Banana Cream Pie

No big deal, but it was such I hit I had to blog about it so that I'd remember it again later.

I made Hudson some healthy banana cream pie today.

1/2 graham cracker, crushed
1/3 of a ripe banana, mashed
3 tablespoons plain yogurt.

Mix well and serve. It looked and smelled great, I tasted a bit and it tasted great. Hudson absolutely LOVED it. If I had one of those high-powered hand mixer thingies that can make whipped cream from skim milk I'd have whipped up the banana even more, but it was a little chunky and he liked it just fine that way.

Silly Playpen Fun

Hudson is so silly. He can stand, and even walk, in his playpen. He also likes to throw his toys out of there and lately mash his face up against the wall to make Craig and I laugh. Here's some pictures of just that. They're too funny not to post

Great Orange Foods

I recently bought bags of organic frozen sweet potatoes, carrots and peaches, among other things. I was just going to cook each of these and cut into pieces for Hudson to eat with his hands. But then I had another idea... mixing them together into a sweet, healthy power food!

Sweet potatoes are a power food. Full of great vitamins and antioxidants. Hudson loves them too, so those are an awesome food for us.

Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A and Carotenoids, which is said to be helpful in preventing heart disease.

Peaches, just like the other orange foods, are high in vitamin A and are also a great source of potassium.

I put about 1/2 cup of each, still frozen, into a small casserole dish, topped with 3 tablespoons of Earth's Best baby cinnamon apple sauce and another 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Then I added about a teaspoon of water, covered and baked on 350 for about 40 minutes.

When I took of the lid it smelled SO good. I let it cool a bit and then did a rough puree in the food processor (didn't make it perfectly smooth). I tasted it and it was very good, but I thought I could do even better. So I added about 1/2 cup of plain, whole milk yogurt into it and pulsed it in the food processor until it was mixed through.

I served this to Hudson with some graham crackers and he totally loved it. I put some of the graham cracker crumbs into the mix when I saw how much he seemed to be enjoying the puree and the cracker pieces. I also froze a bunch for later.

I didn't take pictures as I was making it, but here's the finished product, frozen and ready to store.

Summer Harvest

I recently went to the local farmer's market and picked up some: Broccoli, carrots and zucchini. I made these into some food for Hudson, of course. He's over 10 months now and likes to use his own two hands to eat. But sometimes he forgets that he also needs to chew, so food still needs to be soft or cut very small.

The carrots I sliced and then boiled, it seemed like for quite a while actually, until they felt soft enough to eat easily but not so mushy that they wouldn't keep together. He eats these with his hands. These he usually likes, but occasionally pushes them away in favor of something else on his food tray.



The zucchini I peeled, seeded and boiled too, and then tossed in a bit of Parmesan cheese when done. This I cooked much less time as it's already fairly soft. He isn't a fan of this after a few feedings. Taking a couple weeks off and we'll try again.



The broccoli I made in the microwave. I've read several articles that say that's the best way to make broccoli because it doesn't dilute any of the great vitamins in it. I found a few caterpillars in it when I was washing it - so be SURE to really wash this veggie well if you're buying organic. Then I just broke it into small chunks and took off most of the thick stems. I put a couple tablespoons of water in the dish and microwaved on high for 3 minutes, stirred and did another 3. Then I food processed it with some cheddar cheese and added some additional water as I pureed it. The first tasting of this didn't go well, but after the second time he ate it easily.



It's nice to be able to make him foods that he likes and that I know what they contain. Being organic from the farmer's market lets me know that they aren't covered in poisons. And making them into food I know they don't have added salt, sugar, flavor, color, or preservatives.