Delicious (Online) Deal!

Earth's Best Organic 2nd Fruit Variety Pack (12 jars) is on sale for $8.99 on amazon.com! Spend $25 in qualifying purchases for free "super saver shipping." William loves the peach-oatmeal-banana blend!

Fast Food for Babies - On The Road!

Sorry my friends- It's been a while since my last post! William and I were on Cape Cod, visiting my parents and grandfather. William had so much fun at the beach, in the baby pool and at the playground!  Packing for even just four nights away with a baby is a huge job; add in the need for solid food and it's even more challenging! Obviously, there are stores on the Cape, but I wanted to be sure I brought the basics.


My mom stocked up on fresh produce: avocados, bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches and pears. She grows fresh basil, and had garlic powder, cinnamon, sea salt and pepper available of course.

I brought some staples of William's diet: ground oat powder, multigrain baby cereal, 2 cups of YoBaby plain whole milk yogurt, 2 pouches of roasted butternut squash, a little jar of flax oil and six jars of fruits and veggies.  I also brought William's favorite spoon, the one that comes with this set: Danesco Bowl with Silicone Spoon Baby Set - Green; one of these spoons: The First Years Take & Toss Infant Spoons One Pack of 12, 4 Month +; but no bowls, as ceramic ramekins are the perfect baby bowls (and the safest to microwave in)!  William ate very basic meal combos during the trip, and I didn't introduce any new foods since we weren't near our pediatrician (per advice of one thoughtful and loving Grandma!).


Here's an amazing recipe for grown-ups and bigger kids that I discovered by accident, and made for my parents and grandfather during our visit. A couple of weeks ago I meant to buy a head of green leaf lettuce at the store, but in the haze of mommy-brain ended up bringing home escarole. We tried it in a salad, but it was quite thick and bitter, so I looked up some recipes and was inspired (specifically by Bobby Flay's "Braised Escarole With Garlic and Lemon" recipe) to make the following:

Braised Escarole over Parmesean Polenta
Prepare 4 servings of "cereal" style (soft) polenta according to package instructions.  I love the Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits/Polenta (yes, grits and polenta are the exact same thing!): great texture and flavor.  When done cooking, add 4 Tbsp butter and salt and parmesean cheese to taste.
Serve topped with the braised escarole.  Great with a simple protein, like roasted chicken or grilled shrimp on the side!

A meal for an infant could quite easily be made based on the same ingredients, just leave out any elements that aren't yet in his/her repertiore, unless you'd like to introduce a new one. For example, I could have fed William the polenta (minus butter and cheese because they aren't yet a part of his diet) with the escarole (a new food) simply steamed and pureed. A meal the whole family can enjoy!

"Semi-Homemade" Baby Food

Have you seen that show on the Food Network where the woman who hosts adds things to store bought items to make them a into more "gourmet" meals? That is the approach I take to preparing William's food on a daily basis. He is not eating home made, fresh organic food exclusively!

I use a combination of jarred, frozen and pouches of prepared items, mixed with some fresh ingredients, herbs and spices. Here is a sample menu, which is exactly what he ate today:

Breakfast:
Strawberry-banana yogurt: 2 Tbsp Stonyfield Whole Milk Cream Top plain yogurt mixed with 1/2 mashed ripe strawberry and about 2 inches of banana, mashed.
Mango Oatmeal: 1/4 portion of oats (from the Wholesome Babyfood website) mixed with 1 pouch of Bella Baby Mango puree.

Lunch:
Avocado With Garbanzos: 1/4 mashed ripe avocado mixed with 1 oz. pureed canned garbanzo beans. Sprinkle of garlic powder, 1/8 tsp. flax seed oil.
Green Beans: 1 pouch Bella Baby Green Bean puree
Carrots: 1 jar Earth's Best carrots

Dinner:
Herbed Avocado: 1/4 mashed ripe avocado with black pepper and finely chopped basil.
Creamy Apple & Apricot: 1/2 jar Earth's Best Apples & Apricots mixed with 1 Tbsp Stonyfield Cream Top plain yogurt.

Snacks:
1 Baby Mum-Mum Rice Rusk while out on a "coffee date" with buddy Evan. Thanks for sharing, Evan!
Another Rice Rusk while Mama and Dada ate their dinner.
A few sips of water here and there, Mama's water bottle (Nathan flip staw stainless water bottle) being the favorite source! William also has his own adorable water bottle, a Green Sprouts Straw bottle.

Mum-Mum!

William eats three meals a day, at around 7:30 am, 12 pm and 4:30 pm.  Then the poor little guy sits there and watches my husband and I eat dinner around 6 pm, signing "eat" repeatedly!  (Yes, he uses sign language- but just that one sign!) I've been giving him a few cubes of banana or another finger food during "family dinnertime," but have been searching for something better.  Something not at all filling (so he'll still have room to nurse well before bed), but that he'll enjoy eating independently.

So, just hours ago William and I bought a box of Hot-Kid Baby Mum-Mum Original Rice Rusks at Whole Foods.  It seems like there's always something I need at Whole Foods......

Some of my lovely mom friends who we have a weekly playdate with had recommended Baby Mum-Mums several times, and since William is showing more and more interest in finger feeding, I thought we'd give them a try.  First of all, they taste good (just like any rice cracker you might buy, airy but crispy, salty and quick to dissolve). They are long, flat oval shapes, perfect for chubby little fists to hold on to.

William loved these right away (after I touched it to his lips, and signed and said "eat" so that he'd know it was food), and devoured one in a couple of minutes.  These have absolutely no nutritional value (well, 15 calories of pure carbohydrates for 2 rusks, and 2% daily protein) but are great for self-feeding practice! The box says "You may give Hot-Kid Baby Mum-Mum Rice Rusks to your baby as soon as he or she is ready for solid food."

Self-feeding is an important skill for babies to work on early.  Later in the feeding/eating relationship, independence can become a major issue that changes the dynamics.  Many toddlers use mealtime as a time to assert their independence (which is perfectly age-appropriate, and an important stage of development!), so establishing a sense of self-confidence and degree of independence early on may reap benefits (in the form of less "feeding issues") later!

Peaches & Strawberries & Finger Foods, oh my!

Since my last post, William has tried peaches and strawberries, and is showing a lot more interest in finger foods.  He's always loved the smear/suck method of finger-feeding, where Mama puts a blob of something on the tray, William smears it around, then sucks it off his hands with accompanying slurps.  Avocado is a particular favorite, as its thick texture sticks to the hands well, and it makes a great hair conditioner!

Here are some favorite finger foods:
Avocado
Sweet potato
Baked apple
Ripe pear
All cut into small cubes, which are slimy and very difficult for chubby little hands to get a hold of! Most of these end up in William's bib pocket or lap, but it's good fine motor practice.

Just yesterday I gave William a very thin slice of ripe pear, and he found this much easier to grasp! He could hold it in his hand, and instead of it becoming lost in his fist like the little cubes, it stuck out the top and he could actually get it into his mouth. Be sure the pear is very ripe and soft if you try this with a new finger-feeder!

I've used the peaches and strawberries very simply so far, just mixed with yogurt, or mashed or cubed/sliced on their own as finger food. Tomorrow I'll try something a little different for breakfast:

Creamy Herbed Berry Oatmeal
1/4 portion of prepared oats ("Oatmeal Baby Cereal") mixed with 1 Tbsp whole milk plain yogurt, 1 mashed ripe strawberry and 1 finely chopped fresh basil leaf.

Basil is surprisingly delicious with summer fruits like berries, mango, pineapple, melon, etc!

A side note: I've been enjoying using my Wean Machine as a quick, easy tool to mash soft foods.  I'll do a product review soon, after I've tried it with a variety of different foods.

Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July! Today we took William to a fun event: ""Picnic in The Park" in Concord, MA. There was a live bluegrass band, a bouncy house, sponge toss game, fire trucks, a game where the kids got to spray a "burning house" target with a real fire hose, and lots of food!  Definitely geared toward families with young kids! I had a poopyseed bagel with cream cheese and lox followed by home made apple pie with ice cream.  William's dada had a hot dog, a hamburger and fried dough. Although William loved looking around and playing in the grass, he couldn't partake of any of these things! Can't wait to take him back next year......

William's newest food addition is zucchini, a great seasonal vegetable! I got an organic one at the Arlington Farmers' Market, steamed it and pureed it in the mini food pro.

Creamy Zucchini & Squash
1 oz pureed zucchini, 1 oz pureed squash, 1 Tbsp whole milk yogurt, sea salt and pepper optional.

"Italian" Zucchini
2 oz. pureed zucchini, tiny sprinkle of garlic powder, 1/2 finely chopped fresh basil leaf.

One of my closest friends has a "big boy," who is now about 19 months old, and she told me that she wished I'd post some big-boy recipe ideas, so here you go my dear! I haven't tried these yet, but you can bet that I will when William is a big boy!

"Circles" Saute
Cut a small zucchini and a carrot into thin slices.  In a pan, heat 1 tsp. olive oil. Saute the zucchini and carrot until they begin to soften, and add a little crushed garlic or garlic powder, sea salt and pepper optional.  This would also be great with little cubes ("sqaures!") of marinated tofu or chicken for protein.

Summer Pasta Primavera
In a pan with olive oil, saute finely chopped zucchini, carrots, peas,  and spinach (sea salt and pepper optional).  For the last minute of cooking, add some crushed garlic and fresh basil.  Toss in your favorite cooked pasta.  Before serving you can mix in some mozzarella and/or parmesean. For protein, the addition of already cooked chicken or shrimp would be delicious.....Yum, I want this for dinner tonight!!!

Basil and Mango

Yum, these two ingredients actually go very well together! But they are just the two new foods William has tried since my last post.....

We live in a very urban neighborhood, but are lucky enough to have a great backyard. It is small, so our "garden" consists of two large plant pots, both of which are filled with herbs (basil, parsley and thyme.).  William and I also planted a few beans, and have so far harvested four. Four beans. We'll deal with them later.

How have we used the basil and mango so far you ask?

Italian Avocado:
1/4 ripe avocado, mashed with 1 Tbsp. whole milk yogurt. Stir in one fresh basil leaf, finely chopped, and a tiny sprinkle of garlic powder.

Herbed Rice:
1/4 portion brown rice (recipe) mixed with 1/2 oz. spinach,  1/2 oz squash and one finely chopped basil leaf.  Sea salt and black pepper optional.

Mango Breakfast:
1.5 oz mango puree (I like Bella Baby) mixed with 2 Tbsp. whole milk yogurt.  Sprinkle in multigrain (or rice, or oatmeal) baby cereal (Earth's Best  is what we use) to desired consistency.

Now to mix the two together! I think tomorrow we'll try a mango-yogurt-basil combination for breakfast.......