Maybe I’m lazy. Maybe I resist change. Maybe I’m seeing the light on this breastfeeding thing (which I did not like at first) and am realizing how convenient it is. Whatever the reason, it has taken me a while to make homemade baby food. Instead, for the 2.5 months that Ian has been eating “solids” (or I should say not-so-solids) I have been relying on baby oatmeal (just add water!), mashed bananas, and these:
I think these jarred purees are great – they’re organic and contain only fruits, veggies and a bit of water. Besides, they’re packed in glass rather than plastic, which puts my mind at ease from a leaching-of-chemicals-and-toxifying-my-precious-progeny perspective. And yet…I felt guilty that I wasn’t actually making my kid’s food. After all, I like to cook, I like to bake, (I have recounted some of my culinary concoctions here) and I want my son to eat as healthfully as possible.
I even got this fancy schmancy baby food maker, the Baby Brezza – it steams the food then purees it all in one place. Sounds easy enough. Nonetheless, this thing collected dust on our counter between the toaster and the bottle warmer for over 2 months, un-used and unloved.
The instruction manual daunted. This is hardly rocket science, but it does require about 35 seconds of concentration that I couldn’t seem to muster.
Basically: chop food, put in container, lock it in, push two buttons. Voila. Of course, there’s one other hurdle: PURCHASING THE FOOD, which is not always a simple task.
What if I went to “all this trouble” and my son didn’t like what I made? So far, he’s gobbled down pretty much everything we’ve given him except avocados – for those he’ll take about two tastes before pursing his lips and swatting the spoon away. No big deal – I love avocado – guacamole for me! I’ll keep trying with those. However, I doubt I’ll be tempted to eat his pureed leftovers.
Anyway, the guilt finally got the best of me – mostly because I’d spent hard-earned money on the Baby Brezza – before long he’ll be upgrading to solid foods that are actually… solid, and this machine will go to waste.
So I took the plunge (it was crazy easy) and have been feeling inordinately proud of myself. You’d think I’d cooked a five-course meal the other day, the way I was patting myself on the back and bragging to my husband and babysitter.
The pink stuff is red grapes and pears. Ian ate that as if it was liquid candy and probably would have ingested about four bushel-fulls if I’d offered it. The yellow stuff, i.e. uber-healthy yellow squash/carrot/parsley concoction? Well, this was his initial reaction:
I’d like to report that he eventually became ecstatic about this vegetable medley, (the truth is that he only tolerated it). So the joy you see in the next pic is just a reaction to me performing his favorite trick, the fake sneeze:
A-choo! Hey!
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Any baby feeding tips? What have you been serving lately? Any suggestions on how to make your kid a well-rounded eater?
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Categories: Cookin', Kid, Kid Products
The photos (with story) of your little guy in this installment are just hilarious.
Thanks Sonja!
Great pictures and so funny, I feel the same way every time I see a manual…those 35 seconds are always a huge hurdle
I know – they say as a writer, sometimes you just have to “sit in the chair” and you are sure to get going. I think with instruction manuals, it’s “just open the first freaking page, already.” 🙂
That thing looks pretty cool! I know what you mean, though… 35 seconds of concentration almost seems impossible. A manual! Are you kidding me I LOVE MANUALS! I would have read it for you and then reported back. (giggle) You think I’m kidding but I’m the weirdo who loves reading the manual. Richie rolls his eyes at me with every new purchase.
I’m thinking this might come in handy as we reach old age. So save it for me when you’re done. I may need it!
The “mush” looks quite delicious! Nothing like fresh ANYTHING! Such a good mommy!
ha ha! You are my new official Manual Reader. I hope you know what you’re in for! 🙂
You’re right – when this little machine is done with baby duty, I think it could make some good soups more fitting for an adult palette – just add some chicken stock and some cheese or sour cream to the veggies – if only it were a little bigger…
The food creations you made with the “Baby Brezza” are amazing! What a cute face Ian made on his first taste of the vegetable medley. Second picture, Ian is saying “Wow, this is good stuff”! Way to go! Good eating!!!!
Margaret, I think Ian looks like his great grandpa in this pic. Now he was a good eater.
He looks just as cute as ever….even with mom’s homemade baby food all over the place. I agree with the non use of plastic too. Changed all my storage jars to glass. Enjoy.
Thanks so much! Yes, I have become paranoid about plastic containers – it’s not possible to completely avoid it, but where we can, we do. I now have a glass water bottle, etc. I haven’t yet frozen any of his food yet bc I can’t figure out how to avoid plastic to do so…
Wow, those purées look so yummy! I’m glad baby Ian is (mostly) enjoying them!
Thanks, made some green beans yesterday…the reaction was…less than enthusiastic…gotta keep trying I suppose 🙂
A picture is worth a thousand words. 🙂 Love the glass, it’s a must have.
Now, just wait till the pincher reflex kicks in and you can watch Ian try to eat one pea at a time. Now that’s entertainment ! You are a gooooood mommy. Miss ya girl.
I know, it will be so interesting when he can eat all by himself (or try to). Thanks for suggesting that I save all those glass jars. You’re the super mama 🙂
i. never. read. manuals. and it’s not that i’m proud about that. i just can’t hang. fancy photo food/trick work 😉 looks good to me!
Hey, well we are in luck: Stacey of Goode House has offered to read all of our instruction manuals because she loves them so much 🙂
good(e). major score. 😉
One thing we did to make it easy to feed our babies homemade goodness was to make a fairly big batch of whatever and freeze the babyfood in ice cube trays. When frozen, pop into ziplog bags in the freezer. After a few times making babyfood, you’ll have enough for weeks on end, instead of wondering every day what to make.
Great idea – I’d heard about the ice cube trick but wasn’t sure of the specifics! Thx, will have to try it… 🙂 And thx for stopping by 🙂