Homemade Baby Food ...Organic Deliciousness!!!

I absolutely could not wait for my little guy to turn 6 months old so we could try solid foods with him!  At first he wasn't too fond of solid food.  He didn't hate it, but he didn't love it.  So we only gave it to him occasionally.  I think the main thing is finding out what food and textures your baby likes.  I would introduce a new food to him every week and after about 2-3 weeks we found out what little mr likes LOVES to eat!

His favorites so far are avocados (a boy after my own heart), sweet potatoes, bananas, applesauce and peaches.  You definitely need to be careful with bananas and applesauce because they're very "binding" and your little one will get their first case of constipation ...like my little guy did :o(  LESSON LEARNED!!  Now I only give him bananas and applesauce once a week and I always mix it with another fruit like peaches or prunes.  Here's a nifty tip ...pretty much any fruit that starts with a 'P' will help keep your little one "regular".  So if you find that your baby is a little "backed up" feed them fruits that start with 'P' for a few days and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and that should get them back on track ;o)  Because we all know that a constipated baby IS NOT a happy baby! LoL

Ok, enough of that ...lets get down to business!

Today I spent the first part of my morning making some delicious organic baby food for Hunter!  I made peaches, plums and avocados.

Avocados are SUPER easy to make and are also a great first food for your baby!  All I do is cut up 2 avocados and put it in my magic bullet (any food processor/blender will do) and add a little bit of water.  

Then blend until smooth and creamy (adding more water if necessary).

My little taste tester was in the kitchen with me while I was making his food.

Judging by his "avocado stache" I'd say he likes it ;o) LoL

Now all you have to do is transfer it into an ice cube tray and freeze for about an hour.

Now the peaches and plums will take a little bit longer because you have to cook them.  Cut your peaches and plums in half and take the pits out.  Lay them face down on a baking sheet with an inch of water and bake them in the oven at 400° until you see the skin start to pucker (about 40 min).

(PS ...Your house will smell AMAZING after baking these yummy fruits!!  BONUS!!!)

After they're done baking, I cut each piece into 1/4 and put it in the bullet with a little bit of water.

Then blend until smooth and creamy (adding more water if necessary).

Delicious peach puree!  Seriously, this tastes amazing ...I might just make some for myself later ;o) LoL

Again, transfer into ice cube trays and freeze.

(the one plum only made 6 cubes, so if you want to make more, I would buy more than one plum)

After you're done freezing you can move them into a tupperware container and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.  Any length of time after that and your food won't have any of the good nutrients that your baby needs.  They recommend trying to use up your frozen baby food within 1 month (which isn't a problem for us the way that my kid loves his food!) to get the most nutritional value out of your food.

See, I told ya it was easy!  Now you have your very own homemade delicious baby food!  

So stop wasting your money on expensive glass jars and packages of baby food and go out and make some yourself! :o)  I hope you guys are having a fantastic week so far and Happy Friday Eve!

Summertime Favorites!

Here in Florida it's practically summer almost the entire year, which I'm sure you "Northerner's" must think is an absolute dream come true ...FALSE!!!  While it can be fun, it can also be complete torture!  Especially when your favorite season is fall and it pretty much doesn't feel like fall until January/February!  But, I digress ...here in the good 'ol sunshine state we need to be prepared (especially with a baby)!  So, I've compiled a list of some of my summertime favorites for our little guy.

one . two . three . four . five . six . seven . eight

1. Badger Chamomile & Calendula Baby Sun Cream SPF 30 ($16).  We found this little treasure at Whole Foods and saw that it was on sale so we decided to try it out.  We absolutely LOVE it!!  It provides great protection and goes on nice and thick, but it's so smooth and easy to rub in (which if you have a child, you know it's not fun trying to wrangle them down to put sunscreen on them)!  I find that I only have to apply it once every 1-2 hrs which is super nice and it smells like chamomile tea ...BONUS!!!

2. Carter's Sunglasses ($4).  I picked up these cute little sunglasses at Target (shocker)!  They don't bother Hunter at all!  He will keep these on all day without whining or trying to take them off of his face.  They are a super dark tint which is very important to protect my little guy's baby blues :o)  And you can't beat the price ...gotta love Target!

3. & 4. iExtreme Infant Rashguard ($13) and Circo Infant Boy's Swim Trunks ($8).  These super cute summertime essentials were also purchased at Target (I would seriously go there every day if I could!)

5. Baby Banz UPF 50 Adjustable and Reversible Bucket Hat ($19).  I actually received this awesome hat as part of my July Stork Stack.  They're called Baby Banz because it "Banz" the sun's harmful rays from your little one's noggin!  Talk about adorable!

6. Huggies Little Swimmers Swim Diapers ($10).  These little swim diapers are awesome!  They are super easy to get on and off and they don't bulk up and explode onto your child like regular diapers do.  I especially love to use them if we're just getting into our pool for a quick dip and don't feel like trying to pin him down to put on his swim trunks! LoL  And if you go on their website you can get a coupon to save $1!  Score!

7. Swimways Sun Canopy Float ($15). TARGET!  TARGET! TARGET! LoL  This float is just great!  Hunter fits in it perfectly and it supports him great on all sides because of how wide all the sides are!  I never have to worry about him leaning too much one way and tipping over.  It also has a removable plastic sun canopy for extra protection!  I love watching him in this float because his little legs just start kicking away and he takes off all around the pool!  He's like a little duck! LoL :o)

8. Baby Einstein Exersaucer ($90).  This was actually a "hand-me-down" from a friend.  We love to take the boat out on the weekends and this is great for the boat!  We just sit him down in it either in the boat or on the sand and it's hours of entertainment for him ...which is a nice break for this momma's arms :o)

He seriously LOVES this thing!! :o)

So what are some of your favorite summertime essentials??  I hope y'all are having a fabulous and relaxing weekend!