Earth Mother I am not!

Nothing clears my mind quite like cooking a tasty meal. However, at the same time, nothing annoys me more than following a recipe to a T. It was the realization that unless I was baking (which I don't tend to do), I by no means had to be a slave to a recipe, that made me start cooking far more than I used to.

Since having Cameron, we've put more effort than usual into eating well-balanced, nutritious meals & serving him a wide variety of foods in hopes that he will have a very open mind when it comes to eating. So, having said that, you would think I would have been able to come up with some interesting baby food recipes, but I haven't. I never saw the point in pureeing my own fruits & veggies since the Gerber food we buy has zero additives. Also, most days Cameron ends up eating exactly what we're having, cut into finger foods, so I never saw the need to make anything else.

Until recently, that is! Some work days we're so busy that we don't eat dinner until after Cam goes to sleep & he ends up eating only oatmeal blended with fruits & veggies on those days. That got me looking for some foods with a bigger nutrition bang which led me to some ideas on a blog I follow; My Charming Kids. I take very little credit for these creations since they were inspired by MckMama. There were no exact instructions, so I got creative & fumbled my way until the end product was what I had envisioned.

Both mixtures were put into ice cube trays until frozen & transferred to a zip-lock bag for storage.

Here are the 2 recipes I whipped up today... I may not have come up with the ideas, but I did create the names!

Poo Poo Pops!
Named for their high fiber content

-Dried kidney beans
-Fresh spinach
-Old fashioned oats
-Plain yogurt, 24oz container
-2 hard-boiled eggs
-Prunes
-Olive oil

I chose to go with dried vs. canned kidney beans for their lower sodium content of 20mg vs. 340mg per serving. I re-hydrated the beans the quick way by bringing them to a boil & removing them from the heat & allowing them to sit, covered for one hour (I also reserved the cooking water). When they were tender, I popped them into the food processor with a handful of fresh spinach, a good sprinkle of the oats, the entire container of yogurt, the 2 eggs & a handful of prunes. I ran the food processor, adding the reserved water from the beans & a short stream of olive oil as needed until it formed a thick, porridge-like consistency.

The name may be deceiving as the end product actually tasted very good; the prunes added a hint of sweetness. I plan to use this in place of Cam's oatmeal & mix it with his Gerber fruit.




This is what the end product looked like

Pea Pea Pops!
Named for their main ingredient.. split peas!

-Dried split peas
-Water

Grind the peas (I used my coffee grinder) into a fine powder & add to a pot & cover with water. Keep additional water close at hand & continue to add as needed while simmering at a low-medium heat until tender. I also plan to blend these with Gerber fruit when Cam is ready to eat.