she tried. Starting to use a spoon is something to be proud of, so let her know what a great thing it is. 

Pull Up a Seat

My husband and I decided to grab dinner out the other night.  We took our Dylan with us.  There was this restaurant nearby that we had been meaning to try for a few weeks.  We parked the car and carried Dylan in with us into the restaurant.  We told the woman at the front that we needed a table for two with a high chair.  She said, "Oh we don't have high chairs."  Really???  I mean this wasn't a fancy place, pretty casual American fare.  I guess it never even crossed my mind that a restaurant wouldn't have at least one high chair.  I guess we could have gotten the stroller out of the car and fed the baby in the stroller, but after she said they didn't provide high chairs, we didn't even want to eat there anymore.  So when I got home, I thought that I would do a little research to see if restaurants are required to supply high chairs for their customers.  Surprisingly there is not much on the internet in regards to what is the actual responsibility of the establishment.  

There IS however TONS of information on the cleanliness of restaurant high chairs.  In fact some articles reported that the amount of bacteria found on high chairs was significantly greater than the amounts found on public toilets!  Ahhh!  So maybe we should be happy that the restaurant didn't have a highchair for us!  See full story below:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2010/10/high_chair_bacteria_toilet.php

I know that they make high chair covers that you can just throw into the washer.  I just use a few baby wipes to wipe down the restaurant high chair before we plop Dylan down into the seat.  It takes a couple of extra seconds, but I make sure to wipe the strap and the table down too. 

Let Him Eat Cake!

October is my son's birth month and we have been planning his 1st birthday party for the last couple of weeks.  The biggest debate between my husband and I is whether to let Dylan dive into his cake and make a huge mess.  I feel like that it is a rite of passage.  So what if he gets a little messy?  It's all part of the fun.  My husband being a bit of a neat-nick, is worried about the mess that he will make during his party.  I say, "Let Him Eat Cake!"

Dylan will be diving into his very own Elmo themed cupcake.  We decided to order them from a bakery simply because my baking a decorating skills are lacking (to put it nicely).  But for those of you who may have food restrictions or simply want to make your child's first birthday treat a little healthier, here are a couple of alternatives.

Egg-less Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
* 4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 3 cups white sugar
* 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 3 cups water
* 3 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. Add sugar and mix together.
3. Add oil, water and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
4. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


Chocolate Zucchini Cake

If you want less sugar and more fiber this Chocolate Zucchini Cake might work for you.  This one is kind of dense and not too sweet. And everyone will get a serving of veggies!

Ingredients:
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 cups white sugar
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 4 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
* 3 cups grated zucchini

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts and zucchini until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting.

Here are a couple of non-cake alternatives:

A trifle is a delicious layered dessert. It is a good alternative to cake for your baby's first birthday party.  A trifle is a combination of layers of cake, fruit and yogurt or cool whip in a clear bowl, according to Gomestic.com. A trifle is a great alternative to cake as it provides nutrition as well as sweetness and can be decorated to your liking with your favorite fruit.

Fruit pizza is a tasty dessert that serves as a terrific alternative to birthday cake.  Fruit pizza consists of a baked sugar cookie crust and a layer of strawberry cream cheese, and is topped with your child's favorite fruits. This alternative provides all of the flavor of a birthday cake, without all of the processed ingredients cakes include. If you wish, you can substitute whipped cream for the cream cheese. 



Read more: Alternatives for Baby's First Birthday Cake | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6152110_alternatives-baby_s-first-birthday-cake.html#ixzz12Sz26rLy

Frequent Flyer

Traveling with a little one can be challenging (to say the least) but being prepared and creative can make your flight a lot easier!  We started flying with Dylan when he was 3 months old, and because our family is scattered throughout the country, he had been on 7 round trip flights by 7 months.  This may sound a little crazy, but believe it or not, flying with a newborn is so much easier then flying with a 1 year old!

When packing for a flight when Dylan was a newborn, I would make sure to pack 2 bottles of expressed breast milk.  If we were going on a short flight (less then 2 hours) I wouldn't even carry it in a cooler.  I would just put it in the diaper bag.  Fresh breast milk can be left at room temperature for 4-6 hours so if you factor in the time it takes to get to the airport and such...you will have enough milk for a bottle during take off and landing.  For longer flights I would pack the milk in a small insulated lunch bag cooler with a small gel ice pack.  When going through security we always went through the medical liquid/family line.  The TSA worker would always open the milk and test it with their equipment, but luckily I never had to do anything crazy like drink it in front of them.  I don't think they are allowed to do that anymore.

When flying with Dylan from 7 months to 10 months, I would still bring one bottle of breast milk, but would also bring him some baby food/finger food.  Again I would pack it in my little lunch bag cooler.  When packing homemade baby food for a flight, I would make sure to bring food that was not prepared with breast milk.  I would usually bring frozen containers, this way they would be defrosted by the time I needed to use it on the flight.  I would usually check it before getting on the flight and if it needed to be defrosted, I would just get a small cup of hot water from one of the airport shops and let the container sit in the hot water for about 5 minutes while still at the gate.  When packing large batches of homemade baby food for a trip I would use a larger insulated lunch tote and fill it with frozen containers (again avoiding purees made with breast milk).  I would always put containers in a freezer bag before placing them in the cooler, just in case they leaked.  I put a gel ice pack on top of the food in the cooler.  I usually put the cooler in Dylan's suitcase because it always seemed like he had the biggest one because he had the most stuff.  I never had a problem with the food defrosting during the flight, even if it was a 6 hour flight.  The food just needed to go back in the freezer whenever we reached our destination.

At 11.5 months, the days of toting around small containers of purees are long gone, but there is an abundance of Cheerios.  We were traveling this weekend (5 hour return trip) and Cheerios saved the day numerous times!  When packing finger foods for the plane, I try to pick stuff that will travel well.  Bananas are great and are easy to find at in airport shops (Starbucks always has them).  Yogurt is another easy to find healthy food at the airport.  Otherwise I bring cheese sticks, grapes, berries, wheat bagels or bread...and of course Cheerios.

Happy travels!

Related articles

• Storing Breast Milk Safely (brighthub.com)
• Packing Guide for Family Carry-On Bags (abcnews.go.com)
• The Well Packed Bag: Regulations Regarding Air Travel with Kids (blogher.com)