If at first you don't succeed...

With certain foods that I have introduced to Madeline, I have done a lot of research before they end up on her spoon. Recently I decided she was ready to try eggs. I had read that she could have them as part of her new 8-10 month expanded list of food offerings but was really nervous about it because they are one of the primary causes of food allergies. And, though I have yet to see Madeline display any true allergic symptoms to a food or anything else, I did not want this to be the one to make her go into anaphylactic shock. So I did my due diligence.

I learned that babies under one can eat egg yolks but not the whites - that allergic reactions to the yolk are actually very rare. Also, I learned that you should rinse off the outside of an egg before you crack it because it probably has all kind of bacteria on it, but not until you are actually ready to crack it because it has something called the "bloom" on the outside of the egg. (To summarize from Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, the bloom is a natural coating that seals the pores of the egg and keeps bacteria from getting inside. Who knew!) To take it one step further, various websites and books advised me not to use the shell to separate the egg from the white but rather an egg separator lest there be some remaining bacteria on the outside of the egg post rinsing.

Now that I had gathered all of my information I was ready to make Madeline her first omelet. I carefully rinsed the egg - need I even mention at this point it was free range, organic and enhanced with DHA. I decided the rinsing was probably sufficient (and I do not own an egg separator), so I divided yolk from white by the trusty back and forth shell method I have always used, careful to remove any traces of white, and beat the yolk with a fork. I poured a little olive oil into my 8" frying pan, which is the smallest one I own but suddenly seemed ginormous, and gently heated it over a medium low flame. I added the one little yolk and watched as it solidified into a tiny omelet. I sprinkled it with just the scantest trace of salt and felt very proud looking at what I had made for my daughter. Next I chopped it up into baby bite-sized pieces and arranged it in a small ceramic dish.

Madeline was already in her high chair, happily mouthing the wrong end of her sippy cup as water dripped out the tip onto her onesie. With some resistance I got the sippy cup away from her and said "Madeline, look! I have something new for you to try!" She gave the eggs the once over and waited as I got a little piece on the spoon. "Okey dokey, here we go!" I gave her a tiny bite. She looked puzzled but seemed to swallow it. I gave her another. Things seemed to be going alright. As I went to give her a third bite I noticed that she still had the first two pieces in her mouth. I decided I should give her a second to process and hopefully to eat them. I waited and the pieces of egg dribbled out. I tried to shove them back in thinking this must be a misunderstanding. How could she not adore this new offering that I had carefully and lovingly prepared for her? But her little jaw was clenched tight. I have read that one might have to offer a new food to a baby on up to 15 separate occasions before she likes it but Madeline has seemed to always fall in love at first bite (OK, maybe second or third). This had never happened before with a food that I had made for her and I wasn't really prepared for it. I cleared away the remaining egg and mixed up some blueberry, cherry, applesauce with cereal, which has become a recent favorite. Happily, Madeline leaned forward awaiting the spoon.

Blueberry, Cherry, Applesauce

1/2 cup frozen organic blueberries
1/2 cup frozen cherries - they did not have organic at TJ's
1 cup organic applesauce

puree in food processor adding a little water if needed to achieve desired texture

makes 4 - 2 oz baby cubes