http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/10/freezer-cooking-5-baby-finger-foods.html
There's the link. Wanted to save it so it linked correctly
There's the link. Wanted to save it so it linked correctly
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http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/10/freezer-cooking-5-baby-finger-foods.html
There's the link. Wanted to save it so it linked correctly
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Since my first posts about food (a while ago), we have made great progress! The girls usually eat pb & j sandwich or grilled cheese quesadillas for lunch with grapes or apple "fries". For dinner they will have what we eat, sometimes from the night before. They like a lot of adult foods, but sometimes have no interest and we have to resort to the standby sandwich or sweet potato chunks and that's all they'll eat.
The issue still exists that we will often have leftovers from the night before for dinner (and there's only enough for one or two meals), or egg sandwiches, or leftovers from date night out. The problem is that then I have to come up with something else for the girls to eat. So I found this blog about making freezer meals for toddlers. You spend one or two nap times making these mini muffin sized meatballs, and veggie tarts and they can easily be thawed in an afternoon and ready for dinner. ~~~~~~~~~~ This is borrowed from the blog: http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/10/freezer-cooking-5-baby-finger-foods.html Love her ideas and tried them myself. Wanted to share what worked for us. My mini-muffin pans were very helpful but you could use cookie sheets with sides too. See this blog for the directions and ingredients. First attempt Healthy Meatballs (24-32) Mini Chicken Parmesan Cups Sweet Potato Fries Shopping list: ground beef, ground chicken, onion (I used dried onion flakes), garlic (I use the squeeze bottle of garlic that they sell in the produce section), 5 sweet potatoes, bread crumbs, recipe suggests wheat bran (didn't have this, just used bread crumbs instead...not sure that worked best?), Italian seasoning, spaghetti sauce, baby food purees (2 containers, I used mixed veggies), egg, mozzarella cheese, parm cheese. Will try next- Broccoli Cheese Patties (20) Spinach Cups (20) Notes: Chix Parm (picture on top) A few got crispy, will be much more careful about size next time and make sure I fill the mini muffin hole (?) to the top. The girls liked these they are easy to pull apart. Meatballs (bottom picture) No changes. These were also a hit. I like that they have veggie baby food mixed in. I didn’t use wheat bran though, worked ok with extra bread crumbs. Sweet Potato Fries- Mine were a little crispy and dark the first time, so the second tray I baked 10 minutes then flipped and did another 10 minutes. I also baked them at 430 instead of 450. I have two tray-fulls of fries from 5 sweet potatoes. Well Weebly or my Tablet just decided that everything I typed wasn't good enough to save. So I guess I'm starting over...
It is so easy to let the day pass you by without getting anything done. I've found myself still in my pjs at 4 in the afternoon, nothing on the to do list was accomplished and I didn't even feel like I really got to sit and play with the girls. Now there are days when you should throw your to do list by the wayside and just play with your babies all day. But if I did that everyday (and I would love to do this ) there would be no food in the house, no clean clothes, the house would be a pit and we would be getting sued by Comcast because I didn't pay our bills. SOOOO.... here are some ways I've tried to get the most accomplished and still have time to play (and get myself dressed!) Weekly To Do List - Instead of making a list for the day, I make one list of all of the housework for the week. Then when I have a few minutes of down time, or the girls go down for a nap (at the SAME time) I can cross one or two things off the list. So Monday, I'd clean all of the bathroom counters and mirrors. Tuesday, I cleaned the dining room floor and cleaned the toilets. Wednesday, I got a little motivated and got a bunch of things off the list so Thursday nap time was mine! :) 5-3-1- Another way to organize my day. You make a list of 1 IMPORTANT thing that you MUST accomplish and this is the thing that will take the most time. Then you list 3 less important items, that will take less time that your #1 item. Lastly you find 5 quick to do list items and that's your list. Example: 1- organize for tax appointment 3- pay Comcast bill, go to Target, Skype with Aunt Amanda 5- empty dishwasher, wash baby clothes, fold basket of dark laundry, watch Trophy Wife on dvr, shower (Yes I put "shower" on my to do list. Unfortunately if I don't do that sometimes my to do list get too ambitious, or suddenly it's 2pm and the girls are waking up and I didn't get to shower while they were napping. Maybe my list should be 1-3-3) I try to make a point everyday to put ONE selfish item on the list. Finish a chapter of my book, organize something that has been bugging me, watch one show that I want to see, call or text or Skype one friend or family member that I miss. Or if I find that I've had a busy week, and haven't had any me-time...THEN I have a whole nap time to myself. I shower, then take my time to do my hair, and read or watch tv for the WHOLE nap time...or nap myself. Tricky balance. ----Disclaimer: SOME of these are my ideas but most of them are from fellow Mommies (or Daddies) who are full of their own magic!----
* Trouble with picking up slimy foods? Roll them in crushed Cheerios to add "breading" to help with gripping. *If your kiddo gets upset when their toys float away in the bath, put a laundry basket in the tub. It will make the tub smaller essentially and help keep the toys closer! *Twin bottle feeding solution- boppy pillows! We still use them when they drink their milk. *I struggle to find ways to include meat and veggies into meals, but found great websites about cooking ahead of time and freezing smaller pieces. Easy to thaw and warm. *Getting ready for babysitters/daycare is a struggle sometimes. (When my babies were little they went to grandparents' houses in their pjs.) Get 5 XL ziplock bags and pack clothes for (in my case both babies) your kiddo with complete outfit and organize a whole week's worth of clothes. Sometimes it is a struggle to figure out what to make the girls for dinner. I got the baby food thing under control, and then I figured out how/what to let them try off my plate. But now that they are eating mostly adult food (still do Gerber yogurt, puffs, some veggie pouches), some nights are a struggle. A few problems exist-- 1) We usually eat late (8pm or 8:30pm once they are asleep) so when they are eating at 5p that day I haven't made dinner yet, 2) Some nights we have things that they don't like, 3) there isn't food for them because we went out on date night, we ate leftovers, or some nights we have cereal for dinner. So.... I've collected ideas for kiddo foods (completely separate from our meals) so that when these situations (above) happen there are solutions. Hopefully I can help give you some ideas (and selfishly I can refer to this blog if I need ideas later!). `````````````````````` Eggs (worked ok but was REALLY messy and ended up in Kasey's hair)-Two eggs, two tbsp. of milk and some cheese. Spray a coffee mug with Pam, scramble the eggs and milk, microwave in the mug (recipe says 1 1/2 min but I had to do 2 1/2 min). Add cheese. (www.incredibleegg.org/recipes/recipe/microwave-coffee-cup-scramble) Bananas and Avocados- crush Cheerios and roll pieces these slimy (but yummy) foods in the Cheerio dust for easy self feeding. Sydney's interest in these perked up when she could grab them better. Canned veggies- easy to warm up, cut to a good toddler size. We do carrots and peas and those seem to go over pretty well. Pasta- penne noodles especially, first cut into 1/3s then recently whole pieces once the girls had enough teeth to take bites. Mac and Cheese- we are making bunny shaped mac and cheese tonight, easier for little fingers to pick up! Sandwiches- pb and jelly cut into stripes for Kasey (who likes bigger pieces) and little pieces for Sydney (who likes things cut up), grilled cheese (same as above), and grilled cheese quesadillas (HUGE hit! I think this is because they are thinner, slightly crispy pieces and that makes for easy eating). Coming soon: Mass prep ideas!!! Starting with ideas from http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/10/freezer-cooking-5-baby-finger-foods.html?m=1 who uses mini muffin pans to make perfect portions! |
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