7 easy DIY baby foods

i spend probably 50% of my day in the kitchen.  i feel like i am always making a mess and then cleaning it up.  i am not a clean person either.  oh, i try, but it doesn't bother me having my sink overflow with dishes now and then (or every day.)  now, just because i'm not a clean freak doesn't mean i'm lazy.  i literally cook almost every meal and it's not out of a box.  why?  well, the more you learn, the more you worry and then you just have a guilty conscience.   but just because i cook almost all my meals fresh doesn't mean there aren't short cuts.  

therefore, i crockpot all the time.  it makes mass producing of baby food, oh so much easy.  sometimes we eat food raw.  sometimes, i make crazy amounts of lentils just so i can make different meals for different days. somedays, i just throw things in the crockpot and when they are cooked i store them in the fridge until i feel like mixing it up with something.  i like to think that my foods aren't super weird or gross.  well, it may be weird because i don't use dairy, but we've gone so long without it i don't even think about it anymore.  so, i thought since this blog went over so well, i'd thought i'd make a list of a few things #ohniceandchubbybaby will eat throughout the week.  

above, you will see #ohniceandchubbybaby eating sweet potatoes/yams (who knows the difference anymore?) and lentils.  the lentils i cooked over the stove and the sweet potatoes/yams i cooked in my beloved crockpot. 

in the last year or so, i realized that i could cook all my roots in a crockpot.  i don't know why it took so long for me to work this out, but thank goodness i did! i usually just wash my sweet potatoes and throw them in.  this time, i cut them up for two reasons; so it would cook faster and because it was a fat one.  the spaghetti squash i wash the outside, chop in half and then scoop out the seeds.  i leave it on high in the crockpot from anywhere from 3-7 hours.  (luckily, this baby doesn't seem to mind well done once in a while.)  as you can see i also combine.  baby girls needs a variety. 

peaches are finally ripe!  i appreciate gardening and fruit trees so much more with this little baby.  she LOVES peaches.  loves, loves them, skin and all.  i usually just chop it up, as fast as i can, and throw it on her little tray.  (this picture i thought was hilarious, but don't worry, i just let her suck on it for a minute and then took it away to chop it up.) 

luckily, this baby loves potatoes as much as i do.  which, seeing the above picture, i'm pretty sure i ate 4 of them within two hours.  the carrots were getting a little dry, that's why they look white.

i'll digress for a minute on one of my favorite foods.  

po-ta-to.  

boil em, mash em, cook em in a stew (LOTR anyone?) 

baked potatoes with avocado, capers, dill, salt and pepper and cooked carrots.  all piled on top of each other is one of my favorite combos.  the avocado tastes just like butter.  sadly, sometimes i only have dill, salt and pepper. but it's okay, it's still one of my favorite things.  

 this is great, because i can place it right on my baby's tray to eat too.  (when i feel like sharing.)  i cook the carrots in the crockpot too.  even though they are pretty soft i cut them up pretty small.

this baby loves to eat and loves to feed herself even more.  i feel it's necessary to let her get all messy.  it goes hand in hand with her hand eye coordination.  i mean, this girl has been able to pick up peas, one by one and quickly inhale them for months now.  she loves it and the kona does too.  best friends. 

oh, let us not forget my favorite friend, the container.  i think these are for freezer jams, but i like to jam pack them with food for the babe.  (i was completely oblivious to my coy joke made there until editing...buahaha.)  sometimes we freeze it, sometimes we carry them along for trips.  either way, we love them and their stacking abilities. 

so see?  making baby food isn't hard.  it also really isn't that much more time.  use your friend the crockpot, mix and match and let your babes get messy!

IKEA

Sometimes, I think "I really shouldn't post so many pictures of my baby...."

Sometimes, I even delete some out.

Then I think "THIS IS MY FREAKING BLOG."

  Click Undo, Undo, and then all her pictures come back. 

Everything is better now. 

Make your own art. Cheaply.

I came across this free magazine Edible Wasatch while dining in Provo, but luckily, there are many places in Ogden that carry it as well.  (Click here to search for the nearest location.)  So much good info in it! Plus, I loved how it was all about Utah.  

I came across this colorless but lovely bug page.  For some reason, I like to be able to identify bugs, plants, clouds, really anything to do with nature.  Basically, all the things you learn in school that I have since forgotten.  Once in a while, I get feeling artsy.  While I am not the best at drawing, I do enjoy coloring.  I mean really, who doesn't love to color?  

I pulled out my water color pencils from high school, sharpened some and went to work.  I really like the watercolor pencils because they make it look like you are somewhat of a watercolor artist.  You color just like you would with any pencil and then take a wet brush and swish it around.  

The bugs were lovely before, but oh-so-much-better with some color.

  

There was also the bug identification section. I felt it needed a purpose and needed a place.

I'm a big thrifter.  I bought a bunch of frames for a wall in my house, which, still isn't and probably won't ever be done.  I'm always adding to it.  Here's some of my thrifted items, which you'll see the original purpose for the octagon frame. 

(Gross.  I know. Plus, it took SOME WORK to get that blasted lace and flower out.)

I took the frame and traced around it on the bug paper.  It took a bit a cutting here and there but we finally got it to fit. I think it gives it a bit of a vintage look.  I also had another frame that fit perfectly for the bug identification sheet.  

I really enjoy my bug frame.  Everything you see on this wall has been thrifted.  I've probably spent $15.00 or less.  Plus, some of the art came from my husband.  Hmmm, now I'm itching to add some more.  Although the bug identification frame didn't make the wall, it does sit on my entryway table.  What do you guys think?  

Also, this will also be posted on Indie Ogden's Website.  Check it out!

Ken Oka

the whole purpose of us going to california was for this. 

uncle kenny wanted his ashes spread while skydiving.  so a bunch of his buddies put this together. 

it feels complete now.

 

i hear some whimpering

 #ohniceandchubbybaby is quite adventurous lately. 

one thing i really hate, is making beds, but even worse when it comes to a crib.  this baby wets her bed constantly...so much PEE!!! plus, so many nooks and crannies.  then you have to tie bumpers.  

after showing these pictures to the husband, i think he was concerned.  because he went and put the sheets on her bed, then retied the bumpers (they aren't going anywhere now.) he was in there a while.  so, i guess we won't have anymore funny jail bird pictures.

except for perhaps these.

she is not amused with her "play-pen" as i call them.

Green and hold the snails.

sometimes, i forget that the whole purpose is to harvest the food.  i actually really enjoy weeding.  a lot. consider it "my-time."