Squooshi

We've been on a baby food making journey for years! With little Tux things got a whole lot more convenient and even more affordable with the $20 purchase of these Squooshi pouches. The pouches are refill-able and make baby food feeding on-the-go a whole lot less messy.

Squooshi aren't without their flaws though. Don't zip the ziplock all the way and you have what we call a big fat mess. And let's not miss the Made in China printed on the bottom. Wonh-wonh. So, forgive the manufacturer and make sure the top and bottom closures are secure and you are good. to. go.

The picture above is like many I've taken while we enjoy snacks after mommy's workout. This day in particular, Tucker said "nums" for roasted acorn squash, organic peas, wild rice/lentil mix and organic apples. Fruit, fiber, protein and vegetable? And I made it myself? Win-win-win-win-winning.

Hey! Hey! Looky here! $5 off coupon expires March 15. Worth it!

Pink pancakes

Someone happily woke up to pink pancakes this morning.

The Sophie and Tucker household is not big on many artificial things. So how did we make them pink, you ask?

That's right, beets! Now, in full disclosure, I used a can of precooked beets. A year ago I would have purchased organic fresh beets (probably raised somewhere within 100 miles of my home) and whipped up these bad boys from scratch. But if I'm being totally honest, today I was going to pour them into some box mix of Bisquick, so what's the harm in using some canned veggies?

And for good measure, I threw in a scoop of organic ground flax seeds.

Pink Pancakes:

Bisquick (per directions)

1/4 cup of pureed beets

2 Tablespoons organic ground flax seeds

Easy as pie. Or pancakes. One vegetable serving down, four to go.

CHEESE for pink pancakes!

Flax and babies?

Pictured below is the proud recipient of two big-girl waffles this morning:

Not just any waffles, homemade waffles (well, followed the box) with the addition of fresh yummy blueberries and a Tablespoon of ground Organic Flax seeds. If you're new on the Flax train like I am, it seems a little confusing, right? Couldn't be easier, actually.

I'm always looking at different ways to get the most nutrition into Sophie's foods since I can't just puree and spoon practically anything in her mouth anymore. (Side note: have I mentioned she's started using a spoon on her own with some success? I'm so proud.)

Benefits: Omega 3's, Protein, Lignans and Fiber. And, BONUS! it's a natural laxative . Which is why you should be conscious of how much you give baby (I don't talk about her poop much, but that's because she doesn't make a lot of it. We'll see if that changes with the addition of Flax). If you check this website, it recommends not introducing Flax to babies before 8-10 months.

Hubby and I have been adding it to cereal, yogurt and smoothies so far. It's a little gritty, but we'll be getting used to it because I bought a 3lb bag of it from Costco.

What have you used ground Organic Flax seeds in? It can go in anything, I know, but any specific recipes you've had exceptional luck with? Can't wait to hear from you!

Baby Turkey Meatballs!

Baby Turkey Meatballs

Start with 1 lb ground Turkey, then add what you have on hand. Using up some leftover veggies in my parents' fridge last night, we used 1/2 onion, 1/4 green bell pepper, 1/2 apple, 1 handful of grated carrots, 1 egg, and 5 crackers (no breadcrumbs available).

Finely dice all of the veggies, crush the crackers, break the egg, add to the turkey and mix until combined. I shaped small meatballs out of them, put in a pan and added 1 cup of water and covered letting them steam for 10 min. Then I removed the lid, added some EVOO and gently stirred to brown the outsides.

Cool, cut, and serve to baby.

Then be prepared to wipe them from her nose, hair and ears.

On another note, I'm about to iron my one-year-old child's dress. What is this world coming to?

Got jokes

Sophie's got jokes, just so you know. She has this new forced fake laugh that she does at the most random times. It also accompanies her throwing clothes or toys across the room. Hysterical. I die.

Other things that made me smile today:

1. I bought a pair of skinny jeans (insert Sophie's fake laugh that sounds more like Count Dracula).

2. I caught a glimpse of myself in a window at SP mall and realized I'd look a lot better if I had taken 4 minutes to iron out the fold marks of my pants (that have been folded in a Tupperware bin since, oh, March 2009).

3. Cooper was flat WIPED out after a day at doggy day care yesterday. He was a funny sweet boy today.

4. I was making fun of the lady in front of me in the mall (in my head) for not cutting the strings that held the nice pressed box pleat in the back of her new jacket. Then I got in the car and took off MY new jacket, and I found said strings. Ha!

5. Sophie devoured a cup of lima beans tonight. Lima beans. She never ceases to amaze.

6. My kitchen is being taken over by pink. It started in the corner by the fridge. It's spreading. Rapidly. And it will be gone after her party this weekend!

Thanksgiving at Gmom and Gdad's.

On feeding baby

All this talk about Thanksgiving and Christmas meals has got not only my stomach rumbling, but has also got me thinking about what my little Sophie will be indulging in on her first holidays. It's only now that I realized I haven't spelled out any of my favorite baby food recipes to share. My blender has never felt so loved (previous life only knew margarita mix and Tequila). I know I don't have to say it again, but all of the food I've ever made for Sophie has been organic. We use Absolute Organics delivery of fruit and vegetables to the house, and I buy organic chicken and ground beef from Costco. I even found organic turkey lunch meat at The Home Economist. I would say that in the past that I made 95% of the food she ate. Lately I'd have to change that to 75% thanks to Cheerios, Gerber puffs, and these yummy things that a friend told me about:

They are uber convenient, organic, and they make some really great flavor combinations. There are other brands that are also organic and come in these little Capri Sun-like pouches - Plum Tots is one of them. But back to cooking. The mere thought of making my own baby food made me nervous. How could I possibly make anything better than money could buy? Now, now, new mommy, what you can make at home is 100x better than store bought. Reasons to make your own baby food include but are not limited to:

• it's more fresh
• it has more nutrients
• it's less expensive
• you are in control!
• make your own combinations
• you ensure the quality of ingredients

If you are on the fence, just try it. If you feel it takes too long or the mess too big, or you just don't find it rewarding at all, then you tried. I happen to love cooking to begin with, so making Sophie's food was just as fulfilling to me as breast feeding her. There is a lot to know as far as what foods are gassy, what foods are constipating, and how to balance them all out in your baby's little belly. Sometimes it comes by trial and error. Or, you could just read a book or two for some hints! It is best to try one food at a time, waiting about three days before introducing another (you want to keep any eye out for reactions and it's easier to pin-point if they've only eaten one thing the last day or so). Once you've introduced foods on their own - get to mixing - the combinations are endless.

Without further ado, here goes some of our tried and true baby meals.

No cook purees:

Mango

Banana

Plums

Avocado

Kiwi

Peaches

All of the above easily peel, mash with a fork, thin with breastmilk, formula or water until the consistency was so that it slid off the back of the spoon. (If using breastmilk or formula, serve immediately, do not store). Sophie hated avocado - still does. I know it's a popular one for most babies though.

Now we get cookin':

Apples
Pears
Green beans
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Sweet potato
Carrot
Zucchini
Butternut squash
Spinach

All of the above were easily washed/peeled/chopped, then steamed/simmered/boiled until tender, and then pureed in the blender until smooth. Sometimes the consistency was too thick with just the fruit or vegetable which I then used the water from the bottom of the pan to thin (with the exception of carrots - too many nitrates build up in the water when steaming carrots). I would then pour the puree into my baby food cube tray and freeze. Once frozen solid, I would pop out the cubes and store in a labeled gallon Ziploc bag (inside the gallon bag I would use smaller quart bags to keep the flavors separate). Good in the fridge for about 48 hours, good in the freezer for about 6 weeks. I use these KidCo BPA free storage trays:



Chicken with Sweet Potato and Apple

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
4 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 apple (any kind), peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup chicken stock

Heath the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and cook until soft. Add chicken and saute until opaque. Add the sweet potato and apple, and pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour into blender and puree until smooth.

Her First Ground Beef

1 red pepper
2 tomatoes, peel and seeded
1/2 zucchini
1/2 lb ground beef

Roast the red pepper (or use jarred pre-roasted) over gas top flame until charred, set in a bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap for 20 minutes. Remove from bowl and peel the skin and de-seed. Steam the 1/2 zucchini and chop. Puree roasted red peppers, peeled tomatoes and steamed zucchini. While browning the ground beef, break into tiny tiny bits. Mix the vegetable puree with the ground beef and serve alone or with tiny whole wheat pasta.


Cheesy Chicken and Carrot Risotto

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato, peeled and seeded
1/2 cup brown rice
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

Heat olive oil in pan, add chicken, cooking until opaque. Add carrots and chicken stock then bring to a slow boil. Add rice and simmer until all liquid is absorbed. In a separate pan, warm tomatoes and cheese. Remove chopped chicken from the rice and carrot mixture and puree with the tomato and cheese mixture. Stir puree back into cooked brown rice and carrots.

Taking back my kitchen

A few weeks ago, a herd of fruit flies descended on my kitchen. Gross. I tried catching them with vinegar, leftover wine in a bottle with a paper funnel, a banana peel in a bowl wrapped tightly with saran wrap... nothing seemed to help. Finally, we left town for a solid three days. I cleaned the kitchen, fridge, microwave, dishwasher and sink from top to bottom, and I'm happy to say that I've reclaimed my kitchen from the grody fruit flies.

I've also resumed cooking for Bryan and I, and making Sophie some yummy yummy baby food. She loved my butternut squash soup that I modified from this recipe. I actually roasted the butternut squash for another meal a few days prior and I added about 1/4 cup of cream cheese to the finished product. Delicious.

I entered Sophie in the Baby Gap casting call. The babies were supposed to be wearing denim, here she is in her cuteness, and in one photo: her jeggings.

BUSY

I have recently given up on trying to play show tunes and classical cds - things that I like to sing along with to Sophie - and I've caved to the ditties of Leap Frog and Fisher Price. The bright side is, as Bryan pointed out to me this morning, that my mental song library should be doubling at this point (he caught me jamming out with Sophie to her Leap Frog fridge DJ: five little birdies, sittin way up high...). She has taken to bouncing and waving her arms to music, which is pretty cute in my opinion.

Yaya bought her a music table (and a hundred other things!) that sings a song about being busy and having so much to do. It made me laugh because I always say how busy Sophie is scooting around the house. She loves to crawl with toys in her hands (we call them her snow shoes) and, honestly, I could just go on and on gushing about baby girl and her tricks. Sophie gets more fun every day, we just love her so much. She still sleeps like a dream, tries new food, doesn't protest about the stroller or the car seat and I try to thank my lucky stars for having such an agreeable, loving baby girl!

I've been working to expand Sophie's ever-changing palette, and some new items she has taken to (all organic, of course!) include green peas (as puree and as finger food), ground beef with roasted red pepper, tomato and zucchini puree, and cheesy chicken and carrot risotto.

In addition to Sophie's daily busy-ness, our family has been on the go as well! I took a weekend trip with my sister-in-law to Gatlinburg sans kids, Bryan and I stayed the night in Asheville for a beautiful Biltmore wedding, we did some pumpkin hunting at a local farm, and the previous post features our trip to Florida and Alabama. Other than that, we've been enjoying wonderful Carolina weather, taking long walks, doing a little advance Christmas shopping and just enjoying life ;)

Mom and Dad's big night out, Biltmore wedding style!

Family fun on Hodges Farm in Charlotte.

Little stink, 10 months old and showing off

her two pearly whites.

So long, summer

And the bathing suits were hung by the front door with care... in hopes that the summer just wasn't quite over yet. (Soon to be replaced by stockings, mittens, toboggans.... phew!) I believe we are entering into the two weeks of the year that Charlotteans quit complaining about the weather; which I am thankful for for two reasons. 1. Fall in the Carolinas is magical and 2. I'm tired of people complaining about the weather. For me, fall equals football, festivals, winter vegetables, fires and hot chocolate, to name a few. But still, the end of Sophie's first summer is bittersweet. We checked a lot of things off of the proverbial list this summer: trips to the beach, swimming lessons, pool parties, park swings, long walks, music class, and I'm a little sad that she'll never wear those cute little swim suits again! On our last day of summer today, Sophie and I went to get a pedicure. She was a great lap baby smiling and playing with the remote for mommy's massage chair - it was a nice trip out of the house!

All good things must come to an end, so, farewell summer and hello fall! Speaking of cute little get-ups, you should see some of the steals I picked up for Sophie during this season's consignment sales around town. I got some Christmas smocks that are to die for and a pair of Chatti Patti pants from an overstock sale. Admittedly, I also picked up a little designer number for myself which will finally force me into some leggings, yes, the trend that started two years ago (sometimes I'm slow on the uptake). :) The best kept secret in Charlotte might just be the Wallace consignment sale, hosted in the basement of a sweet piece of real estate in South Park. It's not advertised, no website, pretty much word of mouth. They had some adorable clothes that Sophie will be wearing next winter, because I missed the part about all the clothes being 12mo and up. I'm also 85% sure I was shopping along side of the adopted mom of Carly from "Teen Mom."

Our furbaby Maddox is doing swimmingly well! She got her stitches out yesterday and the Dr said she looks great. For anyone who is equally obsessed with their animals as we are, click here to find out more about the TTA procedure Maddox went through. We still have six weeks of leash walks ONLY, starting at one block at a time, then four weeks of supervised off-leash-backyard-fun before being pronounced successfully recovered (12 total weeks of hell, I mean, fun).

So the dearth of blog activity in no way reflects a dearth of real life activity around the Barber household as of late. Sophie is now NINE months old and has some new stats to go with it: 18lb 4oz (48th percentile) and 28.5in tall (75th percentile). She has some new tricks, too. Her Papa very recently taught her to make a great Indian sound - using her palm over her mouth while making a sound. I don't know if I can describe it well, but you get it. She also replies to us with "Bleh!" We say one word like "Blue" she replies, "Bleh!" We say "Green," she says "Bleh!" Soph is clapping and crawling like a pro, and she loves to take two toys and hit them together AND you can find her drumming and pulling up on everything.

I'm still making all of her baby food with one exception... when I figure out to make Gerber Puffs, I will have hung the moon. New foods she is loving (all organic, of course!) - kale soup with roasted veggies, steel cut Irish oatmeal, blueberries, turkey, spinach and potatoes. She still isn't fond of avocado or peas but I'll keep trying.

Nine months... I love her more than words can say.
This is the back to school September version of her monthly pic!

Here is my peanut rocking in her great-grandmother Sophie's
rocking chair from when she was a baby!


Well, if mommy can't dance for the TopCats, at least she can dress
up her baby. (If you don't know that story, ask me some time.)



Playing in the water bowl (she wedged herself between it and the wall
so she wouldn't have to work so hard at standing and she could
focus on splashing). My girl!


A little afternoon reading. I guess clearing out the bottom shelf
just isn't enough anymore.
And, Sophie, Theresienstadt is a little mature for bedtime reading so put it back.

Organics on wheels

Really really really really excited about Absolute Organics! Just signed up for our first weekly box of USDA certified organic produce delivered free right to our door. I'm hoping this keeps me from buying the same.thing at the farmers market every.single.weekend. Will help me to try new recipes, too! The only down side is that it isn't all necessarily local produce. But the company that delivers all local produce has (obviously) less of a variety...

Anyhow I'll give it a few weeks and see how we like it! If anyone in Charlotte decides to give it a try, please put my name in the referral and then pay it forward.

Yesterday I made a giant batch of Sophie's favorite chicken dinner from my baby food cook book. The apples and sweet potatoes in it really help with that weird pureed chicken texture. And it's really good - so if I ever need my food pureed for any reason I hope someone makes it for me :)

UPDATED TO ADD::

We DO get local produce with Absolute Organics!! I'm SO excited for our first Tuesday delivery.

LOCAL tomatoes, yellow onions, lettuce, blueberries, red potatoes, white mushrooms and corn, and not local but still usda organic: kiwi, fuji apples and banana!!

Sweet Carolina 4th of July

What do Southerners do? We feed people.

I pureed my way through the weekend for the youngest palette of the bunch, making a few new foods for her eating pleasure. Pureed Champagne Mangoes, Apples with cinnamon, Organic Carrots and Broccoli, and Watermelon. **Watermelon not pictured because pureeing watermelon leaves you with... pink water... not easy to spoon feed to an infant. So the watermelon wound up being used for mom and dad in some adult bevvies.

We have an Independence Day dinner tradition that started two years ago while we stayed in a cabin in Hot Springs, NC with Maddox and Coop: Tyler Florence's doubled dipped Buttermilk Fried Chicken and cherry tomatoes with buttermilk blue cheese dressing. Heaven. I also whipped up my specialty baked brie with apricots and pecans... need a double diet week from all that goodness. Yep, I gained back the 2lbs I lost, so I guess I won't be hitting my goal this week.

In other words, Sophie's first July 4th weekend was a success. The weather was practically perfect in every way - these are the Carolina weekends we live for. We took Sophie on long walks, played in her new water spray playmat, visited the swings at the park, and went to a neighborhood cookout. What about fireworks, you ask? The babe goes to sleep at 6:30, and our pooches flip out at the sound of fireworks... so, no, none for us this year. We vaguely heard the sonic booms from the comfort of our basement though. It was great to have Bryan home for a long weekend, and I will be sad to send him off to work tomorrow. But... big trip coming up this weekend, and we're getting excited to run away for a little while!

Sophie enjoying her backyard toy that finally arrived in the mail!

Sophie en Sophie on our front porch ready for festivities!

Red, white and blue!

Me and my little watermelon at the neighborhood cookout (she only lasted an hour, alas, but our good neighbor friends brought us a plate of amazing food a little later)! Might be the only time she wears this outfit on camera, the hat is already almost too small!

Mixed bag Wednesday

Butternut squash was on the menu yesterday. I bought one at our local farmers market (the sticker proclaimed imported from Mexico, sigh) to make Sophie some baby food. One squash goes a long way, I probably made enough to feed an army of babies, plus had leftovers for butternut squash soup last night. Today, I'm tackling green beans. The kitchen shears are tucked away; I decided today to be more authentic - snapping off the ends and pulling the strings like little zippers the "country way" as my Dad would call it (I laugh because these were labeled "stringless beans" at the market). Outside I hear the police helicopter circling overhead yet again. We love our new neighborhood, which, ironically is also our old neighborhood. But Papa John's won't even deliver here because it's too "dangerous" (exhibit A: circling police 'copter).

Today is a mixed bag for me. A mixed bag of veggies from the farmers market that I still have yet to sort, excitement for the USA soccer team, and sadness for my family back in Pensacola for their loss of the beautiful white beaches where heavy oil washed ashore today and a more personal loss of a family member. One of the Brazils has left to cross the Rainbow Bridge into doggy heaven.

Little Miss Moose is the fluffy white ball of happiness in the center of the picture below. She lived to be almost 17 years (people years!) old and was the recipient of a lot of love, tummy rubs, pig ears, treats, kisses and snuggles. She will be deeply missed by the family and her litter mate Muffin who is still kickin!

Just some other pictures from the week so far to end the post on a little brighter note...

Papa and Soph in the pool at swim lessons.

Happy little swimmer in a cute towel wrap from Aunt Kristin (and Kaelin and Hannah).

Sophie in her soccer BabyLegs cheering for the USA as they advance in the World Cup!

Firsts

This has been a week of notable "firsts" around the Barber household.

First swim lesson - Sophie used her arms to get to the rubber duckies, even kicked a little! She "floated" on her back, too. Who knows what other swim skills my infant would have excelled in next. No, really. We'll never know because our first swim lesson was cut short by some toddler up-chucking in the pool.

First Kindermusik class - this was the first class we actually paid for. She loved the free class. I went to Egypt and back instead of following the GPS to class and got us there 30 minutes late, Soph missed a nap, and the only song she liked was Mama Paquita (fussed through the rest).

First trip to the gym baby-drop-off - didn't go as well as planned. Mea culpa because I went to check on her and she saw me (unbeknownst to me) and she cried hysterically as I walked away.

First trip to Target with not ONE impulse purchase. Baby steps.

First homemade baby food - apples were food of choice (partly because I bought a giant package of them from Costco and knew by Tuesday that we weren't going to be eating them all before they spoiled). And she actually liked my apples, but doesn't like the jarred apples.

How you like them apples? :)

My little swimmer happy as a clam after swim lessons!