2/6/11 – Adventures in Baby Food – Peas

Today was Superbowl Sunday! A much different Superbowl Sunday than we’re used to, that’s for sure! For the past 5 years or so we have hosted a Superbowl party at our house, with all of our friends. We have a Taco Bar, Chips and Salsa, lots of laughs and catching up. This year, we decided to take a break from the party. Life has been too chaotic for us the past few months, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of planning another event right now. And, with Amelia requiring so much attention still, I just didn’t think I’d be able to focus on everything. So, instead, we spent a fairly quiet day and night at home, and we actually watched the game and relaxed. Sad to say, the Packers won…that was not a good way to end the day.

We were all up fairly early. Amelia did not sleep AT ALL last night. I put her down around 10:30, and she was up twice between then and 12:00. So, I finally just kept her in bed with me. She was still up on and off all night long, which resulted in very little sleep on my part. So, I was feeling pretty rough this morning. Christian’s friend spent the night after the fight last night, so Christian took Olivia with him to bring his friend home. I attempted to get Amelia down for a nap while they were gone…that didn’t happen. We ate lunch and just hung out for a little while. Olivia went down for her nap, and I again attempted to put Amelia down. Failed…again. This time I decided to just stay in bed and nap with her…it was the only way to get her down, and I needed a nap anyway! She, or rather her digestive track, is having a really hard time adjusting to foods, so she has been having a pretty hard time going to the bathroom. It’s causing a lot of her problems right now. Poor thing.

Finally, Christian roasted a chicken and some potatoes for dinner, we all ate, watched the big game, did a little cleaning and just hung out. It was finally time for bed and baths, and I’m praying for a good night of sleep tonight!

Before bed, I did manage to make my 3rd batch of baby food…this time was Peas! I’ve always heard making peas was a total pain. That the skin was impossible to puree. I don’t know it it’s the Baby Bullet, or what, but I didn’t have any trouble at all. The nutritional value of peas is amazing when you think of the small size of a cup of peas. One cup of peas contains more protein that a tablespoon of peanut butter and also provides calcium, Vitamin A and C and Iron too. These wonderful vegetables are a great first “green” food for baby as they are nutritious, and mostly pleasant to eat. Peas are typically recommended for introduction into a baby's diet between 6-8 months old. You can use fresh peas (from a peapod), but frozen peas will really do the trick.

I chose to use frozen peas, and followed this simple 3-step process:

1. Cook the peas in the microwave; according to the directions on the package (you can also do stovetop if you wish).
2. Plunge the hot peas into a bowl of ice cold water – this is said to help with puréeing.
3. Place the peas into an appliance of your choice for puréeing, and use the water from the steaming process to aid in the puréeing process – however, you may need to add more water throughout the process to achieve the correct consistency. I used ¾-1 cup of water total for a bag of frozen peas.

Simple as that! And, the peas tasted great, MUCH better than I remember the jarred peas tasting.

Cost Savings:
- 1 Bag of Frozen Peas = $.90 – Makes Roughly 10 Jars
- 10 Jars of Gerber Stage 2 Peas = $5.95
- Cost Savings of $5.05

Here are some before and after pictures of the peas. And, a picture of Olivia and Daddy, lounging around.