Recipe #139: Chicken Noodle Soup

So I made this soup for Alex, who was not feeling great this weekend! He eats almost all foods now, which is why I haven't posted many recipes for him lately! This was a quick chicken noodle soup I made for him, I didn't add so many spices and such because I wanted to keep it basic for him, but he seemed to appreciate it!

You need:

1 chicken breast

macaroni noodles (or another of your choice)

carrots

corn

oregano

parsley

low sodium chicken broth

• boil chicken in water
• shred chicken and return to water
• add carrots and a shake or two of oregano and parsley
• allow to boil for a while. add corn and macaroni
• I added extra broth at end because the macaroni absorbed a lot of water!

I actually took out the broth and put it in a cup so he could drink it up! :) he ate the rest with his fingers once it cooled down!

More adventures in baby food!

Wow, Alex's food tastes continue to grow!
Here are some things we have been trying:

Nice finger foods like fruit.

The pieces definitely are getting bigger so Alex can grasp it better.

chunks of banana...

 until he decides it would be fun to mush in his fingers or throw on the floor

My sweet potato fries were also a hit with Alex. He thought he was big stuff eating it with me!

Also cheerios. The boy could eat those all day!

As far as baby food I have tried a couple new things with him...

• pumpkin...easiest thing ever. open a can of pumpkin puree and serve! I froze most of the can so that I could take out the portions I wanted later
• potato. Heat up about 4-5 potatoes ( i used red) in the microwave for about 8 minutes. Peel off skin and then mash up. Freeze what you don't use. 

I mixed both of these with foods he had already tried, he's ate it up!

• squash (yellow): Today i took some leftover grilled summer squash. added about an 1/8 cup of water and pureed it up. Alex love it. He wanted to lick out the bowl! :)

I need to get one of those baby food grinders so we can be ready for when he starts eating more meat! 

Baby Food: Zucchinis!

Well it has been almost a month since Alex first started eating zucchini, I just haven't had time to post about it! One day I realized I needed to finish up some zucchini before it got to old, so I decided to let Alex eat some too. I went to my trusty guide to baby food found here, which is where I got the idea in the first place. It is, as making any baby food is, really quite easy.

I used about 3 zucchinis. Chop off the stem, cut in half and then cut each half into long, thin pieces.
Cover with some water and then let boil until they are really soft.
Transfer to the mini food processor with about a 1/4 cup of water. puree until there are no chunky pieces.
Put in trays and freeze!

i think he liked it!

The zucchini puree is really watery. I usually mix one cube of zucchini with one of carrots or sweet potato to give it a little more thickness.

Baby food adventures continue!

Making my own baby food is a lot easier then I thought! It is a great way to use up extra veggies. One night we had a sweet potato left over so into the mini food processor it went and in a couple minutes I had another tray of baby food to freeze for Alex! The picture of the trays can be found here. Once frozen I transfer them to a big ziploc bag because it is easier to store and then when i need some food for the next couple of days I put two (which equals about 2 ozs) in little rubbermaid containers and they defrost in the fridge. You can also microwave it for about 10-15 seconds.

So very easy! Anyways, I had some leftover carrots after starting the roast so I went ahead and made up another batch of carrots for Alex because I had finished up the stash in the freezer.

Fill a pot with water and put a steamer basket inside. Water should not touch the steamer. I used about 7 carrots chopped up. Steam until very soft. Once finished add to the food processor with about a 1/2 cup water and puree until you have reached your desired consistancy. You may need to add a bit more water depending on how soft (or not!) your carrots are! Put in your trays and you are done! One thing i have noticed with carrots is that it is easier to get big chunks left so be sure to steam them long enough so they are soft enough!

They smell deliciously sweet, I am sure they will be a big hit with your little one! 

Recipe #13: Applesauce

There is nothing so wonderful as eating a warm bowl of homemade applesauce-- Especially in the fall! I think it epitomizes the crisp fall air and the feeling you get when you get to pull out your warm sweater for the first time. BUT, currently it feels nothing like that! Bummer, I love fall.
I had a couple of left over apples though so I decided to use them to make some apple sauce/puree for Alex. So it technically is being used as a baby food, but I am going to go ahead and write the recipe anyways, because I did enjoy several delicious bites!

You need:
12 apples, cored and sliced into thin pieces. I use Fuji because they are so sweet and they are the best. I think we will be eating fuji apples in heaven! :)
1/4 cup water, and more to add as you cook.

(For Baby Food: I used probably 5 apples and ended up adding quite a bit of water, I would say maybe like 2 and 1/2 cups to keep it from burning in the pot.)

Add the apples and water to the pot. (I used a medium sized sauce pan because I was not doing as much.)
Boil the apples until done. It will take probably at least an hour. Stir occasionally. Add water as needed to make sure it doesn't stick to the sides or burn. You can decide how chunky or smooth you want your apple sauce to be!
(For Baby Food you can also go a step further and puree the apple sauce to make sure no big chunks are left)

The end result: wonderful, warm, sweet apple sauce (no sugar is needed)! Can you see the steam rising from this deliciousness?

Adventures in baby food

Alex is loving solid foods and boy does he eat! So far he eats his rice cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes and squash with gusto. :) Instead of having Alex eat us out of house and home (which I know he will do!), I decided to go the homemade route after his initial tastes, and it is SO much fun! :) I guess I am a nerd that way. The other day I steamed some carrots, added some water and pureed those, then today I microwaved some sweet potatoes for 8 minutes, added water, and pureed away!
In under 20 minutes I made enough sweet potato puree to last a good two weeks! Here it is in my nifty freezer trays. After they freeze up I transfer them to a ziploc bag so I can use the tray for other items! :)
My go to book is The Best Homemade Food on the Planet. It is such a fun book. Can't wait to use it more! More baby food adventures to be posted as Alex starts to experience the wonderful world of REAL FOOD! :)