get in my belly: charlie food - pumpkin baby food

From the time I was little I've had an obsession with all things pumpkin (especially my step-mama's pumpkin whoopie pies), so when I decided to start making Charlie's baby food I got really excited for "pumpkin season". This "baby food" recipe is also the easiest way to cook a pumpkin for pumpkin pie, etc. 

What you'll need: a pumpkin (i suggest buying the pumpkins that are labeled "pumpkin pie" pumpkins), a knife (a serrated one works best), ice cream scoop & a pan

Step one: rinse off your pumpkin

Step two: cut your pumpkin in half. I suggest cutting it using a sawing motion. 

Step three: using the ice cream scoop, scoop out all the "guts" and seeds. If you want you can save the seeds to bake them or trying to grow your own pumpkin later. 

Step four: cut your pumpkin into smaller pieces so they will fit into the pan. Fill the pan with enough water so you'll be able to steam it.  

Step five: put the lid on, turn on the stove, and steam the pieces for 15 minutes or until soft. 

**You can also do this in a microwave but I'm not a fan of using a microwave too much when it comes to Charlie's food.**

Step six: take the pieces out of the pan and let them cool off. 

Step seven: when the pieces cool off, scoop out the pumpkin into a dish. 

I've made all sorts of meals for Charlie using pumpkin. Below are a few ideas. 

 - Pumpkin & Apple. Sometimes I'll add a tiny tiny tiny bit of cinnamon to it. 

 - Pumpkin, Chicken & Kale. The key to this one is using more pumpkin and chicken than kale. 

 - Pumpkin, Apple & Broccoli. It sounds disgusting but it doesn't taste that bad.  

get in my belly: mama food - lettuce & chicken

As a new mom one of my biggest challenges is finding time to eat and eating something that is healthy. When Charlie was a newborn it was a tad bit easier because he slept a majority of the time. When I returned to work I was so busy playing catch up that I often worked through my lunch break. Now that I'm a full-time mama to a very busy almost one year old, feeding myself is always the last thing on my mind. We make all of Charlie's baby food. He only eats organic foods, we don't freeze his food because it loses nutrients, etc. I'm kinda obsessed with his food. My time in the kitchen consists of prepping snacks, cooking and cleaning all the dishes, sippy cups, etc (not having a dishwasher seriously stinks). Last night it kinda hit me. I need to figure a way to eat and eat healthy but it needs to be quick easy because I'm getting run down and that can't happen when you're a mom.


Today at the grocery store I came up with a few good ideas and they work with our schedule! It was hot in my apartment and my allergies are so horrible today that the last thing I wanted to do was slave over a hot stove gagging because chicken grosses me out. (I'll discuss my meat issues at another time) So I bought an organic rotisserie chicken. The best part about buying the chicken is it cost $8.00 but it will feed our household for two days. That's pretty darn good. I had romaine lettuce at home so I decided that I'd put the chicken on top of the lettuce, lightly pepper it and add a bit of olive oil and voila! It's quick and I made sure Charlie's meal mirrored mine so the prep work was easier. You also could do this with tuna, fake meat, turkey, etc.

I apologize for the not so great photo of my food but I just had to share this because I was excited that I actually got to sit down for lunch while Charlie did the same :)

get in my belly: Charlie food uno

This is what an average "prep" session starts off as. I buy only organic fruits and vegetables
and I try my hardest to only buy locally grown produce. Produce can sometimes get expensive
so I find hitting up the local farmer's markets have the best deals and the produce is locally grown!

When I found out I was pregnant I made the decision that I wanted to make my own baby food. I like the idea of knowing what my child is eating. I did a lot of research to find recipes, tools, etc. One day I stumbled across the Beaba babycook. This was my first find that not only chopped up the veggies, fruits, etc. it also steamed them!! One day the Beaba babycook arrived on my front stoop (thank you, mama!!). It takes 15 minutes to steam whatever needs to be steamed and chops it up in no time. Charlie loves his food so I find myself preparing food for him three-four times a week. Here are some snapshots I took a few days ago when I was preparing his food. 

Sometimes I'll steam veggies on the stove to cut down on time.

These mangos are ready to be steamed.

To steam you click it to the left and it lights up. When it's done the light goes off. 

When it's done steaming you take out the basket filled with whatever was just steamed
and dump it into the blender part. Click the dial to the right until it's chopped/blended.  

This is what my fridge looks like (it's normally a bit more full of Charlie food).

I find it helpful to label the containers of food with what it is and the date it was made.