Sunday, November 27, 2011

Welcome


I want to start by saying thanks for visiting my baby food blog, I hope that I can provide you with great tips, helpful hints and baby food recipes to help you incorporate baby food making into you busy schedule. I will admit that with my first child making baby food wasn't even a discussion...we used store bought baby food it was easy convenient and we could always keep an extra jar in the diaper bag.  Honestly, even when I was pregnant with my second and a friend said that she was making baby food for her baby, I thought she was crazy.  However, when our second little guy came along, my husband and I discussed making baby food and went back and forth a bit.  We ended up deciding that we would start by making his baby food and we would see how it went.  It ended up being one of the easiest (and enjoyable) things that I have done.  I found a new love for my steamer, my mini food processor and my local produce market. 


My little guy (who is now almost 11 month old) started on baby food after his four month doctor appointment.  Please note that many pediatricians recommend waiting until six months so please talk to your pediatrician prior to starting your baby on food.  By the time my little guy was 9 months old (maybe even sooner) he would eat fruit...we would have to help him hold it a first and then we would need to be really close to make sure he wasn't taking bites that were too big.  We still watch him every moment that he is eating, but I can hand him a peach and he will eat it. 

I am not at all the kind of person who would suggest that you HAVE to make your own baby food.  I didn't make it for my first and he is perfectly fine.  I would however challenge you to try it.  It really is simple and it takes no time at all.  Even as an early stage eater they can east just about any veggie that you are offering the rest of the family for dinner you will just need a couple extra minutes to puree.  Have your husband or an older child set the table...by the time they are done you will have the baby's food ready.  You don't have to make the baby's food all of the time, but I think if you try it you will find that it is a lot easier than anticipated.

What you will find here:
Currently you can find some of my favorite first food recipe's along with some of my favorite "for baby and family" ones along with some posts on how to get started.  As the site gets up and running I will continually be adding new recipes, seasonal recipes, holiday recipes so that you can ensure that you baby can really be a part of eating with the family.

Who is this site for?
Obviously it is for parent who is making baby food for their little one, whether you make it regularly or just occasionally this will help you figure out the easiest way to incorporate baby food making into you life. 
However, you will see as you begin reading that most of my recipes (excluding the true stage 1 comparable puree's) will have modifications for the whole family.  For example, make a Turkey Meatloaf with apples and you can puree it with veggies for the baby, for you toddler or preschooler try turkey meatloaf sticks with warm applesauce or cranberry and apple compote and veggie sticks and for the older children / adults make a Thanksgiving Panini with the cranberry and apple compote (above) and sweet potato fries. 
These modifications make this blog a perfect one for those parents who don't want to prepare 3 different meals every night....you can make one base meal and with almost no additional cooking time you can have multiple variations (from baby up to the adults).  This may also be a blog that you want to check out just to get some ideas on meal variations for "leftover night".