Green Smoothie Pops

Last week I decided to make green smoothie pops for/with the kids. I've read a lot about the benefits of green smoothies and I've made them several times for me and the kids. They love them, and I think they're pretty good too! Here they are drinking the liquid version and cheezing it up for the camera.

I decided to freeze some in our ice pop molds during their naps, and boy was that a hit when Jack and Kennison woke up (Colton slept through the whole fiasco). Kennison ate hers like a pro, not a drop on her plate the entire time.

Jack on the other hand...

 

wasn't sure what to think of the frozen-ness at first.

 

But he quickly got the hang of it!

 

And boy was smearing it everywhere- chest included- fun!

I think next time we'll wait for a sunny day, so they can eat outside and I can hose them down when they're done!

How to picnic with 3 toddlers

Spread a blanket in the shade. If adult present is pregnant, push it up against the garage door for back support.

Peel some yummy leftover Easter eggs.

Pig out on ham.

Cut up a million grapes so as to make them safe for little people consumption.

Take a break to pick flowers.

Eat cantaloupe, not bothering  to sit down.

"Cheers" your grapes.

 

Offer "em um em's" for dessert...

And end up with six toddler hands and three toddler mouths looking like this.

 

Use a lot of these.

Then get a wipe car wash. 

Get confused about which hand was holding chalk and which was holding dessert.

Play outside until naptime.

Making Yogurt for Jack

When Jack first started eating solid foods, we tried yogurt as one of his first foods. To say he loved it can't quite explain what a success it was! He got to the point where he would see the Yo Baby container and begin squealing with delight. As a matter of fact, he recognized the container so well that we were able to put new and unpopular foods in an empty Yo Baby container to get him to eat them.

A few months ago, I got tired of paying $6.49, or whatever the Walmart sale price was, for 6 4 oz. containers, and driving across town to the only non membership grocery store who sells Yo Baby. I'm not opposed to using whole milk plain yogurt in a big tub at our regular grocery store, but have you ever looked for that? EVERYTHING is non-fat or low fat, and Jack's growing brain needs the fat from whole milk. So, I decided that I would try to make yogurt from my pumped milk. I used freeze dried live cultures, but it didn't work. And I was very upset that I had wasted a quart of milk- that's a lot to pump!

Anyhow, I recently decided to try it again... with plain old whole milk, since that's what the Yo Baby is made from, and since the American Academy of Pediatrics recently doubled the amount of Vitamin D a child needs daily. This time it worked fabulously, Jack loves it, and I get to control what goes in it... no more sugar or preservatives for Jack!

So here's how you do it!

• Heat a quart of milk in a glass container in a pot full of water, kind of a make-shift double boiler. You want to heat fairly slowly so it doesn't scald. Heat to 185 degrees to kill all the bacteria.
• Place heated milk on a trivet in the fridge to cool the milk to about 110 degrees. This is the ideal incubating temperature.
• Next add 2 tbsp. yogurt starter. This can be plain store bought yogurt, yogurt from a previous batch, or freeze- dried yogurt cultures. The idea is to get the live cultures in there. You can also add 1/4 c of Nonfat Dry Milk .

• Put the glass jars in a crockpot filled with water, turned to warm. The temp should hover around 100 degrees. Put a towel over the jar(s) and let incubate for 6-10 hours. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets, but also the more tangy. I tend to take it out at the 6 hour mark, because it's sweeter that way, and I've taken care of the thickening with the dry milk.

It's that easy! Jack will eat it plain, but I usually make different fruit and veggie purees to mix in. This summer I made them from fresh, but right now I'm using frozen produce. Jack generally eats this for breakfast every morning. I mix about a tablespoon of baby oatmeal (already cooked so no need to heat), a tablespoon of puree, and three or four tablespoons of yogurt, and it makes a great meal. He's currently enjoying a rotation of the following purees: pears, peaches, mixed berries, pumpkin (his current favorite), and apples. Seriously, it looks so good sometimes I finish what he doesn't (which usually isn't much)!

Easy Crockpot Baby Vegetable Medley

I was staring at the left over potatoes in our fruit bowl on the counter yesterday, and had a brainstorm. Jack is almost done with baby food, but in the meantime, I thought I'd spice up his life a little. I mean, how often do you eat a vegetable by itself, plain, all at once? So, I made him a little vegetable medley. I've been mildly obsessed with my crockpot lately, and got the idea for trying out Jack's food in the crockpot from this blog.

Basically, I took all the vegetable I could find leftover in our house, added some frozen ones, a little water, and cooked on low for about 8 hours- it basically turns to mush. Mike came home and thought it was what we were having for dinner... and was very relieved that it wasn't! Then I used a slotted spoon to spoon the veggies into the blender in batches. DON'T drain the water away- it has all the nutrients! Use it to think out the texture of the puree. I left Jack's pretty thick, because he's past the smooth phase. Then I poured into single serving containers and froze.

Here's what I used:

4 small red potatoes, peeled

1 large sweet potato, peeled

1 squash

1/2 a bag of frozen peas

1/4 a bag of frozen lima beans

1/4 a bag of frozen spinach

1/2 a bag of baby carrots

1/4 a bag of frozen broccoli

Jack ate one container that I left in the fridge for lunch today, and loved it. I tasted it, and it has a nice creamy texture (from the potatoes) and was mildly sweet (from the sweet potato and carrots). It made a ton, so I'm also planning to thin individual servings out a little and use as a pasta sauce for Jack.

Jack really enjoyed it!

What's for dinner tonight? (times three)

Several of the blogs I regularly (religiously) read include little segments on recipes, etc. Since I am a frustrated chef (I love to cook) I thought it'd be fun to do a post on what we're eating this week. When I cook I have several criteria I try to meet:

* I try to use inexpensive ingredients

* I buy ingredients that can be used for multiple recipes

* I try to make healthy substitutions for recipes we love

* One new goal is to make things that can easily be transformed into meals for Jack, now that he is beginning to eat some "real people food"

So, yesterday I was cooking dinner for Mike to take to his brother's house so they could hang out. I made Cheesy Chicken Casserole, which is a favorite in our house, and simply split it into two separate small casserole dishes so that Mike could take one and I could eat from one/ we'd have leftovers here. Our chicken was frozen, so I decided to give a go at making my own chicken stock since we were in a hurry and I knew I'd need to boil the chicken. Usually I'd cook it in the crock pot. Here are my "recipes" for the casserole and the stock. Note: I use the word recipe loosely, as I rarely do the same thing twice.

Homemade Chicken Stock

You'll need:

4 lbs frozen chicken

1 bag frozen mixed veggies (fresh veggies are better, but we were on a schedule)

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

water

In a large stock pot, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add frozen chicken and veggies, and cover with water. Cover the stockpot, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for however long you have. The longer it sits, the better! Strain in to a pitcher- mine made about a gallon. Set aside veggies and chicken for later use. Taste stock, adding salt and pepper if needed. If the taste isn't strong enough for you (especially if you're taking the quick route like me) place it back in the stock pot and boil it down to concentrate the flavor. Pour into individual containers and freeze for later use!

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

You'll need:

2 lbs cooked chicken from above, cubed and seasoned

1/2 the frozen veggies from above

1 can cream of mushroom, celery or chicken soup

1 can cheese soup

1/2 bag Baked Nacho Cheese Doritos

shredded cheese

In the bottom of a 9x13 dish place a layer of crushed Doritos. Place cubed chicken and cooked veggies on top. Pour cream of mushroom (or whatever) and cheese soups on top, spreading evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Put another layer of crushed Doritos on top and top with a handful of shredded cheese. Bake for 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted. And to quote Rachel Ray... "yum-o!"

So, while I was in a cooking mood, I decided to make a greek pasta dish I've been wanting to make. I had it at Zio's not too long ago, and I loved it! I didn't love paying almost $9 for it, though, so I wanted to give it a go at home. I found a recipe to duplicate it here and I made a few changes.

(Imitation) Zio's Greek Pasta

You'll need:

1-2 lbs cooked chicken from above, cubed

1/2 of the remaining mixed veggies from above

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta (whole wheat pasta is awesome for you and tastes the same at "white" pasta- try it!)

6 oz feta cheese

1 tomato, diced

1/4 c olive oil

2 tbsp minced garlic

6 oz kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

3 strips turkey bacon

seasoning mix:

2 parts: oregano, salt, onion powder, garlic powder

1 part: cornstarch, black pepper, parsley, paprika

1/2 part: cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme

A note about the ingredients...

* The veggies have nothing to do with greek pasta, and might seem a little weird. I use them as a filler and it gives the bonus of extra vitamins and good stuff.

* Kalamata olives break my rule of buying cheap- but in my opinion are worth it. They are also kind of a pain in that they usually have pits. For a cheaper, easier alternative you can buy sliced black olives.

* Originally my thought was to use pancetta instead of bacon (again, neither having to do with greek food, but yummy sounding to me). But pancetta is more expensive and turkey bacon is better for you...

Cook pasta and drain. Saute garlic, olives, mixed veggies, and tomatoes in a little the olive oil. Cut bacon in small strips and saute with veggies. Toss in the chicken and season with half of the seasoning mix. Mix chicken/veggie mixture with pasta in a large bowl then add in the feta cheese. Serve hot or cold (like a greek pasta salad).

The remaining veggies and tiny pieces of chicken I saved to refrigerate for Jack. Here he is enjoying it- along with a messy, messy biter biscuit.

All clean!

Being a mom...

has changed my life. Duh. But it's changed my life in ways I never would have thought about before. A friend of my from bf group posted a little forward on Mother's Day about how being a mom changes you. So, as I was making Jack some more applesauce and pearsauce tonight (the kid can go though some fruit!) in a quiet house, I got to thinking about my own list. Here goes!



Being a mom has made me...



*make sleep a priority. I never really thought about sleep before I didn't get any.



*care more about the environment. All the sudden I'm looking up chlorine free wipes and cloth diapers. Don't get carried away... I said looking up, we're not ready to make that particular plunge. Apparently, I'm turning "crunchy."



*feel a more intense love than I can even understand.



*pray more.



*worry more.



*laugh more.



*talk for 45 minutes about "that look he just gave me" or "the way he curls his toes up." Like anyone but me cares.



*really think about what I put in my/his body. I never took note of all the crap I ate, and I don't just mean my McDonald's breakfast habit. I mean all the preservatives, etc. in my food. When you think about it... ick!



*feel more thankful than at any other point in my life.



*appreciate my mom and dad in an entirely new way.



*enjoy simple acts that make me feel like I'm a provider- making baby food, spending hours designing Jack's playroom in my mind, and yes, even doing dishes.



*want to make a difference in the world, so that can be the legacy I pass down to my son.



The list could go on and on. But, I'm sure you all have better thinks to do than read my endless rambling. On a side note, Mike is with is family tonight in his grandmother's hospital room. She is not doing well, and may not make it through the night. If you are inclined, pray that God's plan will be carried out, whatever that might be, and that his family have peace in this time.



Now, goodnight! Just kidding, I wouldn't end a post without a picture!

Mmmm mmm good

Jack is loving food. The pictures and videos say it all, really. Today he and I made and froze lots of food for him: sweet potatoes, avocadoes, applesauce, and pear sauce. We'll add these to the stash in the freezer. Jack helped by sitting in his high chair and playing with his toys, and then taste testing the sweet potatoes! Some of the pictures and videos show him eating his oatmeal and sweet potatoes tonight before bed. It's evident that he likes it a lot! My favorite is when he grabs the measuring cup (which we use as a bowl) and tries to eat directly out of it! Gotta love my hungry boy!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books