Raising a Foodie, Part 1

Most people know that I am a foodie. I went to culinary school a few years ago because I love to cook. Okay, lets be honest. I went to school more because I love to eat. And boy, did I eat.

Since having Jackson, I've thought a lot about food, and how I want to teach him about it. I was really hoping to breastfeed, partly because I knew he would be getting a taste of different flavors from the food I ate. That didn't work out too well for me, so once we got the go-ahead from the pediatrician to start solids, I have been all over introducing new foods to Jackson.

It was a slow start.
But I was patient and waited until he was ready. I started with Top 100 Baby Purees for recipes and ideas. Here is how I made my first purees:

Peel and chop vegetable and just barely cover with water. Steam covered until soft.
Strain the vegetables and reserve the cooking water.
Puree in a blender (I use the Magic Bullet) with enough of the reserved cooking water to get your desired consistency.
Fill ice cube tray with puree and freeze.
Once frozen, pop out the cubes and store in a freezer bag.
So simple! I've done this for countless veggies and fruits. For winter squash and sweet potatoes, however, I bake them in the oven instead of steaming. When he is ready to eat, I just defrost the cubes in the microwave, stirring often until they are at or above room temp.

After Jackson had his first tastes, I would mix different cubes together like sweet potato and apple or acorn squash and peas. I've also added simple spices to the cubes, like cinnamon with his pears or basil with zucchini.

So far, I have only purchased 2 jars of baby food, just for comparison. The carrots are still in the cupboard, and Jackson didn't seem to like the jarred apples.

I started Jackson on solids consistently at around 5 months. I did this after discussing everything with our pediatrician, and knowing that there are no food allergies on either side of our family. I still waited 3-4 days between each new food just in case. So far, Jackson hasn't had any issues and I now introduce new foods every 2-3 days. To help keep track, I posted a food list sorted by age on my fridge, and I mark off when he has tried a new food or spice.

Next up: Chunkier purees and introducing proteins...