Stage 2 Baby Food Blend - Peach & Banana Puree

NOTE: Please use this recipe once your little one has tried at least one (or both) of these fruits without a reaction.

This turned out to be a great no cook recipe blend. The peaches I baked had a tangy aftertaste, so I figured it would be a great fruit to mix with a little something-something. I'm also thinking that peach and avocado would go well together, too. Stay tuned! We're trying it tomorrow.

I already had some baked peaches I made earlier and one ripe banana. Simply mix the two, and enjoy!

It actually is a great consistency, too. The baked peaches were very soft and the bananas had a few tiny chunks, so they paired together very nicely. 

Snack Time is Fun Time (and Learning Time)

Snack Time: When, Where, How?

To me, snack time is truly learning time. I'm a teacher. I teach big kids (well, university to be exact) but I've noticed that learners of all ages learn best when they forget that they're learning because they are enjoying an activity. Unfortunately, for 'big kids' and even adults the best way to get them to learn is to somehow trick them into thinking they're having fun (works on husbands as well). I spend so many hours trying to figure out how to provide this 'educational form of entertainment', but with babies it's so easy, they think everything is fun! Thus, 'snack' time, to me, isn't necessarily about filling the baby's belly but more about developing and perfecting fine motor skills and observing how learning takes place.

It's so exciting to find and try new snacks for baby. We started with the rice puffs, we use both Gerber Graduates Puffs and Plum Organics Super Puffs (the Plum Organics are gluten free, but I wanted Max to have some exposure to gluten, so we are trying everything). These make great dog snacks, too! ;)

However, for us, our ultimate favorite are the Happy Baby Organic Yogurt Snacks. Here are some of the main reasons we love Yogis: (1) they are dime-sized and easier for baby to pick up, (2) they dissolve very quickly (choking is not an issue), (3) they have a probiotic, which is supposed to help with digestion. We bring these with us when we go out and they're just great. I give him about a half a serving (~12) pieces and he just plays, eats, holds them and stays relatively quiet.

Max is now 8 months old and just last week he cut a tooth (and then another one a couple days later)! It sounds like an achievement, but he was miserable. He's normally so happy, but it seemed like someone replaced my happy baby with someone who is as likable as Joffrey on Game of Thrones (unlike Joffrey, he's was still super cute and lovable). Anyway, it seemed like the Plum's Little Yums Cookies provided his some relief. Unfortunately, my other cookie monster (the dog) ate most of them. Max is so good at feeding animals...we'll have no problems when we finally go to the petting zoo.

NOTE: Here's some things that we found helped Max get some teething pain relief; nuby teethers (for like 4 minutes), a silicone basting brush, silicone spoon holder, cool washcloth, and a baby toothbrush (currently the top hit).

When?
Usually, I treat snacks like I would a salad at a restaurant. I give Max a handful of puffs or yogis while I'm getting his meal ready. He sits in his high chair and eats some, throws some, feeds the dogs some, etc. It does not interfere with his appetite. This arrangement works well for us.
During the semester, while I was teaching, he would sometimes get a little snack in the stroller with his babysitter. Again, it never seemed to interfere with breastfeeding, nor his meals.
Lately, since he's been teething so badly, I've been giving him a little cookie after dinner to eat, but it's more about the sucking and rubbing it on his gums than eating.

Baby Led Weaning (BLW) - Asparagus

Baby-Led Weaning

I've read a bit about it and I decided to give it a go. I don't quite understand why you can't do both, but hey, that's not for me to argue about. I'm just going to do both. My reasons for trying it? I wanted to see what my kid was going to do with cooked asparagus, and I have to tell you, it's quite funny.
My husband was sketched out and initially, said that he was against it but warmed up to the idea. Well, while I was texting him, he said, "Do whatever you want." That's a 'yes', right?
If you own a kindle, there are a ton of books on the topic. If you have Kindle Unlimited, there are about three decent books you can download.
Right now, I'm reading the following:
A Practical Guide to Baby Led Weaning: A Brief and Empirically-Supported Method for Introducing Solids to Your Baby
A Mom's Practical Guide to Baby-Led Weaning
Baby-Led Weaning: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide to Baby-Led Weaning (can't find a link, the cover is pink)

The one that seems to be the most popular one is titled, Baby-Led Weaning and they also have a website. The non-conformist that I am, I haven't purchased it yet. Also, I love this wholesomebabyfood site for pretty much everything - best website ever...ever.

Anyway, I pureed some asparagus, but I saved four spears for Max to try. I put them into his bowl and watched him carefully (except for when I had to shoo the dogs away because he tried to feed them his food). Here's what he did:

1). "Cool! Toys!"
(He had just woken up from a nap and wasn't super happy yet. He gets it from me.)

2). "Um, mom, where's the puree? I'm looking, but I don't seem to see it."

3). "That's cool, I'm just going to play with it again."

4). "K, well, maybe I'll eat it, but only if I can do it out of BOTH hands at the SAME time."

In conclusion, he sucked off the tops and the dogs ate the rest because they all ended up on the floor. It was pretty entertaining though! We will definitely try again after I purchase an egg cutter.

Making (Stage 2) Baby Food - Asparagus (Steamed)

I know you're all dying to know...did asparagus make my baby's pee smell weird? I don't know, I forgot to check I was too distracted by another issue - constipation! It looked like he pooped green beach pebbles...poor guy!

I cooked just one bunch of asparagus, just to try. I've been reading a lot about BLW (Baby Led Weaning) and said, "What the heck, I'm going to try it." My husband doesn't seem too excited about a second baby (yet), so I'll do the most I can with this one. Also, my husband is definitely not excited about baby led weaning because he thinks LO will choke. Well, I have been 'certified' by the American Red Cross in infant first aid and CPR, so...yeah, I'm going with it #hubbydontreadthis. I will post some pics/video of how our first time turned in another entry.

If you buy an asparagus bunch but choose not to use it that day, wrap the stems in a moist paper towel, or you can even stick the stems in some water. I've read that it's good for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator. My husband LOVES asparagus with lemon and garlic salt, so I cooked Max's as we do ours - save the salt and lemon.

1). Clean your cooking area and wash the asparagus. I went with the 'skinny' asparagus, I like it better than the thicker ones. Plus, they cook faster. Asparagus is not on the 'dirty dozen' list and I did not purchase this organic (I don't think).

2). I think there's some 'bendy' trick you can do, but I just chop half of the asparagus stem off and throw it away. I did a little extra for Max because the closer you get to the bottom, the tougher it is to chew, gnaw, whatever.

3). Bring about three cups of water to a boil, add the asparagus, and cover with lid.

4). Steam for about 15-20 minutes or until the asparagus is soft. Since it was my first time trying BLW, I steamed for the full 20 minutes and checked made sure it was soft throughout. Mine looked like limp green noodles...ahem, that's official cooking terminology for ya ;)

5). Blend! I blended with a bit of breast milk in an attempt to sweeten it up. You can also save some of the liquid that you cooked it in, since the asparagus was fully submerged in the liquid and use that instead. You won't need a lot, maybe and ounce or two.

6). Voilà! Delicious asparagus mush! (Mine came out a bit runny because I accidentally dumped in too much milk.)

One bunch of asparagus yielded 6oz of puree for me (that's with a bit too much liquid). I served it with some sweet potato and it was a hit!

Stage 1 Baby Food Blend - Avocado & Banana

NOTE: Please use this recipe once your little one has tried at least one (or both) of these fruits without a reaction.

If you've been following this blog, you will know that these are my two favorite foods to waste in bulk. However, they are super easy to prepare (note I said prepare, not cook, yay!), but are best prepared right before serving.

I used half of a banana and a half of an avocado to make about 3-3 1/2 oz of puree.
1). Peel half a banana and a half of an avocado.

2). Chop the banana into rings and slice/chop the avocado.

3). Blend & let baby enjoy!

My husband was home when I made this and told me that he would never eat the two together, so naturally, I made him taste some. His words, "Pretty good...tastes like a fatty banana." Max pretty much inhaled it, we didn't even have to wash his hands because there was no mess.

Making Stage 1 (Stage 1) Baby Food - Bananas (Uncooked)

You know the English saying, haste makes waste? Well, in Russian it's a bit more demoralizing, they say, 'If you rush, you'll be a laughing stock.' (Поспешишь -- людей насмешишь.) Go ahead, laugh it up...I can't see you.
When I think of baby food, I think of pureed bananas. Then why the *bleep* is it so hard to preserve them? I don't know...stupid oxygen. They're way worse than avocados when it comes to oxidizing. I wasted a bunch of bananas because I didn't read ahead, nor did I think it through, #mybrainispuree. How many bananas you ask? This many...NBD.

I read that people can freeze bananas, even banana halves...but for me, they still turned brown and gross, and I ended up tossing them. The mommies in the mommy group I'm part of say that they cut up bananas, place them in the freezer, and then make ice cream! Sounds delish...I'm too embarrassed to ask if it's brown. I'm just gonna avoid that one for a while.

After all that, I think it's best to buy as you go when it comes to bananas. I have been cutting up a half to puree for Max and eating the other half. It's a win-win! You do not have to cook bananas. I have not tried to steam them, I'm assuming they will turn brown in about five seconds, haha. Just chop them up, blend, and serve (super fast before they oxidize)!

Or you can do the following (this is where you can laugh)....

Step 1). Peel the skins, cut, and blend.

Step 2). Take the time to put them into their pretty little silicone trays.

Step 3). Consider placing plastic wrap on trays to salvage two pounds of banana.

Step 4). Place directly into trashcan.

Step 5). Leave them in the freezer for a week because you are mad and refuse to spend the fifteen minutes it will take to clean & sanitize everything. I'm still not over it. 

Making Stage 1 (Stage 1) Baby Food - Peas (Steamed)

Ugh, peas. I have bad memories associated with peas. Here's why...when I was a kindergartner in what one of my students called, 'Soviet occupied Ukraine' (haha, this still cracks me up! I knew it just as USSR), lunch consisted of two courses. Every so often, the 'first course' was pea kasha (not buckwheat, just mashed peas or something). I HATED it. The lunch lady would make you eat ALL of it in order to get the second course. One time, I remember going up and telling her that I couldn't eat it and she told me to go sit down and finish it. I went up again and told her I didn't want to eat it, and she told me to take two more bites...I took a bite, gagged, and started crying. That was the end of that, I never had to eat pea kasha ever again! Score! I'm pretty sure they didn't tell my parents though.

Well, I finally reached the end of my Stage 1 list and the only veggie left is peas, so here we go! Please learn from my mistakes, just buy frozen peas (maybe organic if you want to make yourself feel better, like me) and NOT fresh peas. I will show you why.

While I was at the store I picked up about a half a pound of fresh peas (I emptied the bin and all I got was a half a pound) and then I thought about how little peas there actually are in there....so I walked over to the frozen section and found some perfectly acceptable frozen peas.
Here's 1 pound  of frozen peas (yield=20oz):

Here's the half a pound of fresh peas (unshucked) (yield=1oz)
Also, it took me a good 15 minutes (at least) to shuck the pods. I guess when they said, "Two peas in a pod." They meant that there are LITERALLY two peas in there. This might be a great activity for LO that are a bit older, they might like it...or this can also be one of those tasks Cinderella's evil step mother made her do.

But they're so pretty!
.

Ok, enough of that, here's the actual recipe.

1). Wash your cooking area and bring about 4 cups of water to a boil (make sure to keep the lid on the pot). If you are not using breastmilk, or formula keep the leftover water (decoction) to blend with. Peas are so small and have tough skins and I've read that it is difficult to get a smooth puree out of them, but mine turned out alright.

2). Steam the peas for about 15-20 minutes, or until soft. I steamed them for a bit longer than what was listed on the package instructions, to make sure the skins were thoroughly .

3). Keep some of leftover liquid to blend with.

4). Blend! Yum, #jklol #peasaregross!

5). The 1lb bag of peas yielded 20oz of food:

Here's my sad little bundle of fresh peas, steaming away into nothing-ness:

And an even more pathetic yield (HALF of the 2oz baby bullet container):
.

NOTE: Max liked the peas. Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought that they weren't that sweet (kind of like avocados), so when I offered it to him on the second day, I added a couple of baby spoons of sweet potatoes and (it made me feel WAY better) he ate them right up. Again, #FTMinsecurities.

Sippy Cups, Straw Cups, and Cups aka The Sippy Cup Quandary

This isn't a recipe, but I figured I would share my 'Sippy Cup Quandary'. There are too many options...thanks, capitalism! I apologize, that was totally a #firstworldproblems complaint.

I don't know if any mothers did this, but I spaced the whole 'bottle' thing. When I was pregnant, I thought I would need about 500 bottles (different kinds, too!) and now they're just taking up space in my cupboards. To my defense, I didn't know how breastfeeding would go. I'm a pessimist, I was preparing for the worst...as in there's an apocalypse and my all of my neighborhood ran out of bottles and I needed to supply each and every one of them with three.

Anyway, my LO has very little interest in bottles, unless he's starving. I suppose at some point, I could have let my husband get up for a nightly feeding, but he would look like someone punched him in both eyes in the morning, so we just didn't do bottles. We skipped them. Now we're on to sippy cups, but which to use? The end goal is to have them drink out of a cup, not a quasi nipple thing, right? Well, they make that...thanks capitalism. I'm just going to come out and say it, go with THIS ONE. Although, now that I think about the whole 'not drinking out of a nipple thing', I don't know if adults truly do grow out of that. I mean, just look!

I'm not a reviewer or anything, but I kinda think I should be for this product.
Check out this cup:

NOTE: If the cup is thrown from a highchair, yes, some will spill on impact.

This is not the only cup we use though. We also have our regular sippy cups and a cup with a straw. I read somewhere that it's also important to let your child drink from a cup with a straw for two reasons: 1). there's one less step - no tilting and 2). restaurants! In case they do not have a 'sippy' cup, they will still have a cup with a straw. However, if you're old school, you can just teach your baby to drink out of a regular glass.

My mother-in-law told me that she had taught all of her seven children to drink out of a glass from an early age. We have a couple of relatively 'small' glasses and I fill them up with a bit of water and we practice drinking out of a glass every day. At first my LO would gulp and it would just run down his chin, but after just a couple of days he got the hang of it. So, here are the other cups we use. 

We have been offering a couple ounces of water a day, but I don't think he drinks that much. He drinks a bit here and there. Plus, we live in AZ, so it's really hot and dry. Also, I read that it's best to offer the sippy cup after your LO wakes up from a nap. Lastly, I recently found out that water (in moderation) helps with constipation.

Making Stage 1 (Stage 1) Baby Food - Pears (Steamed)

I've been avoiding making peas, I have bad associations with peas. So, pears it is! This week I found that Sprouts (aka Sprouts Farmer's Market) has very inexpensive organic fresh produce options. I'm talking, like, cheaper than 'regular' produce found at groceries store. <insert gaping mouth emoji here>.

I bought these delicious looking pears, they're on the smaller side, but they look picture perfect (not kidding, check it out!). They are rosy, and yellow, and not too squishy. They looked so appetizing I bought almost three pounds worth (10 pears). Pears are not on the 'dirty dozen' (this is the NEW, updated list of dirty produce), so you do not have to buy organic, but you might want to if they look this pretty.

I read that you do not have to cook pears, so that's pretty easy. However, I just couldn't get all the chunks out with an uncooked pear, so I steamed them for about 10 minutes. It wasn't that it was too chunky for baby, but the consistency seemed very uneven to me, so the second time I chose to steam them. Also, I kept a sealed container of uncooked pear overnight in the fridge and it oxidized. It developed a brownish pink top layer and I didn't use it. I'm sure it would have been fine to use, but I just didn't.

1). Clean your cooking area and wash your fruit.

2). Peel the sticky SOBs (Slimy Oval Beauties, silly). Careful, they are SO slippery. My ten pears turned to nine because one slipped out of BOTH my hands and went directly into the trashcan. It's literally like trying to hold on to a wet bar of soap.

3). Remove the core and cut into wedges. Just as with apples and avocados, pears oxidize quickly, so they will turn a bit brown if left out.

4). Place your pear wedges into a steamer with boiling water and cover with lid. I used about three cups of water.

5). Steam for about 15-20 minutes, or until soft.

6). Puree! You do not need to add any liquid, the pears contain a lot of juice and will blend nicely.

7). Like I said earlier, I used nine small pears. They yielded about 22oz of pear puree. 

     Store in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours (some sites say 72), or freeze. 

UPDATE: These suckers gave Max gas. Figures, it's a gassy food....first hit on Google.

Making Stage One (Stage 1) Baby Food - Sweet Potatoes (Oven)

A long time ago, in a restaurant far, far away...I was a waitress (and I shouldn't have been because I'm a meanie) someone asked me what a sweet potato was and I said, "An orange potato that's sweet." followed by an unintentional eye roll. I did not get a good tip from that table and you know...good for them. Apparently, I have the customer service skills of a Russian grocery store clerk. If you've ever seen Everything is Illuminated (starring Elijah Wood) you will see all that is wrong with Russian customer service (or well, lack thereof) amongst a 'few' other differences. Here's an example: Being Vegetarian in Ukraine.

Anyway, my point is that a sweet potato IS orange and IS super sweet, perfect for baby! Max's first veggie ever was sweet potato and it seems like it is still his favorite food. You do not have to buy these organic, as they are not part of the 'dirty dozen', but it's all up to you! 

I used four sweet potatoes and they yielded A LOT (about 28oz) of food. When picking out these pommes of deliciousness, you want to avoid weird bumps and discoloration. 

1. Preheat your oven to 400°.

2. Wash and scrub your taters. Even though you will not be using the skin, I like to make sure all the dirt and the filth it may have accumulated during transport is washed off. 

3. Very Important! Poke holes about a quarter of an inch around the potato. FYI: They MAY/WILL explode if you don't poke holes.

4. Wrap your sweet tots in foil, arrange on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400° for 45min. to an hour. 

5. Peel the skins off the potatoes. They will come very off easily. Note: Once the sweet potatoes have cooked, the skin will look a bit wrinkly and the potato itself will be soft to the touch and quite sticky from all the excreted sugars. Yum!

6. Blend with a liquid of your choice. I used breastmilk, it just mixes so well with sweet potatoes. Just remember, if you use breastmilk it is not recommended that you microwave when thawing. I made this batch a bit thicker, but that's because Max is growing and is getting more and more comfortable with thicker foods. Yeah...when I say 'comfortable', I mean he has learned to swallow food, haha.

7. Bon appetit, baby! (Why do I only think of French words when writing recipes???)

My little chunk gets pretty excited about sweet potatoes!

UPDATE: At 7 months and two weeks, sweet potatoes remains Max's favorite food. If I add even a tablespoon of sweet potato puree to anything, he just gobbles it right up. Lately, I've been giving him some oatmeal, sweet potato, and a bit of cinnamon and it's one of his favorites. If you plan on adding a little bit of spice to your life, don't forget to follow the four day rule just like you would when adding new foods.

Making Stage One (Stage 1) Baby Food - Zucchini (Steamed)

Zucchini 

We are on to our next squash...zucchini! Cooking zucchini is super easy and it's a great veggie to try (I guess technically, it's a fruit, but whatevs). If your baby is less than 6 months old, you may want to remove the skins from the zucchini because younger babies may have a hard time digesting the skins. However, most of the nutrients are found in the skin.

I purchased these organic and the prep is really easy!

1). Wash/clean your food cooking area and the zucchini.

2). The next step is to, cut off the tops and ends of each zucchini.


3). Toss the ends and slice each zucchini into rings.


4). I used my veggie steamer and steamed them in a cup and a half of water for about 20 minutes.


5). Simply blend! No additional liquid needed, as zucchini are pretty watery. They will freeze and look a bit watery, too.


I did not add any liquid and three zucchini's yielded about 13oz.


The one thing to keep in mind is that zucchini is pretty bland in taste. Max ate it, but he didn't LOVE it, I think it might be because it wasn't sweet enough. The next time I offered it, I mixed it with sweet potatoes, which I already know he loves and he ate it up! However, you could always mix with breastmilk or formula, and cereal.