Healthy Child Healthy World has created a very moving video that is capable of inspiring millions of people to take action for the safety of their children.
A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.
Before Matilda was born in June of 2008, my husband and I decided we wanted to cloth diaper and make our own baby food. Many people rolled their eyes when we told them our plans and many said, “Just wait until she comes.” Well I am happy to say we dove in and are still cloth diapering Matilda and we had a blast making our own baby food for her. There are huge misconceptions about both, but I want to focus on the food part.
Many people think that making baby food is time consuming and expensive. Nothing can be further from the truth. All you need is a pot to steam the fruit and veggies, a casserole dish for oven cooking, a blender or food processor and some ice cube trays. The best website I have found for health baby food recipes is Wholesome Baby Food. This website is very extensive and has tons of easy recipes and tips. It is also important to think about the fruit and veg that you buy. When Matilda started eating purees, a Whole Foods opened up in our city so I would go there for my organic purchases. I was on a budget however, so I would only buy The Dirty Dozen there. Otherwise I would buy my produce from my local grocery store. Buying frozen is also a great option because produce is flash frozen so nutrients are not lost as compared to fresh produce being trucked hundreds of miles to their final destination. Trader Joe’s has a lot of organic frozen fruit and veg to choose from. Local farmer’s markets are also a great way to buy fresh. In doing all this, I know I saved hundreds of dollars by not buying jarred baby food. But even more reassuring is that I knew exactly what was going into her mouth every time I put her into the highchair.
To make baby food prep even easier, Fresh Baby has developed the So Easy Baby Food Kit. They sent me one to review and I am very impressed with the contents. Included in the kit are 2 BPA and phthalate free freezer trays, a cookbook, a 20 minute How-To DVD and a nutrition card. The DVD shows you all the basics of making your own food, from chopping to steaming or baking and blending. The trays have covers which protects the baby food as it is freezing and also make them easily stackable. You can then pop the purees out and store them in freezer bags. The cookbook is very extensive and provides the reader with the benefits of home-prepared baby food, gives an overview of baby’s dietary essentials, and offers a detailed guide on how to make baby food, including choosing produce and storing it. Last but not least, it is chock full of yummy recipes for all age ranges, up to 12 months. I really wish I had this guide when I started cooking for Matilda, but they just released a So Easy Toddler Cookbook which I will definitely check out and review on this blog. Also included in the box is a handy laminated reference card that is full of useful information. It gives information on what to do if your baby starts choking, offers fresh baby food tips and lists first foods by age. There are also nutrition tips, baby ailments and foods that help and a list of foods that are the best sources of nutrients. This card can be useful long after your baby has stopped needing pureed food. The So Easy Baby Kit makes it so very easy to cook, puree and store nutritional food for your baby in just 30 minutes a week.
If you have used the Fresh Baby freezer trays, consider leaving a review at Squeaky Clean Tot.
One tip to leave you with…I was at a friend’s house the other day and she pureed up some cooked spinach and mixed it through the mac and cheese she was going to give her 3 year old. I never would have thought of this trick and you can really do it with any fruit or veg. Just because baby has grown up does not mean he/she will not benefit from a few frozen pureed cubes.
