Sensory Play: Cloud Dough!

David used to jokingly call me "Summer Wife" once school let out. Summer Wife cooked more interesting dinners, was game for Tuesday happy hours, and sometimes even made breakfast for the hubs before work. She also kept a pretty clean home, too :)

So I guess with the addition of little C in our lives, I've been upgraded to "Summer Mama." It's been fun getting into a routine with her at home this summer. Given how upside down so many things in our lives are at the moment (...being in between homes tops the list!), I've been amazed how quickly we've settled into a groove. Today I opted to shake up our "middle of the day" play time with a little sensory activity for our girl...Cloud Dough!

When I started researching recipes online, many involved flour vegetable oil...totally a fine combo. But I'm constantly looking for ways to get rid of pantry items I have an accidental excess of (y'all know mom brain + grocery shopping + a good sale = way too much stuff). Then I stumbled across this post and realized I could throw together some "cloud dough" for C that would take care of the abundance of rice and oatmeal cereal she isn't too interested in eating lately (my girl LOVES waffles these days!!). I changed the proportions a bit to get a consistency I was happy with...and it was perfect :) Like the prettiest, softest sand you remember from vacay :)

Here's what you need:
1 cup rice cereal
1 cup oatmeal cereal
1/2 cup melted coconut oil.



Mix all the ingredients together till you get a soft, pillowy sand consistency. I used double sided tape to secure a garbage bag to the floor to make clean up a tad easier....homegirl still tried to pull it up. We added some rings, cups, and spatulas to the fun and had a great little afternoon!! When she decided we were finished, I just dipped her in the tub for a fast rinse off...and she smelled like a little coconut all afternoon :)

P.S. She only tried to eat it once!!

Spinach and Turkey Meatballs aka...

While little napped, I decided to throw together a new batch of meatballs for her with a bit of a twist. I have been really terrible at the "homemade" food thing as we've moved into a temporary housing situation while we wait to close on a home. A smaller freezer + boxes everywhere + school year wrapping up didn't exactly make for a solid "Mom of the Year" application.

Now that we've settled into a bit of a summer time routine, I figured it was time to cook for my girl again :) I just kind of winged this recipe while she napped. The final product was actually super tasty....just a little green :)

A little "name the meatball" challenge on Instagram came up with:
*Green Boogers
*Green Monster Meatballs and...
*Hulk's Balls

 Call 'em what you like, little girl GOBBLED these up! She tossed back 4...when most days she only had 2.5 of the other recipe. I'll mark this one as a win in the mom column!

Kid tested, mama approved :)

Spinach and Turkey Meatballs 

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and pureed (optional to puree--my kiddo doesn't do well with stringy cooked spinach yet!)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup baby oatmeal cereal (breadcrumbs would be a fine sub; we aren't eating cereal as often, so I wanted to use up what I had left)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl (mixture will be quite sticky). Form into balls and place on a greased, foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes, or until cooked through.

To freeze: Cool completely. Place in ziploc bag and freeze until desired use. I don't recommend keeping baby food for more than three months in the freezer!

Healthy Baby Finger Foods: Homemade Meatballs

A few weeks ago when I picked C up from daycare, her daily report said breakfast was "cereal, bananas...and a biscuit." Her teacher said she swiped the biscuit from the poor, unsuspecting kiddo sitting next to her at the table. Harmless enough.... Then last week lunch said, "sweet potatoes, meatballs, pasta, and broccoli." Y'all, I only dropped off pureed sweet potatoes that day. Then last Thursday, I sat sweet girl down at the table and witnessed her go-go-gadget arms snag TWO handfuls of another baby's pancakes. So this mama went into over drive this weekend finding finger foods to satisfy her independence AND her nutritional needs.

Given what she had "sampled" of her friends and what purees had worked, we've tried the following items with overwhelming success:

• Carrots (steamed for a LONG time till they are nice and mushy)
• Avocado, very ripe and diced small
• Ditalini pasta (cooked a bit past al dente)
• Puffs and MumMums, of course
• Scrambled egg yolks (after reading about how highly allergenic the whites can be, I was nervous. I plan to slowly add the whites in a bit at a time after she crosses the 9 month mark this week)
• Waffles (we've used the Central Market HEB Organics Whole Wheat Mini Flaxseed Waffles...delish!)
• Silver dollar pancakes
• Cheddar turkey sweet potato "meat balls"....recipe below!!

I plan to incorporate more proteins soon (moving has slowed down the baby food making game a bit) and experiment with other vegetables cooked soft. C's top tooth finally busted through this week, so hopefully she'll be able to handle new and exciting things soon!!

What were your littles' favorite finger foods???

Cheddar Turkey Sweet Potato "Meat Balls"

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey, browned

1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled, boiled till soft, and mashed

1 egg

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl until well mixed. Measure out approximately a tablespoon of the mixture, form into a ball, and place on baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and firm.

We set aside a few days worth of meatballs (C usually only plows through 2-4 in a sitting), and froze the remainder. A quick thaw and warming in the oven or microwave, and baby girl has a yummy, nutritious little finger food she can happily feed herself :)

Homemade Baby Food

Littlest has quite the appetite these days. I'll chalk it up to a six month-ish growth spurt. Whatever the reason, she hasn't met a fruit or veggie so far she hasn't liked! We started rice cereal around 4 1/2 months, but threw "solids" into the mix on her 6 month birthday. Nothing says party like a bowl full of pureed sweet potatoes!

What we've tried to date: sweet potatoes, bananas, butternut squash, peas, pears, and avocado.

Method has stayed the same. If the veggie requires steaming, I've pealed and diced as necessary. Thrown about 1/4 cup of the veggie into a small Magic Bullet container with a tablespoon or so of water. Slap on the "steam" lid and let the microwave do it's thing for a few minutes (2-5 min depending on the veggie, but we have a super craptastic microwave.) Drain water, add 1 oz of formula (breastmilk would be appropriate also--love knowing I'm sneaking just a little more into her day), and puree using the Magic Bullet. Allow to cool to room temperature and serve up to the eager babe :) (Hopefully this is obvious, but the banana, pear, and avocado did not require steaming. Just into the Magic Bullet with formula and puree!)

Last weekend, I threw together some larger batches of some of her favorites to have on hand for nights where time is tight. Simply increased the amount steamed to about 2 cups. Once pureed, I dropped large tablespoons into ice cube trays. Let the trays cool to room temp on the counter, and then threw them into the freezer. Once solid, the cubes can be popped out, and stored in freezer bags. When you're ready to serve, just pull out a few cubes (three seems to be good for our girl) and either thaw in the refrigerator or zap a bit in the microwave (I've tried thirty second intervals, and checked on the thawing. Want to avoid them getting too hot/overcooked).

First freezer storage attempt

**Note about avocado--there is mixed information about whether or not this item can be prepared in advance and frozen. Many posts mention excessive browning/discoloration. Our experience has been that just the top layer of the cube browns, just as it would if you put guacamole in the fridge due to oxidation. Once thawed and stirred, the mixture was still a normal, pale green color...and homegirl still inhaled it :)

Clearly...she's a fan.

Getting started!

This first post has been a long time coming. Heck, this journey to a healthier me has been a long time coming! Looking forward to sharing some recipes, tracking progress on fitness goals, and sharing entertaining stories about our crazy little lady. Super excited to get started on my next fitness goal--the 21 Day Fix! I'll be posting food pics here as well as any recipes that are shareworthy, so stay tuned!

If you're interested in making some healthy changes in your life, ask me how!