What My Baby is Eating: 7-8 Months

Life is a little different when you have your second child.

I started this blog when I started feeding my first daughter, G, solids. I was so excited about everything related to baby food. I read all the books, I did all the research. I wrote a freaking cookbook.

And now G2 is eating solids. Things feel a little different this time around.

Yes, I am still making all of her food. Yes, I am still loving watching her taste foods for the first time.

But God has a sense of humor.

He gave the cookbook writer a very challenging eater and made her doubt everything she thought she knew.

He must have known I was at wit's end because finally, FINALLY, G2 is actually ingesting food.

On her own terms, of course.

The only way I can get her to eat anything puree like is smeared on strips of bread which she must put in her mouth (and throw on the floor). But then she lets me give her small pieces of food like a bird.

Now, that she's finally eating, I want to start an old series on this blog from my G days.

What My Baby is Eating: 7-8 months

Strips of bread with applesauce, yogurt, or a thin layer of nut butter  (pb or almond butter)
String cheese: I break off small pieces and give it to her- it dissolves easily in her mouth
peas
steamed pears
steamed sweet potatos
strips of ripe banana
Cold spaghetti noodles
pieces of burger (turkey basil, pork and apple, and beef so far)
slow-cooked enchilada chicken
banana blueberry bread
Paleo pancakes (I make them and freeze them, I leave them a little frozen when I give them to her)
Pieces of cheddar jack, very small pieces
whole wheat tortilla and hummus

That's what she is eating. What is your LO eating these days?

Kale, Sweet Potato, and Apple Puree

As a society, we are obsessed with making our children eat kale.

I overheard some mommies discussing desperate attempts to get their children to eat kale. Kale chips, covering it with cheese and calling it dinosaur food, blending it into smoothies.

All of these sound terrible to me.

I love healthy food and even I struggle with kale. I don't think it was even on my mom's radar when I was little. We saw it at the grocery as a garnish for all fresh produce and I don't even think it occurred to us to put it in our mouths.

So, why bother? Why not just leave it as salad bar garnish and move on our with lives?

According to webmd, it is one of the most healthiest vegetables on the planet.

1 cup of kale = 9% daily value of calcium, and over 100% of Vitamin A, C, and K.


Probably not the worst thing to feed our kids, right? And even better if we can find ways to actually make it taste good.

And let's be honest, I bought a huge bag for another recipe and didn't know what to do with it.

I took a tip from from Rachel Ray and included some fresh ground nutmeg as it is supposed to pair well with hearty greens like kale. My next tip was from Baby G who will eat anything with sweet potatoes and ditto for apples. So, essentially I was trying everything I could to make kale palpable. And I think it worked....


Kale, Sweet Potato and Apple Puree

[1/2] large sweet potato or 1 small sweet potato, sliced

1 apple, sliced

2 generous handfuls of kale, stems removed

[1/4] teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg or ground nutmeg

1-2 tablespoons water (from steaming)


1. Steam sweet potato and apple for 2-3 minutes. Add kale and steam for additional 2 minutes.

2. Combine, sweet potato, apple, kale, ground nutmeg, and a splash of water from steaming in a blender. Puree until you reach desired consistency.


3. Store in fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.


Beyond the Puree

This is a very sweet puree. It would be good paired with a strong cheese- goat or blue cheese and some steamed kale in a quesadilla or mixed in with some steel cut oats for a sweet twist on breakfast.

Recipe Review
 
Even I was surprised how much Baby G liked it. I became one of those annoying moms smirking over her precious daughter eating kale. Then I had to remind myself how sweet it was with the sweet potato, apple, and warm nutmeg. This puree tastes so good that it's really not an accomplishment that your little one is gobbling kale....or is it?

The ground nutmeg really does complement the kale nicely. So much that I don't think I will be able to think of kale without it ever again. 

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What do you think about kale? Yay or nay? How does your little one like kale?

Cranberry Pear Applesauce (and Traveling with Baby)

We are getting ready to leave for our first trip with Baby G. We will be flying for the first time so there are piles throughout the house. I can't believe how much stuff a little person needs! Before I leave, I wanted to share with you our current favorite recipe, but first a few notes on traveling clean....

Eating Clean While Traveling

This is our first real eating challenge as we are still determined to keep her off processed foods while we travel. Believe me, I've been tempted in the last few days. We are lucky in that we are visiting my parents so we will have our own kitchen in our hotel suite as well as all of their gadgets at their place, namely a really nice blender so we can make our own purees. It also helps that we are going to Southern Texas where the produce is cheap and plentiful. I am packing my Pampered Chef microwave steamer and I made some banana bread sticks that are great teethers and snacks for her (recipe will be posted when I get back). I have frozen purees that I am going to pack in my OXO containers for the airport. Other than that, we will rely on produce we can find at the airport and when we get there, we will make a trip to the grocery store for some puree and finger food ingredients.

To cut down on packing, I ordered feeding bibs, spoons, bottles, and some other baby supplies (diapers, sunblock, swim stuff) on Amazon and because of our Prime account, it's free shipping. We will have that stuff waiting for us when we get there. Anything to make it easier!

I will be tweeting about our adventures in feeding, so follow me to get our updates.

Cranberry Pear Applesauce

I read about using cranberries in purees in Anni Daulter's book Bountiful Baby Purees. She talks about not being afraid of giving baby's sour food and despite her kind warnings, I was still nervous. Would she really like cranberries? Would she purse her mouth and turn away?

Not. At. All.

Baby G LOVES this puree. The pears and raisins give it some added sweetness, but don't get me wrong, this is tart. She has been gobbling it up since I made it up. Cranberries are a great source of Vitamin C. With its refreshing taste, it's a particularly great puree during cold and flu season.

I made it in the slow cooker, but feel free to make this in a regular steamer. I just wanted a hands off method as Baby G is now mobile and I have less time to monitor anything besides her.

Ingredients:

1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen

3 small apples, sliced

2 small pears, sliced

[1/2] cup raisins

[1/2] cup water

3 cinnamon sticks
 
1. Combine all ingredients** in a medium slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours, or until pears and apples are tender.

2. Remove cinnamon sitcks and transfer to a blender. Puree until you reach your desired consistency. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

**The cranberries made a bit of a mess in the slow cooker. To avoid the mess, you could add them for the last 1-2 hours. Or, if you are like me, just soak the slow cooker over night before washing it. If I did it again, I'd live with the mess because it requires less thought.

Recipe Review:

We will definitely be incorporating cranberries into more recipes. I love the idea that Baby G is being exposed to a wider variety of flavors and cranberries are so good for you!

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Have you made any sour purees yet?

Any tips for traveling with a baby?

Finger Foods Volume 3

As we continue with our finger food series, I want to make something very clear. Most of the time when I give Baby G finger foods, it looks a lot like this....

 

And only occasionally does it look this....

I guess I view this period as major experimentation. Experimenting new tastes, new textures, and for Baby G, new ways to make messes for Mommy.

Here is what we have had in the last week or so:

Green Beans

Steamed red pepper strips

Pieces of crumbled veggie burger

Pieces of a whole wheat quesadilla

Pieces of scrambled eggs- we got the okay from my doctor and eggs don't seem to bother her.

Blood orange slices (with peel)-   She really loved sucking on the orange and I loved watching her expression of surprise each time she got a taste. Oranges are acidic so if you notice your baby starts to get a diaper rash after eating them, stop and wait.

Tofu Bites- Recipe below, she liked smashing them more than eating them. I actually thought they were pretty good!

Tofu Bites

 1 carton of firm tofu, cut into rectangular pieces****

[1/4] cup wheat germ OR wheat flour

1 teaspoon garlic pepper OR garlic powder

****-This would make a lot of tofu bites! Keep this ratio and only make amount of bites you want for that meal or maybe for two meals. Save the rest of the wheat germ/garlic mixture.

1. Preheat oven to 425 (dgF). Lightly spray a cookie sheet.

2. Whisk together wheat germ and garlic pepper.

3. Dredge tofu rectangles in wheat germ mixture and place on prepared pan. Bake for 15-25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and serve.

Review-

To me, these tasted a lot like chicken nuggets, especially when you dunk them in ketchup. I admit, I am a tofu fan so I may be biased. I thought they had a similar texture and that comforting bland taste of chicken nuggets. 

Baby G just liked smashing them on the table, the floor, the chair, her hair, etc. I look forward to serving these as she gets older and I am glad I can introduce tofu right away.

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What have you been feeding your little one in terms of finger foods?

Pumpkin Berry Patch Puree

I hesitate to refer to any of my baby foods as Baby G's favorite. At only 8 months old, I have a hard time getting my mind around the idea that she has a favorite. There's so much that she hasn't tried and this whole eating thing is brand new. How do I know if she likes or doesn't like anything? Sometimes she seems to prefer eating her toes, but I wouldn't guess that she likes how they taste.

So, I won't say this is her favorite. I will say she consistently eats it. And these days, that is saying something.

Why pumpkin?  Pumpkin is a great super food. It is high in fiber, low in fat, and 1 cup of canned pumpkin puree has 3 grams of protein. And it's packed with beta carotene which is converted to Vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is great for the eyes.

And because I had a whole bunch of canned puree leftover from some recent cookie baking. Sometimes reality is a little less sexy....

Pumpkin Berry Patch Puree

[1/2] cup mixed berries

[1/4] cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree

[1/2] banana

dash of ground nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients in the blender and puree until you reach your desired consistency. It makes approximately 1 - 1[1/2] cups.

2. Store in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Beyond the Puree

This puree has a nice sweet taste to it. It would be great swirled in yogurt.

Combine this with some cream cheese and spread on a half tortilla. Fold it over and cook it in a dry frying pan to make a sweet, dessert quesadilla. Cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side and 1-2 minutes after you flip it.

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Does your baby have any favorites or strong likes/dislikes? How can you tell?