DIY homemade soft cheese

hi there,
ufff had no internet connection for 3 days and already wanna write so much, so will try to catch up with all those thoughts and ideas in my mind.
You already perhaps know that dairy products are very important part of your baby's diet. Try to give them variety of dairy products, such as milk, yogurt (flavored or plain), different smoothies or milk porridge or soft cheese. One of the stored here sells really good soft cheese which is great for babies, they are sold in small containers which are also perfect for one portion meal. However, with all these good things it is still quite expensive. I used to make soft cheese like this at home and still remember my mom making such things so I thought if I could do it before why not starting it again for my baby to enjoy natural homemade cheese. Besides you can use it to create many other yummy dishes both for your baby and you.

I started giving whole dairy products for my baby when she was around 9 months.

It is really easy to make soft cheese at home and requires only 4 things:

1. plain fresh full creme yogurt (use whole dairy products for your baby only. However, if you make cheese for yourself low fat yogurt will do just fine)
2. cheesecloth (if you can't find cheese cloth, any cloth which looks like it will do, as long as it is made of natural material like linen or muslin, but it shouldn't to thick or dyed, choose white or natural off white color) the size of the cloth I usually use is about 40/45 cm by 70 cm, but it totally depends on your needs and the amount of cheese you plan to make.
3. a string to hang the cloth with yogurt
4. time  (at least overnight)

So, line the sieve with the cloth you are using, if the weave is too loose I make two or three layers.

I do the whole making process in the sink, just a quick reminder. ;)

Put yogurt into the cloth, cover loosely with the edges of cloth and let it drain a bit (wait for about an hour or so).

This way you won't have so much liquid when you finally hang it to drain thus won't have splashes or drops around. To make this process faster my mom recommends to heat yogurt slightly in a pot before placing it in cloth. It actually separates liquid from the cheese mass and should be easier and faster. If you use this method don't strain warm yogurt with the liquid through the cloth, take out only the cheese mass that you get and keep whey away. In the end of the day this is what we are trying to do.
This is some whey after an hour of straining

When yogurt is strained a bit, mix it with a spoon, tie the ends of cloth, wrap the string around and tie so that you have a loop for hanging.

I have cupboard right above the sink so I use the nob to hang cheese-to-be :) ( don't know if I can actually say that)

Leave it overnight or for at least 8-10 hours. When you think it is done open and check the consistency. If that is what you want, put your cheese in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for about 10 days. (I don't know how long it will stay as I never had it longer than a week).

And here it is fresh yummy homemade cheese at a cost of yogurt.

To be noted that 1 kg of yogurt makes about 370 g of soft cheese, but it all depends on how much liquid you actually want to leave in your cheese.

I would recommend not to make it too thick for your baby as they try to swallow the whole thing at once and may start choking.

You can serve just like that or with some berry sauce or honey, make some delicious cheesecake or berry fruit fool. (recipes to come soon, check back later).

Please feel free to tell me what you think or what you got.

But for now that's all...

take care there.

my baby's strawpeary smoothie

Hi there,
here I am again posting another smoothie for my baby. As you can see from the title the main ingredients are strawberries and pears. It is thick and grainy due to pears but my baby still enjoyed it a lot.
This smoothies can be given to your baby after 8 months, however, if you are confident about the ingredients try to give a teaspoon at a time to your baby a bit earlier but not earlier than 6 months.
It yielded about two portions (I mean two 300ml cups), so I gave half to my little one and the rest was in the fridge waiting for its turn.

For this smoothie you will need:

• 3 soft ripe pears, quartered and seeds removed
• 3 big or 5 small strawberries, halved
• 300 ml apple juice, go for the one with no sugar.

Preparation:

Blend pears and strawberries to smooth consistency, I mixed it for quite long as wanted to make it a bit smoother and maybe get rid of some grainy texture of pears.

Once the desired consistency is reached add the apple juice, give a good stir and voila your baby's strawpeary smoothie is done and ready to try.

Enjoy and let me know how it went.

That's all for now...

take care there.

peachy berry smoothie

Hi there,
here is another smoothies that I made for my baby. This time I diluted it with water with the ratio 2:1 (2 parts of juice and 1 part of water).

It is very difficult to find organic berries in the area I live so I got  pack of frozen organic berries for my baby and used them in this drink. I am fully aware that these kinds of berries lost some of their goodness while frozen. Nevertheless they're still good and yummy in this smoothie.
All these ingredients separately can be given from 6 months onward, so I believe it is quite safe to give this smoothie to your little one if they are around 8-9 months. (I would still wait a bit before giving complex thick mixes like this one).
For this yumminess you will need:

• 1 and 1/2 peaches (mine were quite small, so I believe 1 big is enough), although the skin is delicate I still remove it (maybe I shouldn't next time it also has some good nutrients). Cut peaches into quarters and then each piece in halves across.
• about 2 tbsp organic berry mix (to be more precise I got 4 raspberries, 3 blackberries, 4 red currants and 3 black currants)
• segments of 2 oranges

Preparation:

Let the berries thaw in a small sieve, then press them through it to extract the juice. Remember to put some bowl under the sieve not to end up with the juice in the sink or a table top. Set aside.

In a blender process peaches and orange segments to smooth consistency. Add berry juice and stir until well mixed.

As I already mentioned I diluted it with some water otherwise you can serve it as it is.

I gave it to my baby in a cup and kept the rest in the fridge (if there is any left) for her to finish it later. She was walking holding her cup and sipping it from times to times. She definitely liked it.

That's all for now...

take care there.

sunny citrus healthy smoothie

It's been quite a few days I haven't posted anything, My husband decided to change the router and of course didn't remember for his account password so instead of improving the connection, we ended up with no internet for several days.
Anyways hi there. Last week I was shopping in the grocery store and saw some really cute pouches with some baby smoothies. And of course I thought why not making something like that but fresher at home. So I just got some fruit and berries and started mixing and matching.
Fruit smoothies and juices are great for babies and kids. They love drinking juices, the latter are packed with vitamins and nutrients, and at the same time it's a great way to give this 5-a-day portion to your little ones. They don't even have to chew it.
My daughter will not eat pears or pineapples just like that, I guess she just thinks they are too grainy and sour but once in smoothie she can sip it with her meals or after a walk, whenever she wants. You can hide veggies or fruit your baby doesn't like.
You can start giving simple one or two ingredients juices to your baby from 6 months. I started with small portions of diluted in water juice. I guess by the age of 8-9 months I was giving my little one simple juices as well as mixed juices which were made specially for babies. Later smoothies joined our diet.
This recipe contains 3 ingredients.
You'll need:

• segments of 3 oranges ( once I cut out all the segments I squeeze the rest of pulp not to waste juice)
• 6 medium ripe strawberries, cut in halves (make sure you wash them thoroughly)
• about 2 tbsps carrot juice (I finely grated one medium carrot and squeezed the juice out of the pulp - I added the pulp to my baby turkey soup later)

Preparation:
Put the orange segments and strawberries in blender and process to a smooth consistency. Once it's done, add carrot juice, give  a stir and voila your simple smoothies is ready.

Put in a sippy cup and give it to your baby or dilute with some water first if you'd like. I discovered that non-spil cup that my baby usually has gets clogged very fast. So I removed the rubber membrane from the straw to make it easy to drink. If you can;t do it I advise to get a simple cup with medium size holes otherwise, try to either make a smoothie less thick or strain it to remove the pulp (I never tries it myself and don't know if it will work though).

TIP:
When choosing strawberries as well as most of other berries or some fruit like peaches, nectarines or pears, make sure they don't have dark spots and are fragrant. Try not to press on soft fruit as you can easily damage them causing bruising to begin a while later.

That's all for now...
take care there.

berrylicious sauce

Hi there,
I usually make some porridge for my little precious one for breakfast but oats in milk are a bit boring if you eat them just like this.
So I made this easy berry sauce you can add to porridge or some other dishes.
(6 months onward)

You will need:

4-5 strawberries
half a peach, skin off
3-4 orange segments

Put everything in a mixing cup and blend until smooth. If your strawberries are not sweet you might end up with a bit too tart taste in that case I would recommend to add a squeeze of maple syrup. (you can add honey for children of 1 year or older)
Enjoy and let me know what you think.

That's all for now...
take care there.

very berry apple drink

Since I was a small girl I remember my mom making some easy, quick and tasty drinks out of berries and fruit. Summer season is full of this vitamin goodness but even in winter it is possible to get some frozen berries and fresh fruit like apples to make some yummy and light drinks. My baby enjoys having some of it to quench her thirst.
Here is one of the recipes.
You'll need:

peels and core from one thoroughly washed apple (make sure it is not waxed - no shine when you buy it)
5-6 strawberries
a handful of blueberries (or organic berry mix)
4 rose hips (optional but very healthy and good for you)
2 prunes (especially good if a baby has some constipation)

Preparation:

Fill a deep pot with about 1 liter of water, put all the berries and fruit inside. Bring to boil and simmer on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, let it cool. Strain in a clean bottle and keep in the fridge.
So now the drink is very slightly sweet and I love drinking it like this, however, if you are on a sweet side or for my baby I would add some sugar or honey. (* Remember honey is recommended for babies older than 1 year.)
Hope you will enjoy this refreshing and simple drink.
That's all for now...
take care there.