Eating

I'm really enjoying making baby food for Conan. He is a great eater, gobbling 4 to 5 ounces of food at a meal, washed down with a couple ounces from the bottle or sippy cup. Some things he likes better than others, but he's generally very accepting of new flavors and textures. He's starting to get really interested in feeding himself, he loves toast and crackers and little bits of soft fruit. He's very quick with his little spoon-grabbing hands, to the point where the easiest way for me to feed him is to give him two spoons (one for each hand) so that he will let me put the third spoon in his mouth.

I recently introduced Sunflower-seed butter and Tahini (sesame butter) into his diet. Both of these are high in iron & minerals & protein, and they work great to thicken vegetable mixtures. Tahini-banana and Sunflower-pear-plum were both great hits with Conan. Oatmeal with Figs & Wild Blueberries is a very gourmet baby breakfast. Avocado is still a favorite; Avocado-Banana-Apple is always a good choice for lunch. Pear-Mango-Cucumber is a delicious desert or snack. Roasted Tomato-Zucchini-Garlic makes a great dinner, and so does Chicken, Yams & Carrots. Besides the blends, I freeze a lot of single-vegetable purees, and then combine 4 or 5 cubes and thaw to make new flavor combinations.

One thing I have learned is that foods thickened with either rice or potatoes change texture once they have been frozen and thawed. They get sort of a lumpy, grainy texture, and Conan doesn't like them as well. Oatmeal works much better to thicken and add some starch. For vegetable & fruit mixtures that are runny or watery after they've been thawed, I find it works well to add a lttle instant baby cereal to thicken them before feeding him. It's just got to be thick enough to stick to the spoon long enough to make it to his mouth!