What Madeline Likes These Days

Madeline, being kind of new to this whole food thing, is somewhat limited in what she can eat. And, as I have said, so far, making food for her has been pretty simple. I take a large batch of whatever fruit or veggie I am making, cook it or don't according to the directions on the wholesome baby food site and puree it to a smooth consistency. That's it. Voila! It is that easy. I probably sound like an infomercial but that is really all there is to it. When I want to get really fancy I take multiple fruits or vegetables and...puree them together.

Vying for the top spot for favorite veggies are peas and sweet potatoes. She is not such a fan of green beans but is affable toward all the other ones we have tried. She has yet to meet a fruit that she doesn't like. Her current favorites are a tie between a banana prune combo and blueberry mango applesauce puree. Both of them are pretty delicious. The former she likes mixed with oatmeal or on its own and the latter tastes like smoothie and I have a hard time not eating it.

Banana Prune Puree

1 banana
4 prunes

soak the prunes in hot water until they are soft, about 10 or 15 minutes
puree the prunes and banana together in the blender or food processor, adding a little soaking liquid from the prunes until you achieve the consistency you desire

makes about 8 oz of puree or 4 - 2 oz Baby Cubes


Blueberry Mango Applesauce Puree

2 cups frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup frozen organic blueberries
1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce

puree all the ingredients in the blender adding a little water or diluted apple juice if needed to achieve a smooth consistency

makes about 8 oz of puree or 4 - 2 oz Baby Cubes

The adventure thus far...

Before Madeline was born I had several fantasies about what life was going to be like with a new baby. Most of them, for some reason, included me wearing her in a sling while she slept peacefully and I went about my day-to-day life much as it had been before plus a new, real-life accessory. These fantasies were quickly shattered when, as a newborn she barely tolerated said sling for a brief period, and then went to flat out hating it.

One of the few notions that has worked out is that of making my own baby food. As it turns out, making baby food, once you get the hang of it, is actually easier than it was in pre-motherhood fantasy land.

Before I started this project I was not sure what I was getting into. Did I need to buy special equipment? How was I going to know that I had achieved the right texture of puree so that I did not accidentally choke my baby? How was I going to know what to feed her if there was not a number on a jar telling me that this was what I was supposed to be giving her?

The day Madeline turned 6 months old was one that I had been waiting for in anticipation because it meant that I could actually start on the solid food journey. Being a good, Neo-Earth Mama or whatever you call my kind, I had done my damnedest not to let a drop of anything but pure mother's milk pass through her lips before this day. Now it was here and I could give her...rice cereal. Not as exciting as it sounds. Ignoring the advice of websites and baby books I did not wait the requisite three days between trying a new food lest my daughter have food allergies. I figured if she did not break out in hives or have facial swelling within the first few minutes of trying something she was probably going to be OK. Obviously, I am not a pediatrician, so do not take my advice on this. We tried bananas, sweet potatoes, and applesauce all in the course of a week. She loved all of these foods! It was so much fun to feed her and hear her "mmm" with pleasure as she experienced each new flavor for the first time. I had read that some babies took a little while to get used to the physical act of eating, not sure of what to make of the food being put in their mouths. But not Madeline. She has loved solid food from the get-go, her mouth grabbing each bite from her BPA free spoon with a decisive chomp.

Unfortunately, the combination of the bananas, rice and applesauce created a kind of a cement in her poor little intestines. I took drastic measures and majorly dialed back the solids and put her on a prune and prune juice diet. It took close to a week for her to get things back on track. But I hadn't choked her due to improperly textured puree and I had managed to prepare food for her using either my trusty Cuisinart or my Braun hand blender with mini-chopper attachment rather than the $150 Beaba Babycook sold exclusively at William-Sonoma that I was not sure how I was going to live without. Everything was going to be alright.

Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali discuss baby food

I love this short of Bourdain and Batali talking about what they feed their babies:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/01/chewing-the-fat-batali-and-bourdain-on-baby-food.html

Welcome to Madeline Likes It!

I am a new mom who is navigating the world of what to feed my baby. I have been making her food, mostly fresh, organic fruits and vegetables from our local farmer's market, since she started solids at 6 months. But because it is fast, cheap, easy and still tasty I have also used frozen fruits and veggies. I taste everything I make for her and if it doesn't taste good to me I don't serve it to her. She is only 8 months old and the variety of foods she can eat has just recently expanded to include many more interesting fruits and veggies but not yet meat, or dairy.
I have mostly been using this website http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
as a guide for what foods to introduce and when to introduce them. It has been a joy for me to see Madeline's excitement every time she eats a food that she likes. And she definitely lets you know when she likes something! Foods that she thinks are delicious are followed by a "mmmm, mmmm, mmmm" after every bite. Foods that she does not like get the "what is this crap you are serving me?" face. There have not been many foods that she has not liked so far. We are just beginning this whole eating adventure and it is my hypothesis that if I start her off now with good, healthy, fresh food it will translate to a life-long love.