Day 4: I am thankful for modern appliances that help me improve my kitchen skills but most importantly allow me to make healthy food for my little ones. I’ve mentioned before how a lot (if not most) Italian moms make their own baby food and I have very happily hopped on that wagon. I never realized how easy, cheap and time saving it was.

I’ve been using Momtastic’s Wholesome Homemade Baby Food as a guide since Valentina was little and it has been wonderful. As a first time mother, I knew there were certain steps you take when introducing solids. In Italy, it’s a completely different agenda so I was really hesitant to follow the doctor’s orders when I was so familiar and much more comfortable doing it the “American” way. While I didn’t introduce cereal first, I went with fruits and learned how to prepare them for infants. It does take some time to prepare (depends on what you’re making) but once you’re done, it’s so worth it. My kids are not picky eaters and love to eat… EVERYTHING!

With Valentina I pureed all her fruits and veggies. I tried to puree her meat but it didn’t work out with a blender so I ended up buying that. This time around, I really wanted to try using an immersion blender. My mother in law doesn’t use hers anymore so she gave it to me and it has been my favorite new toy! I absolutely LOVE blending my meats with it!! More importantly, I love being able to just make and blend a small amount of food without having drag out a blender.

I still buy some jar meat for Elisaetta but I try to only use it on days when we have a ‘meatless’ meal or if we’re eating something that she can’t have yet like Salmon or shellfish.

(the following picture is what I prepared for Elisabetta tonight. I had a half bag of 15 veggie- Minestrone in my freezer. i prepared it with a bouillon cube and small amount of water. blended and put it into an ice cube tray. it’s now in the freezer and tomorrow, i’ll put the cubes in a ziploc bag ready to be used at any time!)

Day: 4- Thankful for my immersion blender Betta eating homemade mixed veggies w/ Turkey