Manic Monday- Freezing Smoothies

Smoothies, smoothies, smoothies. So easy peasy. Perfect for a quick snack or with a meal. Toddlers enjoy them also!
Our standard smoothie is very simple- 

Fruit

Ice

Water
Spinach

You can add nuts, milks, honey, yogurt, flax seed, oils, and more. We like plain yogurt and honey too.
But that's our standard.

Freezer Tip: Freezing fruits and vegetables before you can use them is a great way to have items ready for smoothies and a great way to save money because you aren't throwing food away!

Below is a list of things I've kept in the freezer for our smoothies-

Amazing ice cream (No machine needed) GF/SF/DF

This looks melted because I had to stop and get my girls in bed before I could take pictures.

There are tons of posts out there for this one ingredient ice cream. I'm sure you've seen it. I never made it because 1- I don't like bananas 2-pureed and mashed up even makes that feeling towards bananas worse. But I had a banana that was going to start getting brown spots and if I eat a banana it needs to be JUST out of the green stage and not anywhere near the brown spots stage. So I peeled it, sliced it and put it in the freezer. I figure it couldn't hurt doing one banana and seeing how it goes. I've been meaning to make coconut ice cream and haven't had a chance, so tonight I put the frozen banana into the blender with a little bit of coconut manna. HELLO yumminess!  Just like ... ICE CREAM. You don't need the coconut butter but NOM NOM. Have you ever had a Tropical Blizzard? They were my favorite blizzard and this is BETTER. For one it's healthy and it just tastes REAL. So GOOOOD. I also topped my bowl of ice "cream" off with some almonds. But this opened a huge door of possibilities for me. I need to eat more fruit so this nice cream cold treat will help.

Food, Food, Food.

Chicken Congee/Jok/Khao Peaak with Century/Thousand Year Old Eggs.

GPAC Pumpkin Pancakes

Seriously, easy... EASY, YUMMY, WHOLE GRAINS and PUMPKIN. Not much else to say after that...

EASY Pumpkin Puree and Don't forget the BABY!

Did you know that there is a pumpkin shortage? Well, there is. Sad, but true. I haven't seen a shortage around here but every time I go to the grocery store I try to pick up a few pumpkins to make pumpkin puree for my stash in the freezer. I have even bought some cans, just in case. I have roasted sugar/pie pumpkins to make puree before, but I usually put it in the crock pot. Because it's so easy! There are pictures here if you'd like to see just how simple it is. For pumpkin puree I just wash the pumpkin.

Cinnamon Crepes with Strawberries for Pixie

Like I said before Pixie is eating table foods now so it's much easier to feed her. These are crepes with cinnamon, unsweetened whipped cream and strawberries. Crepes are versatile for little pre toddlers because they can be filled with just about anything, chicken salad, egg salad, ricotta cheese even ground beef.

Cinnamon Yogurt Banana Mash

For a little variety Pixie had organic plain yogurt, banana and cinnamon in her steel cut oats. She liked it...

Fruit Juice Gelatin Blocks

Fruit juice gelatin is an easy alternative to boxed Jell-O. You can use any fruit juice- I haven't tried citrus juices though. You know exactly what is in the gelatin and you can control the sweetness. I just use the recipe on the back of the Knox no flavor gelatin box. I first made these for Diva when she was a baby that was FOUR years ago! EEK. I do cut the recipe down since the one on the box makes a big batch.

Make snacks easier to pick up for baby

None of the girls liked the texture of bananas in their hands; they must get that from me. They don’t mind it if they don’t have to touch it though. I don’t like bananas for the most part. I do like them in a banana split or in baked goods though. If I eat one plain or uncooked it has to be firm. When Diva was a baby she wouldn’t pick up bananas or tofu because of the texture. So I would crush up cheerios and toss cubed bananas or tofu in them to coat. This just makes the pieces less slimy and easier for little fingers to pick up. This is a good method for kiwi, tofu, anything that is hard for babies to pick up.

Tropical Oat Breakfast (Baby)

Now that Pixie is getting a little older I don’t blend dry steel cut oats into a powder before I fix them for her. I do cook plain steel cut oats a little longer then blend them leaving a little texture. This breakfast has organic coconut MILK in it, unsweetened. NOT coconut water.
This is great for kids also, just don't blend it.

Yogurt and banana breakfast

Freshly mashed banana with a dollop of plain yogurt. You can add a little cinnamon or baby cereal too. I made this for Pixie when we were having Yogurt banana pancakes.

Pear, Apple and Peach Puree

The sweetness of the pear helps cut down the tartness of some of the apple purees I make Pixie girl.

Blueberry Puree

Pixie isn't at the stage where I will give her fresh blueberries whole yet, I do give them to her frozen to help her with teething though. This puree is steamed blueberries. Simple and easy to do. What a lovely color too, I don't think jarred blueberries looks this vibrant.

Peach Puree

Peach Puree for Pixie.
You can use frozen peaches, make sure they are just peaches with no sugar added. Or you can use fresh ripe peaches

To skin fresh peaches put a pot of water on the stove and let it come up to a boil. Score the top of a peach with an "X". Not a deep cut just through the skin. Dip it in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and place in an ice bath. Use a paring knife to peel the skin off.

For the puree cut the peaches into slices, remove the pit. Steam until tender. Puree to desired consistency. If using frozen peaches don't bother thawing them just place them in the steamer frozen.

Roasted Pears

Nothing fancy. Pears- peeled, cored and sliced. Then roasted in a 375 degree oven and pureed for Pixie girl.

Mango

Mango, you either love or hate it huh? I don't like it ripe. The aroma is even too strong for me. I like my mangoes green with a yummy sweet and spicy sauce.

But like many foods that I don't prefer, I still give them to my girls- I'm so nice. THis could explain why Diva loves raw onions and neither DH and I like them. I steamed this mango in the babycook. Normally I wouldn't bother cooking it, but Pixie is a bit young so I decided to cook it. You can roast these too. For more baby food ideas check here.

Banana, Avocado and Carrot babyfoods.

I made these carrots with the babycook. I am liking the babycook, but for bigger batches of food to freeze a pot with a steamer basket is best. But I don't freeze too much baby food, I guess because my mom asked me once how I liked leftovers. Yeah, I don't. Why make the baby eat them. Not to say I don't freeze some of her food in ice cue containers for convince, because I do. What I like about bananas and avocados is that they are mild, easy to mash, need no cooking, travel well and come in their own little serving "bowl". Doesn't get any easier than mashing up the flesh in the fruits on skin and serving it up that way. I did learn that Pixie is not really a big fan of avocado, doesn't mean I won't keep feeding it to her, but I found that odd because it's so mild and creamy.
Both the avocado and banana brown so it's best to serve them immediately after mashing .

Two meals...

Two meals here at the house this week, one for Pixie, which is apples made with the babycook. We (DH, Diva, Piglet and I) had turkey cutlets that I broiled with bacon, avocado, sprouts, tomatoes and lettuce on homemade foccacia. Diva had green onion on hers, she's the only one in our family I buy green onions for. I didn't bother pulling out the bread maker this time around.

Pureed apples...

Not much to say about this post, pureed apples for Pixie. Peeled, steamed and blended to a nice smooth consistency with the Baby cook. I did thin it out with water. Once she gets older or for the girls I just make it less smooth and add some spices.