We recently shared just how easy it is to make your own baby food, as well as why it’s healthier, more cost-efficient and better for the earth. However, once you have all of those yummy purees and mashed fruits, vegetables, meats and grains, what do you do with them? And when can you start injecting a bit of flavour?

Freeze for the future
Contrary to what you may be thinking, you don’t have to prepare baby’s food at every mealtime. For example, one yam will yield enough servings for several feedings. Make bigger batches of food, put in ice cube trays and cover with tin foil (or if you feel like shelling out the money, use an BPA-free baby food storage container), freeze and then empty the frozen cubes into freezer bags marked with the type of food and date of preparation. Over the course of a week, you’ll be amazed at the variety of foods that accumulate in your freezer. Come meal time, simply thaw a few cubes of food and dinner is ready. Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it?

The spice of life 
Some professionals recommend waiting until baby is eight months old before introducing spices and new flavours. If your little one hasn’t experienced any food sensitivities and seems to enjoy trying new food, you can start to experiment with spices and herbs. Remember babies don’t ever need salt or sugar added to food, however you can try flavours such as cinnamon or nutmeg added to cereal, carrots or yams, or salmon and rice with some fresh cilantro.

Follow the food rules
All hard foods like raw vegetables or fruits, should be soft-cooked and pureed, mashed or chopped to eliminate the risks of choking. Stringy or chewy meats should be cut into small pieces once baby has passed the pureed stage. Round foods such as grapes and hot dogs are significant choking hazards, so be sure to quarter grapes or slice hot dogs lengthwise, then into bite-sized pieces.

When starting solids, introduce one new food into baby’s diet at a time, then wait a minimum of two days (four is recommended) before introducing the next new food. This way, if an allergy or otherwise adverse reaction is experienced, it’s much easier to identify the source of the reaction.

Think outside the (cereal) box
Once you start using your imagination, the possibilities are endless. Usually jarred food will include the standard combinations such as chicken, rice and carrots. However, why limit your baby to boring, bland foods? We’d get pretty bored eating the same things over and over, wouldn’t we? Last week, we roasted a butternut squash and cooked some pasta, then pureed both with some applesauce. Be as creative as you’d like, while following the guidelines for safe baby foods. Another recent family meal: chicken, basmati rice and mango, pureed with coconut milk.

Remember that about 10 months to one year of age, babies can eat the same meals the rest of the family is eating (minus the addition of sugar or salt). Use a food mill, or simply chop or mince soft, cooked fruits, vegetables, meant or grains. If baby is only used to bland, jarred food, the transition to regular table food may be a huge shock then if they’ve enjoyed a creative range of home-cooked foods all along.

» Alberta Health

Oh how time flies. It seems like just yesterday Baby Bean was getting the hang of breast-feeding, an activity that could take up to an hour near the beginning. Suddenly six months whizzed right by and before we knew it, the time to start solid food was upon us.

As all parents - especially first-timers – know that deciding how to feed your baby can be a daunting process. The countless resources offering tips and guidelines all seem to offer varying opinions about the best types of food to feed your baby, and there is usually an entire aisle at the grocery store devoted to cereal and fruits and vegetables (oh my!). With so many options at your fingertips, it may not even occur to you just how easy preparing your own baby food can be. Truth is, not only is it fairly simple, it’s also far more earth-friendly (think of all the jars and packaging you’ll save) and it will likely even save you some hard-earned money!

Consider it
While the aforementioned earth- and cash-saving reasons may be motivation enough, also consider that by taking the DIY route, you can ensure you know exactly what’s making its way into your little one’s system – or more importantly - what isn’t, such as extra sodium or sugar.

Making your own also gives you creative control. For example, if your infant isn’t a big rice fan, maybe he or she will love pasta or insert-grain-of-choice-here. And while the jarred varieties offer your standard chicken-and-rice fare, you can be imaginative and come up with all sorts of combinations to find the ones your child likes best.

Prep work
Cereals, fruits and vegetables
How much effort you want to put into making baby food is completely up to you. Most infants will start off with rice cereal since it’s the one least likely to cause a reaction. Since babies use up their iron stores from birth by the time they are six months old, most boxed cereals you find in stores are iron-fortified. If you decide to make your own cereals, you’ll need to ensure baby is getting enough iron from other sources such as lean meat and beans.

Most parents start with fruits and vegetables for baby’s first food once cereal has been introduced. Sources vary on which to introduce first since the school of thought seems to be that babies will accept sweet fruit more readily than a vegetable. Strike a happy medium and choose a sweeter vegetable likes yams or carrots.

Vegetables and harder fruits need to be steamed, roasted or boiled until soft enough to be pureed or mashed. Just cook the food of choice, then use a blender, food processor or masher to smooth them out. You can use breast milk, formula or the cooking liquid (if any) to thin the food to the desired consistency.

Some of the best first choices include the aforementioned carrots and yams, as well as peas, pears, peaches and mango. Papaya was a huge hit in the Bean household and extremely easy to puree once the fruit was ripe – in fact, because the water content is so high, no additional liquid is needed. You can also take a few shortcuts if you’re short on time and use frozen fruits and vegetables such as mango, carrots, peaches and peas. The fruits can be thawed and pureed, while the vegetables only require a short cooking time and don’t need to be washed or peeled. Not sure that this is still a better option than jarred food? Next time you’re at the store, compare the color of fresh cooked and pureed frozen peas to the jarred version and that ought to convince you.

Perhaps our greatest discovery during the introduction of solids was the humble banana. They are essentially the perfect baby food: cheap and so simple to prepare. All you need is a fork – simply mash it and feed it to the baby on its own, add it to cereal or mix it with other fruits or vegetables. Another great food: avocados. Also soft and easy to mash, they actually taste great when combined with mashed banana. Both are great foods to take along when you’re eating out since they require virtually no advance preparation.

Meats, alternatives and grains
Once baby has been introduced to some vegetables and fruits, you can start incorporating meats, alternatives and grain products. Optimal meat and alternative choices include chicken, turkey, beef, salmon, cooked egg yolk, lentils and tofu. For grains, try rice, oats and wheat. For Baby Bean, we’ll cook up some white rice and salmon, then add in some peaches or mango for a sweeter taste.

Remember, whether you’re feeding your baby homemade food or from a jar, it may take several tries for them to accept any new flavour or texture. Babies have more taste buds than adults, so flavours are more intense and may not initially be accepted. It took until the third or fourth try until our little one would take salmon and we still have to mix it with sweeter fruit.

Once baby reaches nine months and has been introduced to a wide variety of foods full of iron, he or she may be ready for dairy products such as cheese, yogurt and milk. All should be the full-fat variety.

And just like that, there you have it: the first steps involved in making your own baby food. That doesn’t sound so hard, does it? If your baby could say thank you, he or she would.

» Alberta Health

We’ve all been there for one reason or another.  One moment you are happy and carefree, and next thing you know your skin is covered with some form of rash that has you ready to scratch like crazy.  Whether it’s a common virus like chicken pox, an allergic reaction like hives, or exposure to outdoor elements like the sun, poison ivy, stinging nettles or bugs many different things can cause a very uncomfortable situation.  Being the parent of a child who has been through chicken pox and hives this year, I have spent a great deal of time researching natural anti-itch remedies.  None of these are new original.  In fact for generations people have been making these homemade remedies to relieve itching, and they remain the most popular treatments for skin irritation today.  After all, when your dealing with overly sensitive, prone skin the last thing you want to risk is an additional allergic reaction from your rash treatment.  In this case, natural really is the best way to go.

Bath Treatments

One of the best ways to alleviate the wide spread itching associated with chicken pox, hives or sunburn is to soak in a soothing bath.  By adding simple, common ingredients you can turn a regular bath into an all over anti itch treatment. 

1. The Oatmeal Bath
 -1 cup dry oats.
 -Put into a food processor or coffee grinder and grind until they become a fine   powder.
 -put the oatmeal powder into a clean pantyhose leg and tie a knot at the top.
 -attach to the water spout on the bathtub and run a tepid bath to soak in.  This   keeps the oat powder from clumping in the bath water.

2. The Baking Soda Bath 
 -1 cup baking soda
 -pour into a running, tepid bath and let disolve.

Helpful Tips:
 -be sure not to run a hot bath, which could make the itching worse.  A tepid bath  is best.
 -try to relax and soak for 30 minutes to give the ingredients ample time to work.

Spot Treatments

To deal with smaller rash areas and bug bites, or to follow a bath treatment, try one of the following all natural spot treatments.

1. Oatmeal:  Oatmeal is a great treatment because it soothes irritation and helps to draw any moisture out of the area.
 -Cook the oatmeal as normal.  Let cool to room temperature and apply to spots.

2. Baking Soda:  Although it is a different substance, baking soda has the same properties as oatmeal when it comes to treating a rash, but tends to be less clumpy on the skin.
 -mix 3 tsp baking soda with 1 tsp water to form a thick past.  Apply where  needed.

3. Aloe Vera Gel:  Nature’s most useful houseplant.  If you have a green thumb, keep one of these plants on hand, or buy the gel at a drug store and keep in the fridge.  Especially soothing when out of the fridge for sunburns, it also helps to alleviate itching.  Just apply the gel where needed.

4. Vinegar:  Yet another use for this multi-purpose natural cleaner.  Apply straight vinegar to bug bites to relieve itching.
 
5. Tea Tree Oil:  Besides it’s wonderful antibacterial properties, tee tree oil has a numbing affect that can help relieve itching.

6. Witch Hazel:  Popular for years as an astringent, the same properties help to sooth skin and dry up excess moisture from a rash.

» Arm & Hammer

Of all the seasons, spring has to be my favorite.  After living through another cold, Canadian winter, nothing is better than having sunny, warmer weather.  This also means having more opportunities to enjoy the local wildlife.  Even if you live in the middle of the city, wild birds are around and can help bring nature to your balcony or backyard.  Making and hanging homemade bird feeders not only allows you to enjoy birdwatching from your kitchen window, but allows you the opportunity to provide another healthy food source for our feathered friends. 

What makes bird feeders a nice project to do is how easy they are to make.  With a few simple ingredients, you can make a homemade tasty treat for your backyard feathered friends.

Main Ingredients

1. The Base:  The first important ingredient to many homemade bird feeders is the base, which you can stick the other ingredients to.  For birds, there are two edible       
    and easy choices.
               Peanut Butter:  It doesn’t get any easier than this.  Any store bought variety will do.
               Suet (animal fat):  Just as tasty for birds as peanut butter.  Suet is simply the fat from bacon or ground beef, or a combination of the two. Because suet involves heating the fat to a soft or liquid form, adult supervision is a must if children are involved.
2. Seeds:  You can either purchase a bag of wild birdseed from the store, or get   creative putting ingredients together yourself.  Popular seed choices are sunflower seeds (either shelled or whole), shelled peanuts, cracked corn and millet seed.
3. Dried Fruit:  Cranberries, raisins and pieces of dried apricots or apples all work well in a feeder. 
4. Fresh Fruit:  apple peels, diced pieces of apples, apricots or berries. 

Now that you have the basic ingredients, here are some popular and easy homemade bird feeders.

1. The Pine Cone Feeder
Take one large pinecone, or a few small pinecones.  Spread thoroughly with peanut butter or suet and roll in birdseed and dried fruit.  Tie a piece of string around the top of the pinecone and hang outside.

If you have old bagels around the house, try replacing the pinecones with a bagel for a 100% edible bird feeder.  Don’t have pinecones or bagels?  Use a cardboard toilet paper tube as a base instead.

2. Milk Carton Feeder
Take any sized milk carton.  Cut two squares on opposite sides of the milk carton (cutting holes in all four sides will make it unstable).  Punch a hole in the top for string and fill the inside with birdseed.

3. Citrus Bird Feeder
Take an empty grapefruit of orange half.  Cut three holes equally around the grapefruit and attach string to create a hanging bowl.  Simply fill the inside with birdseed and hang.

This feeder can also be made using half of a coconut shell, although a drill will be required to make the holes for the string.

4. Fruit and Popcorn Garlands
Take a long, heavy thread and needle.  String the thread with popcorn and dried fruit or fresh fruit, and hang in trees for a decorative and tasty bird treat.

5. Suet Cakes
Melt suet in a pan.  Mix with desired birdseed, dried fruit ingredients.  Pour into a mold (old yogurt or other disposable plastic containers or aluminum pie plates work well) and put into the fridge until solid.  When ready put inside of a suet cage (available at wild bird stores) and hang.

Extra tips:
1. If using fresh fruit, be sure to take the feeder down after a few days.  Nobody wants rotting food around.
2. Don’t overfill the feeders.  Birds are messy eaters, and if you fill that grapefruit half all the way up to the top the seeds will end up all over the ground.
3. Keep the area around the feeder clean.  Especially if using commercial bird seed some of the seeds can sprout if they end up in your lawn.
4. Hang your bird feeders in a safe area.  For example, hanging your bird feeder directly next to the fence your cat likes to sit on wouldn’t work out too well.  Also, try to keep out of areas that get heavy wind.
5. If you are a real bird enthusiast, consider adding a small dish or bowl of water close to the feeder for a bird bath.
6. Keep putting bird feeders out year round.  Once the birds realize they have a reliable food source, many will come around to check out the action. 

» Audobon

No matter how good your intentions to religiously apply sunscreen, inevitably sunburns occasionally occur. Whether it's you experiencing the discomfort of the burn or someone you live with, it can be a painful experience for all those involved (especially if you're the one who has to hear all of the ensuing whining and complaining). Besides sipping ice water and staying well-hydrated, there are natural ways to soothe sunburn and make the healing (and peeling!) process a little less traumatic.

For starters, forget about store-bought aloe vera gels and lotions; get yourself a real aloe vera plant instead for the most effective relief. If it's too time consuming to use the plant for large burned areas (ie, your legs) and the gel is a simpler option, make sure it is pure aloe vera gel with as few additives as possible.

You can also try making your own soothing lotion using one chopped cucumber, a quarter-cup glycerin and a quarter-cup rosewater. Squeeze the juice from the cucumber with a lemon-squeezer and mix well with the glycerin and rosewater. Or try a relaxing bath using two to four cups of colloidal oatmeal (not regular breakfast oatmeal), a half- to full cup baking soda, one to two cups powdered chammomile flowers and (optional) one cup of buttermilk. Add these to running bath water and soak.

And don't forget to apply that sunscreen next time. If you need refresher course on how to properly do so, check out the video tutorial with instructions!

» Chiff.com

There are a number of things you can do to get your garage from basic to energy-efficient – an idea that sparked my interest when I read about what late night talk show host Jay Leno was doing to get his garage greener.

As a writer desperately in need of some quiet space for all my scribbling, I had long since decided to convert my garage into a writing studio.  This generally works out great but proved to be a real challenge during winters.  Despite additional insulation and adding stacks and stacks of rugs to create a warm cozy feel, my writer’s corner is left completely exposed to the cold as soon as the temperature drops around this time of year.

After a little research and a lot of persistent question asking this past week, I was able to sort out what I needed, which apparently was an electric heater.  However looking around my neighborhood, there are tons of families who use their garage as an extension of their home.  These days, garages double as laundry rooms, workshops, play areas and even as niches for pets.  The garage has become an extension of the family's living space, as well as our own personal space.

If you’re like me, either a profuse hermit barely visible behind stacks of books, or a car enthusiast eternally pilfering through some engine, or if you just enjoy congregating with fellow man over a cold one, hopefully my notes here will help you keep your garage sanctuary a comfortable green niche throughout winter.

The Green Heat Solution
What type of garage heater you get depends on what you use your garage for and there are tons of recommended garage heaters.   Personally, I prefer the green appeal of electric heaters.

If you plan on doing any type of body work on cars where bare metal will be exposed, you may want to go with an electric heater as opposed to a heater that burns propane or natural gas. Burning any type of fuel can create moisture in the air which may cause problems when doing body work on cars. With electric heaters, you don't have to worry about producing moisture since these types of heaters use an electric coil as opposed to a burner.

Portable electric heaters also require very little maintenance.  And while electric heaters used to be expensive, newer models on the market are competitively priced.  A higher efficiency rating, contrasted against the extreme cost of natural gas, has made electric heating far more popular than the alternative models that still use natural gas.

A personal  favorite is the Lasko ceramic heater, which heats up in seconds and feels like you’re working alongside a roasting fire. In my quest for a new work space heater this week, I tried out Lasko, Vornado and Soleus, and while they were all great, I felt the Lasko was not only rated at a lower cost but also the one that was far more effective. If you plan on being in your garage space for longer periods of time, it’s probably best to get a larger unit, and then a smaller space heater.

Overall electric heaters have a number of benefits, such as an automatic shut off feature. Most electrical heater units will also automatically turn off if the unit has tilted off its base and/or fallen over. This safety measure prevents hazards and fires - which is critical feature if you're using flammables or have pets or children nearby.

An additional safety benefit includes protection against carbon dioxide poisoning.  Unlike natural gas furnaces, with electric heaters you don't have to worry about lethal gas leaks (which are often undetectable to humans). And since electric heaters don't produce emissions, they're definitely the green choice for any eco-minded home. 

A cost benefit in by electric heaters is that many cities and states offer incentive programs to home owners who switched out traditional heating for electric furnaces.  Additionally, many utility companies offer similar perks to those who heat their space with electricity rather than natural gases.

Just knowing what heater is right for your needs, paired with quick insulation techniques, can go along way in making it easier for your to shift from a warm toasty summer to chilled winters.

Green Garage is brought to you by Shireen Qudosi of Heater Home. Follow Heater-Home on Twitter @HeaterHome.

Images: Apartment Therapy

» Heater Home