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July 2009
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My 9-month-old son Jude is over baby food. He's tired of it. For the past few weeks he's spent most of any mealtime looking at what everyone else is eating and hoping someone will trade him and take his pureed green beans so that he can have pork steaks. That hasn't happened. Now, we've moved from hoping to down right frustration. Jude is independent and strong-willed. He wants to feed himself and he wants to do it his way. I can already tell I'm going to be in big trouble when we hit the terrible-twos. At lunch and dinner, Jude wants nothing to do with baby food. He spits it out, he turns his head, and when he does eat, he whines the whole time. It has not been fun. We decided it was time to try to move on. On to bigger and better foods. On to big boy food! This week, when I made my trip to the grocery store, I passed by the jars of carrots and bananas and opted for the real thing. I bought foods that Jude could pick up himself. I got him fruits, veggies, chicken and some pasta pick-ups that are made for babies. I also got him this thing: He does great with the finger foods and self-feeding. I've run into a few problems that maybe you mommies out there can help me with. You can respond to either or both of these topics below. 5 CommentsLeave a comment |
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I have never seen a fresh food feeder in my life! Crazy thing!!
I'm not a mother but I'm curious to see what suggestions people have for you!
For the slippery fruit, try putting some cheerios in a zip top sandwich bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Put your diced fruit in with the crumbs and shake till the fruit is evenly coated. Then it should be easier for him to pick up.
For meal ideas, try a homemade mac and cheese, using real shredded cheese, not velveeta. Yes this meal will be messy as a finger food, but the homemade version of this comfort food can actually be quite healthy because you can control the ingredients and the pasta is easy for them to pick up.
Also, try the apple/turkey (or any ground meat) loaf from this website. http://wholesomebabyfood.com/babyfingerfood.htm
Other options are:
-grilled cheese with crust cut off and cubed - add a slice of lunch meat for more flavor/variety
-pancakes or waffles - you can even lace the batter with pureed veggies for extra nutrition and he will never know
-buy a pack of flour tortillas, but not plain, get the ones made with vegetables. Sundried tomato and garden veggie with spinach are 2 kinds that come to mind. Great source of veggies and is tasty too. Give these straight out of the package ripped into small pieces or make a cheese quesadilla and cube it.
-muffins made with real fruit chunks and you can also lace these with a pureed fruit for an extra nutrition boost
-look near the french fries section in the store, they sell sweet potato french fries that are surprisingly healthy (or get sweet potatoes and make your own). Broil or bake them and cut any jagged edges off that will be hard for a 9 month old to gum or chew.
-Buy a pack of polish sausage and slice the outer skin off and cube the whole link. Throw it into a crockpot with 2 cans of green beans and 4 medium potatoes that have also been cubed. Let it stew all day until the potatoes are fork tender and easy for little gums to chew. My daughter loves this meal and can't shovel it in fast enough.
-homemade cheesy garlic bread - combine 1/2 c. softened butter, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 3 minced cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tbsp chopped parsley. When thoroughly mixed, spread some on a piece of bread with the crust cut off. Top with mozzarella cheese and broil until cheese is golden brown. Let cool and cube. Save the spread in a container, it lasts several months.
When my daughter started eating real food, I bought all the boxed baby food, but it added up quick so I had to find some healthy alternatives that were easier on the checkbook and these were just a few of the things I found. I also recommend investing in a lot of the 1-cup size Glad or Ziploc containers for leftovers of any big casseroles or crockpot dishes you make for him. Just put the leftovers in those and sock them away in your freezer and you have an instant meal.
Sorry this was so long, I wish someone would have told me all of this stuff when my kiddo started eating real foods.
Easy. The kid grabs food off your plate and eats it. Nine months of breast feeding and at month 9, Kid grabbed food off my plate. End of breast.
I know what you mean.. I have a 7 month old and I have trouble finding foods for him. He doesn't want the baby food anymore! We have one of the feeders.. he loves it!!!
I made my son's baby food all throughout the first year. This is the website I used for assistance: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com
They have great menu and receipe ideas!