I need some serious food help. Any and all advice is appreciated!!!
Ant is almost nine months old, and I know that I need to start moving him from the jarred baby foods to more table-food like things. This is a huge problem for me because I do not eat "well" at all, so I really am at a loss for what to do.
I have had big issues with the textures of food since I was very young, and consequently ate zero fruits or vegetables from as long ago as I can remember up until after I finished college. When I was in high school I was so averse to anything fruit/vegetable like that I wouldn't even eat tomato sauce on pizza, just plain cheese. My parents tried to get me to eat things (imagine a 12 year old throwing a 45 minute tantrum over eating ONE raw grape!!), but didn't push me too hard because my mom was relatively similar when she was growing up.
In more recent history, I've gotten a lot better. I now eat a decent selection of veggies (broccoli, green beans and asparagus are my regulars i.e. about once a week), but still don't eat any fruit. Pureed fruits or juices are fine, but the raw stuff? I really can't stomach it. Another example - I like minestrone, but the way I make it for myself is to take out the pasta and potatoes, put them into a pot, then put the rest of it through the blender.
All that means, though, that I really have no sense of where to go next for Ant. So far I've given him some low-sodium minestrone, with the veggies cut into small pieces, and he seems to quite like that. What other things should I try? Some of the baby books suggest strips of cooked fruit - they don't tell me how to cook them though!! Do I just boil them? How long?
I'm almost embarrassed to hit publish on this one, but I will, in hopes that you can give me some tips!! (Any websites or books that you'd recommend?)
9 comments:
Don't feel bad. Everyone has their own food issues.
We haven't done anything but purees yet. Finger foods soon. I like this site a lot:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/VegetableRecipes.htm
They have good ways to cook foods. I like their suggestions for baking (in a bit of water) rather than boiling fruits. They taste yummier, I think.
This site about baby led weaning has lots of suggestions, and is much less restrictive than standard US guidelines:
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/weaning_food_introduction_schedule.html
Also, I've been meaning to buy a mesh feeder so we can give the kiddos anything without worrying about choking.
I look forward to seeing what others suggest!
I second wholesomebabyfood.com. I make all my own food, so if you have any specific questions, e-mail me whenever and I'll try to help. At eight months I started letting them have pretty much whatever we ate (as long as it was healthy and not a high allergy thing like strawberries).
Soups are good because you can get lots of veggies in there and protein all in one. I also give them yogurt. Some fruits are soft enough to give them raw, like banana and pears. Apples I usually slice and boil them in just a tiny bit of water. Mangos are good too. Peaches you can find frozen and just microwave them.
Freak! Ha ha - just kidding. I have my own issues with textures - eggplant and mushrooms - yeah, no thanks.
Anyhoo - I don't understand why you would cook fruit? Just to get some of the vitamins out?
With grapes, I used to peel and slice very thin, then I stopped peeling and now I don't even cut them. Strawberries, apples, pears (they're nice and mushy when ripe, so maybe start with them?) - A loves them all. I used to cut up raisins, but now she stuffs them in her mouth(I know you find this hard to imagine, that sweet little angel) by the fistful.
She loves zucchini, but still only eats pureed green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes (not since we've been back from Ire though - very frustrating), spinach and peas. I'm hoping she'll eat those whole soon.
Beans are good because they're easy to pick up and totally gum mashable.
That's all I can think of at the minute!
Just saw Jenn's comment - maybe the boiling is to soften?
I make all of P's food, with the odd jar of baby food thrown in.
Steaming the fruit and vegetables is also an option because the nutrients are maintained a lot better than through boiling. I bought a really cheap steamer that has been a lifesaver.
For texture, look into introducing things like couscous, lentils, quinoa, etc. Piper also loves anything with cheese.
I have so much to say on this matter but I don't want to hijack your blog. Email me if you want any suggestions or further help. Good luck!
Wholesomebabyfood.com is a great website! Someone else posted it above, there are tons of recipes. I would suggest starting with pears or apples. You can buy adult apple sauce at the grocery store that is just apples and water (Mott's makes it).
To make pears, peel them with a veggie peeler and then cut them into chunks. Put it in a pot with about an inch of water. Bring the water to boil and let it simmer for about five min. or until the pear is very tender.
Strain the pear and the water but save the water. Mash the pear with a blender or fork, add pear water as needed to thin the puree out.
I use pear water to thin out pea puree too. It gives it a little sweetness that tastes good.
Also, if you plan to try to continue making baby food I would suggest getting some silicone ice cube trays to freeze the purees in. They work a whole lot better for food cubes then the regular plastic trays.
Yep, the wholesomebabyfood website is the guide I used for ideas and recipes for making food for my son. Good luck with getting him to try different textures. Maybe he won't have the same issues that you've had?
Try the mesh feeder like another poster had mentioned.
I've heard really good things about it.
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?siteId=117&productId=307755&cm_ven=Google&cm_cat=Top%2520Sellers&cm_pla=Top%2520Sellers&cm_ite=null
Most of the first foods I tried my boy on were things that are constipating... but he loves them so I try to alternate with non-constipating ones to, um, keep things moving. Banana sliced and broken into small pieces, yam (cooked in microwave, skin pierced with fork then cut into cubes), overcooked pasta. It took both my babes a couple of months before they really took to non-pureed solids, so sometimes you just have to keep trying until you find something that they will tolerate (if not like ;) ). Hope you're finding some good ideas to try.
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