Yay - Hose!

We all love the hot weather - well I do! In Maine we don't get much of it so I suck it all up when I can. Here are some fun outdoor activities!

Sprinkler! This will bring hours of fun for a 1 year old - get one of those little turtle shaped ones and stick your baby in a swim diaper - and LOTS of sunscreen - and play in the cool water.

We got a little blow up pool for the deck ($10) and a tub full of ducks ($12) and that brings hours of fun too. Heck you can even sit in there too! Grab some funnels and extra Tupperware and play, play, play!

The Park! We have a park here in town and they have a little play area with fountains - it was nice to see all the other kids in the park too. Careful of the pushy kids though.

While your at the park bring the kiddo to the park! The swings are fun and you can both go on the slide - yay.

That's all I have at the moment. I have more recipes coming soon just need to find more than 6 minutes to type =]

Love,

PlusPeace

recipe Day #3 - OOps

So I totally slacked this week with the daily recipes – Bear is teething and we both fell asleep at 8:30pm last night! Yikes! I got nothing done…Today I have a recipe for black bean baby burrito and some serving size suggestions from babycenter.com (I refer to this website often for questions like this)

What/how much to serve your baby:

· Whole milk

· Other dairy (soft pasteurized cheese, full-fat yogurt and cottage cheese)

· Same food as family, mashed or chopped into bite-size pieces

· Iron-fortified cereals (rice, barley, wheat, oats, mixed cereals)

· Other grains (whole wheat bread, pasta, rice)

· New fruits: melon, papaya, apricot, grapefruit (citrus is now okay)

· New vegetables: broccoli and cauliflower "trees"

· Protein (eggs; cut-up or ground meat, poultry, boneless fish; tofu; beans; thinly spread smooth peanut butter)

· Citrus and non-citrus juice

· Honey is now okay

How much per day

· 2 to 3 servings dairy (1 serving = 1 cup milk, ½ to 1 oz. cheese, 1/3 to ½ cup yogurt or cottage cheese)

· 4 to 6 servings cereals and other grains (1 serving = ¼ to 1/3 cup cereal, ¼ cup pasta or rice, ¼ to ½ slice bread or bagel)

· ¼ to ½ cup fruit

· ¼ to ½ cup vegetables

· 2 servings protein (1 serving = 2 tablespoons ground or two 1-inch cubes meat, poultry, or fish; 1 egg; ¼ cup tofu or cooked beans; 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter)

· 3 to 4 oz. juice

Burrito! – this makes enough for two adult burritos too

1 Green Pepper – chopped up really small
1 Seasoning assortment – I cant remember the brand but they have them in the seasoning aisle (maybe mccormick?) and it’s a cardboard pieces with 6 plastic ‘bubbles’ with premeasured spices – get the Mexican one.
½ Sweet Onion – chopped up small
1 can of black beans – drained, low sodium
1 bag of Uncle Bens whole grain rice (I like the 90 second rice)
1 bag of whole wheat tortillas
1 Avocado
½ cup shredded Yellow Cheddar
Greek Yogurt (side)
Salsa (optional) more for the adults as salsa can be spicy

In a frying pan with a 1 tbs olive oil toss in the peppers, onions and beans – let cook until the veggies are real soft. Add in the rice and seasoning – the Mexican seasoning may have something spicy – leave that out and taste things as you put them in – you know your baby and what he will/will not eat. Zap a tortilla in the microwave for 12 seconds – you can do this in the oven but I find they are easier for a baby to eat gummy than crispy. Lay the tortilla out flat and spread on greek yogurt (thin) and add the topping from the pan (thin). Add shredded cheddar on top and slice and peel the avocado and put thin slices on top. Fold in half and cut up to bite size pieces – this will be a messy meal but delicious!

I really enjoy these burritos too, the beans and avocado add lots of protein!

Love,

PlusPeace

Recipe Night #2

Day #2 of Recipe Madness! Ok not really madness but it is fun and healthy!

On the menu I snagged this recipe from wholesomtoddlerfood.com and I love to eat them too!

"1 16-oz package frozen chopped spinach, cooked, drained, and chopped further if needed
1 cup Seasoned bread crumbs - (3/4 cup breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup wheat germ or flax meal is a healthy substitution!)
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese Try tomato & basil cheddar!)
3 Large eggsor 5 egg yolks

Heat oven to 375F

1. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well. *Add seasonings if you like - garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example. Add a fruit or veggie puree to substitute for the eggs if desired*.
3. Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..and place on baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes. Serve warm

You can "roll" this out and then try using small cookie cutters to make these into fun shapes"

Serve with cottage cheese and peeled grapes - and whole milk of course!

Love,
PlusPeace

Day #1 - Recipe Madness!

Upon request I will be posting a balanced meal-a-day in hopes to have a week’s worth of dinners or lunches with a few breakfast and snack suggestions along the way. If anyone has any recipes they’d like to share, please feel free to comment or email me hollybean5445@hotmail.com

Day #1 On the Menu:
Veggie, Chicken & Rice Smoosh
Apple Sauce
Oyster Crackers
Whole Milk
Graham Cracker

Veggie, Chicken & Rice Smoosh (this is enough for extras to freeze)
-2 Whole Carrots
-1 Celery Stick
-5 (or a small handful of) Pearl Onions
-5 Small Red Potatoes (peeled)
-1 Jar of (your choice of brand) Vegetable Barley Baby Food OR 1 small can of Tomato Paste
-1 baby Spoonful of Better Than Bullion Chicken Bullion (I use the reduced sodium) OR use home-made Chicken Broth in place of Bullion and Water.
-1 Cup of Water (give or take)

Prep your veggies – wash everything thoroughly! Thick grate carrots or chop into rounds, cut up celery, peel the onions and chop the potatoes into halves. Toss into a pot with ½ cup of water or chicken broth. Cover and Steam until the water is gone, add bullion (if you didn’t use broth) and the other half cup of water. Steam until the veggies are mushy all the way through. Dump in the jar of Vegetable Barley baby food or can of tomato paste. Depending on the stage your baby is in the next step will vary.
For 12 months + use a potato masher and mash everything in the pot until it is chucky but able to be fed with a spoon (this is the equivalent of stage 3+ foods) If your baby is younger pour into the blender when cool and puree for a thin consistency.
I usually make enough to either freeze or put in the fridge to use the rest of the week. 1 portion of this is equivalent to 1 jar of Gerber 2nd foods (if you serve with apple sauce and crackers) if not use a 3^rd foods jar – I cant remember ounces, but will post more on serving sizes later.

To make the rice, I still use rice cereal of your choice and mix with chicken broth. For applesauce, you can either make your own by coring a sweet apple and steaming in the oven until mooshy and pureeing until smooth or buy the kind in squeeze packets at the grocery store.

I serve this with oyster crackers because they are just the right size for small fingers and dissolve quickly in baby’s mouth.

For desert a graham cracker will do =] I usually serve whole milk with meals – or formula if you have not switched yet!

Enjoy!

PlusPeace

suggestions?

this one is meant for comments. what would you ladies like to see more of on this blog? what are your babies eating? i would like to post some relevant healthy recipes later this evening. any thoughts...

Mommy's Little Helper

Well I am TRYING to get some work done but my little munchkin will nt stop throwing fits! I keep reminding myself "this is a phase, this is a phase" but here are some tips I've been using to get through it...

I do not own a gated playpen area nor do I really want to spend the money on one, but my little man get's into EVERYTHING! Before I start working or doing something that I can't give Bear my full attention I sweep through and pick up all small things off the floor that are not baby safe, pt away all chords that are plugged in and clean off surfaces. (this takes 3 - 4 minutes)

I bring a bunch of entertaining toys and a laundry basket for Bear to play with and set them near where I am working.

Play some music if you can't be chatting with your baby while you work or do chores this way neither of you are listening to nothing.

If your baby is bored and requires some attention it can be frustrating, take a deep breath and a 5 minute break for play time.

If possible schedule your time so baby is napping.

Always have snacks and juice handy so you don't have to interrupt what you re doing to prepare anything - goldfish and a juice box work great!

Sometimes things are just impossible but having patience is number one - your baby just wants to play and thats a happy thing =]

Love,

PlusPeace

Heat rash or diaper rash?

I had been treating what I thought was a diaper rash with Buttpaste, Aquaphor and pretty much every cream out there and then I figured out how to tell whether it's diaper rash or a rash from a moist, hot diaper - pleasant right?

Diaper Rash - looks similar to a burn and may scale - if it's really bad it will pimple or blister. At that point I'd give the pediatrician a call. Careful it's not a yeast infection as they are often taken for a diaper rash and can get worse if treated as a rash. Both will definitely be uncomfortable for baby!

Treatment? If it's not too bad I use Buttpaste - Arbonne (only online or through a seller) has an herbal one that is supposedly fantastic!

Heat Rash - Bumpy, red, moise to touch and may or may not bug baby.

Treatment - CORNSTARCH! Cheap and safe. Sprinkle it on dry skin after bath and after changings. This cleared it up in less than a week!

Love,

PlusPeace

My mom and I just finished the baby kicks for my winner...they are SO CUTE!

Drum Roll Please....

Congratulations little Viktor and Vik's Mommy! Please email me as soon as possible (before 6.10.11) and your Monster Sillybet V, ONEsie, Mini First Aid kit and Sunglasses for a little dude will be on the way!! hmpeterson@maine.rr.com

YAY!

Don't forget...

...you have until Midnight tonight to comment your baby's name and birthday on the Nifty Thrifty June Giveaway post in order to qualify to win! Babies must be born in June 2010 or have had a due date in June 2010!

Goodluck!

Love,

PlusPeace

Oh How Time Flies!

In one week my wee little man will be one year old!! I have pondered and pondered the details of his party (since he was 8 months...) and (still) have not really put anything into place. I made my own invites to cut costs (I work at a printing and mailing company so that worked out great) I mailed them last week and now I am budgeting how to plan a party for 20(ish) people all for around $100

Here is my plan:

Dollar Store:

Pack of Balloons - $1

3 packs of 10 green plates - $3

3 packs of 10 blue cups - $3

1 pack of skewers for BBQ - $1

Plastic-ware - $3 - $5

Butcher String or Twine - $1 (I am making a banner type thing with just pics of Bear hanging on a line)