My first cake!

It turned out okay, but it is only my first. I didn't know what to put on it so I dedicated it to Mad turning 6 months old on the 26th = ) This doesn't seem that hard at all, especially with a lot of practice. Next week we make a clown cake. I don't like clowns, they are scary to me, ewww. haha I guess I need to learn in case anyone wants a scary clown cake ; )

Madison is getting big! She doesn't like it when I lay her down, starting today! So, I had to sit her up on the couch and she held herself up. And she gets mad when she rolls on her tummy but I have to let her try and roll out of it. She's having peach oatmeal banana for breakfast. I'm saving all the jars so I can store food I make. My good friend Maurisa (love you) shared some tips w/me for making and storing baby food that I'm going to share for anyone who's interested. ((HUGS))

From Ris:

Basically all I did was take whatever fruit or vegetable I was making a batch of peel all the skin off and steam until soft. Even soft fruits like pears need to be steamed it adds to the nutrient value. I would then puree them in a really good blender sometimes using the leftover juices from steaming if a veggie was too thick (carrots) and put them in the glass baby food jars and freeze them. If you don't have many stock piled glass jars then you can also use ice cube trays. I for one tried not to becaus small scratches in the plastic trays leach bacteria into the food and the plastic breaks down and is an endocrine disrupter in our bodies. (Early puberty for some children among other harmful disruptions in growing bodies)

When I did a batch I would usually do 30 or more jars. So one day I would do sweet potatoes (which is more nutrient rich when baked in the oven, it brings out more natural sweetners in the veggie.) and freeze all the jars in a big zip lock bag for extra protection, another day pears, another green beans, whatever organic fruit and vegetables were on sale.

I rarely made applesauce only because I just bought it in the ready to eat containers for kids 6 packs, (like earths best or santa cruze) it was much cheaper that way. After doing this one fruit or vegetable a day for a week I had a great stock and was able to just keep up after that, once I ran out of all of a fruit or veggie I would then remake that food. I also made chile, corn and potatoe soup and spaghetti with tiny pasta and homeade sauce all of organic ingredients. My kids loved it all.

Don't let this overwhelm you. It really is a simple process. At one point I even wanted to make a company out of it. I really did enjoy it. There are many cookbooks that you can find for homeade baby food. And it is a commitment. If in the end you realize that it is more than you are willing to commit to, dont feel like your any less of a mom. Many great children grow up very healthy on jarred food.