Introducing solids to baby



We have officially entered the introducing solids world with Miss Isabella. We are planning to make all of Isabella's baby food so I decided to compile a list of the must haves we have discovered thus far and some of our faves.....So far our daughter does not like to "Oat, oat, oat opples and bononos." We have a picky girl on our hands....she has her dad's horrible gag reflex and gags and chokes on the ones she does not like see video below....Like I discussed here we decided to start with oatmeal which she loved as long as the ratio was breast milk>oatmeal haha. But luckily her palate has evolved and she can tolerate oatmeal very well.

Beaba-If you plan to make your own baby food I highly recommend getting the Beaba...it is heavenly it can steam the veggies...then you simply pour out the water dump in your food and it purees it...it is SO easy to clean as well. If I had truly thought about it or you think you will be doing a lot of your cooking in bulk I would recommend buying this double. I wish I had purchased this one because for big batches I can usually fill up mine twice. It's relatively fast so it isn't a big deal but a double would be nice.

Boon Spoon,-this thing is genius...I wish I could come up with something like this, get rich and stay home:) This is so nice you essentially fill up the spoon then squeeze it and more food easily goes into the spoon...so convenient and Isabella loves it

Nuby spoons-these spoons were actually a gift from a sweet friend and they are our favorite. Perfect depth and size.

Freezer tray-I love these freezer trays they are good for big portions...at the beginning the portions have been too big for Isabella to eat all of them and because I am a cool mom I love these trays.  Thank you Ikea...they are the perfect size and oh so cute. These OXO trays are also fantastic and I have several friends who have used them. I think these options are so much easier because they are silicone so making popping the food out super easy compared to regular ice trays. Once the food is frozen I put them into ziploc bags and label them with date and type of food.

Mash and serve bowl-this mash and serve bowl is so great, especially helpful for things like bananas and avocado that don't necessarily need to be steamed before mashing. You can then just turn around and use the bowl you mashed them in:)

Cook book-love this Organic Baby Puree cook book. Lots of fun options and tips.

Teethers-these little mesh Munchkin teethers are wonderful they can be messy but great. She chowed down on some frozen bananas the other day...ate it better than she does regular bananas.

And last but not least my absolute favorite website for all things baby food...here

Here's a few of the quick tips and recipes from some of the things we've started and tried:

 Sweet potatoes:


 First, start by peeling sweet potatoes and cutting into small chunks
Place potatoes in Beaba or into a pan with just enough water to slightly cover potatoes
and boil until tender
(If you prefer you can bake the sweet potato then remove skins and then cut)

Once cut and steamed place sweet potato into your choice of appliance for pureeing-mine is the Beaba.
Add any reserved water or other liquid (nursery water, formula or breast milk) as necessary to achieve a smooth, thin consistency.

See, perfect small portions of sweet potatoes for my little one

Apples:
This is the easiest way I feel to peel an apple...super easy

So peel, core and cut your apples into little chunks

Place apple chunks into Beaba to steam

(If you don't have a Beaba: Place chunks into a pan with just enough water to
slightly cover apples boil/steam until tender)

 Then mash using fancy Mash and serve bowl or a potato masher and bowl:)
If you can't get the consistency thin enough you can throw them into your blender or Beaba to puree.
  (I used my Beaba to puree them smooth enough)
Add the reserved water as necessary to achieve a smooth, thin puree

If you want to thicken it add some oatmeal or rice!
 Ask your pediatrician about adding some cinnamon for new tastes (usually around 7-8 months)

Bananas:
Peel a ripe banana -no need to cook

Mash the banana in a bowl using a regular fork or the fancy mash and bowl above
  (if they aren't very ripe and soft you can microwave for about 15 seconds to soften before mashing)

Add formula/breast milk or water to get desired consistency. You can also mix with oatmeal and cereal once your little one has tried and tolerated them.

Place trays in freezer. Once frozen put into freezer bags with date and label. When ready to offer to baby take out the amount that you want and warm up.

Every time I feed her apples or bananas we sing the "I like to eat, eat, eat epples and benenes" song:)

Happy, happy cooking!


Almost forgot to upload this video of how much she loves zucchini;)

4 comments

  1. Oh my gosh, I just bought the mash and serve bowl this week...wish I would have had it months ago! Love it!

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    1. Yay Kel I love it...if you have any other recommendations or suggestions let me know!

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  2. I used to do the same prepping with my apples, but I would slow cook them in my crock-pot with a little cinnamon for about 4 hours and it made our house smell amazing, plus the applesauce tasted delish! Andy and I even ate some of it. Acorn squash baked on a shallow roasting pan with about an inch of water in the oven for about 40 minutes was one of JAM's favorties. Also loved the way it made our house smell. Wish I had known about the mash and serve bowl and the feeding spoon. Very cool!

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    1. Yay thanks I was waiting til 8 months to introduce cinnamon but I have heard that is delish and they love it so I will definitely be trying it...we did the squash this week and she loves it:) Thanks for reminding me about this...I think it has probably been her favorite so far:)

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