Foodie Baby! Part 2

A while back I shared my experience and tips on starting solids a bit earlier than the recommended six months. Now I have new recipes! Those starter recipes are a great starting point but we have since added a few more to our repertoire. I always have steamed fruits and veggies on hand incase we decide to dash out for an impromptu lunch or dinner. I like to feed her while we wait for our own dishes to arrive. If you missed it, here’s my favourite places to dine with a baby and some of my tips for being prepared!

Our schedule currently is as follows (she’s a little over 7 months and has two one hour(ish) naps  during the day)

8 a.m – wake up : breastmilk

10 a.m -breakfast :  Oats with fruit or cereal ( the boxed  type tastes delicious… I  give that often and sneak a spoon or two myself!)

noon – snack : breastmilk

2 p.m – lunch : see menu below

3 p.m – snack : breastmilk

5 p.m – snack :  breastmilk (fruit or biscuits if we’re out)

7 p.m – dinner : see menu below

7:30 p.m – supper : breastmilk

8 p.m to 8 a.m (Night time) – 3 feeds: breastmilk ( I KNOW!!! Still ain’t sleeping through the night)

Menu

As much as possible I try to have a veggie, starch and protein at each meal and a fruit  for dessert. Portions are about two mini baby bullet containers in total for the meal and a slice of fruit. When it comes to fruit she’s more than happy to polish off an entire banana or pear in a sitting!

• Kale, potato and chicken : Steamed kale and potatoes are mashed together. To this is added puréed or shredded boiled chicken. When I boil the chicken I toss in a piece of garlic. Dessert is a piece of steamed pear.
• Carrot, spaghetti squash, and lentils : I cook lentils (dahl/paripu) by boiling them in water with some curry powder and cinnamon. To this I add a few spoons of baked spaghetti squash and a steamed carrot. I keep these in mashed form and do not purée. Dessert is a steamed prune.
• Corn, rice and chicken : Cooked rice is pureed or mashed. To this I add shredded boiled chicken and steamed corn. Mango for dessert.
• Peas, sweet potato and chick peas : All are steamed and mashed together with some coriander water. See part 1 for details on coriander water. Watermelon for dessert.
•  Asparagus, pasta and beef  : Add boiled baby pasta (the really tiny shaped ones) to cooked and puréed beef, garlic and asparagus. I add a bit of curry powder when cooking the beef. Banana for dessert.
• Spinach, squash and avocado : Add steamed spinach to baked squash. Mix in two tablespoons of avocado. Steamed peach for dessert.
• Apple, pasta and chicken : Odd combo eh? She loves it ! Steamed apple is mashed into boiled and shredded chicken. Add baby pasta.
• Dessert  or snack : Yoghurt with puréed fruit. You can place small dollops on wax paper and freeze them for quick snacks or  treats. Unfortunately for us, yoghurt isn’t settling down too well. We hope to come back  to it in a few months along with the cauliflower!

Hope these help stir some creative juices for your little one’s meals!  Oh and by the way… I have lazy days when I’m more than happy to just feed her only fruit or A (read one) veggie for lunch and save the complete meal for dinner.  This happens often. Don’t judge.