DIY Baby Sensory: Edible Painting with Real Fruit!

Naturally I am an artist so I'd love to pass on some creativity to my youngin'. I mean, come on, his good looks are from his daddy {insert brownie points here.} I combed Pinterest looking at different edible painting ideas on various blogs and sites but none of them fit what I wanted to do with my boy.

David was breastfed and when he was introduced to solids, I took time to make the food myself. It saved us lots of money and I felt good about feeding my baby real, wholesome meals instead of factory infested foods, like his mommy and daddy eat. I understand not every mom can do this, I'm not boasting here. You gotta do what you gotta do. I was blessed to be able to give my baby the best nutrition especially within his first year of life.

Enter in this homemade paint recipe I whipped up! I thought "You know, fruit is colorful, why not paint with it?" This is how my brain works, friends. I see something not as it is but what it can become. Rather than using corn syrup, sugars and artificial dyes, I opted instead to use natural fruit with some ingredients we already have on hand at home.

What you will need:
- Fresh or frozen fruit {I used frozen and just microwaved until soft. I lack patience, what can I say}
- Medium bowl
- Flour
- Water
- Paper
- A cute baby {check!}

I went with raspberries and blueberries. In the photo above, I show the ingredients in measuring cups. This really is for just the photo. It doesn't take that much flour or water to create the paint paste we need. I suggest play around and try mixing to get the consistency you like.
Tip: try mixing 1 ounce of fruit, 2 tsp flour and 2 tsp water to start. Then go from there.

The first photo shows the fruit before the added ingredients. If the fruit is soft enough, mash it with the spoon. If not, put it in the blender for a few seconds then mix in the flour and water. The second photos shows how the fruit thickens and becomes more paint-like.

That's it! Now for the fun part. If you are a tidy mommy, just stop now. The baby will get messy. The floor will get dirty. The highchair will get out of control. A bath will be in order. But the way I see it, I not only have a boy who will get messy eventually but I feel that getting his hands dirty and really into things is part of the learning experience. This is good for baby's tongue to explore texture and tastes but also for his hands to touch and understand different textures. Paint with real fruit, what else is better! I didn't have to worry about what he was consuming when he ate some {because of course it will go into the mouth.} And as you can see, he loves painting with fruit too.