Avocado Rice Cereal

Yesterday, in an attempt to give Garrett some avocado I decided to try something different. We haven’t mixed foods together yet and well, the avocados I had didn’t yield much fruit because they were starting to turn. So, I salvaged as much of the fruit as I could – which was probably the equivalent of 2 or 3 tablespoons and added rice cereal and breast-milk to the mixture. It turned out to be a hit- so I am posting a guide for making this mixture in case anyone would like to give it a try.

2-3 TABLESPOONS Avocados

1 TABLESPOON Rice Cereal (could add more for a thicker consistency)

2-3 TABLESPOONS Breast-milk or Formula

Obviously, it isn’t rocket science. Just play around with it until you get the right consistency. It turned out really good though and as an FYI, avocados are LOADED with the good fat and have been linked to promoting healthy brain development.

BTW, if you ever make avocados for your baby it is very easy to freeze if you have mixed it in a food processor. I haven’t had any problems with browning at all. Simply add to ice-cube trays, wrap with plastic wrap and freeze. Once frozen, pop out and store in a freezer bag for future use.

Hope you give it a try!

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Yummy Oatmeal Bars

Garrett and I made these before dinner tonight. Granted they didn’t get in the oven until almost 11 because someone is teething horribly (more on that at a later date), but they turned out to be very yummy. If I were you I would try them as cookies and bars, maybe half and half if you have a smaller metal baking pan. Next time I post a recipe I will be sure to add pictures, but with time and wearing a baby as constraints it never crossed my mind until now. 🙂

OK, here ya go…

1 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups All purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups quick or old fashioned cooking oats

In a medium bowl, cream together both sugars and butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a separate dish and then stir into creamed mixture. Mix in oats, stirring thoroughly. Cover and chill at least 1 hour prior to baking. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet and roll dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes- Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make Oatmeal bars, simply press dough into bottom of non-greased metal 13 x 9 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until lightly golden. Cool in pan on wire rack/cut into bars.

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In Preparation of…

The other day, Garrett and I decided to go to Barnes & Noble. It’s a nice little retreat for the two of us and allows me to do my own book browsing. Sometimes, I just sit and read while in the store…never fully purchasing a book. But, this time I had full intentions on buying a book. I bought FIRST MEALS, by Annabel Karmel. Ok, not exactly your ‘run out right now, gotta read best selling novel’. Yet, these days it comes pretty darn close.

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Now, I know many of you are saying, “Isn’t Garrett still a bit young for solids?” And yes, you are correct. But, in my defense he does turn 4 months next week- so getting ready for the world of solids now, rather than later seems the smart thing to do.

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Besides, I am still contemplating on when I want to begin his first foods. Originally, I had thought I would wait until 6 months, since that’s the recommended age. Yet, now I am a little eager and thought maybe I would go for 5 months.

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According to Karmel, babies shouldn’t be given solids until 17 weeks after their due date. This is due to a baby’s underdeveloped immune system and digestive system. It can help trigger allergies. Ok, I get that, makes prefect sense and if I can prevent Garrett from getting my dreaded eczema than I’m all for it!

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This means that Garrett shouldn’t have solids until he is just shy of 5 months old, since my little man came 2 weeks early. And that goes with my own magical number, so I believe that we will wait to start solids until then.

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Of course, now I have this book egging me on to start solids.

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It peers at me from the counter top, somehow more noticeable than all the other cookbooks.

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No, that’s not quite true.

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It does peer at me, but not to start Garrett on solids. I actually read the first 50 pages the day I bought it. The next day, I was making baby food. It was easy. I should have taken some photos, but I was preparing it during one of Garrett’s nap and was trying hard to finish before he was back up. On my next go around, I will be sure to share pictures.

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I have about 20 servings of the following foods frozen, just waiting for Garrett to try out:

Apples, Pears, Peaches, Blueberries, Carrots, Squash and Zucchini

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(My mother had brought the squash and zucchini from home so it is organic, but the rest were bought and I didn’t have the money to go organic. I am going to try to give him as much organic or at least locally grown as possible. Regardless of organic or not, making your own baby food is the best route if you keep things clean. Plus, I get to know exactly what he’s eating and I get to save us some extra money, too.)

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The cookbook by Karmel is really wonderful and covers recipes up to the age of 7. She gives some great combinations for baby food and a lot of creative ways to jazz up a toddler and young child’s food as well. So, even if you aren’t up to making baby food or don’t have a baby at home you’ll find it helpful. Next time your at the bookstore or library, see if you can’t browse through it…

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And to all you Mommas out there, I have a few questions:

When did you begin feeding your little one or when do you plan to feed your baby?

And, what did you feed them? Any recommendations, advice or suggestions you can share?

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A little love from my kitchen to yours

Recipes are such an experiment and I love experimenting with new foods and new flavors! I made this recipe for Banana Bread on Sunday and wanted to share it with everyone. I have to admit this is my first attempt at Banana Bread. To my delight, both Bryan and my mom seemed to enjoy it. (At least, they say they did.)

I would recommend using more bananas and to make sure they are a bit overripe, as this adds to the flavor and I didn’t think the bread had enough banana flavor for myself. After I made the bread, I took a peak at other banana bread recipes online for comparison and after checking them out, will next time add cinnamon and I might also try chocolate chips or walnuts, too. Unfortunately, I was out of walnuts and didn’t think of using cinnamon or chocolate chips until after it was made. I used a recipe for a crunch topping from an old recipe book and have included it, as well.

So, here ya’ go!

BANANA BREAD

1 3/4 cup self rising flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening (I also added 3 tbs. of butter…I know, talk about fattening!)
1 tbs vanilla
2 tbs ginger
1 cup of bananas -mashed

(I used a mixer, but next time I think I will mash them with a whisk or fork and then mix everything by hand. Because, I think the mixer may have over-mixed and left the bread not having ‘enough’ of a banana taste-it was either this or I didn’t use enough bananas.)

Grease and flour loaf pan. Mix all ingredients together until they form a batter like mixture. Pour evenly into loaf pan. Mix crunch topping ingredients together and spread on top of bread. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

For a crunch topping:
(optional)

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick of butter or margarine, melted
3/4 tbs of cinnamon

Hope you give the recipe a try and like it!! If you do try the recipe, I would LOVE to hear what you do differently and how you think it turns out!

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