New Items added to Whippersnappers!
Harem pants are now available with bright neon cuffs and a back pocket! Super soft and comfy with a baggier look, yet skinnier through the bottom of the leg. Comfy, yet stylish for those energetic little ones!
Check these out and more in the shop! Etsy Shop link is in the right hand corner of the main blog menu. You can also click below for a direct link to the shop!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WhippersnappersUSA
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Back to smoothie-making for me! I have gotten so much use out of that Sili Squeeze I got to be able to easily feed my 1 year old smoothies. Definitely got my money’s worth out of that one. He absolutely loves smoothies and loves using it! Except for the fact that I still am not at the point where I can just give it to him and walk away or else he would just squeeze it eeeverywhere! So I still just hold it for him but it’s still way more convenient than using a spoon or just a regular cup and straw.
This smoothie isn’t just for babies and kids…I thought it was delicious too! Make a whole blender full and you could share it with the little ones 🙂 And since there is kale in it, even though it looks and sounds so unappetizing, you really don’t taste it so it is super healthy too!! All I could taste was blueberry, pear and yogurt goodness! I used 100% pure pomegranate juice for my liquid, which also has many health benefits.
How to make:
Blueberry-Pear Smoothie
– 1 Pear
– 1/2 Cup Blueberries
– 1 Stalk Kale
– 1/2 Cup Yogurt (When making this for my son I used Stonyfield YoTot Whole Milk Blueberry Yogurt)
– 1/2 Cup Pomegranate Juice
– Handful of Ice
Make sure to wash off fruit and kale. Peel and core the pear. Add everything to the blender and blend well adding more pomegranate juice if you need more liquid.
This tastes so amazing! I really think that blueberry and pear is a great combination! If you have younger babes, check out my Blueberry-Pear baby food puree on my Homemade Baby Purees page. I made this a while back when my son was still itty bitty and he loved that combo even then too!
Enjoy!
Whippersnappers
Today is my son’s very FIRST birthday!! I wanted to start out the day extra special by making him some birthday pancakes!
These were super quick and easy to make and taste delicious too! Of course I knew he would only have a few bites so…oh, darn! More for mommy! 😛
Pomegranate Birthday Pancakes N’ Berries
For the pancakes I just used a simple plain pancake recipe from FoodNetwork.com found HERE.
Here is the recipe from Food Network Kitchen
Use:
-1 C flour
-1 Tbsp Sugar
-1tsp baking powder
-1/2tsp baking soda
-dash of salt
-1 C buttermilk
-1 egg
-3 Tbsp melted butter
Beat all ingredients together well. Heat up a skillet sprayed with non-stick spray. Pour small amounts of pancake batter into the pan at a time. I added sprinkles to each pancake. Add whatever fruit or toppings you would like! I chose strawberries and blueberries! Blueberries are my son’s absolute favorite so he of course picked all of those off right away! I think he would just continue to eat blueberries for as long as I gave them to him!
For the syrup I reduced pomegranate juice (bring to a simmer until it reaches a syrupy consistency) then added maple syrup for a pomegranate maple syrup. I had never tried this before (usually just stick to good ol’ maple syrup) but it was really delicious!
Enjoy!
Whippersnappers
What I am about to say, I still can’t believe…Sawyer is starting to walk! WALK! Okay, how in the world did that happen?! Wasn’t I just bringing him home from the hospital? It is only a week and a half away from his first birthday. No doubt, that will be an exciting yet teary day!
He isn’t fully walking yet or standing up on his own but he will take a few steps after letting go of my hand. Everyone always says, “ooh boy, now you will really have your hands full!” Which, is true but thankfully Sawyer is a mega crawler…super fast, stands up on everything, climbs everything ands gets into eeeverything! So hopefully that has accustomed me to the “having my hands full” stage even if just a little bit 😛
The dvd’s is a big thing to get into right now. They are low and easy to access and I haven’t thought of a new place to put them. To be honest, half the time I just let him pull them all (and I do mean ALL) out of the shelves and play with them. I mean, he’s sitting there entertained for a good amount of time and not harming anything…go for it! But the other struggle, dog food. Oh my goodness the dog food!!! Is anyone else’s child obsessed with dog food?! We have a huge great dane so his bowls stand up from the ground. It all started with him standing up to the bowls and digging his hands all in his food and putting it in his mouth. Gross. So finally I’ve been putting the bowls up if he is venturing around and playing. So that helps. But now the problem is he somehow finds any itty bitty piece of dog food crumb on the flood. Doesn’t matter how much I sweep or vacuum. He will find it! And yet, won’t touch the perfectly clean and cooked peas I try to feed him, go figure.
As crazy as things can be with a little one crawling around, it is my favorite thing in the world! He is so entertaining, makes me laugh and I am constantly having new stories to tell ❤
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My son is actually a surprisingly good eater for being 11 months old. However, he has become more and more questioning when it comes to vegetables lately. I think the most frustrating thing is that one day he will LOVE peas! Love them! Eat them like blueberries (his current favorite!)! And then the next day completely refuses peas. Not only spit them out, but shakes his head back and forth crazily until they fling out of his mouth. Which he thinks is so funny by the way. For being only 11 months old this child is smart and I mean smart! He will take a pea and pretend to put it to his mouth with his eyes on me the whole time. Then slowly reach back and drop the pea down his shirt.
So yes, that’s what I have been dealing with. While it usually just makes me laugh I’ve also realized that I really need to get some vegetables in his diet more regularly instead of just when he feels like he is in the mood for them. With some experimentation I have come up with some ways to get veggies into my little guy’s diet without him even noticing!
Here are some ideas for hiding vegetables into some other favorite foods:
Veggie Baby Cereal
This one is obviously just for babies rather than toddlers or older children. But for those babies still eating baby cereal, this is an awesome way to add some veggies. Simply prepare the baby cereal as directed and then add some veggie puree! For some homemade baby food ideas check out my baby food puree page HERE.
There are certain things like carrots or squash that my son used to love but now absolutely will not eat it. So I will add it to his cereal in the morning and he gobbles it right up. I also like to mix in fruit purees a lot of the time in his cereal but when he is needing some more veggies or to just mix things up the veggies are great too.
Some good veggie purees to add to baby cereal are:
-carrots
-pea/spinach
-broccoli/kale
-sweet potato
-asparagus
Veggie Macaroni & Cheese
I like to make a very simple macaroni and cheese using velveeta and it is super simple and quick to whip up on a moments notice. The only thing is that macaroni and cheese is not really the healthiest option. So I figured I would try adding some veggies to make a really yummy food healthy too! What I didn’t expect was for it to actually taste so great! For my first time trying this for my son this is what I made:
Pea – Spinach Macaroni & Cheese
-pea/spinach puree
-elbow macaroni
-1 Tbsp coconut oil
-velveeta cheese
To make the pea/spinach puree, steam desired amount of peas (I used frozen this time) for 20 minutes. Add a handful of spinach and steam for about 10 more minutes. Rinse after steaming and let it cool for a bit. Add it all to the blender and blend well. Add water to smooth out if needed. You can make as much as you want. I like to make veggie purees in bulk and freeze the extra in glass jars.
Cook elbow macaroni as directed. Drain macaroni and put it back in the pan and back on the stove on a lower heat. Add desired amount of velvet cheese (depends on how much cheese you like), 1 Tbsp coconut oil and about 4oz of pea/spinach puree (I had frozen my puree into 4oz jars). Let warm until cheese and everything is all melted together and stir well.
That’s it! It was so good! I’m not even kidding, I was even sitting there eating it! My son devoured this without even giving a thought as to there being peas and spinach in this!
You could use other veggie purees too. Broccoli puree or butternut squash puree would work especially nicely. Again, you could check my baby food purees page for recipe ideas.
Spinach Grilled Cheese
This one is pretty self explanatory. My son loves grilled cheese sandwiches so one day I just tried adding some spinach to it and he didn’t even seem to notice. This goes for other sandwiches as well such as deli meat sanwhiches, tuna or paninis.
Fruit & Greens Smoothies
Smoothies are the perfect way to get some greens into their diet without them even noticing! I even do this myself! I am not a super huge fan or spinach or kale but I add them to almost every smoothie I make because you can’t even taste it and yet it adds so much nutrients!
HERE is a recipe for my Oranges & Greens baby smoothie.
HERE is another great baby smoothie recipe – Blueberry/Banana & Greens.
I hope these ideas help you as much as they helped me!
ENJOY!
Whippersnappers
I have officially launched my Etsy Shop, Whippersnappers!
It’s small for now but I figure, hey…you gotta start somewhere! Watch for new designs and sizes to be added.
Check out my Etsy shop HERE or you can click on my “Etsy Shop” tab in the menu at any time.
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My new thing lately has been baby smoothies! I’ve been making them for Sawyer and I for lunch now and then and it’s so easy and delicious! Most importantly, I can pack in some extra nutrients that Sawyer may not eat by itself! I am also absolutely loving his new Sili squeeze pouch that I got him specifically for smoothies. It works so perfectly and he can feed himself this way. Except for the fact that I have to take it away from him while gulping it so that he doesn’t get brain freeze! 😛
I just wanted to share this smoothie that I made the other day because it is so simple and quick to make.
Strawberry-Banana Smoothie for Babies
Use:
-6 strawberries
-1 banana
-Whole milk YoBaby yogurt (vanilla or banana works well for this one!)
-Coconut water
-Ice
Add everything to the blender and add a little bit of coconut water at a time until you reach desired consistency. That’s it!
Add some greens for some added nutrients! Enjoy!
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For a very long time now I have been wanting to start an Etsy shop. So finally, awhile back I realized that I shouldn’t let anything hold me back. So I have been working hard to actually make it happen! I have been teaching myself screen printing and getting things all set up.
My new shop is called Whippersnappers and will be selling baby & kids apparel! I will be adding my page to the blog.
In the meantime, check out my new Facebook page for updates here!!
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Even though Sawyer is eating mostly whole foods, picking things up on his own and eating what my husband and I are eating, I do still make a few fruit and veggie purees. I haven’t completely stopped making baby food purees because I sometimes use them to mix into things and also use a puree every morning to mix into his baby cereal. He is still eating baby cereal for breakfast for the iron he needs so I switch it up between the oatmeal, rice & multigrain. I still can’t help but think it is so bland though so I always mix stuff in. He especially loves the fruits but I love mixing in veggies too to give him a little extra for the day. Now that he is eating and chewing foods on his own he is a bit more picky about veggies! 
So this helps a lot! So here is a super easy one I made the other day.
Apple – Plum Baby Puree
How I made it:
-5 ripe plums
-5 large apples
Rinse off apples and plums. Peel and core the apples, cut them into pieces and boil in water in a pot for about 10 minutes. Peel and core the plums and add them to the blender. Once the apples are done let them cool a bit and rinse with cooler water. Add them to the blender as well. They both have enough of their own juices so you shouldn’t need to add any liquid. Blend well and that’s it!! See, super easy! This made about 10 – 4oz jars for me. I like to freeze the extras so it lasts longer.
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Okay…I discovered the most useful thing ever! Sawyer has been loving smoothies lately, which is awesome! However, it’s kind of tricky because he hasn’t gotten the hang of using a straw yet so I would just give it to him in a bowl with a spoon. Well, that usually takes awhile because it starts to get runny. I found this amazing silicone squeeze pouch by the brand Sili. It is absolutely perfect for smoothies and he can hold it himself! I am so in love with it!!
So needless to say I have been experimenting with smoothies again and making some for Sawyer and I. I love that I can make the something for the both of us! I usually just add a few extra things to mine.
Oranges & Greens Smoothie
-2 Oranges
-2 Bananas
-Handful of spinach
-Ice
-Carrot Juice
Blend well!
At this point I poured some out for Sawyer’s baby friendly smoothie and mixed in his YoBaby whole milk yogurt.
To mine I then added:
-Vanilla Greek Yogurt
-Chia Seeds
Blend well!
Yumm! So delicious and we both enjoyed it equally! Sawyer loves the new smoothie pouch and couldn’t get enough of it!
Yep…I think he likes it 😛
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