Tyler made a good point when he said recently that every time we think we get our arms around Aliyah's needs - she grows and what she needs from us changes. I had no idea where to start when it came to introducing solids. I entertained the idea of baby led weaning, and I still hope to incorporate that idea. I feel we may be headed that direction as Aliyah loves to gnaw on food off of our plates rather than mushed up veggies.
Tyler and I set aside some time last week to make up a few different types of baby food for Aliyah to try. Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned so far:
THREE no-cook baby foods: Bananas, Avocados and Mangoes! Mash them up with the back of a fork until they are smooth. It requires no cooking, no refrigerating beforehand and all are perfect to throw in the baby bag for whipping up a quick and easy meal on the go.
Aliyah's first bite of Mango: It looked like she didn't like it at first, but she ended up eating 3 more pieces after this one!
Some of our favorite babyfood recipes:
We've taken to steaming most of the veggies we've tried so far by putting a few inches of water in the bottom of a pot, bringing to a boil and then placing a mesh strainer full of veggies over the steam and covering until tender.
We tried a lot of flavor combinations in the hopes of encouraging Aliyah to be an adventurous eater. (I’ll let you know how our little science experiment plays out in the long run).
A few favorite combinations (all of which can be pureed in a food processor with breastmilk/formula/water until smooth)
Slice up a few carrots. Steam with cauliflower and add 1 dash of garlic powder and black pepper.
Steam one handful of fresh or frozen green beans with 1 dash of cumin.
Wrap a sweet potato in tinfoil and cook on 425 until done. Remove skin and add a steamed zucchini (skinned) with a dash of cinnamon.
Cube up butternut squash, brush very lightly with unsalted butter. Bake at 425. Sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg.
We purchased a bunch of the 1 oz ice cube tray baby food tupperware containers with lids and I spoon in enough food for one serving. Because we only made a week or two worth at a time, I don’t date them - however baby food is good for up to 3 months in the freezer, so it might be worth it to mark them accordingly and build up a supply.
It really takes no time at all and these blends are SO delicious. We thaw each meal by putting a day’s worth in the fridge the night before or by leaving out on the counter an hour before eating. Confession: we haven’t tried to cook fruits yet!
I know this isn’t rocket science and making baby food is extremely simple - but it’s been a lot of fun to plan what veggies (and fruits!) to try next and what flavor combinations work well together.
If you’ve got a baby food tip or a recipe that you and your little one love - leave a comment as I’m still learning so much about all of this.
Think of all the poor babies in the world that have to eat bland old Gerber! She tried to snatch a slice of my peperoni pizza the other night. Knowing her parents, this kid will be chowing on (and loving) the good stuff from now on!
ReplyDeleteLove, Grandpa
Our little guy loved avocado and still does eat it plain. Once she is a little older, hard boiled eggs are great alternatives to meat (we waited for a long while until we introduced meat) and also tofu. I also have to say any kind of bean he end up loving too (just boil it and cook like the directions say on the package and then put it in the food processor or just mush it with a fork (it freezes great too). We loved doing the freezer method with the ice cube trays. It really is such a time saver and great for mixing foods as the little ones start eating more! Oh she probably would also love homeade baby cereal too. It has great iron and you can make it yourself with lots of different kinds of oats/seeds.
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