Homemade Baby Food: The Basics

Have you considered making your own baby food?  It's simple, healthy, and budget friendly!  Not to mention fun!  This post focuses on the basic supplies you need to prepare your baby's food.

So your baby is showing signs of being ready for solid foods.  Now what?  If you have thought
about making your own baby food, I'm here to help you!  Making baby food is quite simple, requires little to no special equipment, and takes very little time.  The health benefits of fresh food, along with the monetary savings are what convinced me to start making baby food for Summer.

Most pediatricians recommend breast milk or formula as the main source of nutrition for the first six months of your baby's life.  After that, they suggest starting your baby on cereals and fruits.

We started Summer on oatmeal cereal a little early because she refused a bottle and we thickened up her milk just enough for her to take it off a spoon.  Keep in mind that each child is different and it is best to consult your pediatrician before introducing new foods.  I started feeding Summer fruit just a couple weeks shy of six months.  Again, we started early due to her personal needs.  Also, most people recommend offering your child vegetables before fruits since once a baby tries fruit, they will often prefer the sweetness over the taste of vegetables.

Now that you've decided to make your own baby food, you'll need to gather a few supplies.  You will need a blender or food processor, microwave safe bowls (or steaming trays if you have them), and storage containers.  You can buy products specific for your needs, or use what you already have at home.

Here are the ones that I use:

Cuisinart BFP-703CH SmartPower Duet Blender and Food Processor, Chrome

KitchenAid Diamond Vortex 5 speed Blender- KSB1575ER

Vidalia Chop Wizard

Progressive International Microwavable Mini Steamer

Tovolo Perfect Cube Ice Trays

Fresh Baby So Easy Baby Food and Breast Milk Trays

OXO Tot Baby Blocks Freezer Storage Containers 2 Ounce, Set 6, Clear

OXO Tot Flip-Top Snack Cup, 2 Pack - Aqua/Pink

Making homemade baby food is fun for both the mom and the baby!  I love to try new food combinations and Summer loves to eat!  Now that you have all the necessary supplies, next week we'll talk about starting to make foods for your baby.

Do you make your own baby food?  Do you have an questions or recipes you would like me to share in upcoming posts?

This post contains affiliate links.

Homemade Baby Food Series
Vegetables
Fruits

Homemade Vanilla

Are you looking for a fun homemade Christmas present?  Or maybe you're just looking to save some money in the kitchen.  I have a fun solution for you--homemade vanilla!  As a baker, I would be thrilled to receive a bottle of homemade vanilla from a friend.  It would be even more special knowing that they made something for me!  Plus, making your own vanilla can add up to significant savings. Take a look at these numbers:

One 8oz bottle of good quality pure vanilla extract costs about $14.99!!

Whereas,

One 1.75L (about 60 ounces) of Vodka cost me $11.97 and 40 Vanilla Beans cost me $9.99.  I spent a grand total of $21.96 to make 60 ounces of homemade vanilla.  The cost for 8 ounces works out to be about $2.93!  So very much cheaper than buying it! 

If you start soon, you'll have just enough time to whip up a fabulous homemade Christmas gift.  Vanilla takes about 3 months to reach it's full strength (some people give a shorter period of time, some longer).  Just follow my easy step-by-step directions and you'll be on your way to homemade vanilla in no time!

1.  Gather your ingredients.  One 1.75L bottle of vodka, 40 vanilla beans, and a glass jar big enough to fit it all (I used an empty pickle jar).  You don't want to use the cheapest vodka, nor the most expensive.  Go somewhere in the middle.  I used Madagascar Vanilla Beans. 

2.  Cut your vanilla beans in half down the middle.  I cut mine almost all the way apart, leaving about 1 inch at the top of the bean still intact.

See those beautiful seeds?  That's where the amazing flavor comes from!

3.  Put the sliced vanilla beans into a large glass jar.

4.  Pour vodka over vanilla beans.

5.  Seal the jar and give it a good shake.  Put it in a cool dark place (I put mine in the back of my pantry) and shake it every few days.  I noticed after 2 days that the vodka had already taken on a dark brown color and there were millions of tiny vanilla seeds floating around.

After about 2 months, you'll end up with your own homemade vanilla extract. 

6.  Remove the vanilla beans from the jar.  You can choose to drain the extract, using a coffee filter or paper towel, to strain out the seeds, or you can leave the seeds in the extract.  Pour the vanilla into small jars and store or distribute to your friends.

See, I told you it was easy!  I'm looking forward to giving this gift to my friends and family at Christmas.  I think I'll buy some small amber bottles and make my own labels. 

****UPDATED PICTURES HERE****

How To Grill Pizza

How many of you have heard of grilled pizza?  Quite a few recipes have been floating around the blogosphere lately and I decided it was high time to jump on the wagon.  And I'm glad I did!  Grilling the pizza dough takes it to the next level--this was the best pizza dough I've ever made!

I've seen 2 ways to grill pizza; I'll share both of them with you, really they're quite similar.  However, I prefer the results of one way over the other.  You'll need a stiffer dough for grilling, as the dough doesn't go on a pan.  My go-to dough recipe was perfect.

You will need:
2-1/4 teaspoons yeast
1-3/8 cups water, 110 degrees
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour

1.  Sprinkle yeast into a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and pour water over it.  Allow it to sit for at least 5 minutes, until yeast begins to bubble.

2.  Stir in olive oil, salt, and flour and mix until a dough forms.

3.  Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes by hand.  You can also use your stand mixer, it will take about 6 minutes.

4. Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled, about 1.5 to 2 hours.*

5. Deflate dough by punching down and knead for about 5 minutes. Allow the dough to rest before dividing it into 2 pieces (or 4 if you're making personal size pizzas).*

6.  Place the dough on a floured surface and form the pizza crust.  Remember that you're grilling the pizza crust, so you don't wait it to be so thin it will burn right away or so large that you can't easily move it.  

Now it's time to grill!

First prepare your grill:  

I always turn the flames to high to get it hot and then when I put the dough on, I lower the heat to medium.  Our grill has a thermometer so I let it get up to 350 degrees.  Before grilling, grease the grates of your grill using a vegetable oil soaked paper towel.

Next, place each pizza round on the grill.  Cover the grill and let the dough cook for about 3 minutes.  

Open the grill and your pizza dough should be bubbled up and look something like this:

Now this is where you can choose which route to take.  If you'd like, you can flip your pizza dough over and cook the other side.  Or, you can choose to just grill one side of the pizza.

If you choose to flip the dough, flip let the other side cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Remove from grill and add  your choice of toppings.  Return to the grill, cover, and cook on lower heat until the toppings are warmed (about 2 more minutes).

If you decide not to flip the dough, after the original 3 minutes of cooking, reduce the grill heat to low and continue to cook for 2 more minutes.  Add your toppings and return to the grill until the toppings are warmed through, another 2 minutes.  Keep a close eye on your dough so it doesn't burn!

I prefer to grill both sides of the pizza as it really infuses both sides of the crust with the delicious grilled flavor. I found that grilling just one side of the crust led to burned crust in order to cook the dough all the way through.  Though grilling both sides causes you to lose the puffy edges created by grilling just one side (the air bubbles pop when you flip it over), which may lead to more spilled toppings, I've found the added flavor is totally worth it!

*I would like to note here that after the dough has risen I'll often put it in a ziploc bag and store it in the fridge for a few days (up to a month) before using it.  Mike and I both think the flavor is much better after the dough sits for a while.  Or, we quite often make personal sized pizzas by dividing the dough into 4 balls.  We'll use 2 that night and save the rest in the fridge for another time.

Come back tomorrow for one of my favorite ways to top a grilled pizza!

Sanding Sugar

Have you ever wanted to decorate something with colored sugar like homemade Peeps, or cookies?  And then you go to your pantry to discover that you never bought colored sugar.  Now, you can make your own colored sugar at home.  It's so simple!

Just 2 ingredients:
Sugar
Food coloring (can use gel or liquid)

1.  Place sugar in a bowl.

2.  Add a small amount of food coloring to the sugar.

3.  Stir until food coloring is evenly distributed through sugar, adding more if you need to.

4.  Store in an airtight container.