Not ready?

Olivia has gone back and forth on the solid food thing. When we first introduced rice cereal, as per the pedi's recommendation for her reflux, she was pretty excited about it. She didn't eat a ton of it, but did seem to enjoy it. It took me a few days to figure out when she would want it, before or after nursing, when she was tired or wide awake, etc..... thought I had it figured out!

Anyhow, her interest waned quickly. I have since tried oatmeal, peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes. She liked the peas a lot, but still would only eat a few bites, then seem uninterested or would even fuss a bit. Otherwise, she has just tried a few bites of things and then was over it. She is currently 3 days shy of 6 months, so I don't know if that is what the deal is. I know tons of babies younger than her that love solids though, so I guess it is just her.

I suppose she is just not ready. I feel almost bad trying to force it. I don't actually force her to eat, but I mean even trying when she seems so uninterested. She is breast fed and I guess is perfectly content with that. 

Maybe I will wait a week and see what she does then. Anyhow, just thought I would post this to see if anyone had thoughts, and to let people know that not all babies are ready just because they meet all the "criteria" for being "ready" for solids!

More bananas please!

So after our unsuccessful attempt at apples, I figured I’d skip the next veggie and do over the fruit. I thought bananas would be a safe bet, and I was right. So far, he loves bananas. He ate them right up with zero issues. All I did was take about a piece of banana (about an 1 ½ long) and mashed it up with a fork. I didn’t add any liquid because I am trying out thicker foods with drew now. It was still pureed though, no chunks yet.

Teething Biscuits from Wondertime Magazine

I saw this recipe in the latest addition of Wondertime magazine. Drew is not quit ready for teething biscuits yet, but I’d figure I would go ahead and post the recipe for others now. I’ll post about it again after Drew’s tried them.

1 ½ Cups unbleached flour
½ Cup whole wheat flour
½ Cup of maple syrup
3 Tablespoons applesauce

Heat oven to 300. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until dough begins to hold together. Dust counter with flour, then transfer contents of bowl to counter. Knead lightly until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes. (If the dough is difficult to handle, dust with a little more flour.) Roll out with a rolling pin until 1/3 inch thick. Cut into biscuits using an inverted cup and a clean soda-bottle cap (or your thumb) for the hole, or use a doughnut cutter ($3 for 2.5 inch cutter, cooksdream.com ). Transfer biscuits to a greased cookie sheet. Bake until barely browned, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely on a cookie sheet. They’re ready to eat now (under supervision, of course) They’ll harden slightly more if you leave them out overnight. Store for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

(2009, February). Teething Biscuits. Wondertime, Retrieved January 23, 2009, page 50.

And here is a caution about feeding teething biscuits from wholesomebabyfood.com:

IMPORTANT CAUTION: When feeding your infant Teething Biscuits, baby finger foods, or any other food that may pose a choking hazard, it is VERY important to watch the child closely. Always ensure the child is in a totally upright sitting position as well! Some parents will tell you one brand or recipe is great while others will tell you the very same brand/recipe was horrible and their child choked due to crumbling or breaking. There is no brand or recipe for teething biscuits that is guaranteed not to crumble or break off into pieces!!

An Apple a Day Keeps the Baby Away

So we was at the grocery store the other day and couldn’t remember what type of apples my book suggested to use so I wasn’t sure what to buy. I asked the produce worker what he thought would be sweet, taste good to a baby and cook well. He suggested honey sweet apples. I had never heard of them before so he let us try one. Tasted good, so that is what we got. These were not organic so I peeled them before I cooked them. Here is what we did…

2 Honey Sweet Apples (Peeled, cored, and sliced)
Steamed apple slices for 10 minutes
Pureed (No added liquids)

We froze the left overs to use over the next few days. As far as Drew liking or not liking apples, the video explains it all. (Until I can get it to post the video, here is a link)

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2ijozlz&s=5

Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

Peas!

Despite the terrified look on the child's face, Olivia LOVED the peas! She has now eaten them for three days, and can't get enough. Yesterday I took to feeding her in her diaper though, as that bright green is not so pretty on cute baby clothes! Some peas dropped on her tray, and let me tell you, she had the time of her life smearing it around! Straight to the bath after that.

I have to say, I tried them and they are soooo good. I don't know if it is because they are organic, or what, but I would eat it if I were her!

I blogged about making it a few days ago, so go back if you need to know those details.

Now that she has eaten a food she liked, I am excited to try more. It's fun!

Review: Cuisinart MiniPrep food processer

I use the Cuisinart MiniPrep to blend up Drew’s baby food. I decided this after reading about a few nesties that had it. I figured I’d use it to also help chop food for our own meals, but this hasn’t been the case. I tried it out once for us, using it to “chop” onions. But, it beat them to a bloody pulp. Now, it may have been user error, but I haven’t tried again since. I figure I can just chop onions by hand just fine. So, it is solely used as a baby food processor. And for this, it works just fine. It has blended Drew’s food very well and with zero issues. However, I am not sure that it is any better than any other food processer.

From the Crate & Barrel Website:

The compact size and precision performance of this two-speed Cuisinart taskmaster made easy work of grinding and chopping foods.
· Contemporary brushed stainless steel housing
· 21-ounce capacity lexan work bowl
· Stainless steel reversible blade chops and grinds
· Grind control processes hard foods (nuts, seeds and spices)
· Chop control chops or minces softer foods (onions, garlic, herbs and cheese)
· Spatula and instruction-recipe book included
· Durable work bowl and cover are dishwasher-safe

Think Green: Fresh Organic Zucchini

OK, I am not sure why I am stuck on green food right now. I guess it is a subconscious thing or something. But, I do know that Drew was pretty happy with this new found flavor. Zucchini has a very mild flavor, so it wasn't too much of a shock to his taste buds. And, like everything else thus far, it was super easy to make. I pulled this from my Williams & Sonoma Cooking for Baby book.

Steam fresh sliced zucchini until very tender (5-9 minutes, leave the skin on)
Blend in a food processor (To your desired consistency)

Notes: You should not have to add any fluids to this. If anything, you may want to thicken it with cereal if it is too thin. I didn't have to do that this time around. Also, because you leave the skin on, the book suggest that you buy an organic zucchini.

I put the left overs in my new Beaba Multi Portion from Williams & Sonoma. This is my first time using this, but so far it is good.