Tips For Meatless Meals and Homemade Babyfood

Okay, so after viewing the movie Food, Inc., I told you that I'm NOT going total vegetarian. I do like meat. I just don't like to think of my meat previously wallowing in fecies, being fed something it shouldn't be fed just to make it fat, being smashed together to be killed or being pumped full of hormones and chemicals (gotta wonder what really causes cancer these days?). I'll buy organic meats and dairy from now on thanks! After pondering on cutting back on meat, I think I might join some other Americans on having a 'meatless day or two' during the week. Not only is meat expensive, but it's not that healthy for you. I found THIS ARTICLE today and it looks like a good source since it comes from the U.S. Army Medical Department. It says that the three leading killers in American people are: 'heart disease, cancer and stroke-all are related to diet.' 'Cancer is one of the most feared diseases but it is potentially preventable. At least 35% of cancers are due to dietary factors. A vegetarian diet can help prevent cancer. Studies have shown that vegetarians are nearly 50% less likely to die from cancer than meat-eaters.' (quoted from the article) It doesn't say where this statistic comes from, but as I said, this is a pretty credible source so I don't think they're just pulling numbers our of their hat. I might be able to do some more research on this.

Tips For Meatless Meals

• Instead of putting yourself through the drudgery of soaking and cooking beans, buy those canned varieties that are packed without added salt. You can also buy the regular canned beans and rinse them.
• Toss a handful of garbanzo or kidney beans into your next salad.
• Try split pea or lentil soup for a quick hearty meal. "Spice Islands" makes an instant soup which is low in both fat and sodium.
• Salsa!: Blend 4 chopped tomatoes, 2 chopped green onions, 1/2 chopped green pepper, 1 minced garlic clove, 4 CUp chopped coriander, 1/8 tsp. cumin and 4 tsp. oregano. Store overnight in the frig. Add 1 small can of drained black beans. Appetize your way through dinner with fat-free tortilla chips!
• Make a three bean salad: Drain 1 small can of garbanzo, kidney and green beans. Mix with your favorite low-fat dressing.
• Make your own burritos: Heat 1 cup of the above salsa with 1 cup of drained black beans. Add 4 CUp low-fat sour cream. Divide between 4 non-fat flour tortillas. Add 2 CUp rice to each and roll up. Place in a non-stick pan. Spread 4 CUp salsa on top. Cover with foil and heat at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Make a sauce for pasta: Saute in a non-stick pan until soft: 6 chopped tomatoes, 3 chopped green onions, 1 chopped green pepper, 1/2 cup white wine and 1 small can of drained beans. Toss with cook pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Make your own pizza with store bought pizza crust, marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, sliced peppers and mushrooms.
• Make a pot of vegetarian chill): Stir together 1 15 oz. can of drained kidney beans, 1 cup tomato puree, 1 Tbsp. of instant minced onion and 1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Top with shredded low-fat cheese and serve with french bread.


I thought I'd throw in a picture or two of some homemade babyfood. These are two dishes of peas. The top is frozen peas that I steamed and blended in my food processor (total of 8 minutes) and the bottom is of regular peas from a store-bought brand. The two taste TOTALLY different, yet they're the same thing.



Spinach...just steamed it (I do this while I'm making the older two kiddos lunch)
...threw it in the food processor (you can buy smaller versions of this. I've seen them at Home Depot for as low as $5.00 before!)

...and put it in a bowl for Norah's lunch, but put the rest in a food container for the next day.

**Just to clarify**Have my babies ever had store-bough babyfood before? Oh my, YES! I still keep some jars on hand in case we're out and about and I don't have time to make some food. Do I eat Doritos? Yes. Do I give in to soda? Yes. In fact, when we were first married and after having my firstborn, I didn't know much about nutrition at all! I always gave into the junk food because I thought it was cheaper and easier. Well, wrong! You can make healthy food. You just have to practice and so some research. It doesn't take a lot of time to make good, wholesome meals. When you first begin, it's overwhelming because you don't know where to start. As you practice, it gets to be second-nature and you can whip up something like clockwork. I'm definately no Martha Stewart and I'm still learning. Not every meal is gourmet or 100% healthy, but I try and as parents, that's all we can do. TRY to make healthy meals. Know where your food is coming from and what you're putting into your body. God tells us to honor Him with our bodies. I Corinthians 6:20 says, "You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Now, here's the kicker. You're saying, "But my kids won't eat 'that stuff' ". Yes they will. Make it the ONLY option and they'll get hungry enough to try it. Then, they'll try a little more. It might not be their favorite, but that's what's for dinner. Avonlea still picks at her food. She's definately our picky eater! She doesn't like things 'touching' or 'mixed together'. (It gets frustrating.) She likes very plain things, but our motto is to "just try it" or take a "no thank you portion". At least put it on your plate.

Alright, I have some cleaning up to do. I also realized that I haven't posted a 'Musical Monday' post in two weeks (or is it longer?). Let me see here...

We play this song during clean up time before Daddy gets home. It gets us energized, dancing and and cleaning quick!

Making Babyfood...Yum!

So I decided to try something new yesterday, making homemade babyfood. A good friend of mine (thanks Stef!) gave me this great book called So Easy Babyfood and it's by Joan Ahlers and Cheryl Tallman (see above pic). The book is really easy to read and it's packed with easy recipes on how to cook nutritious babyfood for your baby. When Avonlea was old enough to eat babyfood, I was working and VERY busy. Are you kidding? I didn't think I had time for this stuff, BUT after taking only 30 minutes to make a week's worth of babyfood yestday, I'm sure I could've found the time back then. Anyway, the book has some interesting facts:

1. When you buy processed babyfood, it's "cooked at extremely high temperatures to kill all bacteria so they can be stored in jars at room temperature" Bacteria aren't the only things killed in this process. Vitamins and nutrients are also destroyed".
2. Babyfood can also be up to three years old when you buy it on the grocery store shelf.

So, after reading these facts, I decided to give homemade babyfood a try. I bought some of the fruits and veggies the book suggested (it goes by age and tells you what is age appropriate to try from months 6-12), took them home and followed the steps in the book. Some of the fruits and vegetables I bought were:
bananas, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, a few different varieties of squash, zucchini, apples, pears, asparagus, black beans, blueberries, broccoli, carrots, corn, green beans, peas and mango.

Here are the steps:

Step 1.) buy an assortment of foods

Step 2.) peel and cut up the foods (I tried apples and pears first)

Step 3.) Steam the foods. You need a strainer that will fit over a boiling pot of water (or a steamer basket, whatever that is. I couldn't find one) and the pot needs to be covered with a lid.

Step 4.) Mash the foods to a babyfood-type texture.

Step 5.) Store the babyfood in icecube trays in your freezer and label with the food and date you made it on. (Foods are good in the freezer up to 2 months.) When you need a meal for your baby, pop it out of the icecube tray (you may need to set the bottom in hot water to defrost a bit), defrost in your microwave and serve. Yummy!

The book also suggests steaming the babyfood in the microwave. It does save time and effort. I chose to try the steaming method this time, but I might try the microwave method next time.

I guess you can even try meats and harder veggies by using a food processor. Ours doesn't work so I can't say that I've tried any of those recipes yet.

Even if your baby is older than 12 months, you could still use this idea to steam fruits and veggies so they're suitable for a toddler to eat (chunky, but steamed so it's not hard to swallow).

The book suggests that "parents who use processed babyfood spend an average of $300.00 or more on babyfood during their infant's first year of life." By making homemade babyfood, the cost goes down to an average of $55.00. (Do take into consideration that there are a few things to buy...food processor, steamer basket, ice cube trays or storage containers for the freezer... they can add up as well so don't forget to add that total to what you don't already have).

This is not to say that Lincoln will never have processed babyfood, but it is fun to make the "real stuff" and there's definately a sense of pride when feeding it to him. If I might add, he LOVES the homemade babyfood so much more than the processed. He kicks, smiles and can't get enough of it. I usually never see that responce with the other food. It's really funny to watch. =)

If anyone else tries this, let me know how it came out! I'd love to share recipes.