Baby Food

Feeding my babies has been one of the most difficult issues I've dealt with as a mom.  I had higher standards for my kids' food than my own, and that is why my eating habits have greatly improved in the past two years.  That said, the pressure I felt made feeding my boys a lot more difficult than necessary.  Like dishes and laundry, preparing meals may seem like a never ending job, especially when you add the time for grocery shopping with babies and toddlers, as well as the extra time you spend at the table.  You may try many different things to find out what works best for your family- what solutions have you found? 

I would like to share a few resources that helped me learn how to feed my family whole, nourishing foods.  I never used baby food cookbooks, so please share the books you've found useful!

Jason's first food at 5.5 months old

An easy starting point:  Cookus Interruptus, a fun video cooking show and blog.  They introduce whole food cooking in a fun, accessible format.  They have two videos that detail the very basic first steps of introducing solids:

• Starting Baby on Food
• Top Ten First Foods for Baby

If you are looking for an in depth discussion of baby food, WholesomeBabyFood.com has a wealth of information:

• The sidebar on the home page provides age/food charts and sample menus
• When is your baby ready for solids?
• Tips for dealing with potential allergens
• A discussion of how breastmilk and formula fit into baby's diet

Once you understand the how's and why's, Weelicious is a food blog (updated EVERY weekday!) for baby and kid friendly recipes.  If you have an ingredient, and you aren't sure how to get it into your kids' diet, she probably has a recipe you can try!

• More complicated than most of my favorite recipes, we loved the Pupusas
• The Crispy Green Beans were yummy, and easier than I anticipated
• I have never enjoyed cauliflower as much as I liked this Cheddar Cauliflower
• The Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole was worth thinking ahead to save some cooked chicken
• Need ideas for your school age kids' lunch boxes?  She uses her facebook page to share pictures of every lunch she packs, and her photo albums provide nearly 2 years of ideas!

Jackson's first food at 6 months old

The primary reason I chose homemade baby food was saving money.  A $3 organic butternut squash can make 8-12 servings (freeze the extra in ice cube trays), compared to nearly $1 per jar of organic baby food from the store.  It was also nice to know exactly what they were eating:  fresh flavors, interesting spices, varying textures, no refined sugars, no plastics.  We made limited use of organic babyfood from the store, and it was nice for traveling, and wonderful when I was pregnant with my second baby.  However, I could never get over paying more for food that didn't taste as good.  Have you tasted your baby's food lately?