Other new Mums out there might just be getting to grips with all sorts of new foods to give their baby, as am I. You do worry sometimes that you’re not giving them enough variation, or that you aren’t getting enough water into them and so forth. I’m starting to really enjoy the weaning process, and Amelia is making it very easy, she loves her grub I must say. (I wonder where she gets that from!)
Now that she is 9 months, we are giving her lots more new foods and she is beginning to learn how to feed herself. That’s a whole separate blog post about how to get Weetabix and banana out of your hair/clothes/the carpet when she has been experimenting with using a spoon – oh the joys!
I’ve always been a bit OCD and Mrs Super-Organised (I say this without shame, there are dozens of us) and I enjoy making Amelia’s meals in advance, once a month, and freezing them. I do this for several reasons: 1. I know exactly what is going into her food; 2. It is cheaper than buying ready made baby jars, and 3. It tastes nicer.
I’m not remotely judging anyone who buys the baby food ready made, everyone is different and their lives place different demands on them and so forth, and I’ve happily used them when I’ve run out of my own, but this is the way I prefer to do it. Plus it means that I only sacrifice one day of cooking which means that for the next 29 or so days, all I have to do is lift a meal out of the freezer.
Since her meals are always on my mind (what an exciting person I am), I thought I would put down in a blog post what sort of food I’ve been trying out with her, in the hopes that some other bloggers/Mums might find it helpful or maybe share some of their own ideas. I’ve broken it down into top 5 categories of what she really enjoys, although we’ve tried many others with her. These are her favourites – here goes;
Top 5 Main Meals:
1. Butternut Squash Risotto
2. Spaghetti Bolognese (with small baby pasta)
3. Boiled Egg mashed up with soft bread and butter
4. Cod and sweet potato
5. Beef, leek and mushroom casserole
Top 5 Desserts: (all stones/pips removed where needed)
1. Mango with natural yogurt
2. Mashed banana and avocado
3. Blackberries and Apples stewed with brown sugar and natural yoghurt
4. Nectarines with natural yoghurt
5. Sweet Orange with natural yogurt
(Can you tell I like giving her natural yoghurt?)
Top 5 Snacks (Finger Foods):
1. Bread with hummus
2. Small cubes of cheese
3. Cheerios (softened in milk)
4. Green beans (cooked until fairly soft)
5. Carrot sticks (cooked until fairly soft)
The only thing she really doesn’t seem to like so far is broccoli – mashed, blended, whole – she just hates it and gives us a look as if to say; ‘Are you kidding? You’ve tried this before and I’m not buying it, give it up, Mum’ I can’t say I blame her to be honest and she doesn’t turn her nose up at anything else, so I won’t force her to eat it.
One thing I have noticed, though, is that she is even more aware of things that we eat when we are with her, and she wants us to share it with her. That will definitely help my diet regime as I just can’t sit in front of her and eat chocolate or crisps…the guilt is immense!
At this rate I will be a size eight by Easter…
(Mmmmm Easter Eggs…maybe not)
