6 steps to fool proof baby food :)

October 15, 2013August 7, 2016Leave a comment

Aidan is officially on solids for about two months now and eats pretty well (read: wrestles spoon from me and spits food in my face less now) Apart from the rice cereal he started on I have been making all his baby food from scratch, which means I know exactly what he gets in and I’m saving loads of money …

1 jar of butternut baby food (two feeds) = Around 8 rand
1 butternut (makes about 16 servings) = Around 8 rand

I suck at maths but even I can see that this is a great plan
– and when it comes to convenience I just pop frozen baby food into a handy lil container and off we go, it defrosts during the day and lunch time we are ready to go 🙂 (he has had food from jars but that is usually bought by a grandparent or by us when we forget his food at home)…

My basic method is
1. Chose food (butternut, apple, pear, carrot – for starters then get more adventurous as you go along)
2. Prepare food (peel, chop, core, that sorta thing)
3. Cook (steam, boil, bake, depending on food in question)
4. Blend (pretty self explanatory, stick in blender and wizzzzz)
5. Freeze in ice-cube tray (you could use little containers but I found this the easiest)
6. Pop out blocks into airtight container and use when needed 🙂 (lasts in freezer for about 3months)

For info about how to know your baby is ready to eat or what to feed at what age group and so on and so forth, go to the following site it is a real life saver: http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/pureebabyfoodandstore.htm

Snappy chappy

October 14, 2013Leave a comment

It occurred to me that although I LOVE taking photos especially of young kids (in a non-freaky way) I haven’t taken pictures of Aidan, quite silly really that I haven’t (all my stalker mommy camera pics aside) So this weekend, before heading out to lunch with “my boys” I perched Aidan on our stoop and took a few pictures with his aunt/my sister standing close-by as he sits very well but has this weird tendency to just throw himself back at random times. Aidan ended up picking up a stick from the ground and trying to stick it in his mouth…(as seen in picture) he can not be trusted this little one.

Anyway the point is, Aidan was happy to play model for me and this is the result

J Happy Monday all

Guilt free frozen treats…nom nom nom

October 10, 2013August 7, 2016Leave a comment

Summer time comes with all these delicious tempting snacks , but as I want to be getting smaller not bigger I have had to look into low cal frozen desserts here are my faves, some trusted and others I’m hoping to try out this summer:

One of my favourite things to do as a daily treat, yes DAILY 🙂 is FROZEN YOGURT but I sorta sneak it into my diet by using low fat or fat free yogurt cups (those small ones that come in six). When I get to work in the morning I pop it in the freezer and by lunch time I have frozen yogurt, no fuss and healthy as it’s really just your everyday yogurt, but wayyyyyyy better . . . .

pic:goodlifedietitians.blogspot.com

My friend got me onto FROZEN GRAPES, and I’m hooked!!! Even though grapes are not the most diet friendly fruit, all that sugar and what not-It’s still waaaaaaay better than store bought snacks and make a fun party treat if you put them on a skewer. Basically just stick in freezer, it’s THAT easy

pic:accidentalhostess.com

BANANA BITES are a great idea too even without covering them in chocolate, personally I just cut it up and stick in freezer making sure they don’t touch and then snack away, this one will be great for Aidy this summer (would just make bigger portions for choking) The picture comes from a recipe where they first spread banana bites with peanut butter then cover in melted choc before popping in freezer

nomnomnomblog.com

The following are recipes I found online and I’m dying to try out:

Black Berry Iced Tea Pops (from chroniclebooks.com)
Makes 6 to 8 pops
This pop tastes like fruit and iced tea, all at once. If you like, add 3 or 4 fresh mint leaves to the tea when brewing it.
1 cup blackberries (about 6 ounces)
2 cups strong black tea such as Darjeeling or Earl Grey, cooled
5 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
In a blender, puree the blackberries until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing the pulp with a flexible spatula to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the solids. Whisk in the tea, sugar, and lemon juice until well combined.
Pour the mixture into ice pop molds and insert sticks. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
To un mold the pops, run hot water over the outsides of the molds for a few seconds, then gently pull the sticks.

Nutella Popsicles (from rumkihn.com)

Ingredients
1 cup of Nutella
6 Bananas

That’s it. You can add cinnamon or cocoa powder if you want but it isn’t needed. Throw the two ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend till very smooth. Pour into Freezer safe container (or Popsicle forms, I recommend small, the ones I used hold a little over 1/3 cup). Impatiently wait for it to freeze then devour.

6months!!! Whoop Whoop!

October 8, 20131 Comment

Aidan is now a 6month old! Wowzer! Sadly my update comes with only this bad quality pic…I blog from my phone which has decided to opt out of doing anything helpful…As dying when someone takes a pic, is not helpful

Here is this month’s catch up;

APPEARANCE: Aidan is a big boy with wavy/curly hair that is loooong in some places and nonexistent in others. His eyes seem to be a dark hazel that changes and he is looking a lot like my dad these days, well a mix of his dad and mine

PERSONALITY: He is such a delight this child, always laughing and chatting and wanting to play (most games end with toy get into my mouth) He is quite “empathetic” and cries if any other baby cries. He moans after toys sometimes and wants to just touch EVERYTHING!!! Its becoming increasingly difficult to hold him

ROUTINE: He is awake much of the day now and if he is not racing around in his walker, throwing things off his high chair or trying to crawl, shame he really wants to crawl but cant seem to get arms and feet going at the same time

LOVES: Activity, and people and chatting and touching everything , we are baby proofing like crazy now

DISLIKES: Bed time and being restricted

MOM: Can’t believe her luck J

Poof there went my holiday…

October 7, 2013Leave a comment

The moms and babas, from left: Busi and Lilitha (Lilli and Aidan share a birthday),Me and Aidan, Carmen and Jayce, Lyndall and Gia, Leigh and Jude, Bonnie and Ethan, Tarryn and twins Jesse and Joel…Host of the event, Robyn, infront with her twins Blake and Riley – Members, Vuyo(baby Yongama), Adele (baby Gabriel) and Danielle (baby Maison) could’nt make it 🙁

See my cute pictures J It’s from the first annual Mommy Group get together-The Mommy Group has been such a great help, right from the start when Aidan struggled to latch and I was up all hours of the night (hahaha as if I’m not up all hours now) until now when even I have the occasional bit of advice to share. The group was the social media brainchild of Carmen (see group picture) and has certainly grown from strength to strength…We have been really lucky to all click and the chats, albeit for support and advice, can really leave you LAUGHING OUT LOUD!!! – THANX GUYS YOU ARE JUST THE BEST

That being said life is back to normal today, back at work, back at gym and back to eating healthy – I was actually pretty good the week though, after I gained weight instead of lost at last weigh in and other people got badges for loosing 5kgs, I got sad because I like to win (I’d actually love to lose in this instance) so I’ve tried to be better . . . Any who turns out I could never be a stay at home mom, would rather opt for half days because Aidan is anti-sleep activist who runs on batteries that need 5min recharge, sheesh! Never thought I’d say this but work seems less stressful than watching a baby, hehehe. It was great though, we went for walks, played in the park and just hung out, sad how much you miss when you don’t get to be with them all day every day…But hey gotta work and buy those nappies, hehe

Wishing all of you the best week ahead J

Happy Monday all

September 30, 2013Leave a comment

I finally get it! When I was very little (4-5 maybe) my parents used to play this game with us “lets see who can stay quiet the longest” or “whoever falls asleep first wins”and I FINALLY GET IT!
My understanding of this game came early this morning when Aidan woke me by sticking his feet in my mouth (I’m on leave and thought if he slept in bed with me this morning he would sleep longer-no such luck!)
Having a baby has made me appreciate ME TIME soooo much more, like even posting this is taking waaaaay longer than it should cos Mr man keeps finding things to stick in his mouth and by the smell and sound of things is going to need a nappy change, 5 minutes ago.
Funny thing is even though i now watch TV “if I’m lucky”, just had to fight for ownership of my laptop, wipe puke off a particularly intricate toy and explain to 5month old why he cant stick his hand into [what used to be] a small tear in our leather couch and rip it bigger [like he has been] I’m happier than ever!!!

What he pretends to be like, all sweet and angelic

But really! a busy body of note

HAPPY MONDAY AL!!!!

Just Ella Bella