4th of July BBQ

So here's one of my favorite grill recipes for Mommy and Daddy:

Marinated Skirt Steak (from Alton Brown)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 pounds skirt steak cut into 3 or 4 equal pieces

Put olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, pepper flakes, cumin, and brown sugar in a blender or food processor and blend. Put steak in a large heavy duty Ziplock bag and pour marinade over it. Put in fridge for 1 hour. Take out and grill to your liking.

Spinach Salad (my own dish)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 garlic clove minced
1 package raman noodles
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 bags organic baby spinach

Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and garlic in a small bowl and stir well. Put aside this will be your dressing.  Smash dry raman noodles in package. Throw away seasoning mix that comes with the noodles we will not be using that. Heat a medium nonstick pan on the stovetop, do not add oil to pan, put smashed raman noodles, sliced almonds, and sesame seeds in the pan and toast until golden brown. Wash baby spinach and place in large salad bowl, pour dressing over the salad and toss well. Sprinkle toasted noodles, almonds and sesame seeds over the top and serve.

Parmesan Green Beans

This is one of my little guy's favorite things to eat for lunch.

2-3 oz pureed cooked green beans (I steam them and then puree)
1 tablespoon grated parmesan

stir together and enjoy!

*FYI* Once every few weeks I make a few different batches of fruit, vegetable, and protein purees and freeze them in Mumi & Bubi storage food trays. I then store them in the freezer in Ziplock freezer bags. Most of the purees last up to 2 months, some even more, so this makes it super easy to take out exactly what I need for each recipe, defrost and mix.

Mango Blueberry Oatmeal

Here's what Mommy and Baby are having for breakfast this morning:

2 tablespoons organic rolled oats
1 oz mango puree
1 oz blueberry puree
1-2 pinches cinnamon

(Your baby must be at least 6 months to eat homemade oats and mangoes, and atleast 8 months to eat pureed blueberry. If your baby is less than 8 months try mixing mangoes with banana)

If you are making this for you and baby to eat double the recipe.

In a small sauce pan cook oats with 6 to 7 tablespoons of filtered water (I'm sure this is probably equal to a quarter or half cup, but I use the tablespoon because I have it out already from measuring oats). I use quick cooking oats so they are usually done in about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat. Add mango and blueberry puree and stir until blended. You can add breastmilk or formula to cool down or thin out the oatmeal. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

Today's Mommy Lunch

Just wanted to share a super easy, healthy, and yummy lunch I'm eating while I write this, and my little one's napping.

Seriously takes 5 or less minutes.

Vegetable Masala Burger Sandwhich:
1 Trader Joe's Frozen veggie masala burger (I heat it in the toaster like a slice of bread. Makes it soo much easier)
1 Slice of Cheddar Cheese
2 Tablespoons of hummus (spread on toast)
2 slices of multigrain toast

Delish!

Lauren

Baby Guacamole and Mommy Guacamole

So it's officially summer, even though it's currently raining outside, and I always start craving guacamole in the summer (or year round for that matter!) I was recently in Hawaii and came up with this recipe for my little guy during breakfast at our hotel one morning.

Baby Guacamole:
1 oz mashed avocado
1 oz mashed banana
1 oz mashed watermelon

Now here's the Mommy guacamole:
4-6 avocados
1 diced and seeded medium sized plum tomato
juice of 1 lemon
8 splashes of hot sauce
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper

Cut avocados in half, remove pits, and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Immediately add the lemon juice, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and mix. Using a sharp knife or fork, slice or fork mash the avocado mixture in the bowl until it has reached the texture you like. Add the diced tomatoes and mix all together.

Enjoy!
Lauren

Yummy Yogurt

Here's a few yogurt recipes for your little one. These have all been baby tested by my little guy (8.5 months) and he definitely approves! Yogurt is a great source of calcium and protein for babies. You can use organic whole milk plain yogurt, or 2% Fage plain greek yogurt for all of these recipes.  Make sure your little one has been introduced to any or all of these foods before you mix them together.

Tropical Yogurt:
2 tablespoons organic whole milk plain yogurt
1 oz mashed banana
1 oz pureed papaya or mango or peach

Mix all ingredients together and serve.

Apple Cinnamon Yogurt:
1 tablespoon organic whole milk plain yogurt
2 oz pureed apple
1-2 pinches cinnamon

mix together and serve.

Banana Blueberry Yogurt:
2 tablespoons organic whole milk plain yogurt
1 oz mashed banana
1 oz pureed blueberries

mix together and serve.

Avocado Yorgurt:
1 tablespoon organic whole milk plain yogurt
1 oz mashed avocado
1 oz pureed apple

mix together and serve

Greek Cucumber yogurt:
1 tablespoon Fage plain yogurt
1 oz pureed cucumber (or zucchini)
1 oz pureed garbanzo beans
1 pinch dill

Blueberry Papaya yogurt:
2 tablespoons organic whole milk plain yogurt
1 oz pureed papaya or mango
1 oz pureed blueberries

Watermelon Banana Yogurt:
2 tablespoons organic whole milk plain yogurt
1 oz mashed banana
1 oz mashed watermelon

Enjoy!
Lauren

What This blog's all About

Hi all!
So here's a little about this blog. I've always loved to cook, and now that I'm a mom I get super excited when I discover a yummy recipe that's actually easy to make while taking care of baby. I've also been really enjoying experimenting with some recipes that I've come up with for my little guy, so I thought I would share them! The point of this blog is to share yummy and easy recipes for Mommy, Daddy and Baby. Some of the recipes I'll post on here are created by me, and some are recipes that I have found in books or magazines and tweaked a bit.

Enjoy the yumminess!
Lauren