I will make it myself...

The selection at the grocery stores here is ok, but definitely far less variety than we have at home, and for certain items, it is much more expensive if they do have it.   So I've decided to try and make some things myself.  Some came out well, others not so much...

The first one was fruit snacks.  Caleb loves fruit snacks, and since I haven't found them in Chile, and the ones available at home are usually not great for them, I thought I would search for some recipe ideas on Pinterest.  Here is attempt number one, working with very limited ingredient options and kitchen supplies here...  

Recipe: http://www.anorganicwife.com/2013/01/recipe-homemade-fruit-snacks.html - I used nectarines and strawberries because that is what I had, though I would like to try it with different fruits next time...

We don't have a casserole dish or wax paper, so I had to make do with a frying pan and that Press-n-Seal saran wrap stuff, which is thicker than regular plastic wrap so it lifted out easily.

We also don't have silicone shaped trays or fun dishes to put them into, so I tried cutting them into triangles to make them look a bit more interesting...

In my opinion, they tasted a bit bland, but Caleb was excited about them and has eaten them more than just the first time.  Landon also really likes them since they are soft enough for him to eat.  I might try playing around with this recipe a bit more, and with different fruit combination next time...

Attempt number two: 
Recipe: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2011/09/homemade-gummy-fruit-snacks-healthy-snacks-for-kids.html - I doubled the recipe and used 90% strawberries, and a few raspberries and blueberries, then I used about a third raspberry juice and two thirds apple juice.  I didn't have enough plain gelatin so I used some strawberry gelatin I bought, though I realized I had accidentally grabbed the diet kind :(.

The color is certainly more appealing than the first batch...

The texture of these was more grainy because of the applesauce I think, and they weren't as solid and set as the first batch.

If anyone has a good fruit snack recipe that they have tried I'd love to check it out!  I've tried the dried strawberries in the oven recipe from Pinterest a few months back and that was a flop - they never dried out and instead became a funny color and were wet and mushy...  I haven't yet done any of the dried fruit strips recipes that I've seen on there yet, partly because I am missing things here that are needed to make them...

Pesto 

Its hard to find and expensive in the grocery store (more expensive than it already is at home), so I bought Basil which is abundant since it is summer here to make my own.  Gnocchi a la pesto tonight!

Tools for Caleb
This isn't a food item, but its homemade none-the-less.  We borrowed our neighbor Laura's Handy Manny (Manny a la Obra, its called here) toolbox the other day and Caleb wanted the tools that go in it.  Laura wasn't home to ask her, so I made him some tools out of paper instead, and then he asked for a house to work on, so we made one out of paper, too.  He was happy with them, though he didn't play with them for long.  Its nice that kids are sometimes content with the simple stuff, and it is great practice for him using his imagination!