Home Made All in One Baby Food Pouches

My one and a half year old recently decided to implement his own eating philosophy I like to call "the 1 second rule". Basically, anytime I offer him something to eat, he will take a bite, and the food will stay in his mouth for one second or less before he would spit it out. He has applied  this philosophy to every single food I offer him, except for treats like cake, cookies, etc....hahaha...

Of course this makes it hard for me to get any nutrition into his tiny body. But I recently discovered that he is less likely to spit things out if I offer it to him in the form of liquid-y type foods such as smoothies, yogurt, etc.

He particularly enjoys those store bought fruit pouches but at the rate that he is eating these pouches, it can get very costly to keeping buying them. So I decided to make some of my own, and it has been the best decision I've made so far.

After much research online, I've found different kinds of refillable/reusable food pouches to try. I ended up going with the Kiddzo food pouches, which seemed to give me the best value for the number of pouches that came in the set.

In addition to getting some fruits and veggies into his system, I also wanted to add a protein element into these food pouches because his 1 second rule also applies to all kinds of protein sources including eggs and meats.

This recipe is very easy to prepare. All you need to do is mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and pour into the individual pouches. I used carrot powder this time around, and I used some maple syrup to add a little sweetness to the mixture because the applesauce I used wasn't the sweetened kind and I knew that my kid would be more likely to eat it if he can taste some sweetness....hahaha....

This recipe gave me 5 pouches, some of which I stored in the freezer. For the frozen ones, you just need to thaw them in the fridge overnight before serving.

I love how easy it was too make and the fact that it is all in one protein, veggie, fruit, carbs, and dairy. But most importantly, I am so glad that my son actually liked it and didn't spit any of it out....YAY...

Home Made All in One Baby Food Pouches

4 jars of baby food applesauce (4 oz per jar)/ 2 cups of applesauce

1 jar baby food chicken puree (2.5 oz jar)

1 tsp veggie powder

8-12 tsp maple syrup (to taste)

1/4 c baby cereal

a few splashes of milk

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until it reaches the right consistency or thickness for food pouches. If it is too thick, you can add a few more splashes of milk.

Transfer into pouches and store in the refrigerator, or freeze until ready to use. If frozen, pull out of the freezer the night before use, and let sit in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.

Here is a printable version of the recipe

Grilled Veggie Cheese Sandwich

Since I've been posting a lot of sweet recipes lately, I thought I should add some savory recipes to the mix :)
Today my kids helped me make some grilled cheese sandwiches, with a veggie twist.
Basically it is the same as you would normally make your grilled cheese sandwich, except I added some veggie powder in the grated cheese mixture before putting it on the bread.

I started with some melted butter on the pan and placed two sliced bread in the hot pan. I used whole wheat bread because that is what I had in my fridge. I placed some grated cheese in a bowl and mixed it with a few dashes of veggie powder. The amount of cheese and veggie powder to use will depend on your taste. My kids love cheese so I added a whole bunch of it.

This time i used my homemade pumpkin powder, but you could use any veggie powder you happen to have. With the help of my Excalibur dehydrator, I have a stock pile of various veggie powders to choose from, including pumpkin, carrot, spinach, broccoli, etc. If you don't happen to have any home made powder, you could use Spirulina powder or other store bought ready made greens or veggie powder instead. As long as I am able to get in an extra serving/ boost of veggies in my kids diet, I'm a happy mama :)

I put a generous amount of the cheese mixture on one of the bread slices in the hot pan, and flipped the other slice on top of it to cover the cheese. I let that cook for a few minutes until it is brown on the bottom side, then flipped to cook the other side. If you want, you could also put some cheese on the outside of the sandwich and let that melt on the pan to create a crispy cheese surface. If you choose to do that, be sure to add some more butter onto the pan to prevent the cheese from sticking to the pan.

Once the sandwich is done, transfer to a plate and cut into the desired shape. I used my kids' favorite plate to serve their sandwich in, the Mr Food Face plate. It is a fun plate for them to make food art and eat their food out of it. Given the choice between a square or triangle cut, my oldest specifically requested triangular sandwich pieces.

Since I had some extra cheese mixture, I also made some quesadilla. I didn't have flour tortilla so I used corn tortilla and piled on the cheese, covered with a second tortilla and flipped to cook both sides until crispy.

These make really great meals for the little ones, and even for adults as well. They are also great for a quick snack since it is so simple and fast to prepare.

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