Keep Well Chicken Orzo Soup

LOVE.  LOVE.  LOVE.  LOVE.  This.

There are no words for how this soup aromatically fills the air in our home and soothes my soul.  Ladle after ladle full and we never tire of this--it has made it to the short list in the cold months.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1 tablespoon flour
  4 garlic cloves
  8 cups chicken stock (From here--Crockpot Chicken and Stock)
  2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (From here--Crockpot Chicken and Stock)
  4 cups chopped kale, stems removed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 Tablespoons fresh, chopped rosemary
• 3 Tablespoons fresh, chopped parsley
• 3 Tablespoons fresh, chopped thyme
• 2 cups small, dry pasta--orzo

Steps

1. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute about 5 minutes until softened. 
3. Add garlic and flour stirring constantly for 1-2 more minutes until fragrant.
4. Add chicken stock, chicken, and kale.
5. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes until flavors are combined and veggies are tender.
6. After the soup has fully simmered, Stir in salt, pepper, rosemary, parsley and thyme.
7. Cover and begin to cook pasta until al dente.
8. IMMEDIATELY after pasta is al dente, drain and add to soup (if you let the orzo sit it gets clumpy and soaks up all the water-yuck)
9. ENJOY THE DELICIOUSNESS

Tip:  Chop the veggies the night before serving and refrigerate until ready to use!

Timing:  Little Juliette had this at a few days shy of 8 months coarsely chopped up.  I added extra steamed carrots for her to make it thicker and easier to spoon feed her.  For a child to self feed this, I would say 18 months depending on how well they self feed.

Difficulty:  2 of 5.  As far as soups go, this is pretty easy.

Epicutie Rating:
Little Joy, Asher and Juliette:  Yummy in the Tummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Extra carrots for Little Juliette's Soup

Pre Chopped Veggies

Little Juliette's Soup to be Chopped

Chopped and ready for her!

SHE COULD NOT GET ENOUGH!  She kept signing more as soon as the food hit her mouth!

Little Joy and Asher had smile face toast with their soup---the face is Bell Pepper :)

Crockpot Whole Chicken and Stock

 I have a huge back log things to post, maybe one day I will catch up!

This is a regular thing at our house these days because it is quick and easy and inexpensive.  I can get whole chicken for .95/lb; we use it in four ways:

• First Day:  Whole chicken in the crock pot served as chicken with some sides such as "Buttered" Noodles and steamed green beans.
• Second Day:  Homemade Stock and Chicken Noodle Soup--I have two recipes for this now:  Classic Chicken Noodle Soup and Keep Well Chicken Orzo Soup
• Third Day:  Chicken Avocado Quesadillas
• Later:  I use remaining stock in other soups or in rice

Our favorite "way" we use it is in Soup and as Stock!


Ingredients for CHICKEN

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 onion
• Rosemary sprigs
• Lemon cut in half
• Apple chunks
• 1 large chicken

Steps for CHICKEN

1. Combine the dried spices in a small bowl.
2. Loosely chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Remove any giblets from the chicken and stuff the cavity with lemon, apple and rosemary.
4. Rub the spice mixture all over. Be sure to put some of the spices inside the cavity and under the skin covering the breasts.
5. Put prepared chicken on top of the onions in the slow cooker, toss a few rosemary sprigs on top, cover it, and turn it on to high. There is no need to add any liquid. 
6. Cook for 4 – 5 hours on high (for a 3 or 4 pound chicken) or until the chicken is falling off the bone. 
7. Leave all the juices from the chicken in the crock pot so you can make the easiest stock EVER overnight

 Ingredients for STOCK

• Bones and onion from above (remove all the chicken from the bones)
• Carrots
• Celery
• Salt
• Pepper
• Water

Steps for STOCK

1. After eating the chicken and removing the meat from the bones place the bones back into the crockpot
2. Break up the carrots and celery by hand into large chunks--no need to cut or peel!
3. Fill the crock up with water
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Turn to low and allow to simmer over night--We usually eat the whole chicken with sides for dinner then I make the stock overnight.  The next morning I remove the lid and crank it up to high until noon to concentrate the flavor some---this is optional.  The stock is ready the next morning.
6. DONE!  You can refrigerate the stock for several days or freeze it---I use it right away in a soup!

My stock the next morning

Timing: 7/8 Months; The chicken is super soft.  If you are uncomfortable offering it as a finger food pulse it in a food chopper for a few seconds.

Difficulty:  2
of 5--for what you get in return on making this, its EASY!

Epicutie Ratings

• Little Joy:  Somewhat Yummy--They eat the chicken just fine, but at the end of the day she could take or leave it.
• Little Asher:  Somewhat Yummy--He loved this the first few times it was served but now as with many things he tries to exert his will.  He lollygags but eventually eats it.
• Little Juliette:  Yummy in the Tummy--Much like her big sister, this girl loves all kinds of food.

Raw Green Applesauce

I know that I have yet to post on Green Smoothies as I promised and as my penpal reminded me , but I sat down to do it and realized that it was going to be much more involved than I had originally thought… and I just have not had the time. I wanted to try a few new recipes before I do that big post, but while I was searching I found this recipe at RawFamily.com. I love raw recipes! Its not a movement that I see myself joining, but raw usually translates to “easy” and “healthy” and I need to start frequenting more raw recipe websites and cookbooks!
Anyway, I found this recipe and I had to try it! It was just what a raw recipe should be – easy, fun. I enlisted the help of Little Frances to help me make it! Its so fun to have extra hands in the kitchen as our epicuties get bigger!
Ingredients:

• 4 apples
• 1 banana
• 2 to 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• up to 2 cups water

Steps:

1. Chop apples into pieces, removing the core.
2. Place half the water and the rest of the ingredients together in a blender or a food processor.
3. Blend/process!
4. Add more water if needed until you reach desired thickness.

Yield: 3 cups
Storage: This can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. In the fridge, I would recommend no longer than 2 or 3 days since it is a raw recipe.
Difficulty: 1 out of 5. Easy, like most of the recipes I post on here.
Timing: 8 months. This is about the average age for introducing greens to small babies from what I can find.  Some recommend earlier, some recommend later. If you have concerns, speak with your pediatrician.
Miscellaneous: Our applesauce turned out a little brown since I had bought a pre chopped and rinsed salad kit that contained both red and green romaine lettuce. I also made the mistake of adding all of the water at once so it came out a little more soupy than saucy!  I recommend starting with a more conservative amount of water and adding as desired.
Epicutie Ratings (see left side of the page for ratings):
Little Frances: Somewhat Yummy! Little Frances’ enthusiasm may be due to the fact that she helped make it but she seemed to like it. It lost her interest after a while.

Little Elizabeth: Yummy in the Tummy! I failed to take a picture of Little Elizabeth, but she has loved it all three times she has eaten it!

Tofu Nuggets with Dipping Sauce

Admittedly, I am running low on good finger foods for Little Asher.  At first he was all about finger foods and gobbled them up then recently he has gotten lazy and just wants to be fed.  Awkward age I suppose.  He did seem to really like these as did Epicutie veteran Little Joy.  My husband and I both like them, they taste every similar to a chicken nugget with slightly less flavor on the "meat".  This was adapted from a recipe on wholesomebabyfood.com

Ingredients (Nuggets):

• 1/2 package firm tofu
• 1/8-1/4 cup flour (more or less)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup fine dry bread or cracker crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• A few grinds of pepper

Steps (Nuggets):

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cut tofu into whatever size/shape you would like (perhaps fun shapes for toddlers)
3. Spread flour on a small plate or flat dish. 
4. Beat egg yolk in a shallow dish. 
5. Mix remaining ingredients in shallow dish. 
6. Coat each piece of tofu in the flour to cover, then into the egg, then crumbs, and then to a baking sheet.
7. Chill for 30 min to an hour to set the coating (you can just bake right away if you want this isnt a totally necessary step).
8. Bake 15-20 minutes until crisp.

Dipping Sauce:  I used peach puree.  For my 10 month old I dapped a little on each nugget and for my 2 year old I gave her a little dab on her plate to dip from.  I made the peach puree too (I will have to post about that later).

Storage:  I did not try to freeze them but I imagine it would freeze well and could be thawed and reheated in the toaster oven.  I kept mine in the fridge for about 4 days before it was used up.  I reheated in the toaster oven.

Timing:  8-10 months; these are very soft but watch your little one because they may try to swallow them whole depending on the size you cut them.

Difficulty: 2 out of 5.

Epicutie Rating (see left side of page for rating descriptions):

Little Joy:  Somewhat Yummy; She liked it but I would not say she ate it with her usual zesto.  Course she is a 2 year old and most 2 year olds do not enjoy change.

Little Asher:  Yummy in the Tummy; I had to make Little Asher slow down because he was not chewing well enough.  He had them several times before they were all eaten up.

Lovely Lentil Stew

This is another great one from Dr Joel Fuhrman.  Its probably the easiest family food I’ve made, and can be eaten at as young as 8 months (as long as you leave out the pepper)!

Items:

• 1 cup lentils
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped

Steps:

1. Cook lentils in water for 30 minutes with onion, pepper, and basil.
2. Add tomatoes and celery and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Difficulty: 1 out of 5!  Its so easy and only takes one pot, my kind of dish!

Timing: 8 months.  I would leave out the pepper and add it later if serving to children under 1 and using it as a family good.

Epicutie Rating: (See left side of the page for descriptions) Somewhat Yummy.  Little Frances ate this like a champ, but I wouldn’t say that she loved it.  For the record, mom and dad liked it pretty well for such a healthy food with no salt added!

Tofu Bites

Tofu is full of protein so I like the idea of eating it, but even after all the time I spent in China--I still do not love it.  However, just because I do not love a food does not mean I should push my preferences off on my epicuties; my worst food nightmare could be my children's delight.  It is my responsibility as a parent to provide them opportunities to experience new things (including food) even if my personal preference is against it (i.e. tofu, cheerleading for Addison, football for Caleb, brussel sprouts, peas, tatoo artistry, etc, you follow me).

Here is a simple way to serve up tofu as a finger food.  It is a great food as an early finger food (particularly those without many teeth like Little Asher) because its super soft.

Ingredients:

• Firm tofu
• Dusting of your choice (crushed graham crackers, cherrios or infant cereal; wheat germ, etc.)

Steps:

1. Crush your dusting in a ziplock bag.
2. Cut tofu into cubes or shapes of your choice.
3. Place tofu in ziplock bag and shake until well coated.
4. Serve immediately, discard left overs.

Difficulty:  1 out of 5; super easy, no cooking

Timing:  8 months; Some books say 6-9 months for tofu so I suggest somewhere in the middle around 8 months.  It is soft so it does not require any teeth.

Storage:  Storage any left over tofu according to the package instructions, however I would not save any leftovers of this food.  It seems like the dusting would get mushy--yuck!

Tip:  I would air on the side of too much dusting at first.  I think my children did not like it because it was too lightly dusted.

Epicutie Rating (see left side of page for rating descriptions):

Little Joy (2 years):  Sour Puss; she was a great sport.  She TRIED her hardest to like it but she just did not enjoy it; poor thing.  She rarely turns her nose up at a food so I felt bad she hated it so!

Little Asher (9 months):  Sour Puss; he tried several bites and his face got more and more sour.  It was a texture thing I believe.

HAHAHAHA!

HAHAHAHA!

I AM TRYING MOMMY!

Basic Spinach Puree

When Little Joy was around 12 months, I started looking for anything and everything I could make that was iron rich.  Since she was not formula fed, by the time she was 12 months her iron levels were slightly low.  Spinach was a obvious solution, but as I read about spinach I had no idea it was not only iron rich but also calcium and vitamin A rich too!  Basic Spinach Puree is super easy!!!

NITRATE WARNING:  Homemade spinach should be used in moderation before the 8 months of age.  And DO NOT USE ANY WATER used in cooking the spinach to thin your puree.


Ingredients:

• Spinach (washed, long stems removed and damaged leaves removed)

Steps using a steamer:

1. Place spinach in steamer
2. Steam for 15 minutes
3. Allow to cool slightly
4. Remove from steamer and place in pureeing device
5. Puree to desired consistency adding fresh water or breast milk to thin as needed
6. Serve warm
7. Freeze using cube method or refrigerate  

Steps without a steamer:

1. Steam in a pot with a steamer basket insert (water should just peek through the holes of the basket).
2. Leaves will shrink and appear wilted when done.
3. Remove from pot and place in pureeing device
4. Puree to desired consistency adding fresh water or breast milk to thin as needed
5. Serve warm
6. Freeze using cube method or refrigerate  

Storage:  Using freezer cube method 1-2 months; refrigerator 2-3 days

Timing:  8 months

Difficulty:  1 out of 5

Epicutie Rating:  Little Joy never had plain spinach puree, but when Epicutie Asher tries it, we will review it!!

CRAZY about Cauliflower

Cauliflower, like butternut squash, is something that I had never made before I started making my own baby food.  And also, like butternut squash, its has become a staple in our house.  It has a great mild flavor, and tastes great as a puree mixture or just steamed with some season all.

Cauliflower is jam packed with vitamin C, and is also a great source of Vitamin K, folate, and dietary fiber, and its also very low in calories for the mama’s out there trying to lose that baby weight!

Because cauliflower is so mild is flavor; it blends well in other foods without even tasting it.  I primarily give it to Little Frances in the following foods:

• Mixed with eggs
• Mixed with mashed potatoes
• Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cauliflower, you can also use frozen cauliflower florets

Steps:

• Cut the florets from the base of the cauliflower.
• Steam for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender.  If frozen, steam for approximately 18 to 20 minutes.
• Puree in a food processor or blender, add water as needed to help it blend.
• Store in baby food jars (approximately 1/2 cup per jar) or ice cube trays (approximately 1 oz per cub).

Yield: 1 cauliflower will yield approximately 2 1/2 cups of puree or 20 oz.

Timing: Wholesome Baby Food recommends that you introduce this at 8 months although you may introduce it earlier.  It can cause gas in some babies with sensitive tummies.

Difficulty: 1 out of 5

Epicutie Rating: Confused. ---See right side of the page for descriptions. Little Frances will usually eat a few bites of this, but she definitely prefers it blended with other foods.

And if while you are making this, you think… hrmmm, it would sure be nice to have a Fancy Kitchen Aid food processor to help me when making all of this yummy cauliflower puree!  Well you have a chance to win one!

For a donation of ANY AMOUNT (even $1), you can be entered to win a 13 cup Kitchen Aid Processor!  For details, click here:

• http://littletummyyummies.blogspot.com/2011/11/help-kai-and-win-13-cup-kitchen-aid.html

Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Nuggets

I have been posting a number of recipes lately that have iron rich foods as main ingredients and this is one of them. Broccoli is high in fiber, vitamin C, iron and much much more! For more nutritional information on broccoli, check out wholesomebabyfood.com's information on Broccoli. Broccoli has a very strong flavor, but this recipe seems to tone down the strong flavor to me. If your little one does not like this at first, try it several days in a row at the noon meal (maybe 4 days in a row), take a several day break and then repeat. I will write more on testing new foods in another blog post one day :)

Overall Review: I sampled this food like I do most when I offer it to Little Joy...and I loved it. I might to make these for my husband and I too next time!! I think the texture (somewhat crispy) took Little Joy slightly off guard at first. This makes a great finger food OR food to use with a fork. I had a bit of trouble getting the right ratio, but honestly you just have to eyeball somethings. I halved the recipe that follows.

Ingredients:

• 1 16-oz Package frozen broccoli, cooked, drained, and chopped
• 1 cup seasoned/Italian bread crumbs
• 1 ½ cups REAL shredded cheddar cheese (I used medium cheddar)
• 3 large eggs or 5 egg yolks (If eggs are in a baked good you do not have to worry about it as much, but if your little one is less than a year are not sure what to do ask your pediatrician or use the yolks only)
• Spices of your choice (garlic, basil, etc--I did not add any this time since I know the bread crumbs I purchase have lots already in them)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside (I used a silpat)
3. Combine all ingredients and mix well. *Add seasonings if you like - garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example. Add a fruit or veggie puree to substitute for the eggs if desired.
4. Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..and place on baking tray.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes.
6. Serve warm - Chop or mash these broccoli nuggets if your baby isn't able to handle bigger finger foods.

Yield: 16 with the half to 3/4 of the recipe.

Serve: Serve warm and mashed up, cut up into bite sized finger food pieces OR if your baby is older give them the whole nugget for them to bite off themselves.

Timing: 8-10 months since broccoli has a strong flavor AND tends to cause gas. If your little one has any tummy issues as mine did, you may want to introduce broccoli later rather than sooner. Be sure to watch your baby carefully as they eat this if they do not have molars. Using this as a finger food is, in my opinion, for the more experienced finger food eater. Even though Little Joy does not have molars, she has demonstrated an ability to (most of the time) bite off small bites from larger foods. I gave this to her as a finger food and also gave her half a nugget to gnaw on. ALSO, she used her fork to pick these up and had a big time!!!

Difficulty: 2 out of 5; simply because it is messy when you make the nugget shapes :)

Epicutie Rating: Yummy in the Tummy---see right side of page for descriptions

Little Joy made a few funny faces with the first bite, but ended up eating two nuggets for lunch!! This was not the first time she had broccoli, we had to try broccoli about a dozen times prior to this before she liked it. Remember...you must preserve!

Ingredients

Cooked and chopped broccoli

Step 3: Combine all ingredients.

Step 4: Shape into balls (or whatever fun shape you decide)

Step 6: Serve Warm (this is after fully cooking and flipping after 15 min)

Served chopped up along with one of her favorites, Turkey Loaf (top of plate)

Braving the first bite.

Initial reaction; I think she was expecting something else.

Second bite...and loving it!

Trying a big nugget...and she handled it fine!!

Bananas and Lentils

Lentils are a fabulous source of protein and fiber and many other nutrients; for more

nutritional information, check out wholesomebabyfood.com's page on Lentils and Legumes. Since they are packed with so much protein, this is a great option for baby's that may not be too keen on meats (which is not uncommon). This is sort of a sneaky way to get some extra protien in your baby's diet or promote good bowel health :)

Little Joy loved this simple little side dish along with her normal lunch. Its easy and fun to let me test their self feeding with a utensil abilities!

Ingredients:

• 2-2.5 tablespoons cooked red lentils (I made more than this at a time since I was using the lentils for other recipes too)
• 1/2 medium sized banana

Steps:

• Prepare red lentils according to package instructions (or check out this website with some lentil cooking guidelines)
• Mash banana to desired consistency (by 8 months, most babies can handle chunkier soft foods)
• Add lentils
• Mash or mix until well blended

Yield: 1 serving

Serve: Serve this as a side dish or a snack.

Timing: 8-10 months according to Wholesomebabyfood.com I believe lentils are a little tough to digest for younger babies.

Difficulty: 1 our of 5

Epicuite Rating: Yummy in the Tummy -- see right side of page for descriptions

Little Joy loved this simple dish and LOVED trying to feed herself with a spoon!!!

She got a lil excited there at the end! HA!

Take 2

Blueberries with Cottage Cheese

Welcome to the world of TEXTURE Little Joy as you sample, cottage cheese! After doing a lot of research on diary and cheeses I decide to allow Little Joy to sample her first taste of cottage cheese. Most people balk at cottage cheese, but I have always loved it! As always, wholesomebabyfood.com has some great information on cheeses, when to start and what to start with.

I love the idea of Little Joy getting used to diary before we dive into cow's milk (whenever that happens). We did the 4 day wait rule with yogurt and Little Joy had no reaction-which opened us up to the world of diary. Remember, most babies do not have food aversions (in the beginning) to the tastes as much as they do the texture. I knew this going into testing cottage cheese, so I braced myself for gagging! The great thing about making your baby food from the beginning is your foods will likely not ever be perfectly smooth; I HOPE this pays off in the long run :)

4% cottage cheese is hard to find!! I got lucky and found it packaged as 4-4oz containers; this was great because I could open a small amount at a time. I am sure it is possible to make cottage cheese, but I choose certain things to buy vs. make. Although this is not a recipe here is how I tested cottage cheese with Little Joy:

Ingredients:

• Cottage Cheese (see paragraph above)
• Blueberry Puree

Steps:

• Knowing this was a big texture shock, I served up about 2 oz of cottage cheese with approximately 1/2 oz of blueberry puree. I wanted her to taste SOME of the cheese and not just all blueberry, when I tasted it, it was just a hint of blueberry.
• Stir well
• Offer to baby

Timing: 8-10 months; I would not offer this is a first diary nor as a first rich texture food.

Storage: Once you open a container, use it by the sell by date.

Miscellaneous: You could put just about any fruit puree with cottage cheese; try it out and see what your Little One likes!

Epicutie Rating: Confused-see right side of page for rating descriptions. Little Joy did not know what to do with the the lumps once they got in her mouth. She just moved it around for a while then swallowed. She took two more bites without much conviencing, but was done after that. Upon the second attempt, she took about 5 bites with lots of "yay" and "yummy". She loved it for 5 bites then realized, something was weird and was done. We will keep trying over the next several weeks.

Difficulty: 1 out of 5 since I bought the cottage cheese and used stored blueberry puree.

Blueberries

Blueberries are high in fiber, rich in antioxidants and are packed with vitamin A and C; not to mention they can help with constipation!! For more information on the goodness of blueberries, check out wholesomebabyfood.com's site on Blueberries!

I loved the idea of introducing blueberries because it will be a wonderful finger food for a toddler, just grab, wash and GO! Blueberries were enticing to introduce also because they can help with constipation and I am always looking for ways to de-clogg Little Joy. I have heard mixed information about introducing berries before one year because they tend to be an allergen. After much debate, I went to my two main resources (the book "Super Baby Food" and the wholesomebabyfood.com website) to see what they recommended. Both shared that they can be introduced around 8-10 months since they are not the same kind of berries that are the usual culprits for allergies. PLUS my husband and I both do not have any food allergies that we know of, so her likelihood of having them is very low. I did decide to COOK the blueberries before serving them to make them easier to digest; after a year I will just puree.

WARNING: DO NOT feed WHOLE blueberries to a baby or young toddler, they can cause choking. Most recommendations are to wait until at least 3 years old before offering the blueberry whole. Also, you may want to ask your doctor before introducing berries if you baby is less than a year; I did not but you may want to since it has been known to be an allergen.

Ingredients:
Fresh blueberries (1 pint)
Water

Steps for COOKED puree:

• Wash blueberries
• Place berries in a pot and just barely cover the blueberries in water (about 1-2 inches of water)
• Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes
  
• Remove blueberries from pot with a slotted spoon and place in your puree device
  
• Puree until smooth adding blueberry juice (the water from your pot) until desired consistency is reached
• SAVE THE LIQUID from your pot; just strain it before saving! This blueberry juice is great for adding to cereal to change things up a bit. I also froze some of the juice.
  
• Freeze puree until frozen solid (about 12-24 hours if using ice cube trays) and after frozen, place in freezer zip lock bags until ready to use (I like to save about 2 servings in the refrigerator)
• Uses for the puree: I prefer to add the puree to other foods such as pears, apples, yogurt, cereal etc.
  
• Uses for the juice: So far all I have tried was adding it to cereal along with milk.

Steps for UNcooked puree (it is recommended you cook the puree if introducing prior to 9 to 1o months old, see below)

• Wash blueberries
• Puree using liquid (probably water) to thin until you have reached your desired consistency
• Freeze puree until frozen solid (about 12-24 hours if using ice cube trays) and after frozen, place in freezer zip lock bags until ready to use (I like to save about 2 servings in the refrigerator)

NOTE: one ice cube is about an ounce of food

Timing: 8 to 9 months for COOKED puree; 9-12 months for raw mashed blueberries; 3 years for whole blueberries (depending on who you ask)

Storage: According to "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron, this can be stored in the freezer for up to one year.

Epicutie Rating: Yummy in the Tummy---see right side of page for rating descriptions.
Epicutie Little Joy LOVED her blueberry cereal, blueberry apples and blueberry pears! I will try them with bananas and yogurt soon. I do not ALWAYS add fruit to her cereal because I want her to be able to eat it plain if needed. It also seemed to help de-clogg her, maybe a bit too much :)

Difficulty: 1 out of 5---this is SO easy!!!

In the pot with water, ready to cook

Simmering, errr...boiling here :)

I used a chopper vs a food processor since we are trying to move to thicker foods now that Little Joy is getting older.
The juice remaining

I stored the juice in the jar for 2 days before freezing.

Little Joy's reaction to blueberries; not too excited but definitely wanted more. At the end you will see a blueberry explosion!

Mangoes

I honestly gave Little Joy mangoes just because it sounded neat to try!

Ingredients:
Mango
Liquid for thinning

Steps:

• Wash Mango
• Dice mango
• Steam mangoes until tender: Place mangoes in mesh colander and then inside a pot with a few inches of boiling water (mangoes are not touching the water)
  
• Scoop out meat from peel
  
• Puree until smooth adding liquid until desired consistency is reached
• Freeze until frozen solid (about 12-24 hours) and after frozen, place in freezer zip lock bags until ready to use (I like to save about 2 servings in the refrigerator)

NOTE: one ice cube is about an ounce of food


Yield: 1 small mango yielded about 4 oz

Timing: 8 months

Storage: According to "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron, this can be stored in the freezer for ten months.

Epicutie Rating: Not so sure I like it....yet---see right side of page for rating descriptions.
Epicutie Little Joy was a little taken back by mangoes. We will wait until the summer to try again

Difficulty: 3 out of 5---it was hard to get the peel and seed out!

Video of Little Joy trying mangoes, coming soon!!