Sunday, April 15, 2012

Baby Food


I have been making homemade food for my baby for about a month. I started by making one or two things once a week and freezing them so I would have a good stash when it was time to start solids. Now that he is 5 months old I have started him on some solids and he has taken to it very well. He often cries when he has finished eating because he wants more since he loves it so much. He has had carrots, peas, bananas and avocado.

Cooking Directions
How to make baby food:
carrots, peeled and chopped
zucchini, chopped
peas (fresh or frozen)
apples, chopped
sweet potato, peeled and chopped
winter squash, cut and quartered
pumpkin, cut and quartered
pear, chopped

All of these are great foods to start with and can be prepared the same way.
Prepare your vegetables as stated above. For example I chopped zucchini into 1 inch pieces and cut apples into quarters.

Steam for about 10 minutes.


Blend in a blender or food processor.


Pour into Ice Cube trays to freeze. Once frozen transfer into freezer bags. Use within 3 months. Thaw in fridge or on defrost setting in the microwave.












Directions for no cook fruits and vegetables.
Cantaloupe, Cut in chunks
avocado, Cut through avocado to the pit and slice in half. Remove the pit and scoop out the rest of the fruit.
banana, peel and slice

Prepare as above. For banana and avocado simply mash. For cantaloupe blend in a blender. Scoop into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen remove cubes and keep them frozen in a freezer bag. Thaw in fridge or on defrost setting in the microwave.












Brown Rice or Barley Cereal
Put 1/4 cup brown rice or barley in a blender. Pulverize into powder like consistency. Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add brown rice or barley and simmer until water is absorbed.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

VIntage Baby Clothes to Bibs


I was given some of my husband's old baby clothes from the 70's. A few of the outfits I could use but many were just too "vintage" looking for me to have my son (born 34 years later) wear.

Rather than let the clothes go to waste or boxing them up for storage I re purposed them into bibs (after getting permission first)

Here are directions on how to turn old baby clothes into bibs. My tutorial shows a one piece outfit but shirts can be used following the same directions. (Note that the outfit I used had snaps at the shoulder. I made these part of the bib strap. If an outfit does not have these buttons the collar can stretch over baby's head without needing to add buttons or Velcro.)

1. Cut off the arms.


















2. Cut along the bottom to shape the bib. If using a T-shirt you can skip this step unless you want the shape of a bib.


















3. Turn over and cut out bib strap. This is done by cutting straight across the back of the outfit making the band as thin or thick as you want.


















4. Turn inside out and stitch along bottom of the bib and arm holes. If using a T-shirt there is no need to stitch along the bottom unless you want your bib to be curved.


















5. Turn right side out and pin the fabric over along the back and stitch.



















6. Pin around strap and stitch. I used a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying but a straight stitch would work too.













Here is what the finished bib looks like as well as some others I made.