Baby Food Recipe ft. Avocado 6 months+

Hello lovelies,

Avocados are an amazing source of healthy fats and they are a perfect food not only for us, but also for our babies! Now avocado by itself is not very appealing, so I have made a recipe that is sweet enough for your baby and is also high in fat, protein and fiber.

What you will need:
- Baby Bullet or a blender and a food processor
- 1/2 banana
- 1 avocado
- 1 tbsp water
- 1-2 tbsp of plain unsweetened greek yoghurt
- 2 tsp of uncooked quick oats (you can also cook the oats for this recipe if you wish)

Steps:
- Using your Baby Bullet with the blending blade/blender/or a fork pureé the avocado and water to your desired texture
- Add half of a banana to the avocado and blend
- Add in the yhogurt and continue to blend in your Baby Bullet or by hand until you have a smooth texture
-Using your Baby Bullet with the milling blade/food processor grind the oats to a powder consistency
- Add the oat powder to the avocado mixture and blend until smooth

Makes approx. 12oz depending on the size of your fruit.

If you are not going to feed your baby right away, or if you are prepping your babies food for the next day than do not add the banana until you are ready to serve. Adding the banana beforehand will cause your pureé to turn brown and spoil. When you are ready to feed your baby just pop the mixture back into your Baby Bullet or blender and add the banana.  If you are feeding your baby on the go then you can mash the banana seperatley before adding it to the mixture.

*Always remember that when feeding your baby a new food to follow the four day rule before introducing something new, to ensure that your baby does not have any food allergies.

Until next time....
Mel
aka Jennine's mommy

Mommy daughter outfit

Hello lovelies,

This past weekend we had a kids birthday party to go on my fiancés side and here is what we both wore.

Me:
Blazer: Dynamite
Tunic: Dynamite
Beige Jeggings: Dynamite
Flats: Ardéne

Jennine:
Onesie: Target;  Cherokee
Legggings: Sears
(How adorable are the leggings and my fiancé found them hiding in the boys section, under other clothes)
Faux fur vest: Baby Mexx
(Talk about cute, I fell in love when we saw this vest)
Boots: Old Navy

Being the person that I am, I desperately hope that my daughter will have a life long love affair with fashion, just like her mommy. Until the day comes that she can decide for herself, I will dress her as a little fashionista in the hopes that she will always be one.

Until next time....

Mel
aka Jennine's mommy

How to Look Amazing After Giving Birth!

Hello Lovelies!!!!

Giving birth is one of the most beautiful and natural things in the world and I truly feel blessed for being able to conceive, carry and deliver my beautiful daughter aû nautural (aside from being induced due to my water breaking early). Aside from all the beauty and glory (and pain and agony) that comes with labour, no one prepares you for how you will look and feel afterwards. 

The day after delivering my daughter I unexpectedly still looked very pregnant. No, I did not expect to have my abs back right away (I'm still trying to find them all), but I also didn't expect to look six months pregnant. At this point I was so happy that my daughter was healthy and that she was finally here and would come home with us soon but, I was also the most self-conscious about my physical appearance than I had ever been in my entire life. 

After your baby is born you get more visitors than an old lady giving away free cupcakes, so you want to look your best. Looking and feeling your best can be hard as a new mommy, so I am going to breakdown step by step how to look and feel amazing after giving birth. Whether you are going to the grocery store or having a family gathering to welcome your new bundle of joy, I've got you covered!

Step 1: Confidence! Confidence can make even the scaredest (wo)man look like the bravest. Even if you have to, fake it 'til you make it. I remember in the beginning it was hard for me to even just talk to people without being nervous (and I come from a job and life where all I do is talk all day), so know that it's normal and you're not alone. Just be you and remember that you are strong and let your confidence shine through naturally. 

Step 2: Concealer. Go for a Concealer two shades lighter than your complexion to brighten up your under eyes. Let everyone think that you have a magic baby who sleeps through night,  they'll never know!!!

Step 3: Mascara to open up your eyes and make you look more awake. 

Step 4: Blush in a soft pink/orange to bring some life back into your face. 

Step 5: Treat yourself to a new pair of jeans. Even if the jeans end up being a few sizes bigger than your pre-preggo size do it!!! You want to be able to wear something other than those boring leggings that you've been wearing for the past 8 months. Go for a straight leg and and boyfriend jeans are still a hot commodity, so when you loose those last 15lbs, put on a belt, roll up the cuffs and BAM boyfriend jeans! Style with a plain tee and blazer and you are good to go!

Step 6: Peplum tops or Empire waist blouses/dresses - magic for hiding the post-pregnancy belly. Remember to balance your outfit; if you are wearing a loose blouse go for a slender bottom and vice versa. 

Step 7: Fresh air. Go for a walk with your baby and partner around the neighbourhood at least twice a week. This is great for some light cardio and also to spend some quality time together as a family. Babies love walks too, even though they are in their stroller they well be easily occupied by their surroundings and they may even fall asleep during your walk! 

Step 8: Do something that you love and that makes you happy. Whether it be cooking (or ordering) your favourite meal and watching a movie on netflix, or having a DIY spa day at home with a girlfriend while your hubby takes care of the afternoon "baby duties". What ever it is, just remember to still be YOU!

Step 9:  Love yourself!!!! And know that your baby loves you for you (as well as your partner, that's why they're with you!!). Babies don't care what your hair looks like,  or if you forgot to take a shower last night. To your baby you are their whole world, they look to you for all of their needs and know nothing of a world without you. Always remember that the little baby smiling at you in her sleep will always love you just the way you are!!

Those are all of my tips and tricks to make you look and feel amazing! I hope that this was helpful for any and all mommies that may need a little pick me up, or a reminder of how amazing they already are!

What tips and/or tricks do you have to look and feel amazing after birth?  

Until next time....

Mel

aka Jennine's mommy

Confessions of a First Time Mom #1

Hello lovelies,

My first confession of being a first time mom is one that I think all moms have thought at some point or another, but especially so with the first baby.

I never thought that I would think a fart or a belch coming from anyone could be the cutest thing I would hear all day (yes, I am still talking about farts). Nothing beats the first time your baby smiles at you. Nothing also beats the first time you hear a nasty, outlandish belch thinking it came from your fiancé, only to look down in aww now knowing that it came from the adorable bundle of joy lying in arms.

I want to make this a series on my blog and will try to have a new confession every week, so stayed tuned!!!!

Until next time....

Mel
aka Jennine's mommy

Baby Food Recipe with Chicken (6 months+)

Hello lovelies,

My daughter's doctor gave us the go ahead to start solids at four months and we gradually started introducing her to new flavours and textures. She is now just past six months and at her routine visit we asked if we could start to introduce meats into her diet and her doctor approved!

When it comes to eating my girl is a champ. She has loved food from the very first day she tried it. To clear up why we started solids when we did, my daughter was showing all of the signs that she was ready. She started teething (mind you we are still waiting for her first tooth to cut, it is so close I can see the tooth!), she could hold up her own head, she would drool and stare everytime my fiancé and I were eating, she was munching on her tiny little hands like crazy. She also knew how to chew and turn away when she was finished eating and didn't want anymore.

The first time I introduced chicken to my daughter she was not a fan, so I wanted to find a way to get her to eat it without tasting just the chicken, or tasting the chicken at all. Here is the recipe I came up with.

Having not liked the chicken alone, my daughter thankfully loved this combination. She had already tried carrots and sweet potatoes seperatley and adding them together really helped mask the chicken flavour (yes, of course I tried it ;) ).

- 1 Chicken Breast
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Sweet Potato
- Filtered/ Boiled and cooled Water (measure as needed)

You will also need:
- a Baby Bullet or
- a food processor &
- a blender
- a container to put the pureé in when finished
- a freezer safe container for left over pureé

Cook the chicken breast at 350F for 30min.
While the chicken is cooking peel the carrot and sweet potato and chop both into 1inch cubes.
Boil the chopped sweet potato for 10min.
Boil the chopped carrot for 20min.

Once both vegetables are boiled until soft use your baby bullet with the Blend Blade or your blender to pureé both vegetables. I started by blending the sweet potato first and added approx. 4tbsp of water. Add however much water is needed for your desired consistency.

At this point your chicken should be fully cooked. Check the colour first and and ensure the liquid surrounding the chicken is clear. Using the Milling Blade with your Baby Bullet or your food processor and grind the chicken until it is of your desired texture. I added approx 2tbs of water to the chicken while grinding. 

Once the chicken is of your desired consistency add it to your blender with the sweet potato and carrot pureé and blend. Blend until all three foods are equally combined and you can no longer see the chicken (it should be blended to the same consitency as both vegetables). Once blended you should have an orangey-pink pureé.

When finished depending on the size of the vegetables that you used you should have approx. 40oz of pureé.

The pureé can last for up to three days in the fridge and one month in the freezer. I put 20oz in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.

I typically feed my daughter solids 2-3 times a day and this batch should last us all week.

Just remember that when defrosting your frozen batch, not to use high heat. I usually pop out as many servings as I will need for the day from the silicone tray that came with my bullet and let them defrost in the fridge the night before. If you need to you can place them in warm water to help them defrost a bit faster.

Thanks for reading and I hope that this post was helpful to any mommy's looking for new baby food recipes!!!

Until next time....

Mel aka...

Jennine's mommy