Ghetto Fabulous - Fruit & Veg

We all want out baybays to eat the best they can (insert precocious quote about them being fresh slates for an organic, vegan life here), and per my previous post I cook everything for the Princess myself. I shop Waitrose and Ocado, and frankly if I bought all the fruit and veg the Princess consumes from there, well frankly I'd be out of pocket a mani pedi combo a week. We're blessed to have a great local market nearby (West Londoners - Shepherds Bush Market - check it out. Truly ghetto, limited fabulous) - and most places I've lived in Sydney, New York and London have something similar. Even when we were in Chelsea/ Earls Court - North End Road is only moments away!
Get yourself down to the market with the buggy/ pram/ stroller once a week. Get a latte on the way. It's a great walk and bit of exercise for you and the bub, the produce is way cheaper and also they only sell what is in season (none of this ripen at home rubbish - basically frozen/ unripe stuff picked half a world away), and frankly I find the quality better. Take your own bags to save the environment too.
Take a look at what I bought for £8-something this week at my local market, and yes, they are plums not tomatoes. You'd pay 2 to 3 times as much at a supermaket for that! The money saved enables you to buy organic meats for your little one (and sneak in a mani from the grocery budget too!!).
K, getting off my ghetto soap box now. x

Home Made Goodness

Basically, if you don't already own the amazeballs Phillips Avent Steamer Mixer thing, you need to. I'm not a cook at ALL (you can freely hate me - my husband cooks.. everything) and yet thanks to this little beauty in the two months the Princess has been on "solids" no packet food has passed her lips. Everything has been home made thanks to me, the steamer mixer thingy and a little help from Annabel Karmel's amazing recipes (SO EASY and so delish - some of the Princess' faves are the chicken, carrot and apple, cheesy cauliflower, sweet potato and peas - which I add chicken to - to name just a few).
How does it work?
Chop up your meat/ veg/ fruit - whack it in the steamer, steam it (the instruction booklet says how long per ingredient type), when the bell dings, turn it upside down and whizz it. DONE!!! Huzzah, it's dishwasher safe too. Then, you can store the extra meals in the freezer. I make a few different things up on the weekend so we're all set for the week. I also posted a while ago about storage containers - Avent as well, still loving them.
Here are some pics:

Chopped up vegies in the steamer... 

... are then turned upside down and blended to desired lumpiness/ smoothness. 

As always, here are links to every Mum's lifesaver, Amazon:

Philips AVENT Combined Baby Food Steamer and Blender

Philips AVENT VIA Baby Food Storage Set

Annabel Karmel's Complete First Year Planner

Brilliant Food Storage Pots (DISHWASHER-ABLE & DON'T STAIN!)

So I had to put the dishwasher and not staining thing in CAPS because how awesome is that? More reasons why these are awesome:
1. You can write on them and then rub the writing off when you wash them (it really works)
2. Lids easily screw on and off to make it airtight (some people on the Amazon reviews say these lids can be tricky.. but they are not.. I think those people might be a little slow??)
3. They are not stupid ice cube tray things - seriously, has anyone ever managed to get ice out of an ice cube tray without snapping 6 ice cubes on the kitchen counter?? Well, the same happens with food. Convenient storage pots please!
4. They are stackable in the fridge and freezer (see pic)
5. Stack inside each other and store in cupboard really well
6. Also about the not being an ice cube tray thing - the Princess eats like a horse now so the pots being  bigger (than ice cubes) is perfect for storing more
7. Did I mention the dishwasher and not going orange from carrot and pumpkin bit already??
8. BPA free obvs
A pic of our freezer a few weeks ago:

PS: the set comes with a spoon too.

Philips AVENT VIA Baby Food Storage Set on Amazon