5 homemade baby food combinations that your baby will love, and how to store them.

It’s true what they say about each child being different. I have 3 young boys, and while they are similar in many ways, they are very different in others. This is especially true when it comes to their tastes in food. My 7 year old will eat just about anything, and my 4 year old is very picky!

We just had baby boy number 3 at the beginning of this year, and we are finally getting to see some of his personality. With my first two boys, they were perfectly content to eat any baby food that we gave them, but our most recent addition to the family loves homemade baby food made with different combinations of flavors.

We started him out with rice cereal and he enjoyed that for awhile. That was convenient for me of course, because all I had to do was add some water and stir until it was ready to go. Whenever I made rice cereal for him, I liked to use Gerber® Pure® Water. I use it to mix his rice cereal and to include in homemade baby foods, because it is specially purified for babies. Anything that I can do to help my baby grow up strong is good in my book! You can find out more information about Gerber® Pure® Water here and you can buy it at your local Walmart.

After a few weeks of rice cereal, it was clear that my baby was going to need something else. I gave him baby food from the store for his age, but I quickly found that it was easier to make my own homemade baby foods and he liked them even more! Today I am going to share 5 of the best homemade baby food combinations. My baby loves them and I am sure that yours will too.

1. Apple, Banana, Cinnamon, & Oatmeal

This one is made by adding half a cup of old fashioned oats with one cup of Gerber® Pure® Water and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a small saucepan. Then heat it over medium for 3-5 minutes. While that is cooking, peel the apple and cut it into small cubes. Finally, add the oatmeal, bananas and the apples to a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Spinach, Sweet Peas, and Flank Steak

To make this delicious combination, cook the flank steak in a pot with a couple of cups of boiling Gerber® Pure® Water. Once cooked, you can shred it or just cut it into small pieces so you can blend it easier. Open a can of sweet peas, drain out the liquid, and rinse. The last ingredient is half a bunch of spinach. Add the steak, the sweet peas, and the cleaned and disinfected spinach to a blender and blend until smooth.

3. Carrots and Squash

Take one bag of baby carrots and cook in one liter of boiling Gerber® Pure® Water until soft. Do the same with one squash. Add the carrots and squash with a pinch of ground turmeric to a blender and blend until smooth.

4. Mangoes, Kale, and Ginger

Take the meat from one fresh mango (or a can of mangoes in 100% juice) and a half bunch of kale and add it to a blender with a pinch of ground ginger. Add a couple of tablespoons of Gerber® Pure® Water and blend until smooth

5. Blueberry, Avocado, and Pears

Drain the juice from one can of pears, rinse and add to a blender. Do the same with a can of pears. Finally, add one mature peeled and cored avocado to the blender. Once everything is in the blender, blend until smooth.

Storage Tips

1. Mason Jars. You can find small glass mason jars with white plastic tops. This is where you can store the food that your little one is going to eat within 1-3 weeks if refrigerated. Just add the baby food and tighten the lid before storing in the refrigerator. If you need to store it for longer, you can *freeze in these jars or follow one of the other tips below. Don’t forget to label them!

1. Plastic Storage Containers with Lid. Another way to store these is to add the baby food to a small plastic storage container with lids. You can refrigerate these as well or *freeze them. You will want to label each of these as well.

1. Ice Cube Tray. One of my favorite ways to store homemade baby food is to put them into the individual spaces on an ice tray right after I make them. Then you cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, you can remove them just like you would an ice cube and store in individual, labeled bags in the *freezer. When you are ready to serve them to your baby, select 3 or 4 “baby food cubes” and heat in the microwave for around 1 minute, or until it returns to the original consistency.

*using each of these methods, you can store the baby food in the freezer for up to 3 months.

My baby has been a happy camper ever since I started making these homemade baby foods for him. The great thing is that you can make all of these in less than an hour, you can make a lot, and you will save money in the process.

What combinations of baby foods have you tried? Let me know in the comments below.

The post The 5 Best Homemade Baby Food Combinations appeared first on My Latina Table.

If you had told me 7 years ago when I moved to the United States for the first time, that I would be able to make a good income to supplement my husband’s job, I probably would have told you were crazy. Yet here I am – raising my three little boys alongside my husband, working from home on my own schedule, and bringing in some money at the same time.

I have always loved cooking, but I never thought that I could make money sharing the recipes I learned in my youth. A couple of years ago, however, my sister-in-law started a very successful blog and encouraged my husband and I to start one as well.

At that time, my husband was still in school and we were definitely struggling with finances a little bit. I had two little boys and I wanted to be with them as much as possible. At the same time, I wanted to help my husband as much as possible. My dilemma was figuring out how to make some money, and still spend as much time with my kids as possible. An online blog business was a perfect choice for us.

In today’s society, it is definitely difficult to survive on one income. I made the decision a long time ago that I wanted to stay home with my kids. I understand, however, that that isn’t the right decision for everyone. I respect moms that are able to work outside of the home and I hope that they never feel guilty about it. We should all support each other.

I am grateful to be working with BBVA Compass, who sponsored this post, to share some tips with all of you on how I am able to work from home and feel good about it. I love the podcast that I just listened to which called “Mompreneurs” and which gives some great practical advice which is definitely relevant to the blog business which I have built. You can find it and other great podcasts on the Working Moms Mean Business section of the BBVA Compass website here.

With that introduction, I hope you enjoy the following five tips for working from home and enjoying it.

Find something to do that you enjoy

If I didn’t love cooking and taking pictures of food like the one below, I don’t think my blog would have lasted as long as it has or been as successful. When I decided to create a blog, I knew that the main focus would be on the delicious recipes that I learned how to make in Mexico. It then expanded to a few other topics, such as parenting and DIY, but the main focus is still on food.

Lemon Carlota – Click The Image For The Recipe.

My first bit of advice is to really figure out what interests you and get to work! If you are able to find a job for someone else that lets you work from home, and it is in an industry that you enjoy, I say go for it. If you want to work for yourself, it is even easier to find something that you like. Do your market research and give it a go. There are so many resources online for starting a blog or really any other business.

Plan Your Week In Advance

One of the struggles of raising my kids and working from home is managing my time. I have started setting fixed hours during the day and evening when I can dedicate almost completely to my blog business. That way I am never scrambling to get my work done and my husband and kids know what I am doing as well.

I am able to coordinate my time so that I am not taking away time from my kids and their activities, but I am also not compromising the success of my blog. I usually try to work about 2 hours per day, but sometimes it is more. It really depends on the nature of your work and your long term goals.

Set up a space dedicated to your work

I can’t understate the importance of this one. There are times when I will just sit at the kitchen table and work, but those time are usually the least effective. This last year we bought a pretty nice desk and put it in a place in the house where I am able to concentrate and edit picture, write blog posts, and promote them. It has really made a difference and combined with the second point above, has helped me to make a lot of progress.

We are getting ready to move to a new home and I am excited to set up a more official home office that I can dedicate to my work. I am excited not only about the space, but also about the potential tax benefits.

Lean on your support system

I am fortunate to have a husband who has supported me in this business from the beginning. He helps me with some of the blog posts, watches the kids when I am working on something, motivates me, and much more.

It is so important to have a support system when working from home on your own business. It is even more important to be able to lean on them and accept their help. This can be a husband, kids, friends, or really anyone. Let them know how much you appreciate them and let them help you!

Don’t feel guilty

Sometimes when I am working I feel guilty – I feel like I should be spending more time with my kids instead of working on a blog post. It was hard for me to get over this and sometimes I still feel it.

What has really helped me though, is following the tips above and remembering that my family is the reason that I am doing this.

I enjoy what I do, and that is important, but the real reason is because I want to contribute in some small way to my family’s success and happiness.

There is a great e-book that I read recently called “Mom Guilt.” It goes over a lot of these topics and how you can stop feeling guilty for working. I suggest it to any of you working moms out there who could use some support. You can download it for free here.

I hope that these tips are helpful to some of you. It hasn’t been easy being a “work from home mom”, but it has been worth it. I have been able to do it without affecting my children’s schedule and it has truly been a blessing for my family.

If you are a working mom, what are some ways that you have been able to balance work and family life? I would love to hear about it in the comments section below.

The post Five Tips For Working From Home appeared first on My Latina Table.

This month my husband is going to be turning 30! He jokes that he is getting old now, but isn’t really too worried about it. I have been trying to think of some gifts to get for him this year, and I have come up with a quite a few good options. Since I was already looking for some gifts, I decided to write this article to give you some ideas if you are looking trying to figure out some great gift ideas to buy for the man in your life.

These are all great options for birthdays, Christmas, or any other occasion.

1. Impact Driver – My husband got this for Christmas and says that it is so much better than a normal drill/driver. It has extra power and makes projects much easier. Lots of great options here.
2. Bluetooth Earbuds – These are great, especially if the man you are buying for likes to exercise but doesn’t like cords getting in the way.
3. Phone Dock for Car – I know that a lot of cars have navigation and all sorts of music options built in already, but some don’t which means that having a dock in the car for navigation or music can be a great option for a present. There are many different styles to choose from based on how the phone is going to be positioned and more.
4. Amazon Gift Cards – Sometimes you just can’t figure out what someone will want – luckily you can always opt for a gift card. I usually go with Amazon gift cards, just because pretty much anything that my husband could want is available there.
5. New TV – This one is obviously a little bit more on the expensive side, but if you have a bit more in  your budget, there are some great high tech TVs that you can buy to make a great impression!
6. Mixed Tool Kit – What man doesn’t need more tools? With so many household projects to do, it seems like my husband is always using different tools. Luckily there are some mixed tool kits that you can buy that have a good variety of essential tools.
7. Easy Set Up Tent – If he likes camping, this tent is a perfect choice. It can be set up very quickly and will allow him more time to enjoy the outdoors. I bought it for my husband a couple of years ago and he loved it.
8. Vortex Mixer – We don’t have one of these yet, but I have seen some videos, and it looks so cool! My husband would definitely like something like this for his protein shakes after going to the gym.
9. FitBit – FitBit’s are great gifts if the man in your life is trying to get in shapre or stay in shape. It is a great way to stay motivated and you can even compete against friends and family. My husband and I love ours! There is a great selection to choose from for any budget. Check them out here.
10. Kindle Reader – It’s pretty easy to download the Kindle app on nearly any smart phone or tablet now, but the original Kindle readers are easier on the eyes and its probably easier to avoid being distracted than if you are reading on a phone! Plents of options to choose from!
11. Bluetooth Headset – If you are worried about your husband talking on the phone while driving, these bluetooth headsets are a good option. It will allow him to still make and take quick phone calls without using his hands at all.
12. MLB/NFL/MLS/NBA Subscription to watch games – It seems like most men enjoy watching sports, but sometimes they can’t get all of the games that they like to watch on cable or normal TV. Most of the major sports leagues have options to subscribe to be able to watch most games from a smart phone or other device. I would definitely recommend you check this out to see if it is a viable option.
13. Outdoor Grill – Everyone needs to have a nice grill for summer time barbecues! Whether its a small, simple one, or a big one with lots of different options, this is a must have and would make a great gift.
14. Grill Set – To go along with the new grill, you may as well get him a nice grill set as well, complete with all the utensils that he might need to make some delicious food!
15. Tickets to favorite sporting event – Sometimes the best gifts are ones that allow you to spend time together and make memories. If he has a team that he loves, a great gift idea would be to get him some tickets and to go to the game with him (or let him go with your kids or a friend). You can usually find pretty good deals on StubHub!
16. Tickets to a concert – Same idea as above. If he really likes music and you know that one of his favorite artists is coming into town, this would be a great gift idea.
17. New Wallet. I don’t know if all men are like this, but my husband tends to use a wallet until it is completely falling apart. It isn’t really because he loves his current wallet, he just never thinks to get a new one. Whenever I get him a new one, he loves it and is happy to have something that looks a little nicer. Some of these wallets look really sleek, yet functional.
18. New Video Game System – I know that this one might be a little controversial (and expensive)! However, I know that there are some men that are able to control how much they play. My husband doesn’t have one of the newer systems yet, but on his Playstation 3 he only plays maybe once or twice a month – but the rest of the month we use it as a DVD player and to watch stream movies and TV shows, so it can definitely be a good option. Probably the best options right now would be the Playstation 4 or the XBox One.
19. Travel Toiletry Kit – Does the man you are looking for presents for travel a lot? My husband doesn’t have to travel at all for work, but I know that a lot of men do, so really any gift that makes traveling easier and more efficient is a good one. Here are some great options to choose from.
20. Sound Cancelling Headphones – This one is kind of related to the last one, as they can be great for long airplane rides. These are also great for studying or any other siuation when the only thing you want to concentrate on are the thoughts in your head. Once again, there are many to choose from in different price ranges.
21. Tailored Suit – Another option is to get your man a tailored suit, especially if he wears a suit often and needs a new one. This can be pricey, but there are always deals to be found, so keep your eyes open!
22. Golf Bag – Does he like to golf? If so, a golf bag is a great gift. My husband only goes out a few times per year, but he loved the golf bag I got him a couple of years ago. The one he was using before was a hand-me-down, so it was quite the upgrade. Taylor Made Golf is having a great sale through January of 2017 where you can get up to 50% off and free shipping on many golf accessories – click here for access to the sale.
23. Round of Golf – Speaking of golf, what good is a golf bag without a round of golf to play? Why not go ahead and buy him a round of golf to go with the golf bag? There are some great local deals on Groupon for golf, so you can probably find an affordable course for him to play.
24. Camera – I know that most phones come with a pretty nice camera now, but sometimes it is nice to have a traditional camera with some extra features. There are lots of point and shoot cameras to choose from here.
25. Car Accessories – Most men love their car, so getting them any sort of accessory for the car is usually a safe bet. For example, this car trash can would be really helpful for my husband who tends to just leave his water bottles lying around the floor of the car until he decides to clean them up. 🙂
26. Credits for Audiobooks – Perfect for men with a long commute to work that like to listen to Audiobooks. You can buy some credits for them and then let them pick out their own books!
27. Phone Case – With as much as we use our smartphones, having a good case is important. I can’t tell you how many times I have dropped my phone, so I am glad that I have a good case. Just make sure that you get one that will fit his phone!
28. Saw Horse – With all of the projects that my husband and I have been doing around our home, a good saw horse has been very important. For the first few projects, we borrowed my father-in-law’s saw horse, and being the nice man that he is, he bought my husband his own last year. We have gotten a lot of good use out of it, so if your husband, etc. doesn’t have one, this would be a good choice for a present!
29. Hair Cutting Kit – Does the man your are buying for know how to cut his own hair? My husband started cutting his own about 6 years ago and hasn’t been to the barbershop since then. He bought his first hair cutting kit for about 15 dollars and used it for the first 3 years. This has been a huge amount of savings for us, with hair cuts running between 10-20 dollars or more! If he doesn’t know how to cut his own hair, there are lots of resources online to help. Either way, with all of the savings, it is worth it to invest in a nice haircut kit.
30. Nice Men’s Cologne – You want your man to smell nice right? My husband loves getting new cologne, but he never wants to buy it because he thinks it is too expensive. That said, whenever I buy it for him for a present, he is so happy and grateful. There are a wide range of prices available and some of the less expensive ones smell good too!
31. Watches: This is a great practical gift that you can buy! There are many options available whether you are looking for a smart watch or a traditional watch. If you do opt for a smart watch, make sure that you get one that is compatible with the phone that he has. For example, for iPhones you will want to get an Apple Watch, etc. Here are a few options to choose from.  Of course you can always go with a more traditional watch if a Smart Watch isn’t the way to go for you.

I know that there are so many options for presents out there, but sometimes it can be hard to choose, so I hope this list helps and I would love to hear other options in the comments below!

The post Gift Ideas for Men – 30+ Practical Gift Ideas For Any Occasion appeared first on My Latina Table.

I recently wrote a post titled, “The Breastfeeding Survival Guide for First Time Moms.” In that article I talk a little bit about the difficult experiences that I had breastfeeding my first born and how I survived that difficult stage with lots of help, including these 10 products. They helped me to gain a strong bond with my baby during the breastfeeding process and in the end we were able to learn so much together.

Keep breastfeeding if you can, don’t give up, and I promise that it will get better every day, and before you know it breastfeeding will seem just as natural as taking a drink of water.

1. Electric BreastPump: This tool will quickly become your best friend in this new adventure. It performs a similar role as your baby in that it creates a sucking motion that helps increase your milk supply. I used it quite a bit in the first few days when my baby wasn’t latching on correctly and I needed to avoid an excess accumulation of milk. I also liked to use it about 10 minutes before nursing, because it helped get the milk flowing which kept my baby from getting impatient and crying. 
2. Breastmilk Storage Bags: These don’t need much explanation – if you are using an electric breastpump, you will need somewhere to store the extra milk where it will be safe from bacteria. You can find many options on Amazon.
3. Nursing Bra: You will need a good nursing bra that is comfortable and that provides easy access for your baby. When you are not home, this will be one of your best friends.
4. Nursing Cover: Whether you buy one or make one, you will definitely want to have one of these in your baby bag so that you can comfortably feed your baby in public. If you go to this site, and enter the code SAVE35MLT, you can get one for free and you will just pay a small amount for shipping.
5. Nursing Pillow: This, without a doubt, was one of my favorite products. It allowed me to hold onto my baby more comfortably when I was nursing him. You can get one for free at www.nursingpillow.com using the code A4E56C
6. Nursing Pads: I never had to worry about leaking milk until I started breastfeeding. Of course at first I was filled with pride, because only a few weeks earlier I was so worried that I couldn’t produce enough milk, and now I couldn’t get it to stop! The truth is that it isn’t a great experience to be at a meeting or activity when you start leaking milk. Keeping a pack of these nursing pads in your bag can definitely help you to avoid those embarrassing moments.
7. Clean Towel: It is important to have a clean towel nearby when you are breastfeeding so that you can dry the nipple area after nursing. Humidity in that area creates a perfect environment for bacteria, and you want to avoid that because your baby will be eating from there again very soon.
8. Lanolin: Fortunately there are a lot of great nipple creams on the market, including Lanolin. These are 100% safe for your baby and they provide instant relief for dry, cracked nipples. I used this at least 2-3 times per day in the first few weeks and it was a lifesaver!
9. Gel Pads: These are amazing and they also provide instant relief. I had a couple pairs of these and I always kept one in the refrigerator so that they were ready when I needed them.
10. Nipple Shield: I had never heard of these until one day that my nipples hurt so bad an were so cracked that I thought I couldn’t bear any more. That day, one of my friends suggested that I try these, and although they can be a little bit uncomfortable at first, they definitely do the job and protect your nipples on especially painful days.

Without a doubt there are countless products available to help us in this difficult, but wonderful job of being a mother. If you aren’t sure what some of these products are called where you live, just copy and paste the word and search the internet and you will be able to find lots of options! These products were so helpful for me, ad I hope that they help you as well.

Remember, failure isn’t not being able to do something, failure is never having tried. Good luck and congratulations on your decision to breastfeed!

The post 10 Breastfeeding Essentials For First Time Moms appeared first on My Latina Table.