Foodie Baby

You guys, we have another little foodie in the house.

We are having a blast in the world of baby food over here. This guys loves eating his solids just as much as I adore making them for him.

Meal time is one of the most fun parts of our day! Look at this goofball.

He’s got a freezer full of frozen cubes that I prepared right now!

In case you can’t read the labels, current selections include cheesy broccoli carrot, and potato; salmon and carrots; broccoli; cheesy cauliflower, leeks, and sweet potato; peaches; both fresh and dried apricot purees; mango; blueberries; papaya; pumpkin (from a can); sweet potato and grass-fed ground beef; broccoli and sweet potato.

Another stash in the fridge:

We have a rotating selection of smooth and chunky purees of fruit, veggies, and proteins in the freezer, supplemented by fresh foods on hand. I love to make J’s food in batches on the weekends so we have easy go-to homemade meals for him all week long. I also send food I make to daycare for him during the week.

J also receives chunks of fruits and veggies as finger foods at some meals too.

Here he is gnawing (supervised!) on a peeled piece of plum! Yummy, mama!

That’s bananas!

Usually for lunch each day, J has a bowl of homemade whole grain porridge with a fruit or veggie mixed in. I mill a whole grain (oatmeal, brown rice, millet, or bulgur) in my Baby Bullet, and then whisk the powder into boiling water and simmer for ten minutes, stirring frequently. To finish, I stir in the fruit or veg puree at the end. I like to make three day’s worth at a time.

Some of his favorite combos are pumpkin oatmeal, millet and pears, and brown rice and apricot. I sometimes sprinkle in a little cinnamon or nutmeg to keep it interesting.

We also introduced egg yolks a few weeks ago. I either hard-boil eggs and mash one yolk with avocado or else scramble a yolk with a little butter and applesauce. J loves them and they are chock full of healthy fats and nutrients he needs! He usually eats one yolk about three times per week.

Lately we’ve tried a few more complex meals as well. We started giving Jack meat a few times per week once he reached about 8.5 months old. So far he’s just had chicken breast and thigh, wild salmon, and grass-fed beef. I think salmon is his favorite of the 3! He not only enjoys it in puree combos, but also loves eating little bites of straight-up salmon too.

We’ve tried a couple different salmon combos so far. Here is the one I made more recently, using this recipe for salmon with spinach, sweet potato, canned diced no-salt added tomatoes, fresh basil, and parmesan cheese. I make a big batch and freeze cubes for later which works terrifically.

J’s afternoon snack is often some sort of veggie, such as this puree of steamed broccoli, carrots, potato, and mild cheddar cheese.

This kiddo recently tried papaya too and he likes it mixed with plain whole milk yogurt or full-fat cottage cheese.

In my opinion, the tastiest recipe I’ve made for him so far is this Fruity Chicken with Apricot Puree. I would totally eat this on a hamburger bun! It is a nice blend of savory and sweet. Here it is before I blended it into a chunky puree (note the dried apricots):

Tonight for dinner J had Beef Bolognese! Ingredients included diced onion, celery, garlic, carrot, tomatoes (diced, no-salt added from a can), and grass-fed beef.

I pulsed the cooked mixture in a blender to smooth it out a bit. J doesn’t seem to mind different textures, which is good, and is getting better at chewing. I also chopped up a few pieces of whole grain elbow macaroni to go with the bolongese sauce. I think this would be tasty with a dollop of ricotta on top too!

My two favorite resources for homemade baby food info and recipes are:

This book: The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet
Annabel Karmel website

J enjoys dining out on our back patio too! On this evening I think the huz and I were enjoying grilled cheeseburgers while J had a ground beef and sweet potato puree blend. (Heck yeah I eat two big cheeseburgers for dinner. Breastfeeding hunger is real, y’all.)