Baby Food and Slow Cooker Recipes

I know, I know.  It's been forever.  I have a laundry list of excuses, mostly, I can't find the time to sit down and put the ideas on the screen.  I think at least once a day "oh I should blog that" and then the day is over and I didn't do it!

Anyhow, I have a very rare moment where Lilah is sleeping, and I have gotten a lot of "chores" done today so I thought I'd take a break and write for a little bit.

I decided while I was pregnant that I wanted to make Lilah's baby food.  I try very hard to make sure the kids don't eat uber processed foods (TRY, we are FAR from perfect, and they do eat some processed food, but I do my best) so I figured I should do the same for Lilah. We got the Baby Bullet as a gift, and I LOVE it.  We had a regular bullet, and I was just going to use that if we didn't get the baby one, but it was about 6 years old, and on it's last leg... and the baby one comes with food storage containers.

Lilah is a good eater... that's an understatement, she is an eating champ.  It's what she loves to do.  So we got the green light from the Doctor right before 4 months to start giving her real food.  her first food was avocado, followed by bananas, then peas, and carrots.  As of today she has also had pumpkin, sweet potato, chicken, pears, potato, apples, blueberries, butternut squash, and broccoli.

Then only guidelines I was given by her doctor were no citrus, no fish, no dairy, no rice, and apples only from Washington or Oregon.  Apparently Apples, grapes, and rice can have arsenic in them because it's in the water used to grown them.  She said that the water used to grow them in WA and OR doesn't have that problem so they are ok.  Why take chances, so I only buy apples grown in WA if they are going to be used for the baby food.

So, for the veggies, I steam them, but them in the bullet with a little bit of water, and turn it on.  Then I spoon it into the containers, and freeze!  Some of the containers have individual cups that you take out of the freezer one at a time.  These are my favorite.  Others are like ice cube trays.  So you can pop them all out and put the in a freezer bag and then take them out of there as you need them.  This is just more work to me, so I don't care for it as much.  The bullet comes with a set of both kinds, and I purchased sets of both kids because I didn't know what I would like.  I have what is shown in the bullet picture above, along with these :

These are Baby Brezza, I got them at Target, and I love them.  

These are by Munchkin, also from target, but I think Walmart sells them as well.  They get the job done, but each portion is half the size, and you have to do some work to get them out of the trays.

So, aside from the health benefits, and knowing exactly what your baby is eating, lets talk cost.  A good example is what I made on Monday.  I spent $1.50 on a Butternut Squash, $.99 on spinach, and $3.99 on a bag of apples (5 lbs). I got 23 servings of food out of the squash and spinach alone, and about 20 out of the apples (I'm guessing because I froze it in larger containers because all my baby ones were used).  So for $6.48 I got about 43 servings of baby food.  At the store the small jars are $.65-.90 cents each, so 43 would cost me $27.95- 38.70.  HUGE savings, and it only took me about an hour of work to prepare it all.  The apples cooked in the crock pot for 5 hours, but I don't count that as time I "worked" on making the food.

Lastly, variety.  I have checked about 5 stores here in town, and when it comes to stage one (and some stage 2) foods, there isn't a whole lot of different options.  I want her to be able to try everything I can think of, and when I make it myself, she can!

Ok, so now let me share two recipes I have tried recently for the people in the house that can walk, talk, and chew.  Like usual they are from 100daysofrealfood.com.  And like usual, they are delicious!

First, Pork Carnitas.  YUM!  I followed the recipe exactly, but before serving, I shredded the meat, then seared it in a pan on the stove, I've always like a little crisp on my carnitas.  They were a hit with the whole family, and a new "regular" on our meal rotation.

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/01/recipe-pork-carnitas-tacos-with-tomatillo-salsa/

Pork Carnitas Tacos

SERVES: 8 – 10

 

ADAPTED FROM MARCELA VALLADOLID

INGREDIENTS

• 2 to 2 ½ lbs pork shoulder or Boston butt roast, cut into 5 or 6 small pieces (in Charlotte we use pork from Grateful Growers Farm, which is sold at the Matthews Farmers’ Market and Hillbilly Produce)
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 onion, cut into 6 or 8 chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, whole
• 1 recipe tomatillo salsa (use recipe below or can be purchased at Trader Joe’s)
• 1 ½ recipes whole-grain corn tortillas
• 2 avocados, sliced
• Fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix together oregano, pepper, salt, and cumin and rub on outside of pork pieces in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Throw onion and garlic on top of pork.
3. Slow cook on low for 6 – 8 hours or until meat is falling apart.
4. When finished discard the onion and garlic. Drain meat and shred with a fork.
5. Serve warm with tortillas, tomatillo salsa, avocados and cilantro.

Second, her recipe for Flank Steak fajitas.  We aren't fans of cooked bell peppers, so I didn't make fajitas with the meat, instead we had tacos.  But, the flavor of the meet was amazing, another home run hit with the whole family, and another addition to the dinner rotation. I'll post her original recipe, the only thing I did different was not add the bell peppers.

https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/12/19/recipe-slow-cooker-flank-steak-fajitas/

Slow Cooker Flank Steak Fajitas

SERVES: 5-6

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ lbs flank steak, preferably grass fed (we buy ours from Baucom’s Best at the Matthews Farmers’ Market)
• 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably the low-sodium variety
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 – 5 bell peppers, any color
• 1 onion

Other fajita fixings:

• Whole-wheat tortillas, grated cheese, fresh sliced avocado, cilantro, lime slices, fresh spinach leaves, sour cream, hot peppers, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix together the dry spices with a fork including the chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
2. Rub the spice mixture over all sides of the flank steak and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle the soy sauce on top.
3. Top the flank steak with the diced jalapeno and minced garlic. Slice the bell peppers and onion and throw those on top of the steak as well.
4. Turn the slow cooker onto HIGH and cook for 5 – 6 hours or until the steak can easily be shredded with two forks.
5. Drain the meat and peppers well then serve with the recommended fajita “fixings” (listed above).
   Enjoy!

And the pics of these two meals, are hers from her site.  Like I said, I've been slacking, I haven't even been taking many pictures.  I will try harder, I promise.  Enjoy!