*Update* Food for All of Us - Recipe

The spinach and rice cubes that I made in Food for All of Us were a little bitter on their own. The first night I gave them to Alexa I added a little bit of rice cereal, but she still didn't seem to like the taste very much. She only ate about 4 or 5 baby spoonfuls. The second night I added a carrot cube, so now that's 2 Tablespoons of food (normally she only eats 1 Tablespoon, or one baby cube), and she ate it all! The sweetness from the carrots canceled out the bitterness. Success! Tonight we are trying spinach and rice mixed with sweet potatoes.

Food for All of Us - a Recipe

Family dinner: Pangasius filets over spinach and rice

Ingredients:
2 Pangasius filets (a white fish filet)
1 bag of frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups uncooked, parboiled rice
3 cups water
Lemon
Rosemary
Chives
Celery
Parsley
Cress
Salt & Pepper
Garlic Powder

Lay the 2 fish filets in a baking dish. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary, chives, celery, parsley, cress, and garlic powder. Top with lemon slices and bake covered on 170 C (340 F) for 30 minutes or until fish is white and flaky. The last 10 minutes I uncovered the fish and increased the temperature to 200 C (390 F).

In a small pot, add 1 1/2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water. Cook for 15-20, or until rice is tender.

In a large pot, put frozen spinach in pot and cover with water. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Drain spinach when it's finished cooking. Set some of the spinach water aside for the babyfood.

Serve fish over the rice and spinach. Add additional salt, pepper and garlic powder to rice and spinach while plating.

Baby food Spinach & Rice
Ingredients:
Frozen spinach
Parboiled white rice
Water that the spinach was boiled in

Instead of separately cooking food for Alexa, I just cooked enough for all of us. **Important side note - I did not add any seasonings or salt to the family serving until after I removed Alexa's portion**

1/2 cup of cooked spinach, drained
1/4 cup of cooked white rice
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons  water from spinach

Purée spinach rice mix until you reach the desired consistency. Spoon into ice cube trays and freeze. Since this was the first time making a mix I wasn't quite sure on the how much spinach and rice I'd need. I did a 2:1 ratio, but it still only made 11 spinach/rice cubes. A normal baby food batch prior to this has yielded 26 baby food cubes.

My First Attempt at Baby Food - Carrots

On Sunday we get to give Alexa carrots. I'm super psyched to see how she likes real food! I mean, she's getting rice cereal now, but let's be honest...it tastes like cardboard. I bet she's absolutely going to love eating something with flavor!

I did a lot of research online about making your own baby food. I talked to friends who made their own when their kids were little. I also spoke with my cousin who now makes baby food for baby #2. Her kids have survived and are thriving so I figure she's a pretty great resource! After reading, talking and taking it all in, I came up with my own recipe for carrots...

Ingredients:
5 carrots - (I used 3 large and 2 medium) washed (very well), peeled, and cut
1/2 cup of water - (I used tap water that I boiled and let cool)

Supplies:
Cutting board
Peeler
Knife
Pot with lid
Steamer
Strainer
Bowl
Mixer
Tablespoon
Ice Cube trays (I used 1 1/2)

Approximate time:
31 minutes (5 minutes prep, 21 minutes steaming time, 5 minutes puree and pour)

After gathering all of my supplies and getting all the carrots washed, peeled and cut I steamed them for 21 minutes, or until I could have mashed them with a fork. Since this was kind of an experiment I'll walk you through my process...

I originally only put the carrots on for 7 minutes. They were absolutely hard when I tested them, so I added another 7 minutes. They were softer at this point, but there was no way I'd have been able to mash them with a fork, so on we steamed! After the third 7 minute round they seemed good to me.

I drained them well in a strainer (I was worried about the nitrates!) and then added half to the container I would puree them in. I then added a little water (**NOT the water that the carrots were steamed in!). I started pureeing...added more water, added more carrots, added more water, etc. until I got the consistency I was looking for. I used 1/2 cup of water total. Depending on the consistency you're looking for you may need more or less water for your puree.

**Note, I am no baby food making expert!** I just winged it. Your baby might like a more watery puree, mine was medium thick. I tried to base it on how Alexa likes her rice cereal. I'll let you know how it goes over next week.

After the carrot puree was the consistency I wanted it to be, I used a tablespoon to scoop it into ice cube trays so I could freeze it in portions.

From what I've read online (and what I've been told), each frozen carrot cube is one serving. We shall see if one carrot cube fills up my growing gal!



**Update - The carrots were a hit! She absolutely loved them. I'm not sure if one cube is really enough for her, especially if I give it to her without the rice cereal, but this is a learning process. We'll see how tonight goes!