Baby Food Mania

Now that my vegan son is 7 months old I’m making a lot of homemade baby food. It’s healthy and full of nutrients unlike the store bought stuff sold out there. I feed my son REAL food. In my opinion the store bought jarred stuff isn’t quality food. If its able to sit on a shelf in a store for extended periods of time then its pumped with unpronounceable things I will not let my son ingest.

It’s incredibly easy to make homemade baby food. I just use what I have on hand and make sure I’m offering him a variety of yummy options. I usually bake his veggies like squash and boil or steam things like green beans. Steaming is better than boiling them in order to preserve more nutrients but when I’m in a rush I’ll boil them because its faster. I reserve some of the cooking water in case I need it when I’m blending it all up. When serving my baby his goodies I add some of his milk to his puree because he likes the added creaminess it provides.

So far my little man has tried peas, green beans, pumpkin, acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, avocado, beets, mango, cherries, carrots, sweet potato, apples and bananas. I’m sure I missed some but you get the picture. He has eaten quite a variety of fruits and veggies along with his brown rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, hemp hearts, chia seeds and coconut yogurt.

His favouite foods are pumpkin and sweet potato. I swear I can feed him pumpkin everyday and he would happily eat it up! I’ll post some of his favourite dishes below which are super easy to make. Even if your busy running around you can still manage to throw these together. The best part is once you make puree the veggies and fruit you can freeze the mixture in ice cube trays and store them in freezer bags for future use with only a few exceptions like avocado. Eat that right away! I love this idea because when I’m on the go I’ll pop a few cubes of different purees into travel containers and they defrost while I’m out doing errands. That way my vegan baby can eat healthy on the go. I just take them out 1st thing in the morning that way they have plenty of time to defrost. I also bring hemp hearts in a container with me to add to his food for extra nutrition and he loves the added taste from them.

What are some of your babies favourite foods? Let me know if you have a special way of preparing it below in the comment section. 🙂

jan-2017-071

Banana & Avocado puree

Ingredients & Tools

  1. 1 Banana
  2. 1 Avocado
  3. Blender/Food Processer

How simple can this get right? It’s the simple things they will eat up though every time!

Method

  • Just peel a banana and scoop out the flesh of an avocado and toss them into your blender or food presser.
  • Transfer to a bowl and add breast milk or formula to the mixture for added creaminess if desired.
  • Feed this mixture to your little one right away as the avocado in it will start to go brown.

*Note*

Top the mixture with Hemp Hearts if desired.

jan-2017-072

Baked Acorn Squash Puree

Ingredients & Tools

  1. 1 Acorn Squash
  2. 1 Baking dish
  3. Blender/Food Presser
  4. Optional: Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice

Method

  • Preheat oven to 350 F
  • Prepare a baking dish with about an inch of water in it. Add more later if needed during the baking process
  • Cut you acorn squash in half
  • Sprinkle with a touch of Pumpkin Spice or Pure Cinnamon if desired
  • Place flesh side down into the baking dish
  • Bake for 35 – 45 minutes depending on the size of your squash
  • Allow to cool and then scoop out the squash flesh into the blender or food processer
  • Transfer mixture to an air tight container. I like placing it into glass containers or mason jars.

* Note*

I also like adding hemp hearts to the squash mixture when serving it to my son. He loves the added flavour and texture it adds to his meal. You can also add dash of breast milk or formula to it in order to make it a little creamier.

jan-2017-021

Chia Pineapple, Mango, Beet & Banana Puree

Ingredients

  1. 2 Bananas
  2. 1/3 Cup Pineapple
  3. 1 small to medium sized cooked Beet
  4. 1/3 cup Mango
  5. 1 tbsp. Chia Seeds

Method

  • Add fruit and the beet to the blender and puree
  • Place in an air tight container or mason jar and add the chia seeds. Combine well.
  • Store in the fridge for up to 5 days

*Note*

My son loves to eat this mixture with a spoonful of unsweetened coconut yogurt with this mixture. Give it a try if your baby enjoys yogurt too.

Hope your baby enjoys this healthy grub! Even my 12 year old will ask me if he’s done with his food. She’s the clean up crew who wants to eat up all his yummy leftovers! Ha Ha!

november-2016-183

Blueberry Protein Smoothie

Blueberry Protein Smoothie!

Blueberry Protein Smoothie!

 

 

Blueberry Protein Smoothie

  • 2 cups blueberries (I use frozen most of the time)
  • 1 cup chopped cantaloupe
  • 1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder
  • 1 cup lettuce of choice
  • 2 large peaches, chopped up
  • 2 cups cold filtered water
  • 1/3 cup chopped parsley (optional)
  • Ice (optional)

 

Add the lettuce, blueberries, peach, parsley (if you’re using it), protein powder, cantaloupe and water to a blender. Blend well to desired consistency. Adjust water if you think you need to add a bit more. Add in some ice if you want your smoothie colder & blend well.

Enjoy! 🙂

 

*Below are some of the reasons why I use parsley in my cooking but also in some of my smoothies as well!*

 

 

Health Benefits Of Parsley!

Health Benefits Of Parsley!

 

Mixed Greens

Mixed Greens

 

blueberries

 

My daughter holding a perfect yummy organic peach!

My daughter holding a perfect yummy organic peach!

 

 

Green Breakfast Smoothie with Chia!

Green Chia Smoothie

 

This is one of my favourite smoothies to whip up for breakfast! Fast to make, it has simple ingredients and then it’s topped with some healthy chia!!! I use a super huge mug for this baby when I make it! 🙂

 

  • 1 large handful of spinach
  • 1 1/2 frozen bananas
  • 1 cup frozen mixed berries
  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1-2 tbsp. chia seeds (for topping)
  • a few frozen blueberries (for topping, optional)
  • a few large ice cubes if you want your smoothie to be colder (optional)
  • 1 tsp. Spirulina

 

Toss spinach, almond milk, mixed berries, spirulina and ice cubes if you’re using them into a blender. Once it’s at the consistency your happy with pour into your large glass or huge mug like I do. Top with 1-2 tbsp. of chia seeds and frozen blueberries.

 

Enjoy your energy booster breakfast smoothie! 🙂

Breakfast Green Smoothie!

I always enjoy a yummy breakfast smoothie daily. It’s the perfect way to add extra greens into our diets! I love creating new smoothies and trying different combinations of fruits and veggies. This recipe is very easy and fast to whip up so it’s perfect for hectic mornings!

 

Breakfast Green Smoothie

  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 tightly packed in cup of spinach or mixed greens of choice
  • 2 1/2 cups filtered water
  • 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
  • 1 large peach, sliced
  • 1  scoop of vegan protein powder
  • 1 tsp. Spirulina

 

Toss everything into your blender and liquefy. Check consistency and add a bit more water if needed as some protein powders thicken smoothies up more than others.

Enjoy!

 

Green Smoothie

 

Coconut Overnight Spelt Flakes

I make my overnight spelt flakes/oats very often. It makes breakfast much easier in the morning when your in a rush! Instead of having to wait for your spelt flakes/oats to cook all you would have to do is heat them up! So fast & easy! I use medium-sized mason jars to make my overnight oats because I find it’s easier to heat up in the morning. Instead of transferring the mixture into a pot I just add the jar right into a small pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. Sometimes I will scoop the warmed up spelt/oats into a bowl or a lot of times I eat it right from the jar! 🙂 You can’t get any easier than that right? In my recipe I use unsweetened milk, coconut shavings and almond butter because I want to keep everything sugar-free. I prefer not to add additional sugar other than the natural occurring sugar in the banana and optional berry or fruit topping. If you like things on the sweeter side you could use the sweetened coconut, milk and nut butter.

overnight breakfast

Coconut Overnight Spelt Flakes

You will need:

  • 1/3 Cup Spelt Flakes or Old fashion Oats
  • 1 1/4 cup Almond & Coconut unsweetened milk or milk of choice
  • 1 TBSP Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp of unsweetened sulfate free shredded coconut
  • 1 TBSP Chia seeds
  • 1 TBSP all natural unsweetened Almond Butter
  • 1/3 cup berries or chopped fruit (optional)
  • 1 medium-sized mashed banana
  • 1 TBSP chopped walnuts

Method

  1. Add 1/3 cup Spelt Flakes, Oats or a combination of both which is also really good.
  2. Mash 1 medium-sized banana with a fork in a small bowl.
  3. Throw in the 1 TBSP of cinnamon, chia seeds & 1 tsp shredded coconut.
  4. Add in the mashed banana and chopped walnuts and combine.

Coconut overnight spelt flakes

5. Next add in the 1 1/4 cup of milk

overnight coconut spelt flakes

6. Give it a good mix to combine, put the lid on and place it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning …

  • Put a small pot of water on to boil

Heating up the overnight spelt flakes

  • Place the jar right into the pot and heat it up for a couple of minutes.
  • Once it’s hot enough for your liking remove the jar from the water and your going to add the 1 TBSP of almond butter into the mixture.
  • Give it a good mix and you can add 1/3 cup fresh chopped fruit or berries into it as well if you like. I do! 🙂
  • Eat it right from the jar or transfer it into a bowl.

yummy breakfast cereal

ENJOY your healthy breakfast! 🙂