ID Mommy Project: Baby Food Jar Jack-o-Lanterns

So today I was reaching for my blaze orange spray paint in preparation for a different pumpkin craft for the boys to do after nap.  Staring back at me on the same shelf was my stash of empty baby food jars, which have been screaming for re-use.   Then it hit me...hey, I could mask off some jack-o-lantern faces, paint them orange, peel off the tape, and set them over a battery powered candle....and voila! (Yeah, I know, I'm weird...these are the things that pop into my head!!)  Turns out they actually came out kinda cool!  So here it is!

 You'll need orange spray paint, masking or painter's tape, baby food jars (or any glass jar, really), and scissors or an X-acto knife.  Optional: Something to make leaves and/or a stem with

 Thoroughly clean and dry the baby food jars.  Then turn them upside down and make faces on them with masking tape.  I cut these shapes with scissors, which was a bit clumsy but worked.  (You could also put the tape on the jar first and cut the shapes right on the jar with an X-acto knife.)

 I made three of them today. Make sure to burnish the tape...rub them down so the edges are really stuck so the paint doesn't get underneath.

 Next, spray paint them orange.  Make sure they're upside down.  I did the faces on the upside down jars so there wouldn't be overspray inside the jars and the faces would stay clear.

 It may take a couple coats.  Once it's all dry, carefully peel off the tape.  I like to use the sharp point of my X-acto knife to grab the edge of the tape so I don't scratch the part I want painted.

 You could stop there if you want.  I found some old fake flowers and snipped a few leaves off and glued them on top.  I'd still like to add a stem of some sort but I'm not sure what to use yet.  Maybe a real stick?

Now just set them on top of a little battery powered candle!  Cuteness!! You could do these right side up too...just keep the lid on or tape off the opening while spray painting so you don't get paint on the inside.  (If you get paint inside, the cut-out faces won't be clear)

Product Review + GIVEAWAY!! Tiny Bites Food Shears

I've had many friends comment that I'm always so prepared for things when I go out with the kids.  Usually this is because I have some kind of product that really makes my job as a mom easier.  When I worked in the corporate world, one of the things we'd rate our job satisfaction on every year was whether we "had the tools we need to do our job."  Well, being a Mom is a job, and just like any other job, it really does help to take advantage of the tools that are available for you, created to help make your job easier, quicker, and more efficient!

One of the many repetitive job tasks of the "professional mom" is to cut up food for the kids to ensure that they don't choke.  So, a few weeks ago I did a Google search to see if anyone had come up with a product for cutting up your kids' food that would travel well.  I'm always cutting up Toby's and Sammy's food, but it's always a challenge to locate a knife and cutting surface when we are out and about.  I don't want to just toss a steak knife in my bag as it could shred my bag, not to mention my hands while digging for it, or Sammy's hands while looking for a snack or toy.

I thought maybe I could find some kind of small knife with a cover over it, so I could toss it in my diaper bag and not worry about it getting dirty or slicing up my bag.  In my search I was happy to come across something even better: Tiny Bites Food Shears...little food shears with a plastic sheath over the blade, designed for this very purpose by parents Ed and Anila Nitekman from New York.  When I saw that they were looking for people to review their product, I contacted them and they offered me a set to try.  They were even kind enough to offer a set of shears as a give-a-way to one of you lucky readers!!  Read on to hear more about this fun product and how YOU can win your own set!

I was excited to return home from our Thanksgiving travels to find my set of shears.  One red and one blue, which in our house is known as "Blue like Thomas" and "Red like James." (Thomas the Tank Engine references, for those of you who don't have train-obsessed boys...)

My first impressions... 

Great idea to have a set of two...this way I can keep one in my diaper bag and one in the kitchen.

The sheath that slides over the blade snaps on for a nice, snug fit, so there are no worries of it falling off in my bag.  It keeps the bag protected from the blades, and keeps the blades clean and ready to use...exactly what I was looking for!

At first I was confused as to what the little yellow "arm" was that swings out between the handles.  After reading "comfort cutting spring" on the package, I figured out that once it's rotated inward all the way, it does function as a spring that makes the blades spring open again after each cut.  I like that this little feature is totally optional...you can cut the food with or without it.

I also noticed that there is a ruler etched in the cutlery-grade stainless steel blades.  This is a nice little feature if you know what size is best for you child's age.  It might be nice to have a note on the package, on the sheath, or on the ruler itself telling you what size is appropriate for what age.  But, I think it was a nice way to customize the product for it's specific purpose.  (This made me also think that this product would pair up really well with the Safe Sizer anti-choking plates that I helped design graphics for, which help illustrate the correct food size.)

Trying it out...

I'm constantly cutting up food for my 10 month old, especially now that he is eating more and more of our regular table food and less "baby" food.  I used to rip up a slice of bread into tiny pieces, but it was much quicker to cut strips and then little cubes with the Tiny Bites!

 At the same time, it worked great even for this super thick Texas toast grilled cheese sandwich that I cut into strips for my almost-3-year-old.  Sometimes just cutting a sandwich into "sticks" makes it more interesting and fun for him to eat, not to mention easier to bite into smaller pieces.

Being an artist, I was also excited to try out the other creative benefits of cutting my kids' food with scissors...the post card that arrived with my shears had ideas such as cutting pancakes into letters, trimming broccoli into lollipops, etc... When Sammy wanted a piece of Toby's bread, I tried cutting him an "S" and he loved it...

In the week or so that I've been using these, I've used them at home, in restaurants, and at a couple people's homes and they work great.  I love that I don't have to seek out some flimsy plastic knife at fast food restaurant to cut, and I don't have to ask the host/hostess for a knife and cutting board when we eat at someone's house.  Another benefit of using scissors rather than a knife, is that there are no cut marks from trying to cut on his plastic plates, and no extra item to wash (the cutting board/surface). 

Having the two blades cut against each other (as opposed to a knife on a board) works much better when cutting through foods with a "skin," like hot dogs and grapes, with a blade on both sides at once. (prevents you from smooshing the food and squirting juice everywhere!) I used these to cut up orange slices into little bits for Toby yesterday and they worked like a CHARM.  A knife would have yielded a pile of mush, but the sharp blades cut perfect little pieces.

It would be nice I think if the blades separated like kitchen shears to ensure that they get really clean, however, they are dishwasher safe which makes me feel better about getting them well sanitized!
The blades are made from cutlery grade stainless steel, and the handles/sheath are BPA free plastic.

I certainly will be keeping these in my diaper bag all the time!!  Huge thanks to Anila and Ed for giving me the opportunity to review these! (and no, I was not paid for this review in case you're wondering)

Wouldn't they make a great stocking stuffer or gift to your friends with little kids?  They also work well to cut Christmas trees too (above)!  Hey, lucky for you, you have a chance to get a set for FREE!

ENTER TO WIN a set of Tiny Bites Food Shears!

Here are the rules:
1. Entrants have until end of day (11:59 pm, CDT) Friday, December 10, 2010 to rack up your entries in the drawing.
2. Each entrant can earn up to 9 entries, as outlined below.
3. Each entry requires a separate comment in this post to be counted separately.
4. Your email/contact info must be either included in your comments or visible in your blogger profile for me to contact you as a winner.
5. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing and announced on Monday, December 13, 2010.
GOOD LUCK!

How to enter:
REQUIRED ENTRY:
1) All entrants MUST become a fan of Tiny Bites via their Facebook page.  Thank them for the contest and tell them ID Mommy sent you.  Leave me a comment here that you became a fan, and let me know your Facebook name. (1 entry)

ADDITIONAL (optional) ENTRIES:

1.  Visit the Tiny Bites website and leave a comment here on this post about your thoughts on their product. (1 entry)

2.  Blog about Tiny Bites and leave a link to your post here in a separate comment. (2 entries)

3.  Blog about this contest with a link to this post, and leave a comment with the link to your blog post. (3 entries)

4.  Become a follower of the ID Mommy blog and tell me in a comment.  If you're already a follower, just leave a comment here to be counted! (1 entry)

5.  Become a Facebook Fan of ID Mommy and tell me in a comment. If you're already a fan, just leave me a comment here to be counted! (1 entry)

ID Mommy Tip: Sammy's Snack Mix

Here's my latest little mommy shortcut...

I used to have a bin full of Sammy's snack items...it would hold a rotating selection of raisins, peanuts, pretzels, goldfish, cereal, etc.  Every time we went out and I wanted to pack a snack, I'd open every container and sprinkle a little bit of each into his snack trap.

Well, most recently I've decided to just mix up my own snack mix for him. I use this big plastic jar that originally had some of my husband's trail mix in it, and fill it with a little of everything.  Now all I have to do is open the jar and dump one thing into the snack trap.  It works great and saves a lot of time.  This is probably one of those things that I'm the last to think of, but just in case you didn't either, I thought I'd share!

I also realized that snacks don't really have to be shaped like fish or teddy bears for your kids to like them.  I'll break up little pieces of graham cracker and Sammy gets just as excited as he would over Teddy Grahams, for a fraction of the price.  Same with pretzels...above you see the goldfish pretzels but now I have the huge jug of pretzels that he likes just as well.  Cereal also adds a little sweetness and color, and every now and then I'll sprinkle in a few chocolate chips, which he loves to discover in his snack!  M&M's or marshmallows make great little surprise treats too that I use sparingly if on hand!

ID Mommy Recipe(s) & Kitchen Gadget of the Week: Baby Food + OXO Ice Trays

Okay, I know, so I probably shouldn't call these posts "Recipes and Kitchen Gadget of the Week" anymore since I haven't been doing them EVERY week.  Pay no attention to the technicalities and read on if you've never tried making your own baby food. It really is easier than you think and very much worth it (at least in my mind)! 

At the ripe young age of 5 month, my little guy already sprouted a tooth and is scarfing down "solid" foods.  So, since I am now in the process of stocking up on baby food, I thought I'd share what I do.  I'm going to start with the easiest foods, because these photos also include another one of my favorite kitchen gadgets...oxo ice trays.

I'll tell you why I love them as I go.

You don't need any fancy, expensive baby food making machines.  Just your good ol' blender or food processor and a steam basket will do everything. I like to do a couple foods in one night, so I only have to clean the food processor once, and once you do it the food lasts a long time.  I have 4 or 5 of these ice cube trays which enables me to do a couple foods at a time.  It's also a huge plus to be able to give your baby fresh food.  I tried getting the jarred baby food and the "no refrigeration required" Gerber Graduates meals for Sammy for their convenience on our trip to Paris.  Keep in mind that this kid eats ANYTHING, and loves all kinds of weird exotic foods that most kids won't touch, and he wouldn't eat them.  I don't blame him...they looked and smelled pretty gross!

First, Obtain Food...
One word of caution...you may want to look into purchasing organic foods for your babies, or at least the organic versions of certain types of foods, even if you're not one to buy organic for yourself.  Recent studies have enlightened us to the fact that certain foods, especially those with soft skins, absorb more pesticides than others.  Here is a very eye opening article that will help you decipher which foods are most worth your baby's while to buy organic, if you don't do ALL organic:


"The Dirty Dozen" and "The Clean 15"


Now on to the preparation...

Let's start with A for Avocado!

Avocado
This was one of both boys' first foods because, along with pears, it was among the least allergenic. Directions: Cut open, scoop out the green flesh, discard the pit and smash with a fork.  I made Toby's avocado the same night I was making guacamole so I just smashed everything together and took some out for we folk who are blessed with teeth to enjoy with our chips and bbq.

Once smashed, I just literally slop it on the top of the ice cube trays:

 Then I smooth it all out with a rubber scraper, filling all the "cubes" and scraping excess back into the bowl.

The OXO ice cube trays have nice covers that slide on top.  This is great for two reasons...
1) The cubes don't fall into the sink when you're turning it upside down under water to loosen them from the tray.
2) You can stack them in the freezer without them sticking together or spilling out.

Stick 'em in the freezer.  Once they are frozen, pop them out of the tray.  Another reason I like these trays...the shape of the "cubes" (I put in quotations because they are not cube shaped) makes them pop out very easily by putting pressure on one side, because they are curved on the bottom.  Many people pick a cube or two out of their tray at a time, and this makes that easy!

Now label a freezer bag or other container so you know what the mysterious green stuff is, and store it in the freezer.  Whenever you want to feed baby some avocado, just zap a cube or two in the microwave and you're set.

I know it's not the most "green" practice to use plastic bags, but I re-use mine until my kids have a full set of choppers and move on to crunchy stuff, so I don't waste many.  When I run out, I'll refill the bag.  I like the bags because I'm not wasting space storing empty air as I use them up, like a rigid container would do.  This may be a great application for reuseable fabric food storage bags!

So, you'll repeat this freezing and storing process with each food to stock up...

Bananas
See "Avocado"...substitute ripe bananas.  Just mash 'em with a fork and freeze them.

Plums, Peaches, Nectarines, etc
These soft, fleshy fruits are great for getting things moving, if you know what I mean.  They come after bananas and avocados on the "easy scale" just because they require a little more than a fork...a blender or food processor.  I just wash them, cut out the pits, and puree. (then slop into ice trays and freeze of course).  If your baby likes rice cereal, that's a good way to thicken these up when you serve them.  They are such juicy fruits, they tend to be pretty liquid-y.  I also like to mix them with some applesauce too.

Peas
I just buy frozen peas.  Cook them in the microwave or pot as directed, then toss them in the food processor or blender and puree! Frozen veggies go on sale for $1 per bag all the time at my local grocery store, and they stretch WAY WAY farther than a jar of Gerber peas.  (and look, smell, and taste a whole lot more appetizing.) 

Bam.  Peas. Not much more work than making a package of frozen peas for dinner.  Easy peasy.  I usually end up adding a little water when I serve these because they can get pretty thick and pasty otherwise, and hard for baby to swallow.

Pears
You can do the same with apples.  Wash and chop them up...

Drop them in a steaming basket in a pot with some water and cook until they get soft.

Then puree, pack, and freeze! Pears!

 
Broccoli,  Cauliflower
For the easiest way to do broccoli, cauliflower, etc, see "peas."  You can pick up endless frozen veggies and do the same thing.  Otherwise, I also have done fresh broccoli...just steam it and puree.

Carrots
Like above, for the quickest route, do some frozen carrots.  I tend to buy the big bags of carrots in the produce section and steam them.  But, it's not really a whole lot more work to just steam fresh carrots.  No, you don't have to peel them...just wash well, steam and puree!

Sweet Potato
Same as carrots...scrub clean, chop, steam and puree!

Apples
Okay, maybe this should go above Avocados because the easiest is to just buy a gigantic jar of applesauce and open it.  I tried making it myself once and found I'd rather just buy a big jar of applesauce.  I just make sure it doesn't have any sugar added, and it's cheaper per ounce than the tiny jars of Gerber.  If you want to make it yourself, it'll be the same as pears above.  You just don't find big jars of "pear sauce." 

See...it may seem hard, but it really is easy...especially if you've already got some of these foods and/or tools out to make your own food already.  Here are a couple more tips...

Mix it up!
Once you go through the whole one-food-at-a-time thing to make sure your kid isn't allergic to anything, you can have some fun mixing flavors too. I like to mix other things with applesauce, such as peaches or plums, because on it's own applesauce tends to stop babies up. (see next tip...)

Keep Things Moving!
Some foods tend to contribute to constipation more than others, including:
- rice cereal (Sammy threw this up every time so we don't even use it)
- unripe bananas
- applesauce
- carrots
- potato
- dairy (cheese, yogurt)

What helps me keep things regular for my boys is to make sure to have at least one food item offered at each meal (along with 1 of the culprits above) which helps keep the digestive system moving.  To make it easier to remember, I keep foods that do this which start with "P" (for "poop" of course) on hand: Pears, Peaches, Plums and Peas. 


So give it a try...your baby will thank you for it!  Okay, maybe by flinging the peas back in your face, but deep down inside, he or she will thank you!

Here's another nice site full of homemade baby food recipes, along with charts to help you decipher which foods you can food at what ages:
Wholesome Baby Food