Let your older toddler (mine is almost 2 1/2) cut up their own soft fruits and veggies with a butter knife (while confined in a highchair or booster for safety). Give them one piece at a time and don't give them another to cut until they've eaten the first. This is not only a great way to get them to try new foods (or old favorites no longer in favor) it's also helps develop coordination (fine motor skills, Dawn?) and self sufficiency. They'll like it even better if they get to cut and feed you the first bite!
Good items to try this with are
avocados (a little salt makes them taste even better)
ripe pears
cooked/canned baby carrots
cooked/canned green beans
bananas
soft fish fillets
and anything else that is soft and easy to cut.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Fibrous fiber
Toddlers love crackers. Actually, toddlers love carbs of any variety, crackers being just one. I'm always thrilled when I can give Fintan a snack he likes that also has a nice health benefit for him and for me (I always eat some of what I give him--can't help myself). My favorite crackers, therefore, are "All-Bran" multi grain crackers. The first ingredient is "whole wheat flour". They have 5 grams of fiber per serving and no high fructose corn syrup. They taste really great, too.
I've yet to meet a toddler that didn't like them dipped in hummus, paired with cheese, or just straight up.
I've yet to meet a toddler that didn't like them dipped in hummus, paired with cheese, or just straight up.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Top 5 reasons to make your own baby food
1. It's Less expensive. Really. Even if you buy organic fruit and vegetables it costs less than buying pre-made non-organic baby food.
2. It's EASY. If you can peel and chop vegetables, use a microwave, plug in and turn on a food processor, and fill ice cube trays with pureed flora, you're good.
3. You will waste less. With homemade babyfood you can prepare any amount of food to suit your baby's appetite. If your baby is a light eater you don't have to run the risk of wasting half of a container of store bought food when he or she gets full. (Note: You should never save leftover baby food from a container your baby has been served from. If you want to save store-bought leftovers you must serve a portion in a separate bowl and then save what's left in the jar to be used within 48 hours.) Frozen cubes of baby food can be warmed in under a minute (30 seconds or so for a single cube). If baby is still hungry after the initial small serving you can then quickly warm another cube---or warm a cube of something else entirely for a bit of variety!
4. More diverse meals--leading to LESS PICKY EATERS. This is my number one reason for making baby food. Not only can you serve foods that you'd never find in a Gerber jar (avocado, anyone? And, yes, I do freeze avocado and banana--neither of which need to be cooked beforehand), you can feed a variety of foods in a single meal: like sweet potatoes followed by peas and then apples. You can also combine cubes to create unique flavors or make less appealing foods more appealing (by combining something like peas with pears or apples, for example--then adding less of the favored food each time you serve the disliked food until baby accepts the taste of what they initially disliked). This also give you freedom to introduce a non-favored food numerous times without wasting entire jars each time your baby turns their head away. Sometimes it takes 15-20 exposures before a baby will accept a new food.
5. Satisfaction. It is really satisfying to make baby food! Well, it is for me. I love the vibrant colors of it (just compare homemade peas to store bought and smile/cringe at the color difference). Seeing the bags lined up (or piled up) in a riot of healthy colors makes me grin. I like that I'm providing my baby with healthy fruit and veggies I chose myself--with the opportunity of seeing the quality of the produce before it became baby food. Not to mention the pieces set aside for myself and my toddler to enjoy. Mmmm.
I wanted to spend more time on this, because this topic is so near and dear to me. I plan to revisit this in several more posts. If anyone who stumbles across this site is interested in making baby food and has questions, please post them in the comments and I'll answer them if I can!
2. It's EASY. If you can peel and chop vegetables, use a microwave, plug in and turn on a food processor, and fill ice cube trays with pureed flora, you're good.
3. You will waste less. With homemade babyfood you can prepare any amount of food to suit your baby's appetite. If your baby is a light eater you don't have to run the risk of wasting half of a container of store bought food when he or she gets full. (Note: You should never save leftover baby food from a container your baby has been served from. If you want to save store-bought leftovers you must serve a portion in a separate bowl and then save what's left in the jar to be used within 48 hours.) Frozen cubes of baby food can be warmed in under a minute (30 seconds or so for a single cube). If baby is still hungry after the initial small serving you can then quickly warm another cube---or warm a cube of something else entirely for a bit of variety!
4. More diverse meals--leading to LESS PICKY EATERS. This is my number one reason for making baby food. Not only can you serve foods that you'd never find in a Gerber jar (avocado, anyone? And, yes, I do freeze avocado and banana--neither of which need to be cooked beforehand), you can feed a variety of foods in a single meal: like sweet potatoes followed by peas and then apples. You can also combine cubes to create unique flavors or make less appealing foods more appealing (by combining something like peas with pears or apples, for example--then adding less of the favored food each time you serve the disliked food until baby accepts the taste of what they initially disliked). This also give you freedom to introduce a non-favored food numerous times without wasting entire jars each time your baby turns their head away. Sometimes it takes 15-20 exposures before a baby will accept a new food.
5. Satisfaction. It is really satisfying to make baby food! Well, it is for me. I love the vibrant colors of it (just compare homemade peas to store bought and smile/cringe at the color difference). Seeing the bags lined up (or piled up) in a riot of healthy colors makes me grin. I like that I'm providing my baby with healthy fruit and veggies I chose myself--with the opportunity of seeing the quality of the produce before it became baby food. Not to mention the pieces set aside for myself and my toddler to enjoy. Mmmm.
I wanted to spend more time on this, because this topic is so near and dear to me. I plan to revisit this in several more posts. If anyone who stumbles across this site is interested in making baby food and has questions, please post them in the comments and I'll answer them if I can!
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