(Baby) Food

Chow. Grub. Nutrition. Food.

I love making baby food!

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet, as I have been making all of Molly's baby food from her first bite. We are a fan of World Baby Food, carried at Whole Foods, which provides recipes from around the world. Molly especially enjoys the Sweetie Tahiti and Baby Borscht. However, it is rare that we open up a jar of store-bought baby food.

Making Molly's food is a source of relaxation and creativity for me. I find inspiration in finding great recipes, peace in the simple repetition of prepping the ingredients and pride in a happily consumed meal. Molly is fantastic when it comes to food. She still tries new foods without hesitation and eats a wide range of flavors.

Here's our current list:

VEGGIES: butternut squash, zucchini, winter squash, carrots, spinach, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, parsnips, tomato (I know it's technically a fruit), beets, sweet potato, yams, peas, garlic, onions, pumpkin, olives, lentils

FRUIT: fig, apple, pear, banana, peach, plum, nectarine, papaya, mango, avocado, apricot, blueberries

PROTEIN: tofu, cheese, yogurt, chicken, garbanzo beans

SPICES: cinnamon, vanilla, mint, basil, nutmeg, sage, cardamon, turmeric, chili, cumin, ginger

There are some excellent resources helping us along this culinary adventure. One website that is a great reference for ingredients, recipes and age guidelines is www.wholesomebabyfood.com. We also have been a fan of "Superfoods for Babies and Children".

The tools I am using to make and keep all the food are a Beaba Baby Food Cooker (steams and purees all in one machine), microwave steamer, ice cube trays and baby food cubes (small Tupperware like containers for easy grab n' go food) for the freezer, plastic baggies and a sharpie.

Some of our most successful meals have been

While we started out with heavily pureed single ingredient meals, we've moved up to international spices and more complex flavor combinations.

Some of our most successful meals have been cauliflower carrot with tomato cheese sauce; apricot tofu with vanilla and cinnamon; peas with mint; spinach with apple and parsnips with carrot and nutmeg.

Molly also enjoys "mix ins" which are addition to cereal or yogurt. Top choice are banana, papaya, avocado; carrot and apple with cinnamon, fig and banana with vanilla.

Currently, we are moving into the new world of proteins. I am excited to whip up a white fish dish, chicken and sweet potato, pot roast a la Molly and turkey dinner. Molly is still working on her pincher grasp, so we are slowly adding in finger foods too.

Tonight, I made a coconut sweet potato lentil curry which is quite tasty. It's exciting to be heading into foods that will let me cook for the whole family. Who knew baby food could be creative, nutritious and fun!