Category Archives: Food

Raw Energy Bites

Posted on August 8, 2012 | 9 comments

In the last year I’ve grown tired of packaged energy and cereal bars. Even the ones that have a short ingredient list of “real food” ingredients. So when a friend pinned this recipe on Pinterest, my interest was piqued.

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Usually I make a batch on the weekends and then keep them in the fridge. They are sweet with honey but have never given me a sugar crash as they are filled with protein and fiber. I also like to experiment with various superfoods, like chia seeds and cocoa nibs, in addition to the chocolate chips and dried cranberries or cherries. I use local honey when I can. As an added bonus for the milkers out there, the rolled oats are also a great galactagogue.

My husband munches on them, too, but I eat most of them. I grab three or so to eat in the car on the way to work in the morning with my coffee. They are substantial enough that I have plenty of energy to work out, too, before a full morning of work. I also find them very helpful to have on hand when I am home with baby and find myself all of a sudden starving. I can better focus on preparing food for her if I pop one in my mouth. Instant nourishment! :)

Raw Energy Bites Recipe

Recipe from gimmesomeoven

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Raw Energy Bites
Author: 
Recipe type: Healthy Snack or Breakfast
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 20-25 walnut-sized balls.
 
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. This will make it easier to work with.
  2. Once chilled, roll into two-bite sized balls or whatever size you would like. If it still isn't "sticking" together, add a little more honey or peanut butter. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Notes:

I don’t usually measure ingredients too closely, especially sticky messy nut butters and honey, but I highly recommend doing so for this recipe. The proportions definitely need to be right in order for the batter to stick together. The previous poster has some great ideas for substitutions, but recommends keeping the honey as it is the “glue.”

Captain Obvious points out that these are NOT a good snack for babies under one year!

captain obvious

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Posted in Healthy Recipes, Natural Remedies

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Tomato Time: Putting Up for the Winter

Posted on August 7, 2012 | 2 comments

It’s August in San Diego and my favorite time of year! I haven’t been to the beach as much as I would like, but our garden’s tomatoes are ready. To be honest, I can’t even buy them in the store any more. The taste just doesn’t compare.

This winter I decided not to purchase any out of season tomatoes  from the store. Even “organic” tomatoes grown out of season are probably grown in Mexico, using precious water and resources to the detriment of the surrounding ecosystem. That sounds preachy so I should confess, it helped that I had our own heirlooms and cherries frozen and ready to go. We ran out a few months ago and I’ve been looking forward to preserving some more.

The tomatoes are great this year and baby LOVES them. She has a hard time eating the skin, so we peel or cut that away, otherwise she loves eating them baby led weaning style, a.k.a. as finger food.

Ok, funny story. I actually preserved my favorite batch of tomatoes last September, after my water broke and before I woke my husband to go to the hospital. True nesting. (You can read more of the story in this post.) Hey, I’m glad I did. It would never have happened once we came home. And having chopped heirlooms in pre-measured amounts of 2 cups made adding them to dishes super easy.

This weekend we finally had more than we can eat so I set about preserving. My mom got me a steam canner for my birthday, but I’m still a little intimidated (maybe that will be a future experiment and post.) She also gave me a book by Ball, as in the jars, on canning. It was weird, but the book actually said that freezing food was better than canning.

Here is my first, of hopefully many, step by step guides with pictures!

Freezing Tomatoes

1. Pick your tomatoes when they are ripe, just how you would like to eat them. (Or find some at a farmer’s market.)

2. Give them a quick rinse. (I might have skipped this step.)

3. Put a pot on the stove filled with water and bring to a boil.

4. Get a large bowl ready filled with ice water.

5. So that they will be easy to peel, score each tomato by making an “X” with a paring knife in the skin.

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6. Drop the tomato into the boiling water for a minute or two.

7. Transfer the tomato immediately into the ice bath for a couple minutes and then take out. The peel should be starting to fall off.

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8. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes by hand and roughly chop. (I don’t chop them too small because they tend to shrink a little through the freezing and defrosting.)

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9. I like to measure them into 2 cup amounts. I put them in zip lock sandwich bags and then put the sandwich bags into a freezer bag.

10. Lay flat in the freezer.

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I would love to get away from plastic next time. Any suggestions?

I also made a super yummy cherry tomato confit last summer.  Our cherries haven’t been growing so much this year, but if they do and we get enough, I will definitely share that here, too. That one was also a repeater!

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Posted in Preserving and Canning, Recipes from the Garden, Step by Step with Pictures, Urban Homesteading

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Three Sisters Succotash

Posted on August 6, 2012 | 1 comment

Sufferin’ Succotash! (I just like to say that.)

Sylvester aside, when I think of succotash, I picture a bad cafeteria steamer filled with a blend of frozen peas and carrots.

Then I saw an episode of Chow’s Go To Dishes where Jonathan Waxman made a succotash that looked amazing.

So when Papa Bird’s corn ripened at the same time as the zucchini and green beans, I had to give it a try! It turns out it is so simple and so yummy. This is a dish that truly tastes much better than it sounds, so I had to share it here. The quality of your succotash will be directly related to quality of the vegetables you use. Because the recipe is flexible and you can use any vegetables you have on hand, it is an ideal recipe for backyard garden bounty. Our tomatoes weren’t ready last month when we made this, but they would also be great in it. Our garden gave us corn, green beans, zucchini, onions and cilantro, so that’s what went in. :)

three sisters succotash

Corn is notoriously difficult to grow organically, but Papa Bird had good luck this year growing corn with summer squash and green beans, following the Iroquois tradition of the Three Sisters. Since I’m one of three sisters, I’m kind of fond of the idea. Renee’s Garden has a nice article on the legend of “three inseparable sisters who only grow and thrive together…

Corn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix nitrogen on their roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot by providing nitrogen to the following years corn. Bean vines also help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture from evaporating, thereby improving the overall crops chances of survival in dry years. Spiny squash plants also help discourage predators from approaching the corn and beans.”

Three Sisters Succotash Recipe

Adapted from: Calabacitas Con Elote by Fork Fingers Chopsticks

Makes 4 servings

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 4 cups zucchini, diced (aim for about 1 inch thick pieces; too small and they will turn to mush)
  • 1 1/2 cups corn, cut fresh off the cob
  • 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into ¾ inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

In a large hot skillet or wok, sauté zucchini in coconut oil. Allow to cook evenly for 3 minutes, turning occasionally to prevent over cooking. Add the corn, green beans and onions, stirring and sautéing for another 5 minutes so that the zucchini begins to soften and barely turn golden. The zucchini should be slightly crisp. Add the water and cover with a lid at any point if anything is starting to burn, and after a few minutes in any case. Simmer on medium heat covered for about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Cook for an additional 3 – 5 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked but slightly al dente. Serve hot.

Tips for cooking for baby:

You can reserve some for baby before adding the cumin and cilantro if he/she has not yet had spices or herbs, but don’t be afraid of introducing them, either! Puree the succotash or grind in a small food mill and add a good amount of breast milk or water. Baby Bird at 8 months liked it soupy with a lot of milk.

Variations:

Use any vegetables you have fresh and in season! I don’t ever follow a recipe to the letter, more as inspiration and structure. Try adding tomatoes, garlic, chile peppers, etc.

We added leftover chicken to the succotash the second day for a complete meal.

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Posted in Homemade Baby Food, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Urban Homesteading

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Raspberry Oatmeal

Posted on August 5, 2012 | 2 comments

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Lately I have been very interested in meals that Baby Bird can eat as well as us. Because, seriously, having to make separate food for her after pulling together our meal got old quickly. We are lucky that our Baby Bird likes to eat just about everything. I have also been interested in eating oatmeal since she was born, as it is a well-known galactagogue, or substance that promotes lactation, and is tastier than fenugreek.

When we first brought Baby home from the hospital, instant oatmeal was my middle of the night snack. Those first few days I was still taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen around the clock and needed something in my tummy. Waking every two hours to feed her worked up an appetite, too. Oatmeal was warm and cozy in the cold of the night and I could also take out a packet and microwave it with one hand, holding my tiny babe in the other. But in retrospect, microwaved instant oatmeal was probably not affecting my milk supply as I was hoping.

I think I was scared of oatmeal. Didn’t you have to cook steel cut oatmeal, slowly stirring, for 20 minutes? My next step was to buy some quick oats from the bulk section of the grocery store. (Bulk homemade oatmeal is a much better value than packaged instant oatmeal.) It actually was pretty easy. I just heated it to boiling with water, turned the heat down, stirred a minute and it was done. I was feeling very happy with myself. Then I learned that quick oats don’t promote lactation as much as rolled oats.

So today was my first attempt at cooking the real thing. Why was I so scared? Cooking rolled oats couldn’t be easier! And as a bonus, Baby loves it, too! I used the same technique as cooking the quick oats and was surprised that it didn’t take much longer. The texture is better too, in my mind. Today I mixed in a small handful of organic raspberries at the end. They easily broke up and added a little flavor to each bite. I didn’t sweeten it, but if your berries are tart, you could. Just avoid honey if you will be sharing with a baby under 1 year old. This recipe can easily be multiplied for more people. Papa Bird wasn’t in an oatmeal mood so Baby and I shared one serving.

She loves to eat out of my bowl, but I put baby’s oatmeal in her own small bowl so it would cool faster. I mixed in a little breastmilk to make her oatmeal creamier. She is very interested in feeding herself these days, so we did a combination of Mama feeding her oatmeal by spoon and dropping small “oatmeal cookies” on her highchair tray for her to pick up herself. I ate out of the pot. One less dish to do.

Raspberry Oatmeal Recipe

1 serving

  • ½ c. rolled oats
  • 1 ¼- ½ c. water
  • handful of raspberries

Add oats and water to a small pot on high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, stirring. Cook for a couple minutes until desired consistency. Feel free to use more or less water, depending on preference, or add sweeteners to taste. Take off heat and stir in berries, or any addition you like. Oatmeal conserves heat, so be sure to check temperature before offering to a baby!

Disclaimer: I’m sure you will use common sense in giving any new food to a babe. For reference, mine is 10 months old, has 1 and a half teeth, can gum food well, and was well used to chunky purées before I gave her oatmeal.

Links:

http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/oatmeal/

http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/herbal_galactagogue/

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Posted in Homemade Baby Food, Recipes for the Whole Family

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