Good idea- bad idea? You tell me!

So, I have been trying to come up with ideas on how to reach out to people and get them involved in making healthier food choices for their little ones, and that's how I came up with the idea for this blog.

The other day we were in the car chatting and it hit me, why don't I open up a baby food store in Skagit Valley that focuses on using fresh, seasonal and local fare?? There are SO many awesome farms in the valley and surrounding areas that grow some amazing things, it would be a shame yo not take advantage of that!

 This shop would of course, be affordable, convenient, healthful,  and most of all, as close to natural and organic as possible.  Options would range from first food purees to chunky type toddler foods and even baby cereals to teether biscuits, cookies and healthy snacks. I may even have the option of choosing mail-order foods delivered to your doorstep. 

This is where I need your help! Whether you know me or not, would shop there or not, have 5 kids or no kids, think this is a great or terrible idea - doesn't matter, I just want your thoughts and opinions! Family and friends are crucial to starting a small business, so if everyone I know thinks it's a not-so-awesome idea, then I will just keep on keeping on with my blogging instead.  So please, comment below, it is MUCH appreciated.

Oliver samples my homemade banana teether cookies...

...success!

Happy Eating!

Roasted Peach Puree and Blackberry Swirl - Recipe

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least, which is why I haven't posted. I PROMISE to post at least twice this week to make it up to all 4 of my lovely readers :)

I've been trying to come up with some creative recipes done simple, so here it is.

Roasted Peach Puree with Blackberry Swirl

Good for babies - Who have mastered basic purees

Difficulty level - Easy

Time - 45 minutes-ish

Servings - Varies, depending on how much fruit you use

What you'll need:

6 Peaches

Blackberries- Purchased mine from 
the Farmers Market. Thank you Hayton Farms!

Start off by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter a baking dish.

Halve the peaches and discard the pits, leave the skin on. Place peaches, cut side up, in your buttered baking dish.

 Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes. juices will start bubbling, creating yummy, sweet, peachy-ness!

* * *


While the peaches are roasting rinse blackberries and place in a stockpot.

Cook over low heat. The blackberries will take a while to burst, so I like to use my handy potato masher to mash the berries while they cook because sometimes I am not patient enough to wait, this just speeds up the cooking process. .

Once berries are hot, mashed and have a slight bubble, remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Place berries in food processor and blend the heck out of them.

. 

Working in small batches work puree through a sieve to remove the seeds.

Just seeds and a little bit of fleshy pulp should be left in the sieve.

Place blackberry sauce aside.

* * *

Once the peaches are done roasting, let them sit for a bit to cool off. Once they're cool enough for you to handle, remove skins and place in your food processor. 

Pulse to desired consistency. Chunky for advanced babies, smooth for beginner babies (Oliver is somewhere in the middle of the 2).

Here is where you have options. You can either serve peaches on their own or with the blackberries swirled in. You really don't need a lot of the blackberry sauce to get the full effect. 

I like to freeze the blackberry sauce in SMALL ice cube trays. The reason I do that is because, like I said before, you don't need to add much of it to your main fruits. 

My last trick for this post- spoon some of the blackberry sauce and/or peaches over some Greek yogurt or vanilla frozen yogurt for a fresh and healthy treat!

Happy Eating!