Baby feeding adventures: try this kumquat now or be forever bland

My college boyfriend's roommate only ate things that were shades of yellow or orange. The only vegetable he ate was baby carrots. They didn't have the green tops. He'd eat pizza with no sauce (is it still pizza?) and drink a few too many beers. His skin was pasty and I think maybe he was molting... he is by far the pickiest eater I have ever met. He was a heck of a fun (quirky) time- so I hope he is still around.

Anyway, I don't feel so bad that Alex has yet to ingest a green bean with no companion. He will eat disguised versions as long as I blend them with at least 3/4 of a food he likes better. So, I will keep putting those limp, grinch fingers on his tray until he puts it in his mouth and smiles instead of pelting Loki (our schnauzer).

This strategy has worked for several other foods--- for example, avocado went from baby smash to yum around 8 months.

A new study has just been released that suggests that if you feed an infant variety from the start, they are more likely to eat healthfully when they are older. The research also suggests that infants and toddlers should play a role in determining how much they eat... this helps with their 'stop' function when they are older and as older children and adults they will be less likely to overeat.

Anyway, I need some chocolate now. Too late to completely retrain this Mama. But thankfully I don't like to spend a lot of time cooking- because I don't have any baked goods to gnash on.

Rotisserie Chicken, Squash Medley

Maybe my mind has been infiltrated irreversibly by Michael Pollan ... I can't get over the best food advice I've ever heard, eat real food. Doing this has done as much for our overall health as synthroid has done for my metabolism. I love artificial hormones as much as I love real food.


Anyway, with so many food options, it is easy to go with the convenient ones. I like the idea of spending very little time on cooking. If it were my artform, and I truly enjoyed the time I spent in the kitchen it would be different. For me, it means that I am not playing with my son, hanging out with Trey, writing a research paper, or going on a long run. Whether or not I drop running as a hobby because my music loop is putting me to sleep, I still don't want to spend hours in the kitchen and I don't like feeding Alex out of a jar. It takes no more time to give him some variation of our meal than it does to open a jar. Plus I feel a little guilty if he doesn't finish the jar because even the non-organic stuff is more expensive than feeding him what we are already eating. Yes, I am cheap and becoming cheaper as I stay home more.


Last night dinner approached too fast---our dog put on a freak show and occupied most of the afternoon with an unexpected illness.

In haste, I grabbed a rotisserie chicken and made a side from the farmer's market goodies.

Into a pan of 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat:

I sliced:

1 small white onion
2 medium ears of sweet corn

at the same time I microwaved

5 fingerling potatoes until they were soft to the touch (2-3 minutes)
I like the colorful ones because they typically have more nutrients.

I then cut these even smaller and added them to the sweet corn and diced

1 summer squash

I put a few tablespoons of water into the pan and put the lid on and cooked 3-4 minutes until the squash was done and then added

dill for taste


For Alex, I diced his potatoes even more and also did a quick softening of part of his meal in the blender (just loosening it for a little bit easier chewing). Turns out his 4 teeth are good enough to eat the dish with or without the easy blend. I also gave him really small pieces of the most moist (and fatty) parts of the chicken because they were easier to chew.

I gave myself a slice of ugly tomato (I'm the only one that digs uncooked tomatoes in this house).

Alex devoured this and I only spent 10 minutes making the meal. This is real convenience food.

Drinking blood versus eating bulgur and beets...a.k.a. what was I thinking?

When Alex started solids, he was a good little eater, slurping and gumming up just about everything I could blend together from kale & pear, to fennel & apple. I've taken advantage of this and continued to serve him a variety of foods that I'm eating already in their diced up solid form, or I'll puree with a little yogurt to improve the texture of the gritty more fibrous foods.

Alex does like beets, he liked those that wrapped in foil and drenched in oil and grilled until the were sweet and soft on the inside.

But last night both my husband Trey and baby Alex rejected a meal of bulgur and lentils (1:1 cooked ratio) mixed with pan cooked garlic beats and olive oil. I served the adult portion chilled like a salad and with a little balsamic vinegar, fresh basil, and a little blue cheese. I was in heaven--- I just adore stinkkkkky cheese and the contrast of the sour vinegar with sweet beets... but poor Trey, took a few bites and was left thinking, where is the meat?

I spared baby Alex the vinegar and blue cheese, and put in ample shredded cheddar, but now realize that although Alex adored shredded cheese a month ago, he now thinks it is launch material only. As far as cheese goes, only the solid chunks are edible. The little shreds are wildly whipped into our poor schnauzer's black tangles. Although Alex loved the lentil, potato, carrot stew, unblended, he thought the beans were little ticks and also tried to attach those to Loki's black locks to pay him back for barking during naptime.

Today, I tried to salvage the remaining bulgur and lentil blend today (I saved a beetless portion) and mixed 1/2 a cup with 1/2 lb of ground turkey, 1 egg, and a bit less than 1/4 cup of oatmeal together with a little bit of A-1.... We pan fried these, because they are a little looser than beef patties... Again, I thought they were wonderful (they did need some mustard for zip) but Trey almost passed out from malnutrition. Alex ate his lentils and bulgur in the blended form with a little olive oil, applesauce, and formula.

Unfortunately, a late morning nap kept us from our red meat source at the farmers market and poor Trey is going to have to drink blood this week to regain his composure.

fish night and chard (a rough name for a tame vegetable)

Yesterday was fish burger night. We've been grilling them once a week to have a less expensive, fish meal. They are also a good choice in central Ohio where it is often hard to find good (and economical) fish fillets. As regular fish eaters, we try to vary the type of fish we eat, because some fish are more susceptible to bioaccumulating toxic concentrations of metals.

Also, because fish is lighter than most meats and Alex is a little baby, we make sure that he gets plenty of calories from avocado and olive oil.

To garnish fish burgers (or other burgers):

1 dollop of whole milk yogurt mixed with diced scallions

1/4 of an avocado cut into thin slices

1 slice of garden tomato (we have some from the farmers market)

Serve on a hearty bun that withstands juice-we use very dense multigrain sandwich rounds

For a side dish serve:

1 Bunch of Rainbow Chard (or Kale, or fresh or frozen spinach)

I remove the roughest part of the stalk, but keep most of the stalk--- it is pretty fibrous, so some may prefer to remove more)

Cook covered on medium heat in a little water or olive oil (we use olive oil because Alex is on the little side). They are done when they are well wilted. (They are too bitter for some eaters if you don't cook them long enough). We like a little zip to our chard so I'll dress with some apple vinegar*, or if we want something sweeter instead, I will mix in 1/4 can of coconut milk, a dash of curry, and ginger to taste.

For the baby meal:

Dice 1/8-1/4 of an avocado (if you put this on your child's plate before serving other things, they may eat it... or you can blend with a couple of tablespoons of cooked apples or pears or applesauce)

Blend 2 tablespoons of whole milk yogurt and 2 tablespoons of applesauce to 1/4 c to the prepared chard or alternatively add 1/4 c of coconut milk and a few tablespoons of baby cereal. I do this frequently because Alex is on the smaller side and coconut milk is high in calories and like Mom and Dad, he enjoys the taste. Alex also likes curry and other spices, but I try to use a lighter hand than most Indian food restaurants.

I also serve Alex diced up bun and fish (drenched in olive oil for the little guy). He eats fish with mixed success. I'm not worried about whether or not he eats fish because he gets enough protein in his other meals. But if you have concerns, you could always add another protein source (cheese is the standby for our little guy).

*I don't add the vinegar until after I've taken Alex's portion out.

Carrot, Potato, Lentil Soup

Thought I 'd post another easy bean(lentil) meal. It has been sweaty hot in Columbus, Ohio. Alex and I have been moving around between libraries and playgroups. We only go out in the cooler mornings, so that our black dog Loki won't die on our walks. Soup is a nice winter meal, but it is especially nice on these really hot days because it doesn't require a lot of tending and stovetop heat is much more forgiving than the oven.

Alex loves carrots and potatoes of every sort.

This meal is easy and can be fed to both adults and infants. It is also inexpensive and serves a family of 3-4 for 2 meals and freezes well.

In large pan:

Saute on medium heat until onions and potatoes have browned (about 10 min):

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion or 6 scallions (I use only the white bottom and save the greens for a soup garnish)
2 medium potatoes* (I used 1 sweet potato and 1 red potato- I don't peel, but I take off anything that looks too gritty or knobby)
3 carrots* (I pop the tops off and scrub, but don't peel)
1 apple or pear* (I take some of the skin off and remove the core and stem)

Add:

4 cup of chicken of vegetable stock (low sodium preferred for infants)
1 cup of uncooked lentils (you can substitute 2 cans of pinto beans)

Cook on low heat 30-45 minutes until lentils have softened.

Allow to cool on stove top for 30 minutes and then run the entire batch through the blender.


For the adult version, I garnish with scallions, dill, and/or chives. You can use other herbs if you have an herb garden, but this is what we had on hand. If you like a little heat add a pinch of red pepper.

For the infant version, I pour 1/4 cup of blended soup into his serving dish and add 1 scoop of formula (or breast milk), ~2 tablespoons of water, and 2 tablespoons of rice cereal. Alex prefers the soup when it is sweetened by the formula. Some babies will eat the soup without these modifications.

*Root vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes are especially good to buy organic because they scavenge pesticides from the soil. Apples and pears are also good to buy organic (or wash thoroughly and remove their skin) because they are heavily sprayed by pesticides.

Tomorrow, I will post the recipe for cornbread and cornbread teething cookies that I serve with this tomorrow. You can also serve this on a hearty grain like bulgur or brown rice or with toast/crackers.

Easy Beans & Applesauce

My baby, Alex, does not like meat--- unless it is pureed beyond recognition. We are also on a budget, so meat is not served every meal.

We often have organic refried bean burritoes-

Per 1 whole wheat burrito
-3 tablespoons organic refried beans
-1 generous pinch of sharp cheddar or 'mex' type cheese
-chopped tomatoes (get the tastiest ones possible, or go with organic diced tomatoes)
-crisp lettuce (romaine is our preference, but you can use iceberg or even frozen spinach)
-salsa to taste

corn on the cob side

Alex does not like these even diced very small... he only eats protein in disguise...

so for him, we:

-dice tortillas microwaved with cheese
-mix 1 tablespoon of beans and mix with 1 tablespoon of applesauce
-corn off the cobb side dish (or to play with/eat while parents are eating)
(we gave it this to Alex on the cob when his teeth were ready--he had 4 well sprouted)

If I can't eat it, I don't feed it to my baby

Jarred baby food: Gagggggg!!! I can almost tell what the original food was. Perhaps if I had been there at the start of production, when the sweet potatoes still had their gnarly skin. But I've tasted dabs of this and glops of that. In that mire, whatever happened removed whatever taste was supposed to be there.

Also, I don't have a lot of time. Next month, I return part time to my postdoc as an environmental geochemist. I write and rewrite science articles during my baby's naptimes.

AND NOW this blog: There is a lack of resources for people who want to eat healthy and feed their babies good meals at the same time.

Meals described here will be:

1) core ingredients for baby meals will be based on what the adults are eating

2) organic- no pesticides. Our children cannot afford to be exposed to them, environmental pollutants stick around for a while. Why willingly put them in our bodies;

3) easy/fast to prepare

4) ingredients may be substituted (to improve meal cost/ or work with seasonal ingredients, or help those that live in the boonies far, far, away from city shopping)

My next post will be a recipe.