homegrown

I have been attending a spiritual discipline class at our church, The Journey Church of Lebanon, and it has really impacted me in many ways. Last Thursday, we discussed the topics of serving, time and money. I have made a commitment to my family to save as much money as I can through couponing, meal planning and homemaking our son's food and to better the health of all of us. In a society of fast and processed food, obesity and laziness, I have made a commitment to my family to go in the opposite direction. I have struggled with my weight all of my adult life and I never ever want to see my children go through this struggle as well. Eating out of boredom, eating just based on taste and not for health and energy, eating to mask emotions; these have become such a part of the lives of many Americans and it will not be a part of my family. It is not only life threatening but it is sinful and God has provided us with these bodies and entrusted us to care for them.
I have began making all of my ten month old son's foods and not only is this the best for his health, I have found I really enjoy it. I spent a couple hours this past Saturday in the kitchen making meals for him and not only ended up making over a month's worth of food to freeze but gaining a peace of mind as well. Cooking is therapy! I have decided to add in some favorite recipes throughout the week for not only babies but some for my family as well. I will also add in some sweets that are not organic and the most healthy but portion control is everything!!!! The meals I prepared this past weekend include butternut squash, butternut squash and cinammon apples, zuccini with banana, pumpkin, lentils and pumpkin, sweet potato and brown rice, spinach and carrots, and beets. Rocklyn's favorite has definitely been the butternut squash and apples followed by the zuccini with banana. He has no desire for the lentils and pumpkins, but lentils are so great for him, especially since we are not introducing meat into his diet and I hope to find a food to mix them with that will get him chowing down on them.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLES: cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and guts, place facedown into a baking dish of one inch of water and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Core, peel and slice the apples into 1 inch pieces, place into a baking dish with 1 inch of water, sprinkle cinammon throughout and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Then take them both out, remove them from water, scrape the squash out of the peel and place both items into a food processor. Voila.
ZUCCINI WITH BANANA: Cut the zuccini into slices or chunks, steam until softened, chop up banana pieces, place all in blender. Easy enough.
I have been using breastmilk storage bags for storing the foods in the freezer and easy de-thawing but I welcome any suggestions on better storage!
A few books I highly recommend include First Meals and More by Annabel Karmel, Cooking Light First Foods by Cooking Light and Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfield, (yes, Jerry's wife!). I picked up the first two at the local library and purchased the third at Kohls for less than ten dollars! Deceptively Delicious is a great recipe book especially for those families who have not raised their kids on healthy foods from the start and need to "trick" them into eating better. These are DELICIOUS and she is coming out with a second book as I write this called Double Delicious! Good, Simple Food For Busy, Complicated Lives. I highly recommend checking these out for husbands and children who are having trouble changing their tastes for healthier meal options.
I hope these suggestions have helped and I am more than happy to welcome any recipes, baby food mixture suggestions, storage ideas and more!
God bless!