this month my motto had been to keep things simple. most vegetables are just lightly sautéed with a little olive oil (i.e. boy choy – or – spinach and pepper)and paired with a protein which is just cooked in a pan with its natural oil (i.e. fish (salmon and tilapia fillets, beef patty). Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: going with the flow”
friends have told me how their kids used to be a good eater but then the kid later became a picky eater. i was always afraid that would come true because we’ve been lucky that k has been a really good eater. then last month, k started to say: “no peas” “no pepper” “no corn” consistently. every now and then she’ll say: “no tofu” “no blackberries” – which she normally loves. other times, she’ll be selective and say: “only bok choy”, “only fish” or “only pasta”. if we say “no”, she’d tantrum. what happened my happy eater? Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: beginning of a picky eater?”
this month, i worked on making some more meals that we can eat together, including some breakfast foods like gluten free vegan muffins and crepes – to – crab avocado salad and tacos! meals have begun to be easier to prepare. yay! recipes to some new dishes include: Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: “grown up” dishes”
my goal the past month has been to try to make meals that we can all eat – whether together or not – with leftovers so that it can last a few meals. bi-weekly i’ll make a fish and vegetable fried rice that will last k 2 to 3 meals. monthly i’ll make a batch of garlic free tomato sauce for pasta, pizza or lasagna. i definitely spend less time in the kitchen daily. Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: eating together”
for the past year, it feels more like i’ve been “prepping” food for k instead of actually cooking. i guess i’m thinking in terms of not just letting food speak for itself but actually flavoring food.
so this month i focused on adding flavoring and cooking tools – i.e. oil, butter, vinegar, turmeric and yeast. with these ingredients we were able to make some fun dishes: Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: cooking instead of prepping food”
with k’s daycare added a cooking class to her schedule, it has been quite a learning experience. baking has been especially challenging – one wrong ingredient and the flavor, texture, etc is off. since a lot of times the cooking for k’s daycare … Continue reading baby feeding schedule: relearning about cooking
with k’s allergies i have been preparing all her meals myself. since it has been mostly fruits and vegetables, it has been manageable. at her daycare though they only have 2 meal times. so i had to adjust her meal schedules to accommodate an early lunch and a snack. they originally asked for a dry snack but since they understood her allergy situation, we have been able to just provide some cut up fruit and vegetables. Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: “wet” snacks and the search for “dry” snacks”
since k was over 1, i wanted to see what the average amount of calories a child her age should eat and i found choosemyplate.gov that shows food types and amount of foods to eat. unfortunately the earliest food group examples and quantity they provide are for ages 2 to 5 but i use it to devise a meal plan: 3 meals and 2 snacks – and – make sure to include all food types in her daily diet: fruit, vegetable, grain, protein and dairy. Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: adding snacks and more allergies”
i loved the book Eating the Alphabet and k enjoyed looking at the beautifully painted images of the fruits and vegetables. but i also i wanted to find a book with more realistic images of the fruits and vegetables that she has eaten so she can connect the image and actual fruit side by side. i came across this book Eating the Rainbow by Rena D Grossman. Continue reading “book: “Eating the Rainbow” by Rena D. Grossman”
during month seven of solids, k turned one! a milestone for this is that k starts cow milk! since we had to supplement with formula it was a huge financial cost. now that k can drink cow milk, the cost was a noticeable saving. until babies turn 2, k needs fat for brain development so we started k on organic whole fat milk. Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: cow milk and a severe allergy”
when k started eating solids, i bought her these stuffed toys the shapes of fruits and vegetables so she could begin to associate the items with what she ate. along the way, she picked up the word “apple.” since then her go-to word for all things food related is “apple.”
Continue reading “book: “Eating the Alphabet” by Lois Ehlert”
on the sixth month of solids, we upped k’s meals to 4 times a day. we also added some new colors in her diet including red with tomatoes, bell pepper and beets; white with turnip and cauliflower; and purple with blueberries. k continues to have a great appetite!
for her daily staple, she has: Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: 4 meals a day and more colors”
at month five of solids, k continues to enjoy new foods. we’ve been very lucky that despite her allergies, she still has a growing repertoire of foods she can eat. also, k is a great eat so she continues to eat all of the new and old foods we’ve introduced her to.
as in our diets, it is important to eat a “food rainbow”: Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: eating a rainbow”
at month three, k has definitely increased her food repertoire with new vegetables: zucchini, parsnip and; fruits: apple and banana; and another grain: quinoa. i often mix her bowls with a variety of vegetables and/or vegetables and sometimes some grain. portions have been 3 to 4 tablespoons and she has been eating it all so we’ve definitely been lucky that she’s such a good eater!
Continue reading “feeding schedule: food frequency, portions up plus drinking water!”
in order start introducing each fruit and vegetable to k, i looked for toys that would help k recognize them. there were plastic versions but i didn’t want k to put plastic in her mouth all of the time. then i found this stuffed toy set online. what made me decide was that they are machine washable so i can clean them often. Continue reading “play: stuffed fruits and vegetables”
it’s been 2 months since we started k on solids. some days have been good where she would eat all of the food but some days she was pickier and would have either a few bites or just half of the meal. over all it has been a good start.
so far we have introduced k to vegetables (green beans, white potatoes, avocado, butternut squash, sweet potato / yam and carrots) and one grain (oat bran). like most new eaters she loves the starchy foods and the orange color vegetables. she also enjoys oat bran and tolerates the green vegetables, although mostly when they are mixed with other vegetables. Continue reading “feeding schedule: solids 3 times a day”
i talked to other new moms, read The Wholesome Baby Food Guide and looked at the pediatrician’s feeding guide. while cereal is a common first food, we had to be mindful of k’s wheat allergy and we were concerned about arsenic in rice. instead, we decide to start k with a vegetable *read note 1. some vegetables have a sweeter taste, especially the yellow / orange / red color vegetables, so i decided k’s first food would be green!
Continue reading “first solid!”
time is always a concern – whether it is being a parent or as an adult – when it comes to cooking. i had received time-saving tips from friends, books and online sources about how to make the process easier when it comes to homemade baby food by freezing foods in ice cube trays or muffin pans. however when i was reading Wholesome Baby Food Guide (read post), it seemed like a lot of foods didn’t freeze well or resulted in varying consistency. i want to keep track of each food so i opted to make foods in batches and store them. Continue reading “prep: food storage”
as k’s first solid meal was coming close, i had to make sure i had all the tools ready. here were the pieces i prepared as well as some new tools i added as her food experience continued.
as directed by almost all resources, we saw k’s pediatrician before we started her on solids. she provided us her recommended feeding introduction schedule which we took under advisement.
from the result of k’s food allergy tests, we knew there were some things we had to avoid. but even if there are some common foods we think know, we had to make sure to read up on it anyway, i.e. spelt, durum, semolina are in the wheat family. we also have to look at the fine print for details such as “manufactured in a facility that also processes …” or “may contain traces of …”
months 4 and 5 had been focused on finding the root cause of k’s eczema. we spent time visiting the dermatologist and the allergists, following home direction as well as getting and then waiting results allergy tests. therefore we didn’t actually start k on solids until she was a little after 6 months old. Continue reading “solids: gathering information – part 1”
