Bluum Box Review: February 2014

This is my sixth box since deciding to try Bluum. Bluum‘s pricing is very similar to Citrus Lane, at $25 per box on a month to month basis, $23 per month for a three month subscription (less than CL), $21 per month for a six month subscription (the same as CL), and even less than that for a one year subscription. Also of note is that Bluum offers more ways to earn rewards and free boxes than Citrus Lane does (which is why I’m on the month to month plan at the moment, hoping to earn a free box!). I’m still pretty impressed with the box. I was told that Bluum would primarily send samples, but I believe it to be of phenomenal value.

My box this month was the box for eighteen month olds. This box didn’t appear to have a theme.

1. Toy and Surface Wipes from Dapple
Price: $3.00
Status: Meh
Comments: I got this exact same product in my Citrus Lane box last month. I re-gifted it then, and that’s probably what I will do again now. While the travel size is nice, Baby Girl seems to be past the stage of putting everything in her mouth, and I just don’t feel the need to sterilize everything she touches.

2. Calendula Weather Protection Cream from Weleda
Price: $13.00
Status: Meh
Comments: I wanted to be excited about this, since it has been an especially harsh winter, with dry skin abound, but I already have a tube of this in the closet from a Citrus Lane box last winter that I haven’t finished off, so I’m unsure that I’ll be able to get through this one. Great re-gift for those winter babies though!

3.Cozies Plush Gray & White Dog from Manhattan Toy
Price: $22.00
Status: Meh
Comments: This is a great stuffed animal. It has soft, plushy fur, is a comfy squeeze, and is the perfect size for her age. However, what eighteen month old needs more stuffed animals? Especially with Easter coming up, I just don’t see the benefit.

4.  Ants Go Marching! Book w/CD from Child’s Play
Price: $5.99
Status: Great
Comments: Always happy to see books in the box! This book is very sturdy for being a paperback, and it’s cool that it comes with a CD, although It isn’t fastened into the book super well, and I had to take it out to save it from Baby Girl.

5. Silicone Placemat from Brinware
Price: $7.50
Status: Good
Comments: We got a similar item in a previous box, and since Baby Girl is still in a high chair with a tray for meals, we haven’t had the opportunity to use it yet. That said, it seems sturdy and well made, so I’m sure it will work out fine.

So was it worth it? Definitely. The total value of the box was $51.49, compared to a $25 purchase price. After subtracting the items I will probably regift, I got around $35 worth of value, which is still above the purchase price. Plus, now I have some really high quality items to gift my mom friends with tinier babies!

Are you interested in signing up for Bluum?

Click here to sign up and receive 50% off your first box!

Citrus Lane Review: February 2014

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price! See my reviews for previous months here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month subscriptions your cost is $29.00 per month, or $24.00 per month for a three month subscription, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received a nineteen month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1. Dive Bath Appliques from Boon
Price: $10.99
Status: Interesting
Comments: We are lovers of the Boon brand in this house, and have several of their other products. I wasn’t super excited to see these in the box, as we already have a giant container of letters like this, and Baby Girl really doesn’t play with them too much. That said, they are well made, and a pretty cool bath toy, and if we don’t get around to using them, I know they’ll make an awesome re-gift.

2. Silicone Bowl from Oogaa
Price: $8.99
Status: Awesome!
Comments: We received a silicone placemat by oogaa in one of our boxes last year, and while we haven’t had a chance to use it yet, it is a pretty awesome product. I’m pretty much always excited to get feeding supplies in our boxes, as I am entirely overwhelmed when trying to choose them to purchase, and this way I can try all the best brands and figure out what works for me. I really love this bowl. It is sturdy, microwave, oven, and dishwasher safe, and won’t break when Baby Girl inevitably throws it on the floor.
Want to get one of your own? Use code CITRUS 14 for 25% off your entire order at oogaa.com through 06/01/2014.

3. Starlight Sailor from Barefoot Books
Price: $14.99
Status: Awesome
Comments: Yay Books! Always love to get books in the box! Bonus when they’re board books (Baby Girl loves books, and I just feel better about letting her read them on her own when they’re sturdy), and double bonus for being beautifully illustrated an not an entirely boring read. When you read as many books a day as we do, we’re grateful when we can enjoy them!
Want one of your own? Use code CITRUSSTORY for 15% off at barefootbooks.com through 03/10/2014.

4.Green Apple Age Defy Hand Cream from Juice Beauty
Price: $12.00
Status: Meh
Comments: Yet another “mommy” item that I am at best lukewarm about. I’m not one for expensive cosmetics in general, but especially not hand cream. I have tried all different kinds of hand creams, expensive and inexpensive, and the absolute best stuff I’ve found is the stuff my grandpa used to use on cow udders after milking, and it is super cheap at farm supply and even some dollar stores. Hence I have no real need for a $12 tube of hand cream. Re-gift for sure.
Want some for yourself? Use Code CITRUS14 for $10 off any $40 purchase at juicebeauty.com through 04/30/2014.

Final Thoughts:
Once again we only get four items, but his time I’m much happier about it. While I may not use the bath toys, the book and the bowl are a good value that I’m pretty happy with. That said, would it kill them to put four totally awesome items in one box? I can seriously do without the organic mommy stuff.

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $46.97
Total value of items I will use: $34.97
Is the value greater than the cost? YES
Best box value I’ve had in a long time, which always makes me happy. Just wish they would leave out the basically useless mommy stuff.

Looking for my previous Citrus Lane reviews? CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE TO SAVE 50% OFF YOUR FIRST BOX!

Bluum Box Review: January 2014

This is my fifth box since deciding to try Bluum. Bluum‘s pricing is very similar to Citrus Lane, at $25 per box on a month to month basis, $23 per month for a three month subscription (less than CL), $21 per month for a six month subscription (the same as CL), and even less than that for a one year subscription. Also of note is that Bluum offers more ways to earn rewards and free boxes than Citrus Lane does (which is why I’m on the month to month plan at the moment, hoping to earn a free box!). I’m still pretty impressed with the box. I was told that Bluum would primarily send samples, but I believe it to be of phenomenal value.

My box this month was the box for seventeen month olds. This box seemed to have a theme primarily of mealtime type items.

1. Organic Smoothie Fruits: The Green One from Ella’s Kitchen
Price: $1.29
Status: Great
Comments: I actually really like receiving food pouches in my subscription boxes. I have yet to feed them to Baby Girl yet, but I think she’ll really like them, and I look forward to trying!

2. Organic Smoothie Fruits: The Yellow One from Ella’s Kitchen
Price: $1.29
Status: Great
Comments: How fun to get two different flavors! I’m super glad about this!

3.Sippigrips from Booginhead
Price: $15.00
Status: Meh
Comments: These are actually pretty high quality and a nice item (plus I love that it’s a two pack!), but Baby Girl really doesn’t need these anymore. She has a good handle on her toys, cups, and other items, and she’s old enough to walk around now, so I’m not really worried about her dropping things or throwing things out of the car seat/stroller/shopping cart. These would have been awesome to have a few months ago though, and you can bet I’m going to re-gift them!

4.  Divided Plate from Bumkins
Price: $6.95
Status: Great
Comments: I love this item. I love the Bumkins brand, I love Dr. Seuss, and I love this plate! I wish it was a bit smaller, as this is quite a large plate and doesn’t fit well on Baby Girl’s high chair tray, but it’s cute, it’s durable, and it will be perfect for teaching her to eat off of a plate (she doesn’t do so well with that right now).

5. Toddler Fork
Price: $10.00
Status: Good
Comments: We can pretty much always use more utensils for Baby Girl, for sure. This one is a little odd, and I’m not sure how well she’ll do with it, and I’m skeptical of the price point, but it’s fine.

6.Waterproof Super Bib from Bumkins
Price: $6.95
Status: Awesome!
Comments: Bumkins Super Bibs really are the best bibs around for toddlers. Waterproof, food-catching pocket, machine washable, they are just awesome. I only wish we hadn’t gotten such a girly one…not a fan of the pink.

7. Oscillo from Boiron
Price: $6.99
Status: Meh.
Comments: Not a big fan of receiving flu medicine in my box, to tell the truth. Yes, it’s flu season, but this is a bit like getting a bottle of aspirin. Not cool.

So was it worth it? Definitely. The total value of the box was $48.47, compared to a $25 purchase price. After subtracting the items I will probably regift, I got around $27 worth of value, which is still above the purchase price. Plus, now I have some really high quality items to gift my mom friends with tinier babies!

Are you interested in signing up for Bluum?

Click here to sign up and receive 50% off your first box!

Citrus Lane Review: November 2013

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price! See my reviews for previous months here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month or three month subscriptions, your cost is $25.00 per month, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received a sixteen month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1. Tugboat from Green Toys
Price: $14.99
Status: Awesome
Comments: Yay! I was so excited to see a Green Toys item in the box this month. Their products are always a huge hit with Baby Girl, and the company is awesome too. I would have preferred a toy that wasn’t primarily for the bathtub, but this was awesome.

2. Zootensils from Skip Hop
Price: $6.00
Status: Awesome!
Comments: Another product that basically hit the nail on the head! We’ve just started working with Baby Girl on using utensils, and were looking at what to purchase. What a timely arrival! Not only that, but we are big fans of the Skip Hop brand in our house, and own many of their products, so we know these will hold up to Baby Girl’s abuse.

3. Reusable Snack Bags from Bumkins
Price: $6.95
Status: Useful
Comments: To be honest, I’m a Bumkins fan, and I was super-duper hopeful when I saw the Bumkins logo that it would be a pack of their absolutely awesome toddler bibs. It wasn’t, it was reusable snack bags, but I’m sure we’ll get some use out of these. Although, we have received a lot of different snack containers in our Citrus Lane boxes, and I’m not really sure how many of these we really need.

4. Lip Comfort from Pur~lisse
Price: $16.00
Status: Meh
Comments: Uh, how much chap stick/lip balm type items do they think I need? And why are these things all so freaking expensive? Crazy! I’ll probably use it, or give it away, but not the best item in the box.

5. Second Blends Pouch from Plum Organics
Price: $1.99
Status: Disappointing
Comments: I love Plum Organics products, and I was so happy to see Citrus Lane finally include a food item that my daughter could actually eat. Then I found out about the voluntary recall issued on this product and that I have to throw it out! Such a bummer. CL says that they will be sending us all vouchers, but I have yet to see it.

6. TinyPrints Coupon
Price: N/A
Status: Not even worth including.
Comments: I hate this item. Especially because if it hadn’t been included in the box it probably would have been a super satisfying month. This coupon is for four sets of address labels and free shipping…on an order of $99+. This is not a gift, or an item. It is a glorified coupon. Not cool Citrus Lane, not cool.

Final Thoughts:
I’m very excited to be amped up about a box again! This box was pretty awesome, and made me glad to be a Citrus Lane subscriber!

Optional Add-to-Box:
Citrus Lane has just opened their new Holiday shop, where you can buy things like a normal store, or use your Citrus Lane credits, and they will ship the items in your next box. I did purchase an item I was pretty excited about and had it added to my December box.

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $45.93
Total value of items I will use: $27.94
Is the value greater than the cost? YES
The value in this box would have been even greater if they hadn’t used the super expensive lip treatment to bump up the value! I was/am in love with this box, and while the recall (which CL had no control over) was a dampener, if the Bumkins product had been bibs instead of snack bags, I would be doing a completely embarrassing happy dance.

Looking for my previous Citrus Lane reviews? CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE TO SAVE $10 ON YOUR CITRUS LANE SUBSCRIPTION!

Citrus Lane Review: October 2013

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price! See my reviews for previous months here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month or three month subscriptions, your cost is $25.00 per month, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received a fifteen month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1. Toddler Tambourine from Hoehner Kids
Price: $12.00
Status: Awesome
Comments: I’m actually a huge fan of musical instruments for kids. In a previous box we received Hoehner’s rainstick, and it continues to be a top toy in our house. This tambourine is a welcome addition, and I’m pleased to see it in the box!

2. Scrubble from Boon
Price: $11.99
Status: Useful
Comments: We actually own a few Boon products in our house, and while they aren’t one of my favorite companies, I do appreciate how innovative they are and how classic their designs tend to be. That said, these are essentially bath toys. I’m sick of bath toys. Nobody could possible have a use for the number of bath toys we have ended up with (why do they always come in packs of a ridiculous number?). Many of ours aren’t even used in the bath, as our bath toy basket would completely fill up. These don’t function well as squirters, which is fine, since we already have several of those, but I do like their scrubby ends and the fact that they come a part, making them easy to clean, unlike most bath toys. I feel like these would be super useful for an older child that tends to make a mess with the wash cloth. Put some bubble bath in the water and let them scrub themselves clean with a toy. Baby Girl hasn’t quite gotten the point of them yet though.

3. Cool It Buddy Instant Cold Pack from Me4Kidz
Price: $2.99
Status: Meh.
Comments: Seeing this item in my box this month made me slightly annoyed. I received this exact item in one of my previous boxes, and I wasn’t too jazzed about it then. I believe I said that while I could see it’s usefulness, I had no immediate plans for it. Well, I have yet to use it. My kid is not all that injury prone at only fourteen months old that she is in need of instant cold packs (especially when we’re usually at home, where there are reusable ice packs). This makes me a bit sad because I would have been excited to receive one of Me4Kidz other products, like their portable first aid kid (for only a couple of dollars more in value). Oh well, I guess it will go in the first aid stuff. Hopefully these things don’t go bad.

4. Little Yums from Plum Organics
Price: $0.75
Status: Meh
Comments: Once again Citrus Lane has given me the opportunity to gripe about sending food samples. These are great little snacks. Organic, semi-healthy, portable…and Baby Girl really likes them. Too bad she ate the only one they sent us and they don’t have them at our local store. I would feel a lot better about the value of this box if they had sent me a six pack…or even two.

5. Babybug Magazine Digital Subscription + Print Issue from Cricket Magazine Group
Price: $7.45
Status: Meh
Comments: Okay, so maybe I’m the last person on the planet to join the digital revolution, but I’m not a “digital magazine” person. I don’t own an e-reader or a tablet, and my baby is not yet addicted to screens. She does however love books. She also loves songs. I was thrilled to see the September issue of Babybug Magazine in the box, as it was stable (not easily torn up by baby hands), and the rhymes and songs were cute and seasonal. Definitely something to put on the bookshelf! The actual value of a single issue is rather small, however. When I saw free subscription on the insert card, I got excited. Then I saw that it was actually a free three month digital subscription, with nothing in print at all. How disappointing. I don’t plan to download my free digital issues, as it will just take up space on my non-existent device, and chances are good that Baby Girl will never see them.

Final Thoughts:
Compared to a year ago when I started subscribing to Citrus Lane, I feel as though the quality has come down a bit. That said, the value is still pretty decent for what you’re paying, and it is still fun to get that little surprise piece of mail each month. We’ll see how my bluum box looks when it arrives.

Optional Add-to-Box:
This month’s optional add to box were a variety of Halloween costumes. I did not purchase any as I find baby Halloween costumes to be horribly over priced.

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $35.18
Total value of items I will use: $24.74
Is the value greater than the cost? MAYBE –
They really walked the line with this box! The total value is more than the cost, but my useful value is less than a month to month subscription. On top of that, last month was the first time I seriously questioned the value of my box, and this month is worth even less.

Looking for my previous Citrus Lane reviews? CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE TO SAVE $10 ON YOUR CITRUS LANE SUBSCRIPTION!

Citrus Lane Review: September 2013

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price! See my reviews for previous months here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month or three month subscriptions, your cost is $25.00 per month, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received a fourteen month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1.Charley Harper 123s from AMMO Books
Price: $9.95
Status: Useful
Comments: Always happy to see a book in these boxes! This one is quite good for a counting book, and the illustrations are quite lovely. My only real issue with it is that we have about 10 billion counting books already (a clear exaggeration, but you get it). Seems well made, and I’m sure Baby Girl will love it.

2. Push & Pull Elephant from Hape Toys
Price: $9.99
Status: Useful
Comments: Our toy collection is getting quite large thanks to Citrus Lane (also Bluum), and this isn’t so awesome a toy that I didn’t roll my eyes a little, but it is sturdy, well made, and Baby Girl didn’t already have a pull toy (surprisingly enough), so I’m sure once she gets around to walking she will put it to good use. I think it is very classic looking, and not as gaudy as a lot of modern toys, so I rather like it. Bravo!

3. Playful Wash from Episencial
Price: $3.83
Status: Meh.
Comments: This item’s presence in my box annoys me a bit to be honest. Episencial is a regularly featured brand in the Citrus Lane box, and I actually love their products. But month after month we receive sample sizes that are worth very little, and month after month I complain about it both here and on the survey that Citrus Lane sends us every month. I find this interesting, since I recently started subscribing to Bluum, which says they send sample sizes, and I received full size everything from them (I did receive a single luna bar, which is technically a sample), while Citrus Lane advertises themselves as sending full size products, and I get sample sizes. Boo. Also, how much baby shampoo and body wash do they think I go through? Every few months I get another bottle of this stuff, plus the add to box option to buy even more of it. I’m not bathing my kid every few hours, I only need so much soap.

4. Super Toddler Bar from Happy Family
Price: $0.84
Status: Meh
Comments: I actually wanted to be excited about this item. Now that Baby Girl is learning to feed herself, we are always looking out for good, portable snacks that she likes and can eat, so I like to get to try things through these boxes. My problem with it is actually twofold. First of all, as I often complain about, there was only one in the box. If she likes it, that one bar is my only chance at it, especially since my local grocery store doesn’t carry this brand (although, they did include some coupons for this brand in the box, if your local store does carry it). Normally I would get that it is a price thing…but one bar costs less than a dollar! A whole box is only $4.20! I just feel gipped on this one. If that weren’t bad enough, of all the flavors to get, we got the one with chocolate in it. We prefer not to give Baby Girl much chocolate. They couldn’t have sent us an apple one? Bah.

5. Nail Color from Julep
Price: $14.00
Status: Meh
Comments: Holy crap! Fourteen dollars for nail polish? I’m always blown away by the crazy overpriced “for mom” items that show up in my Citrus Lane box. I can see why some moms would have been excited to get this in their box, but I prefer to keep my nails on the natural side, with just strengthening serum and topcoat to keep them looking nice (but I am really lucky and have pretty great looking natural nails). This might make a good gift for someone this Christmas, but I won’t be using it.

Final Thoughts:
I’m actually starting to feel a little let down by my Citrus Lane boxes. Now that I’ve received a Bluum box, I feel like I may prefer them to Citrus Lane. They allow me to subscribe for multiple kids under one account, I earn credits toward free boxes more easily, and the one box I’ve received so far had a pretty high value. This box was very unimpressive, and I’m a little sad about it.

Optional Add-to-Box:
The optional add-to-box this month was a large selection of Aden + Anais items at 10% off. Why didn’t I take advantage of this? Two reasons. The first is that you can get many of the same items for 10% off or more on amazon. Secondly, most of the products were for newborns or small infants, and now that I have a toddler, we wouldn’t get much use out of them. I hear it’s a fantastic brand though, and hope it was a good offer for someone!

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $38.61
Total value of items I will use: $24.61
Is the value greater than the cost? MAYBE –
They really walked the line with this box! The total value is more than the cost, but my useful value is less than a month to month subscription, and had I subtracted the playful wash (which I considered doing), it would have bene less than even a one year subscription would cost per box. This is the first time I have had questionable value ratings. Why is Citrus Lane going down hill?

Looking for my previous Citrus Lane reviews? CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE TO SAVE $10 ON YOUR CITRUS LANE SUBSCRIPTION!

A Word on Yogurt as Baby Food

Okay, so if you didn’t know this already (hopefully you do), infants aren’t supposed to have cow’s milk until they are a year old. Don’t jump down my throat about it, I’m not trying to start an argument. Whatever choice you and your family have made about this is fine. That’s not really what I want to talk about. When your infant hits the nine month mark, they are now allowed to have other dairy products. Cheese and yogurt, for instance.

Can I just say that yogurt is one of the best baby foods ever? As long as it is the plain, no sugar added, full fat yogurt (you know, the stuff that just says “plain” on it. No flavors, no “light”, no “low fat”, what have you.), they can have it. If you cringe at the idea of feeding your baby plain yogurt, stir some of that puree into it that you’ve been making. If you wonder how you’ll ever go through a 32 oz. tub of yogurt, stir some of your favorite fruit into it (crushed pineapple, for instance) and eat it yourself. In our house, we love yogurt. We eat a lot of it. I mix it with frozen or fresh fruit and nuts, use it in smoothies, and I just eat it. I love baby food that doubles as real people food, and I’m not afraid to say so.

Being able to open the fridge and say “well, I don’t have any puree thawed, but I have a tub of yogurt!”, is almost as good as having a banana above the fridge or a can of pumpkin in the pantry (or fresh sweet potatoes, or avocado…anything that I can pretty much just mash and serve without getting out any appliances). So, here’s to yogurt. Greek or regular, I love you the same.

Here’s to Baby Food: Beet and Potato

While Baby Girl only tolerates this, she does like the beets a lot better mixed with some fruits and things. I think the beets and potatoes go well together. She doesn’t really agree.

Equipment:
Oven, cookie sheet, shallow baking dish
Food processor or blender

Ingredients:
1 lb. baby beets, trimmed and scrubbed
1 russet potato, scrubbed

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Place the trimmed beets in the shallow baking dish and add 1/2 an inch of water. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Prick the potato with a fork several times and place on the cookie sheet.

2. Bake both the beets and potato in the oven for about an hour. Let cool.

3. Peel the beets and potato and cut into chunks, discarding the skins. Process the potato in a food processor or blender until smooth, adding water as needed.

4. Process beets in a food processor or blender until smooth, adding water as needed.

5. Store beets and potatoes separately in airtight containers. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Serve by swirling equal parts beets and potato together in a bowl.

 

Here’s to Baby Food: Butternut Squash

While it is one of my favorite foods, my husband is not a big fan of butternut squash, and while Baby Girl doesn’t hate it, it really isn’t her favorite. This is how I prepared it for her.

Ingredients
1 Butternut Squash
Water

Equipment
Shallow Baking Dish
Oven
Blender OR Food Processor
Large Spoon

Directions
1. Slice the squash in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out the fibrous strings and seeds.

2. Place the two halves of the squash in a shallow glass baking dish, cut side down. Put enough water in the dish that it comes about 1/4 inch up the sides of the squash.

3. Bake the squash at 375° until wrinkled and tender, about 60 minutes (an hour). Let cool completely.

4. Using a spoon, scoop the flesh out of the skin and into a blender or food processor.

5. Blend or process the squash until smooth, adding water to aid the blending process as necessary.

Easy as pie, and pretty hands off. This makes a very smooth puree that is super delicious. You can store it in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months. If your baby is old enough for spices, feel free to add dash of cinnamon or nutmeg for flavor.

Looking to make lunch for yourself? Put some of this super smooth puree in a small saucepan, add low sodium (or homemade) vegetable stock to thin it out, and cook it, stirring constantly, to make squash soup. For more flavor, add a little bit of applesauce and your favorite squash friendly spices.

Here’s to Baby Food: Banana

This is going to be one of my faster baby food posts. I know I’ve said that every one of these so far is easy…but this is the easiest. Easy as pie, and Baby Girl absolutely loves it.

Ingredients:
Banana

Equipment:
Bowl and Fork

1. Peel banana.

2. Mash banana with a fork. If your baby is too young for the chunks and you need it to be smooth, put it in a food processor or blender for a few seconds.

No need to store it, it mixes up too easily. If you do want to store it, feel free to do so in airtight containers in the fridge for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months. It will start to turn brown if stored, but it’s still edible.

If your baby is old enough for spices, feel free to add some cinnamon or nutmeg for a little flavor.