Baby Food Diary 8.

It certainly does not take a genius to make oatmeal for a baby.  It's just so easy.  But there are a few things I did differently from the way I would usually make for myself.  First, I added lots of water.  The instruction says add 2 cups of water for 1 cup of oats, but I added 3 to 4 cups for a cup of oats.  Then, I cooked longer than usual just to make it extra soggy.  Say, 20 minutes?  That's all.


So let me talk a little bit about what kind of oats I bought.  When I went to a supermarket, I went to the baby food section to find oats, and found a box of oats for babies.  But it was not organic oats.  "Not organic?!  Then I don't want to buy it," I said to myself.  (Yes, I admit that I have become an organic food fanatic and I hate myself for that.)  So I wandered to a different section to find organic oats.  Even with just regular oats, there are so many kinds!  Quick oats, rolled oats, steel cut oats....I didn't know what the difference was.  I just guessed quick oats are instant and can't be good for babies.  So I picked "organic old fashioned rolled oats."  Later, I went home to do some research on oats for baby food and one website says "steel cut oats are more healthy than rolled, quick cook, or instant oats."  Oh no, why didn't I buy steel cut oats?  Then, I did more research and found out the difference between steel cut oats and rolled oats...basically not much!!!


Here's the quote I borrowed from this website. 

"There are three basic types of oats. There are old-fashioned rolled oats, which are whole oats rolled flat. Then there are quick oats, which are rolled oats that have been ground up a little bit more to make them cook faster. Finally, there are the steel cut oats, where the whole raw oat was cut into smaller chunks.


They all start from the same grains, but they are cut differently. Rolled oats are steamed slightly to make them cook faster, but otherwise, they aren’t any different from steel cut oats.


...So you see, rolled oats and steel cut oats are the same food, just cut differently. Saying they’re vastly different in nutritional value is like saying a sandwich cut straight down the middle is healthier than a sandwich sliced diagonally into triangles!"

Interesting.  Okay, so nutrients.  Oats are a good source of fiber, Riboflavin, Folate, Phosphorus, Thiamin, and Niacin, etc...basically super healthy.   

Well, don't I sound ridiculous talking on and on about just mere oats?  Since I started feeding solids to my baby, and this baby food blog, I learned so much about food, its nutrients, and things I could care less about in my pre-baby era.  It's amazing how my baby changed me....

My baby's reaction:

He liked it.  I mixed it with pureed carrot and applesauce since he didn't have any reaction to those two.  Oats are known to be highly allergenic and that's why I had waited a while to introduce to my baby, but he seems fine with oats, too.  So far, he doesn't have any allergic reaction to all the foods I have given and I am so happy.  Tomorrow, I will make oatmeal cookies with the rest of oats to see if he likes it or not.

Just kidding.  I will make oatmeal cookies just for me.  I need some indulgence for myself after I do all that work for my baby.  

    

Baby Food Diary 7.

In my previous blog post, I talked about applesauce and how I was shocked to see my baby's not so great reaction to it--I take it back.  I guess I updated my blog a little bit too early because next day, he liked it so much that I had to tell him, "That's enough."   But of course, he made me so happy in the meantime because I put lots of effort to make applesauce.  Also special thanks to fiber in apples because he pooped so much afterwards.  If my baby ever gets constipated, I know exactly what to feed now.  See, feeding solids is so much fun!  

...This time is peas.  I've wanted to introduce peas to my baby for a while.  Besides the fact peas are very popular baby food, what I love about peas is that they are rich source of protein, as well as fiber, Vitamin A, C, Folate, Thiamin, and Niacin.  Also Peas are known for a really good source of Vitamin K.  Great, but I had to ask myself "Do I know what Vitamin K does to your body?"  It is needed for proper bone formation and blood clotting in both cases by helping the body transport calcium.  Also, all newborn infants receive Vitamin K to prevent deficiencies that sometimes develop in breast-fed infants.  I knew that...not!  Now that I looked up some information on Vitamin K though, I vaguely remember my baby was given Vitamin K when he was just born at the hospital...  

Anyway, since I couldn't find fresh peas in any supermarkets near me, I bought frozen peas.  With the frozen kind, I didn't have to shell the peas so that made the process very simple.  I added a little bit of water in the pot, and boiled peas for about 6 minutes.  Then, drained water and pureed with a food processor.  

I found one tricky thing in pureeing peas though.  It's very hard to puree the skin completely.  So I added more water into the food processor and pureed more.  

Done.  

My baby's reaction:  

He liked it a lot.  He didn't make funny face like he did with applesauce.  Also as opposed to apples, I found peas sweeter when pureed.  (Apples taste sweeter when uncooked.)  Yet, it was a bit of unpleasant taste to me.  I wish I could add some chicken broth or veggie broth to make it taste better, kind of like split pea soup.  But not just yet.  It doesn't matter whether mama likes it or not anyway.  As long as my baby loves it, that's all it matters.    

Baby Food Diary 6.

I wanted to wait a while before introducing sweet fruits to my baby.
I read an article online that advised against feeding sweet foods to your baby early on, or else they tend to develop a sweet tooth and won't eat new foods unless they're sweet.  That's why I have so far only introduced not-so-sweet things such as rice, sweet potato, avocado, carrot, and spinach.  Sweet potato and carrot are sweet, but not overly sweet, so they don't really count according to...um...me.  But I am crazy because my baby doesn't even have any teeth yet and I am already worried about him having sweet tooth!

So, for his introduction to sweet fruits, I chose apples.  I chose apples because before I launched my baby food-making adventures, I bought a carrot and apple puree for our 14 hour flight to Japan coming up soon.  My baby has been fine with carrots, but what if he is allergic to apples?  We must test to see before we get on board.  I should just feed him the baby food I bought, but the whole purpose of this blog is to make my own baby food, so for the sake of this blog, I decided to make applesauce for my baby.

I looked up some recipes for applesauce on the internet, and it seemed pretty easy to make.  You just have to pick sweet apples, add cider, cinnamon, sugar, etc. and boil it down.  But of course, I can't mix in things like sugar and cider when I am making applesauce for a baby so here is what I did; just peeled, cut off the stems, cut into small pieces.  I did all that just with a knife.  Not even a peeler.

Then I boiled them with medium heat, covered for about an hour.
When they were done, I drained the  water really well and mashed it with a fork.  (For applesauce, it's easier to mash with a fork than a spoon).  Once again, I did not have to use a food processor.  Great - less dishes to wash.

In making applesauce for the first time, one thing I discovered is that cooked apples don't taste half as sweet as row apples.  So now I know, all the applesauce I have been eating all my life had so much sugar in it.

And one other thing--I thought apples are a good sauce of vitamins, but when I looked it up, I was surprised by how little apples contain vitamins.  Regardless, it's a rich source of fiber so it's good for babies...

My baby's reaction:

Not so great, which was quite shocking.  I was expecting him to like it a lot but he didn't seem to be enjoying it as much as sweet potatoes or carrots.  He was just making face as if to say it's so gross.  But then again, every time I took a spoon to his mouth, he'd open his mouth so wide and wait for me to feed more and more.  So maybe he liked it.  I don't know.  Babies are just so mysterious.