Baby Yogurt

Thought I would share my thoughts on Baby Yogurt. Payton LOVES baby yogurt. I also love that she loves it. It is healthy, tasty, and easy.

Of course when it comes to my little girl I want nothing but the best. So organic it is. I don't mind saving in other areas of food so that my little girl can eat healthy. Plus if you look at various websites, you can always use coupons.

Stonyfield has great baby yogurt products all ages but especially for babies. They also are generous with their coupons. I always sign in under my husband’s email as well to get more coupons. We started with the plain yogurt and then added her baby fruit to the yogurt when she was 6 months old. After she got use to have her foods blended, we purchased the yogurt with fruit and cereal. And still do! She also loves the yogurt smoothies.

Horizon Dairy also has yogurt for babies. I usually don't find it at my grocery store but this weekend I saw their Little Blends Yogurt. Thought we would give it a try. Plus there was a coupon inside for next time. It is yogurt with fruit and veggies. We bought the banana and sweet potatoes. Yummy.

I know as a mom that I always worry about Payton having a balanced and healthy diet. To make it even harder she is picky about her veggies. Wont really eat them unless it is hidden. So I just make sure she eats a lot of fruit. Buying yogurt with fruit and now with fruit and veggies makes it a lot easier and less stressful!

Jamaican Curry Chicken

Tried a new recipe and LOVED it! I would say that this is totally family friendly because it isn't spicy at all. Now my little girl is super picky but hopefully your kids will enjoy it. Our neighbor and babysitter for our daughter is Jamaican. So where else do you think I got this recipe from? It is by word of mouth so I just winged and it turned out pretty tasty. I still don't think it is as good as Tammy’s but it was close! Thanks Tammy for the recipe!

1 package of chicken breast or bone-in chicken (your choice)

2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil

2-3 tablespoons of Curry powder

1 onion, diced

1 cup of water

2-3 servings of brown rice or whatever your family prefers

salt and pepper to taste

2-3 tablespoons of garlic (more if you really like garlic)

Medium heat cook minced garlic in olive oil till brown. Add curry powder to oil and mix. Add chicken breast and sauté on both sides. Add water to pan and cover with a lid. Cook chicken over low to medium heat till chicken is cooked. If you have time, low and slow is best for tender chicken. While chicken is cooking, cook brown rice and cut onions. Half way through the chicken, add onions to the pan, stir and cover. Let the steam cook down the onions. Can add more water if you think it needs it, it will reduce down to a curry sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

When finished, serve curry chicken with rice and the sauce from the pan.

We had steamed carrots with ours and it was a good side dish.

Enjoy!

Preschool Prep Company

I know it has been a while but with the summer ending and school starting back it has been busy! So I have a review for my readers. (dont even know if I have any! :))

A sweet DG sister/Blogger friend, Nikki suggested the Preschool Prep Company DVDs. They have colors, numbers, letters, and sight words. I thought this would great for Payton to try!

Preschool Prep Company

Check out their website! They have much more than just DVDs. So far we just have the letters and colors DVD. Being an educator I wanted to make sure they were going to be worth purchasing. Totally are!! Along with us working with her, her Leapfrog Fridge Phonics Letters, bath foam letters, and the DVDs, she is starting to recognize letters and colors. Of course I know she is only 17 months but she shows interest and tries her hardest. Right now she really likes the letters B, P, O, and R. Even when we are out, she points to letters and identifies them. Of course not always be correct but it is a start!

The DVDs are very repetitive, animated, and educate the kids on lower case and upper case letters and colors. It might drive the parents crazy but it keeps the interest of the kids!

I totally give my TWO thumbs up!

We purchased our DVDs at Sams Club and they had all of them there. I know Amazon carries them as well.

Peanut Butter Spread

This is such a great spread that I have made it three times this summer! The whole family will love it and it is a healthy way to feed your kids.

• 1 Jar of Peanut Butter (we use all natural)
• Optional Almond Butter ( we buy ours at the farmers market b/c it tends to be a little pricey)
• Various nuts you have in the pantry (almonds, cashews, peanuts, ect) 1 cup or to taste
• Jar of Nutella
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1 cup Flax Seed

Grind your nuts in the food processor. Add all your butters, ground nuts, nutella, honey, and flax seed together. Taste it and see if you need to add any of the ingredients. Place in a jar and store in refrigerator.

We eat it on toast and crackers!

Summer Book Suggestions (girls only)

Since I have the time this summer, I have been reading away! I know it should be a year round thing but it just doesnt happen. Thought I would share my summer readings.

Okay, dont judge. I read her other book last summer and watch her show on Oxygen. So I read this one. It was a fun, mindless read.

I really want to see the movie so I read the book. I havent seen the movie yet because I know that I will be crying mess! Good book!

Currently reading this!! It is fun and love that she blogs about her recipes!

Just came out this week and I am totally excited about it!! Love this author. If you are looking for a fun summer, relaxing, and great book ALL of her books have been awesome!

Here are her other books! Read them all and love them!

Most important, my bible study book; Crazy Love. I have been reading in between all my others. We are doing a class on it and the author is very powerful about how to pray. Very powerful and though provoking.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Thought I might share my yummy recipe for Chicken Pesto Pizza!!

Homemade Pesto from our garden. Yes really. I love making pesto and then freezing it for when we need it.  I am determined to make enough this summer to last us to next summer. Okay, enough of the chat onto the recipe…

Pesto

• 2 cups of basil (you can also add arugula if you want)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (add more to taste)
• 1 cup walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds or any other nuts that you have on hand.  I rarely use pine nuts due to other nuts being less expensive.
• 1 cup of olive oil or until the consistency you like.
• 1 /2 cup parmesan cheese ( If you freeze, I wait and add it when I cook. That way it is fresh)

Use a food processor and chop up the nuts and basil together.  Add garlic and parmesan cheese.  Then add olive oil as the food processor  is running and stop when you like the consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

If you freeze: Place in ziplock containers (we use the small ones) and place in freezer!!!

Preparing the Pizza Preheat oven 400 degrees F

1. Pizza Crust: We use premade farmer’s market whole wheat pizza dough; of course we buy it and freeze them  for when we need it.  As well you can buy premade dough from the grocery store.
2. Thaw out or use your fresh pesto from your garden.  Spread out on the pizza crust.  Don't put on too thick because the olive oil will thin out. 
3. Add chicken (already cooked in a little olive oil). 
4. Optional: I made one with just chicken for my husband.  Made another one with artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and chicken. yummy.
5. Spread mozzarella cheese over top
6. Place on a pizza stone (if you have one) and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese has browned. 

Enjoy!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Recipe from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld

I love this recipe!!! I make in bulk and freeze it for Payton.  It is full of yummy goodness and healthy goodness~ perfect my little picky eater.  I have altered a few things in the recipe just because I wanted to or just because i may not have had that particular item.  Either way, they have always turned out yummy! I will put my alternative ingredients in bold.

If you haven't heard of Deceptively Delicious, it is a must for moms out there!  Jessica Seinfeld is all about hiding the veggies into recipes for your picky eaters.  My little girl is really picky and does not care for veggies unless they are hidden.   Jessica suggests taking a day and pureeing the vegetables that you will use and then freezing them in the appropriate proportions.  It works great.  As well the cookbook has really good recipes that are enjoyed by all!  Next time, I will post the recipe for coffee cake, it is so yummy. I freeze it and bring out for guests and they think I slaved away that morning! Okay, I digress. Sorry.

Prep: 10 Minutes Total: 26 Minutes - Makes 12 Muffins - Packable

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, chilled (used the light margarine as well) 
• 1 cup low-fat lemon yogurt (used any flavor we have had available and also whole milk yogurt for Payton)
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup yellow squash puree
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour)
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.  (I have used the mini muffin tins for Payton and they make a great size for snacks or a side item)

2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and the margarine with a wooden spoon.  Stir in yogurt, blueberries, yellow squash puree, egg, lemon extract, and lemon zest.

3. Add the flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in to combine, do not over mix- the batter is supposed to be lumpy.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, 13-16 minutes.  Turn the muffins onto a rack to cool.

5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or wrap individually and freeze up to one month.