Cooking and food prep// BLW style

Phew.

Prepping meals for a family of three feels much harder than it did for just two of us!! Partially, a newly crawling baby is to blame, because it's hard to cook while she is underfoot (but I totally love it!). In addition, the more research I do about feeding a baby, the more compelled I am to make things from scratch that are healthy, nutrient-rich, and low in sodium and sugar.

I had NO idea how much salt is in pre-packaged foods! We were eating jarred spaghetti sauce two or three times a week. It's cheap and easy and fast. But holy smokes, there is a lot of salt in there! Fortunately, my baby led weaning cookbook has a great recipe for salt free pasta sauce. Unfortunately, it's quite a bit more time consuming and labor-intensive than just opening a jar and pouring it out. Overall, though, the taste of homemade, salt-less sauce is delicious and it's really not that much work so I'm going to make big batches and keep them in freezer. 

Another thing I've been trying to make from scratch, in order to health-ify our diet, is chicken stock. I use chicken stock (or broth, whatever) for a LOT of recipes... Chicken tacos, chicken soup, tortilla soup, etc. etc. etc. Anyway, chicken broth isn't cheap and it tends to have a lot of sodium. Here's the recipe I used for the first time last week. 

I've also been cutting the sugar in things like my beloved baked oatmeal and other baked goods (biscuits, bread, etc.). We still eat our fair share of cookies and leftover Halloween candy, but we try to do it after Charlotte goes to bed so she doesn't see her parents' bad examples :)

Our diet was pretty healthy overall, but since Charlotte started eating solid foods I have been way more conscious of the amounts of fruits and vegetables that we provide. So far she hasn't been picky so we can pump her full of lots of green veggies, fresh fruit, and seasonal produce. Why can't apples and avocados be in season year round? 

A lot of meal prep is done during Charlotte's afternoon nap. I can slice veggies, or prep pasta sauce, make a salad, or roast potatoes. It's also really helpful that Joel often gets home in time to play with Charlotte while I finish any other dinner prep. 

I've noticed myself feeling sort of stumped for breakfast and healthy snack ideas.
What do your kids like to eat for breakfast? What nutritious things do they snack on?

P.S. Isn't my little kitchen helper the absolute cutest?!