Of Food and Love

Much like my hesitation to post about Desmond's amazing sleep habits, I fear talking about his eating. As soon as I do, he'll start slapping food off his table and request only white bread. NO CRUST. But honestly, right now, Des is a champion at the dinner table. A champion, I say!

When we started him on solids, we kept a list of all the foods he ate. We stopped adding to the list a while ago because it was getting out of control. Instead I started a list of foods he wouldn't eat or didn't like. Here's what it looks like:

-

Yup. Nada. Every time we try a new food I'm on the edge of my seat, wondering if THIS IS THE ONE he'll refuse. Haven't found it yet.

We're not giving him anything overly complicated or sophisticated. Just the basics... fruits, vegetables, meats, breads, and cheeses. But so far every new food we try he's fine with. He picks it up with one hand, pokes at it with the other, slowly moves it to his mouth, makes his New Food Face, and chews. After that first bite, it's business as usual.

The kid loves broccoli, for crying out loud.


Mmm...

And peas. And hummus. And avocado. My mom is cringing right now. When I tell her we gave him brussel sprouts, her head might explode.

And it's not just the variety of foods that he eats, it's the sheer quantity. He is going to eat us out of house and home. We can only put a few bite-sized pieces of food on his tray at a time, or he will just keep shoveling everything into his mouth until the tray is clear. When there's nothing left on his tray, he whines.

Umm helloooo! Why is there no food in front of me right now?!

Because we're trying to avoid having to perform the Heimlich, darling.

Here's a typical lunch for Des:



Toasted wheat bread with cheese, steamed broccoli, 1/2 a banana

And yes, he ate almost the entire thing, except some of the crust which was too toasted for his liking.

With regular meals like these, how shall I say... he's testing the limits of his diapers. And the contents of said daipers are testing the limits of my gag reflex.

But I'm not complaining. My boy is active, growing, healthy, and HUNGRY.


These neck rolls didn't just appear overnight. It takes work, man.

Dining Out

Tony and I used to go out to eat at least once a week. Usually more like two or three. We'd start the month all, "Yeah, let's plan our meals and stock the fridge and cook recipes and whatnot!" Bright eyed and full of good intentions. But then we'd get lazy, stare at the fridge, and be all, "Let's just go to Outback."

Nowadays we have a real reason to stay home every night. Financially and logistically, it just makes sense. And now that we're in the rhythm of cooking for ourselves, going out actually seems like a hassle!

But we still get out every once in a while. Usually for Mexican because it's not our favorite thing to cook. And I love a good margarita. As you can see:


Hello love. Oh, and hi there Desi boy.

Now that Des is sitting up and eating solids, he's very easy to entertain. Keep tossing puffies on his tray and he's a happy boy.


And getting out of the house gives him a chance to get his flirt on with the waitresses.

Come here often?

Just don't eyeball his food, or he will eyeball YOU.


Hey, we don't get out much.

Happy birthday to our friend, Danielle, aka DINK. She's joining the Dirty Thirty club today! And in celebration, she started up her blog again. Yaay!!

The Adventures of Making Baby Food

I know, I know. Homemade baby food is just soooo trendy these days. Like cloth diapers, Sophie the giraffe, or :ahem: mommy blogs. But with the guilt-ridden recent end to breast feeding, I had to shove all those emotions into some kinda project. Preferably one that involves cost savings. You're welcome, dear frugal husband.

So hey, my baby may be drinking synthetic chemical poison powder (not reeeeally), but at least I can give him organic, locally grown fruits and vegetables pureed with love and kisses from Mama!

Step 1... Look online for help. Because the internet has all the answers! And I am utterly clueless! Many thanks to my baby food making bible: WholesomeBabyFood.com

Step 2... Dust off the food processor that is still in box and wrapped in plastic.

Step 3... Purchase the goods. I decided to start with peaches and pears. They seem easy enough and they supposedly aid in digestion. Des needs all the help he can get in that area, poor guy.

Step 4... Get to work!

All in all, it is a very easy process. Wash, peel, chop into cubes.



Firmer foods need to be steamed so they get soft. With softer foods like plums, mangos, avocados, there's no need. Then the cubes get pureed in the food processor until nice and creamy.




The mixture is then poured into ice cube trays for freezing. Once fully frozen, dump the cubes into a labeled ziplock bag and DONE.

Truthfully, if you're working with a lot of fruits at once, it can take a while. Lotsa peeling, chopping, steaming, pureeing, freezing, etc. You gotta clean the processor in between different fruits. But as a person who is decidedly UN-Martha-esque, I found it extremely easy. Fun and relaxing, even! Especially with a glass of wine and no breastmilk to worry about tainting.

Cheers!

*Let me end by saying, I am by no means against the store-bought jarred foods. In fact, we use them quite a bit. Sometimes it's just easier. Peas, for example, are a big PITA. You have to cook the heck out of them and there's the extra step of straining the skins, and you don't get much for the cost. Plus they make the whole house stink like feet. But Desmond loves them, so jarred peas it is! Among many other things when I get lazy.

**Also, let me really end with this conversation with my mom:

Me, feeling all proud: "So I've been making my own baby food."
Mom: "Oh cool! When you were little I used to mash up fruits and veggies and then put them in ice cube trays to store."
Me: "That's what the internet told me to do!"
Mom: "Well, how do you think they come up with that?"

Whenever I need to google something, I should really just call mom.

Oh wait, here's the end!

mmm...