Solids!

J feeding her little brother!

Starting solids is a messy messy ordeal, especially when you have an over-eager toddler helper on your hands.  We got the okay from our pediatrician to start solids with A and one of the things I definitely did right with J is with food.  She eats everything.  She's willing to try new foods (well, most of the time) and she typically just eats whatever we're eating. Case in point: devoured liver meatballs and beef goulash during our trip to Prague.
I want to make sure I do the same thing with A.  And basically once I started foods with J, I didn't stop - every 3-4 days I tried something new and just kept going and going...

Cannot get the food in fast enough

So A started solids about a week ago and so far he has enjoyed rice cereal, bananas, and avocado. And so far so good.  My fingers are crossed for an equally good eater.  The only difference is that this time, I'm trying my hand at making my own baby food.  For those that know me, this is definitely from my "crunchier" side.  I didn't even attempt this with J, but definitely something I wanted to at least try with A.  My best friend bought us the Baby Bullet and honestly, it's super easy.  One banana gave me almost 6 jars of food and one avocado gave me about the same.  So I have plenty of food for the week with two pieces of fruit and it took me five minutes, literally. I imagine I'll have to buy some more jars as he starts eating more and I'll definitely buy some baby food from the store, just to make sure I have it on hand, but the thought of not having the additives/preservatives in his food makes me happy.
Now, anytime you feed a 4.5 month old, it's going to get messy, but throw in my happy-to-help 3 year old and it's a MESS.  But if she can teach him all her good eating habits...I'll be a happy mommy.

Momma's Munchies - I Dip You Dip We Dip

This week it's all about the dips over at Momma's Munchies




Here's a simple dipping sauce that's good for veggies, mini-meatballs, anything really...oh and I got it from Weight Watchers - so it's diet-friendly!
Cucumber-Yogurt Dipping Sauce
 
Ingredients
1 cup fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup cucumber (finely diced)
2 T radishes, finely diced
1 T dill, fresh, chopped
1/4 t garlic
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t salt
 
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, mix well.

Please vote for my blog here!

Momma's Munchies - Root Veggies

I love to cook (and eat) so when I saw this weekly recipe share at Waking Up Williams, I had to play along!



Here's the recipe for my Root Vegetables - It's super easy (just a lot of chopping) and really healthy and Jenna likes it too...

This will probably feed 8 people (as a side dish)
Preheat oven to 450

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
2 turnips
2 parsnips
2 carrots
3 shallots halved
1/2 cup honey
4 T olive oil

Coarsely chop all vegetables
Coat veggies with honey and olive oil
Spray pan

Bake @ 450 for about an hour (give or take depending on desired softness) - stir every 15 min

Good Eats

I love to cook and I especially love good summer meals that aren't too heavy and don't make my kitchen a freaking sauna. 

This past week, my good friend over at Baby to Go told me about a great Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipe for Gazpacho

Ingredients

1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
4 plum tomatoes
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

I followed the recipe EXACTLY and it came out amazing!!

We paired it with some home-made chicken nachos (just to make the meal a little healthier - not really).  We used some leftover chicken from a rotisserie that we had added cheese, tomatoes, olives, and some guac....

Happy Eating!