More Deception

So I'm now into week three of pureeing veggies and still loving it. So far, planning out your meals and making the purees at the beginning of the week really works well for me. I also realized if I'm already doing this, I've already got baby food for when Caleb starts solids. Food freshly pureed by mom - what's not to like? Here's what we made this past week.

• Chicken Salad (with Cauliflower puree)
• Beef Stew (with carrot and broccoli puree)
• Rice Balls (with sweet Potato, broccoli, and chicken puree)
• Aloha Chicken Kabobs (with Sweet Potato puree)

Before I go into my thoughts on the recipes, let me first tell you what I like to do to get the full benefit of planning out my menu. First of all, planning a menu is essential for me. How am I going to know what to get at the grocery store for the week? I also grew up with a mom who did this and to this day still goes to the grocery store every Thursday (probably has for 20 years, no kidding!) so this habit is not difficult for me. I simply pick out what I want to make for the week, and I quickly check to see what we already have. Then I use my app, Grocery Gadget (definitely our most used app!) to start my list. I make a list of everything we need for the recipes, and then add our stock items like milk, yogurt, power bars, etc. Another thing I do to prepare for the weeks meals is think strategically about the order of what I'm going to fix. What do I mean by this? Well, for me it means to make meals like soup or pasta in the beginning of the week so I will have plenty of leftovers for the week's lunches. We save a TON of money because we always bring our lunch to work. Lastly, another thing I've added to my menu prep list is to puree at the beginning of the week to make cooking this way simple and easy. I know all that may sound nutty to you, but it keeps me sane. I enjoy cooking and good meals. I don't want to be one of those people who has no idea what they're going to eat 20 minutes before it's time to eat, so this is what I do. I LOVE TO EAT.

Ok so for the recipes. The chicken salad was ok. I'm not sure what it was, but it just just a little bland. We definitely ate it all and it was great to have around for lunches, but I don't think I'll make it again. I think I can still incorporate some purees and use a tried an true healthy recipe of my own. I also made the beef stew in the at the beginning of the week so it would be on hand for lunch. Tim liked it more than I did. I used low sodium broth, and virtually no pre-packaged items, so I'm sure I was missing the saltiness. This is not a bad thing because we consume way to much salt in general, but Tim said he really like the fact that it didn't have a salty taste. Not sure if I'll do that one again. The rice balls were a big hit, especially with my daughter. Not only do you incorporate broccoli and sweet potato puree, but you also use chicken puree. I don't know if you have kids like mine, but my daughter is a total herbivore, especially when it comes to chicken. Go figure. So sometimes I worry that she is not getting enough protein. But by pureeing the chicken, you get a smoother texture. She LOVED them. They are a little tricky to get right when you're sauteeing them (easy to burn) and you have to turn them constantly. But it it doesn't take long. Although they were really good, I wasn't sure it was worth the effort until I saw how much Savannah loved them. So I'll be making those again. P.S. The purees for this was look absolutely disgusting in my opinion as evidenced by the picture. The Aloha chicken kabobs were a big hit with me and Tim, but not as much with S because as I mentioned, she doesn't care for chicken (but she did like the chicken nuggets from the week before). I used pineapple juice instead of the puree that the recipe calls for and, that was much easier and tasted great. I will definitely be making these again...this would probably be a great summer dish....perfect for serving up for friends alongside a beverages with little umbrellas :-)

So there you have it. We started off this week with Spaghetti pie which was the biggest hit yet. S kept saying "More meatballs, more meatballs please!" Having Savannah ask me for more of something chocked full of veggies makes a mama happy.

The purees for Rice balls: broccoli, sweet potatoes, chicken

Spaghetti Pie!