Think Outside the Jar

Today I've been making baby food.

The baby food industry has been very successful at creating a cultural expectation of using commercially prepared baby food. When I first got pregnant, like most people, I envisioned buying lots of those cute little jar of things like  peas and carrots or turkey dinner. But when I started reading about what foods to feed baby when, I also started to read about cooking those foods yourself. I was surprised to discover that it was really easy to do and just as safe if not safer for baby  Safer because you control exactly what ingredients (and the washing of those ingredients and the washing of the pans and spoons and things you use to prepare those ingredients) go into your baby's food.. And when I stopped to think about it made sense. Cooking my own food is healthier and more cost effective, why wouldn't the same be true for a baby? And now I get to brag to people that my eight month old babies have already eaten (and like) things like rutabaga and parsnips.

For the most part cooking baby food is just like any other cooking you just put it into the blender, food processor or mill when your done. And you can freeze prepared food so all you have to do is thaw and feed. I've found silicon ice cube trays or silicon mini muffin tins are the easiest to use because they just peel right off the frozen food.

If your interested have found the following resources helpful:

wholesomebabyfood.com

Healthy Baby Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel

The Petit Appetit Cookbook by Lisa Barnes

So what was cooking today? zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and some "teething biscuits". The biscuits are just all natural wheat bread which I baked in the oven for 15 minutes at 350. (The one is from the Annabel Karmel book.) I also figured out a new trick today for my zucchini and yellow squash. Both are high in liquid, so after I steamed them I mashed them lightly in a bowl with a potato masher and drained the liquid before I pureed then. Saving the liquid in case I drained too much.

My Least and Most Favorite Mommy Duties

Although there are plenty of responsibilities as a new mom that aren't exactly fun. Things like all the extra laundry or changing diapers, most of these don't really bother me that much. The two things that are my least favorite are changing crib sheets and cutting baby nails. I know that sounds weird but changing crib sheet is all the worse parts of changing the fitted shits on my bed plus all those pesky bars. And with two babies I have to play musical cribs, movin babies back and forth. And those baby nails are so tiny and they grow so fast and I'm constantly afraid of hurting their poor little fingers.

Enough of the negative. Of course some of the best things are the ones hear about all the time, cuddling and playing. But some of my favorite jobs are also some of the most challenging. That's probably what makes them the most rewarding. This is how I feel about breastfeeding and solid food feedings. There were times in the early days of breastfeeding the girls that I was so tired I couldn't think straight or see straight. But there are wonderful moments when I look down at both of girls feeding and cuddled up next to me and moments after they finish when I they have the biggest smiles I've ever seen that make it so worth it. (Before I get too long winded I'll stop and share more on breastfeeding in another post.) Finally, solid feedings. I've been making food for the girls, so it's a bit more work -- mostly more dishes. But it is so much fun, I get to carefully plan out their introduction to so many foods and come up with an infinite number of combinations. (This another topic I could go on and on about, so I'll save it for later.) Not to mention there is nothing cuter than a baby with food all over her face.

If your parent who comes across this, I'd love to hear about your most and least favorites. And I'll try to remember to update my list as the girls get older.