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Posts Tagged ‘baby nutrition’

Apricot Puree

01 Aug

I can hardly believe my littler boy is now past the six month mark and experimenting with solid foods. Part of me is sad but another part of me is a little too excited to pull out the BEABA and start experimenting with baby’s first foods.

Yesterday I walked up to the farmers’ market to see what I could whip up for my little bugger. Sadly, I didn’t find much beyond potatoes, carrots and lots of berries. He already tried potatoes and carrots. Potatoes will great success, carrots not so much. Berries are a little too risky for first foods. So I went back home and found four apricots delivered by our CSA this pas week. Apricots are a wonderful little fruit, full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron, Fiber and Potassium.

So there you have it.

It is easy:

  1. Wash the apricots
  2. Peel the apricots
  3. Cut up the apricots
  4. Put in your BEABA or blender of choice and puree
  5. Serve cool or slightly warmed. I served it cold because he is teething and I thought the coldness would help his gums feel better.
  6. Store any remaining in the fridge. Freeze whatever you think you might not use up in three days.

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Four apricots made about 7 ounces of puree. When I served it to him this morning, the look on his face trying the very sour fruit for the first time was priceless. I tried to puree. It was quite sour so I added breast milk to make the puree a bit creamier. He finished the serving and was very happy. I am dying to see what this apricot puree does to my littler one’s diaper! Ok, well, not dying but I am very curious.

Happy eating!
Marnie

 
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Posted in 6-9 Months, Basic Puree, Getting Started, Recipes

 

Salad Spinning Art & 6 more lesson for kids!

30 Jul

This salad spinning activity is a favorite! We had a great time spinning and creating art. Best of all, there are add on activities and lessons. I am telling you folks, this exercise is the activity that keeps on giving! Inspired by hands on: as we grow and Messy Kids, my two year old and I got out our salad spinner and paints and started spinning…

My son was very curious about the salad spinner. I explained its use with cleaning greens (practical life, right?) and then explained how we were going to use the spinner to create art! His face lit up. The only differences I made from the posts above were: 1) we used regular old crayola kids paint and 2) we didn’t use a spoon and instead just flicked our wrists and, well, at times, dumped/poured the paint into the salad spinner. I liked the thickness of the paint and subsequent design; the result was different from a water color.

Steps to success:

  1. Get out your salad spinner
  2. Lay out onto the bottom one or two coffee filters. I tore the filters to make them fit well.
  3. You and your child, or just your child, choose paints
  4. Flick, dump, pour. Whatever method you’d like!
  5. Place the cover on the salad spinner
  6. Spin and spin, fast and slow
  7. Gently take out the artwork and allow it to dry on pavement in the sun or inside somewhere safe from little fingers (and big fingers in my case!)
  8. Hang in home

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Add on lessons:

  1. Practical life – using a salad spinner and understanding what it is used for
  2. Fine motor skills – using the salad spinner by pumping the knob in the center , pressing the “stop” button and the “white” button to hold down the pump
  3. Talk about colors – primary and make new ones! My two year old kept repeating: “red and blue make purple!” Being able to see that transformation makes the lesson stick.
  4. Talk about opposites such as: “fast/slow, drip/pour, stop/go, wobbly/solid”
  5. Talk about the artwork. Ask your child what he or she sees in the image. My two year old saw a butterfly, a fish and a sun.
  6. Use the paints and spinner as a building and balancing exercise (see photo above). My son started doing this activity on his own.

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Have fun!
Marnie

 
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Posted in Activities, Education, Fine Motor Skills, Montessori, Nutrition, Practical Life, Preparation, Sensory, Toddler

 

Watermelon!

19 Jun

One of the most exciting parts about summer is the copious amounts of watermelon. Not only good for us adults to nibble on but a wonderful finger food for our kids, too. An organization exists for the purpose of promoting this amazing fruit. The organization is named fittingly The National Watermelon Promotion Board. Check it out! There is even a section of Fun Facts for Kids!

Watermelons are, of course, a great finger food but are also super easy to make into ice pops or cubes and puree. A simple watermelon puree will do the trick and the result is so satisfying to you and your kids. There are also many dipping sauce recipes. My favorites have a honey and vinegar base but, honestly, watermelon is best enjoyed on its own. Check out these recipes for kids. I am trying out the watermelon dippers and the rubix cube at my son’s 2 year birthday in two weeks.

An additional wonderful side note to watermelon is that it serves as an effective practical life exercise for kids. The inside is super easy to scoop, chop, cut and divide. So grab a scoop, a dull cutting knife, toothpicks, and your watermelon and learn away!

Did you know that…

  • watermelon is from South Africa
  • watermelon is high in vitamins A, B6 and C
  • watermelon is 92% water
  • within 2 months of planting, the vines of watermelon plants are ready to for harvest
  • the largest watermelon ever recorded weighed 262 pounds
  • there are 200-300 varieties

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I love these watermelon activities! How cute is the cookie cutter exercise?

Happy eating!
Marnie

* I do not get paid for writing this blog. What you can do to help support the effort is at no cost to you. Search within the Amazon search box in the right sidebar and visit the Carrots are Orange Amazon Store. Or click on the product link at the end of this post. I get a small % for commission. Thanks!

 
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Posted in 12 months +, Activities, Finger Food, Nutrition, Reading Corner, Snack, Vegetarian

 

Don’t be afraid of off the shelf baby food – here is our all time favorite

03 Dec

Along the same lines as my post last week describing our favorite travel baby foods, I want to emphasize that off the shelf babyfood is not a bad thing. There are fantastic options out there.

In addition to those options mentioned in my post last week, a less portable off the shelf baby food that was by far our favorite go to baby food in the event that, oh I don’t know, life gets busy and you run out of frozen puree (it happens to the best of us, my friends) is a Seattle based brand called World Baby Foods.

The product has six favors and comes in 4.3 ounce glass jars (hence the reason why it isn’t great for traveling) and is well suited for babies as early as 6 months old. Learn about the what goes into the product. Amazing how this food is not only great tasting but good for your baby too.

The Goodness:

  • 100% Organic
  • Based on international cuisine. So not only is the food a great source of nutrients for your baby, it is also introducing them to wonderful flavors of the world!  As you know I am a huge proponent of introducing a variety of flavors (the addition of spices is an especially easy way to do this) to our children early on. My son could not get enough of the flavors. His favorites were Que Pasa Calabasa, Lullaby Thai, okay, you know what? He liked them all except for Baby Borscht.
  • You can order the food online via Amazon. You can order just one flavor or in a variety pack. I always purchased in the store so I cannot give you any feedback on how well the product ships. I listed all the food available via Amazon in the Carrots are Orange Amazon store so go nuts. The listing for World Baby Foods should start on the last page of the “Food” section.

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The Bummer:

  • World Baby Foods is only available in select stores in Washington, Oregon and California.
  • Definitely not the cheapest baby food at $2 a jar but WELL worth it. You can purchase 12 jars on Amazon for $24. If you are a Prime member 2-day shipping is included in the price.

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If you like international flare, try The Baby Cuisine , a recipe book for homemade baby food international style geared towards 6-18 month old children. The authors are local Seattlites.

Enjoy!
Marnie
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Posted in 6-9 Months, Getting Started, International

 
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