Baby Food Diary 11.

I am so behind with posting this blog already. Ugh.
I've been introducing lots of good foods to my baby, but I had not had a chance to update this blog.  But I am surprised that this is the 11th posting and it's still lasting.  Yay!

So after kabocha (squash), it's zucchini, which is also called squash.  I simply picked zucchini this time because I went to the farmer's market near me, and the zucchini there looked so delicious.  The sign also said "Pesticide Free" so I bough a whole bunch, and I made dinner for my baby, and the rest for our dinner.  Great, that's our life now.  We parents get to have some left over from our baby's dinner.

I found out zucchini(summer squash) is less nutritious than the winter squash, but that's okay.  I just wanted to get going with introducing new foods to my baby, and zucchini doesn't have acquired taste so I figured my baby would eat it with no problem.  If you must know, it is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium, etc...

 How I prepped the zucchini was so simple.  I sliced them like the picture, maybe a quarter inch thick, and boiled them until soft.  That's it.  I didn't even peel the skin.  At this stage, I no longer try to puree the food too much.  Now that my baby has two teeth, he has to get used to chewing food.  It's not like zucchini's skin is touch anyway.  I added a little bit of olive oil though, just because I like cooking with olive oil.  My baby has to get used to my cooking style, right?  

So after boiling them down, I mashed it with a spoon and mixed it with oatmeal and spinach.

My baby's reaction:

He said he really liked the hint of olive oil and zucchini goes well with oatmeal.  Well, of course he didn't say that, and he seemed indifferent with how the zucchini tasted.  But what's important is that now he can say "Hey, I have tried zucchini!"  Not that he can say that just yet...

Baby Food Diary 10.

This is kabocha, the most popular baby food in Japan and it is sold in any supermarket there.  But here in the U.S., it is very hard to find...well, that's what I thought, but I was wrong.  I found it in the supermarket near me, and it was also being sold at the farmers market the other day.  Although kabocha here in the U.S. look a little different from those in Japan, I bought it to see if it tastes any different, and I found out it tasted the same.

So what is kabocha?  Sometimes it's translated as "squash" and sometimes it's translated as "pumpkin."  It is sweet, and very nutritious.
It is rich in beta carotene just like carrots, also it is known for a good source of Vitamin C, iron, and potassium.

Preparation is very easy, too.  I cut in half, then took out all the seeds.  Then, cut into smaller pieces, and boiled them for about 30 min.  When cooking kabocha, it's very important not to cut into too a small piece (I cut into 8 pieces this time.) and not to add too much water as it gets too soggy.

After about 30 min, its tough green skin amazingly becomes so soft and easily falls off by itself.  Then, I mash kabocha with a spoon and that is all.

My baby's reaction:  He loved it.

The first couple of scoops, I gave him just kabocha to see his reaction, and then, I mixed it with oatmeal and spinach.  The reason I mixed it with oatmeal was that kabocha is very fluffy so I figured if I just gave kabocha, it would not hold in his stomach too long.  (These days, my baby's appetite has been skyrocketing.)  Also the reason I mixed with spinach was simply because there happened to be spinach available and it is such a healthy food.

So far I introduced 10 things to my baby.  Woo hoo!  The more foods I introduce to my baby, the more interesting making baby food is becoming.  And this is only the beginning!!  

Baby Food Diary 9.

I was on vacation for 3 weeks in Japan so I haven't been able to update the blog for a while....

A while ago, I gave my baby banana.  I love bananas.  Banana bread, banana smoothie...give it to me!  But for some reason, bananas often give me heartburn, and my husband has the same problem.  If both of us have the same problem, my baby would have the same problem right?  Well, because of this reason, while bananas are one of the most popular food being introduced to babies as the first solid food, they came into the 9th place in our household.

So why do bananas give us heartburn?  Some study says a banana that isn't fully ripened has a high acid content, a pH of around 5, which is a lot more than most vegetables.  An unripe banana has also has starches that haven't yet been converted to sugar and can be difficult to digest.  In contrast, many other studies say that eating bananas is beneficial for heartburn relief...whatever.

But I am aware there are good reasons for bananas being so popular as baby food.  They are packed with nutrients.  They contain lots of potassium, and fiber.  Vitamin B6, VitaminC, and VitaminB2 are also contained in bananas.

Besides the fact bananas are such healthy food, it is so easy to prepare.  You don't even have to cook.  All you have to do is just peel the skin, cut into small pieces, and mash it.  It's like perfect for busy parents.

One thing with bananas though--many baby food sources says they can cause constipation....

My baby's reaction:  He loved sweet creamy bananas.  But he did not poop for the rest of the day so I am thinking he did get constipated a little bit.  So what I did was mix mashed banana with applesauce and oatmeal, which are both rich in fiber.  And that definitely did the trick!

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.

Baby Food Diary 5.

Before I had my baby,  I did not care too much about organic stuff.  But now I do, especially when it comes to spinach, must be organic!  Spinach is listed in "The Dirty Dozen," which are the fruits and vegetables that have the most pesticides.  So far, every vegetable I fed to my baby has been nothing but organic kind, and as far as the price difference between organic and non-organic products, it wasn't that much, I thought.  With spinach though, I noticed that organic spinach is much more expensive than non organic one.  But for my baby, I didn't mind spending extra money for it.  

Since I don't have a fancy baby food steamer, I prepared the spinach with what I have.  A pot and a knife.  First, I added a little bit of water in the pot, and brought it to boil.  Once water is boiled, put spinach then cover.  With low to medium heat, I let it get steamed until it got all soggy.  I didn't time exactly how long it took for the spinach to get steamed, but I would say it didn't take any longer than 3 minutes.  Just be warned that spinach shrinks so much and you get disappointed for how little you get once you cook it.   

After the spinach is steamed, now it's time to chop it up.  You can most definitely put in the food processor, but I just used a cutting board and a knife.  They are much easier to wash than a food processor, and much quicker to prep, too.  

I chose spinach this time, because it is a good source of iron, and Vitamin A, C, K, and Folate.  Another nutritious veggie.  It's not sweet like carrots or sweet potatoes, but at least it doesn't have distinctive flavor so I thought my baby would eat it with no problem.

As I mentioned earlier though, there's only so much spinach I get even though I bought a big box of spinach.  So what I did was I mixed with some other baby food that I had already fed to my baby.  Like carrots and rice and spinach.  I already know that he doesn't have any reaction to rice or carrots, so if he ever has reaction, I'd know it's from the spinach.  

Voilà! Organic spinach risotto with pureed carrot sauce.  Doesn't it sound fancy?  

My baby's reaction:

He liked it as usual.  I also tried to feed him just plain spinach, without any carrot or rice, but he still ate it with no problem.  Great.  Oh he is such a lucky baby.  He eats all this fancy schmancy organic stuff while mama just ordered in Chinese food for herself.