Good Eats

Okay so I stole the title from Food Network's Alton Brown. Appropriate I would say because the show is all about teaching about every kind of food possible. I'd definitely say we're on quite the learning curve being first-time parents of a baby who is starting down the road to eating solids.

We're slowly expanding Shay's culinary palette. So far, her faves include pureed sweet potatoes and butternut squash. While I make her fresh, homemade baby food, I wanted to test out some jarred baby food just to see if she'd go for the flavor of different veggies & fruits. She did try 2 small jars of organic baby food I purchased at Whole Foods, one sweet peas and the other pears. The verdict? Loved the pears and tolerated the peas. So I figured I'd try to steam up some sweet peas and puree them. I think this picture sums up how the homemade peas went over:

Peas = Fail!

As with all things baby, I've had to really research the world of introducing solids, what kinds of foods to give at what age, how to prepare & store it, etc. I found a great website, Wholesome Baby Food that has a wealth of information and has some great recipes and answers to FAQ's. Love it! I'll definitely be referring to this site often. I've found that I steaming is my favorite way of preparing her food. It retains a lot of nutrients and I use a little of the water I used to steam the veggies to thin out the puree a little bit. I tried baking but I don't like how it tends to dry out the produce.

It is amazing how individual humans are even from a young age. We were sure that Shay would love banana since it's sweet and she absolutely refuses it! Then Jeff thought she'd hate sweet potatoes (because he does) but she adores them and gobbles them all up. It'll be interesting to see how her tastes change as she gets older.

Shay's pediatrician said that she can start with proteins now. I'll have to research that some more. Typically, a lot of the books and websites say to introduce protein between 7-8 months which Shay will be in a few weeks. I think we'll go with chicken slow cooked in our crock pot to make sure it's well cooked and very tender so we can mash it up for her...this should be an adventure! Wish us luck!