Cozy day for reading books and eating Oatmeal!

Hope everyone is having a great morning thus far. Clark has been up for a few hours and it having a great time playing with some of his favorite books. It's my favorite part of the day when Clark gets his books and starts to "read them". He thinks the spine of the book is the tastiest! Today on the menu is "The going to bed book" by Sandra Boynton . We got this book as a gift a few weeks ago. Since then it has been a staple in our night time routine!
On the other menu is Oatmeal with a sprinkle of brown sugar, mashed bananas and triple berry surprise.
Take 1/2 cup of water - bring to a boil
Stir in 1/4 cup of oatmeal.
Stir together until Oats are fully cooked.

At this point, I sprinkle in a bit of brown sugar to taste








In the steamer basket, I steam 1 cup of berry surprise from Trader Joes. I find that using frozen fruits can be some what easier on occasion. This is not something I do on a regular basis , but in a pinch ( while waiting for the food delivery) it works wonders.  Trader Joes' has some really great frozen fruits and medleys :)
In this picture I have already steamed , chunked and froze the berry surprise for convience.

Once the fruit is steamed, drain off water and puree. Again, Clark is eating more chunky foods so I tend to just puree once or twice. The chunks should be small enough to not choke but thicker than a water consistancy.








In another bowl I take half of a banana and mash with a fork. Stir in oatmeal and then spoon in berry surprise.









Viola! A healthy, easy to make, delicious, warm meal that you and your child can both enjoy as you cozy up together and read!









Clark loves the texture of the oatmeal and the flavor that the brown sugar and banana give it. You can really use any fruit-- I tend to stick with apples, bananas, plums, peaches or berries. Now that  spring is here, more fruits and vegetables will be lurking around the local farmers markets. Can't go wrong with local produce!

Breakfast ideas.....

Clark's morning meals have been consisting of Vanilla yogurt- Stonyfield Farms has a really great yogurt that even I eat. I find that using a bigger container of this yogurt is financially more sound than purchasing "Yo baby". Its full of flavor and Clark loves it! I peel peaches,cut  and do a brief steam. Steaming them gets them to be a bit softer than the ripe stage. After the steam process I puree just a tad. Clark is at the stage where he is doing more "chunky" foods. Leaving the peaches a bit chunkier actually has helped Clark slow down is food intake.

Homemade Baby Food

After finding out Clark had an allergy to soy (which is in everything! ) we decided to make our own babyfood. At first I thought this would be so time consuming, however it has been a great experience and not all that bad! haha.
I purchased a beaba babycook food maker   http://www.beabausa.com/product-babycook.cfm
Within this blog I will be adding baby food recipes that I try with the chunk... today we had vanilla yogurt with fresh peaches!

Forgot the link in all my excitement!

http://havesippywilltravel.blogspot.com/2011/04/green-toys-earth-day-contest.html?spref=fb

Simple Chinese Chicken -Vegetable Soup

I like many mama's am always looking for a good meal that is quick, relatively inexpensive, and delicious. Having an active 8 month old, meals have to be prepared during nap times and not need alot of supervision.
Here is a recipe I found from Boston Mamas. We have had it several times and love it!
Chinese Chicken-Vegetable Soup
Serves 4 plus leftovers
~25 minutes prep and cooking time

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1 medium white or yellow onion, diced

½ red bell pepper, diced fine (optional)

2 boxes chicken stock (32 oz. each)

2 cloves garlic, whole, peeled

1 2” chunk ginger root

¼ c low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (or to taste)

2 boneless chicken breasts, in 1” cubes (or one package firm tofu, drained and cubed)

1 large or about 12 baby carrots, sliced

2 cups white button or other mushrooms, sliced

2 scallions, sliced on the bias

3 heads baby bok choy, chopped or 2 cups broccoli florets (frozen is fine)

1 bag Trader Joe’s chicken cilantro mini won-tons (or ½ lb whole wheat spaghetti, broken in half and cooked according to package directions…this also could serve as a way to use up pasta leftovers) 1. Heat oil in a 6-8 quart stock pot. Add onion (and red pepper, if using) over medium heat 3-5 minutes or until translucent and tender. Add chicken stock, garlic cloves, ginger root, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil, and simmer 5 minutes. Add diced chicken breast and simmer LOW about 3-5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (If substituting tofu, add at the end.)
Add carrots, mushrooms, scallions, and bok choy or broccoli and simmer 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add won-tons (or pre-cooked spaghetti noodles) and simmer 1-2 minutes. Add salt to taste. Pick out the ginger and the garlic.