Quinoa, Butter Nut, Pea

My little girl has finally hit the 9 month mark so we can start to introduce new fun grains into her diet. I was super excited to introduce quinoa. Quinoa has more protein than meat! If you have ever had quinoa and you see that little swirly attached to the grain that is where all the protein is at! (Fun Fact)
Olive LOVES Butternut squash. I would drive to Trader Joes and they would have pre-cubed butternut squash in bags during the holidays. But now that the butternut casserole recipes have been put away for the season I am back to trying to slice the hard squash. I say this because you are going to go... Becca is this worth it? Yes, it is. :) Be careful while cutting squash,

I buy frozen organic peas. They are they only way I have been able to get a smooth texture.

Quinoa.Butternut.Pea

There is really no art to the proportions of this recipe so feel free to play with it.

1/4 Cup Dry Organic Quinoa
1 Organic Butternut Squash
1 Bag Organic Frozen Peas

Add Dry Quinoa to 1 Cup of boiling water, Let it boil 8-10 Minutes Strain and set aside
Cut Butternut Squash Horizontally starting at the top of the stem. Scoop out seeds. I roast my squash and it takes around an hour. Get our a glass pyrex type pan, Place Squash flesh side facing down. Add about a 1/2 inch of water to the dish. Roast at 400 degrees for an hour.
If you have a steam basket steam peas for about 6 minutes. If you want to microwave you can depending on your feeling about microwaves. Peas can also be boiled.

Use whatever you are choosing to use to blend you baby food. A blender, food processor or bullet doesn't matter!

Scoop flesh out of the skin of your squash and add first to your processor. Do your best to leave skin out of this mix. Add cooked quinoa and cooked strained peas. You will need a little bit of water or breastmilk or formula to help this mixture become smooth. I usually add water to make the consistency I want. Blend Until smooth! Store how you chose to store! I freeze in mason jars or keep in my fridge for up to 4 days. I hope baby loves it as much as my sweet girl!

Baby Food Passion

Ask anyone, I am passionate about baby food making. I will first and foremost say I do not judge ANYONE who does not make your own baby food I know some moms just can't find time for it. BUT I will say I want every momma to know it is so easy and is done so quickly/cheaply/healthfully!

For the next few posts I will be focusing on the "art of baby food making"

I have always made my babies food and chosen to always go organically and I encourage others to do the same. I at least go organic on the "dirty dozen" foods. Everything now even our produce is so genetically modified, I want to give my babies a good start. If you were to go into a supermarket to buy your baby organic baby food you would pay from arounf .80 a jar to 1.82 for a pouch. These are 4 oz servings. My little 9 month old now eats 2 4 oz serving at each sitting. So, if I were to go on the .80 jar size I would be spending $4.80 A DAY! UMMMMMM No.

Also, most baby food even organic have citric acid added into the jar for preserving purposes. I love knowing everything I put in my babies food and knowing EXACTLY what she is eating!

There are so many ways to go about making baby food. First of all get yourself a good book! I love Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron I also love the site wholesomebabyfood.com

In "Super Baby Food" Ruth talks about the different ways of cooking and also proper storing.

I usually roast or steam veggies/fruits because that is what works best for me and I have a large food processor but that is not the only way to go about it. ALSO, I really really really love how fun making food can be. Don't get ahead of yourself with excitement though! Foods are intended to be introduced at certain times for certain reasons. Babies shouldn't have solids before 6 months for digestive reasons, you do the four day wait rule for reasons. So that is why I highly encourage Ruth's book because she discusses all of those reasons and gives you a good schedule on when to introduce foods. 



Happy Baby Food making!!

Honey Oat Granola Bars

 A few years back when I first was married to my sweetheart I remember going down the canned food isle the boxed food isle and thought that green beans from a cans was healthy! Until 2 years ago when I had my first child Noah I decided to turn the box around and read the ingredients..

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What am I EATING!?????

   All that being said, I decided if I can make things. Whole Food/Real Food and make it taste amazing than I can completely skip the boxed food! I started making granola bars and let me tell you to make a good granola bar takes trial and error. Do you go with baking do you go with whole oats? Quick Oats? The possibilities are really endless and that is what is so fun about it. I'm not a huge chocolate fan, so I went with a bar that I genuinely LOVE!

Honey Oat Granola Bars:

4 Cups Gluten Free Oats (You can use non gluten free oats)
16 ounces of Creamy Natural Peanut Butter (Check the back, make sure there isn't hydrogenated oils stuck in)
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Dried Cranberries
1/4 Cups Unsalted Sunflower Seeds
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
1/2 Cup Agave or Honey
AND THE SECRET!!!!!
1 Drop doTERRA Cinnamon Essential Oil
1 tsp cinnamon


Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine Peanut Butter and Honey together in a sauce pan or a microwave safe bowl and heat until warm. Add Honey and Peanut butter mix to your dry ingredients and mix well. Add your drop of cinnamon oil and keep stirring.

Take a 9x13 pan or whatever you have and grease with coconut oil or whatever you chose to grease with.

Pour mixture in pan. The mix will be crumby but should stick together somewhat. Take parchment paper and press firmly down to even out your mix.

Place in freezer for 30 minutes!!!

I than take my bars out and cut them into about 5 inch pieces and plastic wrap them individually so they are quick to grab. Probably not the most Eco friendly thing but hey, I'm being honest! Store bars in fridge whether you chose to wrap or leave in the pan the take as you want.