Dehydrator action

Dehydrated and freeze dried fruits are one of our favorite snacks in this household. But they can get super duper pricey!! I believe I posted previously about our favorite brand Just Tomatoes. So I started exploring options to make at home. 

I borrowed a relative's dehydrator to give it a shot and we loved it!! Problem was the one we borrowed was like a $300 machine. I did some research and ended up buying a more economical dehydrator off of Amazon. 

Here's the "real thing" sitting on my counter. 

It had good reviews, and was super nice on the wallet. Shoot, I figured if we ended up using it a lot we could always spring for a nicer one. Because I'm buying this so save money! 

I began dehydrating immediately. With Just Tomatoes fruits ranging from $6-$9 per bag, we recouped our initial investment in the first TWO times I used it (maybe even FIRST time). 

Best part: McKenna is a fan!! They aren't exact same as the "freeze dried" fruits, so they are a little firmer and stiffer. I'm not sure I would have started with them as snacks from the get go. But so far we have tried out Apples, Pears, Bananas, Pineapples, Kiwis, Blueberries, Peaches... Im sure I have forgotten something! 

So far banana is McKenna's absolute favorite!

 

So much so that whenever she sees the dehydrator machine she says NaNa! 

I often forget to overcompensate how much to put in it bc we "test" (read: snack) on half of it before it's all done. I guess I'll need to buy a few more screens so we can do even more at once! 

The manual that comes with the machine outlines pretty much everything you need to know, including approx dehydrating times, etc. 

The one thing that hasn't really worked for us so far was Spinach. I'm not sure how I anticipated it coming out, but it just kinda disintegrated as McKenna attempted to bite it! Needless to say it was a nightmare and it ended up in the trash. 

It has been fun testing out all of the varieties of fruits, and we haven't even scratched the surface. I can't wait to try veggies, and Kevin is excited to try for Beef Jerky! 

As far as the machine, it is more than sufficient for our use. I'm not sure what type of features other ones offer to be so expensive! I'm not super versed in dehydrators, but food has to be dehydrated at a certain temperature, so it's not they they could shorten dehydrating time by much! Here's a link to the one we have on Amazon: 

Nesco FD-80A Square-Shaped Dehydrator

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCM6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_u3FAvb0JS18ZT

We are extremely happy with ours. I don't see us purchasing another one until this one goes caput. I definitely encourage anyone and everyone that wants hassle free snacks on the go to give dehydrated foods a shot! 

Memorial Day 2015

Despite having rained on and off most of the weekend, McKenna and I enjoyed a relatively relaxing few days. Unfortunately dada I had a baseball tournament he had to coach, but we were able to spend a little bit of time with him here and there throughout the weekend.

On Memorial Day we spent the afternoon by the pool while Kevin smoked some food in the smoker.

 We had a little bit of rain on our parade, but it didn't stop us from dancing in puddles.

As you can imagine, yes indeed there were a few slips and bumps of the head.

As a bonus, we did a family trek to Lowe's. I can't even begin to describe how excited we are that we finally found some vanities for our master and guest bathrooms. We have been searching for the right ones for a couple of years, and these were perfect and just so happened to be on clearance for more than 50% off!!! #winning

Kevin and I ended the day watching American Sniper. It was an incredible movie and definitely hit home the meaning of Memorial Day. 

Baby Sign Language

I haven't really talked about this much because it was never something I anticipated doing when I had a child. But we are now avid believers in Baby Sign Language. 

McKenna signing "more" (blurry bc it's a screenshot of a video). 

It all started around 11 months, I was with a client (a younger male at that) and McKenna started yanking on my shirt and whining because she wanted to nurse. There may or may not have been a nip slip. I was mortified. I KNEW there was a better way for her to communicate with me that she wanted milk. I read one or two articles on BSL and figured I'd just give the sign for milk a shot. There was no other intention for me other than Milk. There was no intention to expand her sign language vocabulary. Milk was all we needed, right?

All I did was use the sign for milk any time that I said the word milk. During this "learning" time I did use the word Milk more than I typically would. I would say it a couple of times in a row. It took a few weeks before I noticed her using the familiar gesture and just a couple of weeks after that it was officially her "first word". 

After that I was curious, so I began using another sign... I can't recall which one was our second. But this time she caught in quicker. And then quicker with the next and quicker with the next. The last couple I've only used for a couple of days before McKenna picked them up. It is absolutely incredible how quickly she makes these connections. 

So far we're at:

Milk (which I recently switched over to call "Nibbles" so as we introduce milk there will be less confusion)

Food

Water

More

Sleep

Shhhh

All Done

Cold

Gentle (it's a made up sign, I couldn't even tell you what the "real" one is, but that's not really the point!)

We're working on Hot (temperature) and Book at the moment. 

Tapping her head is McKenna's version of Water. (water is actually tapping three fingers against your mouth). 

Honestly we'd likely have more under our belt if I could remember the signs myself!! And in the last couple of weeks McKenna has started to pick up speaking words quicker and quicker so I've just been sidetracked on working with sign language. 

I really wish we would have started signing from the get go, we know for the next time around. McKenna doesn't need to cry or struggle to tell us what she needs for basic necessitities. And to watch her have an "ah ha" moment it such an awesome feeling. It has been such a tremendous lifesaver in how we understand and communicate with McKenna. 

Banana Oatmeal cookies/bars

These simple bars have been so awesome for us. You can whip them up in under a couple of minutes with TWO ingredients. That's right. TWO ingredients. It's up to you if you want anymore ingredients.

Banana Oatmeal "Cookies"/Bars

The first time I saw these they were prepared as cookies (here's where I found them). And sure, I think they'd be great as a cookie replacement. However, my child has never really had cookies, so even if these were healthy and delicious, why would I want to get her hooked on any type of cookie?? Doesn't make sense. Hence I decided to start shaping them into little handheld bars. 

Get ready for this super complex recipe. 

• 1 cup of oatmeal
• 2 very ripe bananas
• 1/4 add-on ingredient - so far we have only and always added chia seeds, but you can try whatever you like! Nuts, dried fruits, seeds. 

First set the oven to 350 degrees.

And get out your lengthy list of ingredients. 

As you can see I actually used Steel Cut oats. Previous times I've used traditional. McKenna really didn't seem to have a preference with one over the other. But let me say, unless you prep the Steel Cut first, they are rather tough.

There isn't a whole lot to tell you what to do... First, mush the ripe bananas. 

Then add in the oatmeal and additional ingredients (if you decided to). 

Form them onto a nonstick cookie sheet (make cookies or bars, however you want to). 

Pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Cooking thoroughly really isn't an issue, so I just check the bottom or feel them to make sure they are firm. 

Here they are baked. Look about the exact same as they did before they went in the oven (minus a few taste testers).

As you can see there really isn't a difference in shape/size between cooked and "raw". 

Any toddler mama will attest to the ability to snap a picture of a toddler in "go-go" mode. So here's the best I got of McKenna noshing on one of our favorite snacks. 

Her snatching one out of my hand even with her hands full:

When a snack isn't her favorite, typically the dogs get a taste. Let me tell you they don't get to taste these! 

 

And for the icing on the cake, Nana (for Banana) was one of McKenna's first words outside of Mama and Dada.  She's not even that big of a fan, she just loves saying (that and edamame!).

Another link to the original article can be found here.