Tasty!!

I have a new love, the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen blog. Each and every time I visit the blog, I wish that I could just stay home and cook, cook, cook.  There is an endless supply of yummy recipes that are just waiting to be whipped up and devoured.  Oh, to have all the time in the world.  If Evelina didn't love pulling my hair (still!!), I would put her in the back carrier and cook away.  Maybe one of these days.  

Last week I made:

Risotto Primavera -  It was creamy and so delicious, especially with roasted shrimp added.
Zucchini Pancakes - I really enjoyed these but Evelina thought they were so-so.  I think I they just needed to be a little bit more firm since Miss Evelina doesn't seem to like anything mushy.  It is a bonus that she got some vegetables for breakfast, though!!



I MUST try these soon:  

Knock You Naked Brownies - Seriously, they look like heaven
Grilled Corn Guacamole - I am a guac addict and this looks too good not to try

Feeding a 1+ Year Old

I'll admit that I’m a little obsessed when it comes to feeding Evelina. I only want the best for her and that includes what gets put into her body. Exclusively-pumping when she wouldn’t breast feed to ensure she would get breast milk for as long as I could keep up the pumping routine, offering her organic formula, making the majority of her baby food (or offering her organic food from pouches…I’m also organic-obsessed), etc. I have spent A LOT of time feeding her and researching what’s best. Both Chris and I feel good knowing that up until this point, she has had a healthy diet, in addition to being exposed to many different foods, even if they may not always be her favorite.

Now that Evelina is almost 13 months, formula/milk is no longer her primary source of nutrients. For me, this means that I must monitor Evelina’s intake to ensure she is eating a balanced diet that is full of vitamins and minerals to keep her growing healthy and strong. I’ve been using this portion chart and really like it. I already know she eats more than enough fruit but most likely not enough veggies. So, I have been looking for recipes that incorporate veggies, that I could offer her at breakfast and during snack time, in lieu of just putting pieces of veggies on her plate (she gets tired of this method as can be witnessed by her throwing everything on the floor and watching me pick it up).

This weekend I whipped up a loaf of Deceptively Delicious Banana Bread, adding some cauliflower puree to the mix. Evelina and Chris both approved.  Especially when it was warm with melted butter. 

Next up will be some sweet potato pancakes for breakfast and maybe a frittata with some mixed veggies. The best part about these recipes is they aren’t only for kids. Big kids, like Chris and I can eat them too!! This is a bonus, considering Evelina will eat most of what we prepare for ourselves. 

Oh, and I’m not naïve…I know she is a toddler and toddler’s like to rebel when it comes to food. But, if I can offer her healthy options, then I’m doing the best that I can as a mom.

NumNumNum....

Styleberry BLOG is one of my very favorite blogs. It was one of the blogs that really got me thinking about cloth diapering since the author of the blog, Shawna, made it looks soooo easy!!  From the day I found her posts on Fuzzibunz, I have been an avid reader of her blog.  

Yesterday, she wrote a great post on managing portions for baby, which you can find here. She also wrote a great post on making your own baby food which I found useful as well (click here).  I know my mommy friends out there are reading, many of whom will be starting their babes on solids soon, so I thought I would pass along.  

When Evelina's pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start her on solids at 6 months, I was overwhelmed.  We were in a great routine with her bottle feedings and modifying her schedule was something I was ambivalent about. Should she still get the same amount of breast milk or formula?  Should we omit a bottle feeding?  How long after she gets a bottle should we offer solids? When should we start finger foods?  Should we be practicing baby-led weaning instead of giving her purees? But, as most things have, her routine evolved nicely into including solids (thanks to advice from many friends, our pediatrician, daycare, etc.). I am struggling a little with offering her 3 meals a day since it feels like we are always feeding her, but I know this new routine will also evolve as it always does.  It's funny how her schedule has just organically evolved over the last 9 months without much trial and error.  Phew!!  

Although I have pretty good instincts when it comes to feeding Evelina, I am definitely going to print out the portion chart from the Styleberry blog post and reference it whenever I am unsure. I also agree with Shawna when it comes to rice cereal and juice.  We never offered Evelina rice cereal and went straight to whole grain oatmeal in addition to multi-grain cereal.  I also plan to forgo offering her juice until absolutely necessary...children just don't need that much sugar!! 

Finger Foods

Over the past week, we started offering Evelina finger foods. Of course, I'm super paranoid that she will choke and I will forget everything I learned about infant CPR and how to correctly administer back blows, but I have to stay positive and keep telling myself that offering finger foods provides many benefits and is great fine motor exercise for her.

We don't expect her to get adequate nutrition from finger foods quite yet so she will still get 2-5oz of purees (veggies, fruits, and other concoctions) with oatmeal, whole grain cereal or yogurt at each meal, in addition to the finger foods.

Sweet Potatoes and Peas, Oh My

Over the weekend I broke out the food processor and immersion blender to prepare Evelina's first baby food.  I decided to start out easy with sweet potatoes and peas.  Both were surprisingly simple.  My biggest challenge was not knowing what the consistency of the puree should be, so I decided to purchase a jar of peas to compare. Once I got the peas just right, I tasted my homemade version and the jarred variety and what a difference.  Poor babies!! if I had to eat the jarred peas, I wouldn't like my veggies either!! 

Overall, my first attempt at making baby food yielded about 10 servings of each veggie.  The big test will be whether or not Lina enjoys them this week!! She will be starting her 3-day schedule of sweet potatoes today and we plan to add peas on Thursday. So far we know she enjoys oatmeal but I didn't go as far as grinding my own.    

The last time I checked, peas were green. Which peas would you rather eat?

Shweet!!

Evelina won't officially start solids until a few more weeks but I couldn't resist giving her a little taste of sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving Day. Auntie K had already cooked up a batch for the meal so I grabbed some cubes, mashed them up with a fork, added some breast milk to create more of a pureed consistency and broke out the cute monster bowl we picked up the day before. I was almost certain that Lina would break out her pouty (aka babune) face but she rather enjoyed the experience minus some minor gagging after the second spoon full. 

Getting Ready

Um, I don't know about this...

That was fun!!