Mom in the Mountains | Hiking With Your Baby

It’s finally summer in Mammoth Lakes! While my husband and I moved here for our love of winter, the summer’s are even better. The locals say you move to Mammoth for the winter, but stay for the summer. Most days off we spend hiking, taking a picnic to the lake, sitting in the hot springs, or just exploring our gorgeous backyard that is the John Muir Wilderness and the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

We really love to go up to Mammoth Lakes Basin where there are a lot of lakes to choose from. Lake George is such a serene lake tucked a little bit away from the crowds. From there you can find a shady spot to go fishing, find a hiking trail, walk around the lake, and just enjoy the mountain air and majestic views.

Of course, now that we have Isabella we have to carry a bit more with us anywhere we go. My favorite tote for extra baby stuff is our Sweet & Salty Tote, you can find it here. But, most important is food. Traveling, hiking, and camping with baby food just sounds complicated and heavy to me. Baby food either comes in pouches, glass jars, or homemade glass jars. Sometimes it also needs to be refrigerated.

So, let’s talk baby food! “Baby” food is typically mashed, blended, or pureed fruits and veggies. You usually start introducing foods at 4-6 months, though babies main source of nutrition should still be breast milk or formula. You could also wait a bit longer and start with finger foods or “baby led weaning”, which is letting baby learn to feed themselves and skipping the purees. We do a combination because Isabella loves her baby food!

I came across Amara baby food while looking for organic baby food that was not processed, heated, or had any preservatives in it. Something besides making it myself, which I do when I have the time (especially when we have extra veggies that I don’t want to be wasted). Amara baby food is made by extracting the water from the fruits and vegetables, leaving all the nutrients, texture, and taste intact! You end up with a dry powder that you add water, breast milk, or formula too. The great part is that you control the consistency of it! You can make it extra runny or super thick for older babies. They have banana, potato and kale mash, oats and berries, tropical mango, pumpkin and pear, and apple sauce with maqui berry. Isabella’s favorite is the potato and kale! I was also thinking about taking her food on the go. Not having to take chunky or fragile glass jars or pouches that need to be refrigerated is a huge plus.

This is the perfect baby food to take with you! We travel a lot, and now that Isabella is eating more purees and solids, these come in very handy. They are packaged in small packets, think instant hot chocolate packets but way nicer. They weigh barely anything, can be packed anywhere at any temperature, and each pouch makes 2.5 oz. - 4.5 oz. of food. You can always combine them if your little one eats more. They are great for day hikes, backpacking trips, and especially camping. We are so excited to take Isabella camping this summer and will definitely be bringing our Amara baby food with us!