LOTS OF RECIPES BELOW!!

Hello, hello everyone!! I’ve started this segment a couple of times, but have never finished. Life has been busy in the best way! Anyway, I’ve been wanting to share ways that I’ve been feeding my baby who is now a 1 and a half year old. It’s a common subject of interest of friends, followers, and family.

This subject has been on the forefront of my mind as I’ve been helping one of my sisters navigate the introduction of solid foods to her baby. She’s inspired me to write this post and share since she’s had so much success this week. She texted me:

Needless to say, I was very moved.

SO, here’s my long anticipated baby food Lagniappe Segment! 🎉

I think as parents, we become hyper-aware of what our children are consuming, and it begins to reflect on us and our choices. We start to realize how little veggies and whole foods we consume (or at least I did!), and we also realize that it’s incredibly difficult to find whole food fast food. We all know our kiddos aren’t getting their nutritional needs met with french fries!!

Before we go any further, I want to provide some practical and honest advice about babies and meal prepping:

1. Always have something you know they like available.

2. It may take a couple of exposures before they really take to a new food.

3. Textures and flavors are explored through touch and taste. Touching and licking the foods are victories!!

4. One of the first things you can do is keep it really simple: pick a grain, pick a veggie, pick a fruit. Use that as a building block when you get stuck.

5. Frozen veggies are your best friend!!

6. You don’t have to do everything and all the things.

7. Store bought baby food is great, too!

All of this advice to say that I am NOT a certified nutritionist. I am just speaking from my personal experience and sharing what has worked for us in hopes that it may help you or a loved one.

There are two basic categories for baby eaters: the purees and the finger foods.

Purees

Making your own baby food purées is not hard (though it takes some time), and it can save you a lot of money. I could buy an organic sweet potatoes, bake it, puree it, and get 5x’s the amount of food I would get if I got it from the store for a fraction of the price. Did I always make the time to make baby food? No. I mean, hello, life. Did I try to do it once a week to set myself up for success? Yes (try is a key word there). And I found the easiest way to do that was to pop a sweet potato in the oven and let it bake while I did whatever. Then I could a. let it cool and store in the fridge until I could puree it, or b. puree it and put in an ice cube tray and freeze. My baby was incredibly demanding and a terrible sleeper around the age of purees, so any short cut I could take, I was taking it!

NOW. Purees are easy, though some can take a little time and some dishes. You need some good ice cube trays (I love this RubberMaid white cube tray for baby food cubes!) and some foil to cover the food on top. You’ll also need a food processor, blender, or potato masher.

Now — the world is your oyster!! Try steaming some peas, butternut squash, baking a sweet potato, steaming some broccoli, blending strawberries and bananas. WHATEVER!! It’s an easy and great way to get baby introduced to different flavors and textures. Do what works for you!! And remember: whatever you do, you’re doing great! ❤️

“Can I just make the purée and refrigerate, not freeze, it?” Sure, but it’ll go bad more quickly. I think it’s important to consider how much your baby is eating. If they’re just eating 1-2 Tbsps a serving, freeze your food so it stays fresh! If they’re eating 8 Tbsps a serving, then sure, you may use all the purée within a couple days. My thought process is: “Why chance it? Just freeze it.” I hate wasting food, so I would always freeze. No need to worry about wasted food or food going bad. I would start by heating a couple of cubes in the microwave, and if baby wanted more, it only took a couple more seconds to heat another cube.

All this to say that you can totally buy baby food at the store. It’s great! Your baby will love it and be fed! But for those that want to make it, I wanted to provide that advice and this recipe card below for sweet potato baby food, a super hit for my baby!

“Noooooowww…!” in the voice of my 1 year old, mimicing me when I say, “Nooooowwww" while fixing him up with whatever he was aspiring for (the toy, the food, putting a bandaid on, etc). We’re moving on to solid finger foods!

Solid Finger Foods

Solid finger foods doesn’t necessarily mean what it implies. I’m honestly not sure what to call it lol! For example, most my recipes below contain rice, which is not a finger food! So take that title with the understand we’re talking about all those good, mushy, easy to gum-chew meals that baby will like! Rice is definitely a front runner on this end!

Here is some practical and honest advice about babies and meal prepping for older baby/toddler:

1. One of the first things you can do is keep it really simple: pick a grain, pick a veggie, pick a fruit. Use that as a building block when you get stuck.

2. Frozen veggies are your best friend!! Y’all, the freezer section at your grocery store is the savior for busy parents!! The options these days are mind blowing! You can buy grain bowls, already cubed veggies, squashes, rice, I mean… thank you, Jesus!! 🥹 LOL! Green peas were (and still are) a huge hit! He can pick them up with his fingers. Cubed butternut squash and roasted sweet potatoes were also always a huge hit too! Again, great for baby to pick up and feed himself.

3. Making a meal (especially a plant-based one) when you a. Hate cooking, b. are an inexperienced cook, or c. are stressed, sleep deprived, and just ready to check meal time off the list can be a stressful undertaking. Let’s be real and honest about that. It’s ok. Sometimes going into something new with the understanding that it may be uncomfortable or stressful allows yourself to relax and have some grace on yourself and your efforts.

4. And lastly, If all else fails, Taco Bell always has a bean burrito waiting for you. My baby loves those lol!

SO. Here are some meal preps that my little one loves. They’re packed with plants. Easy. Makes a big pot. These are meals that I send to mother’s day out with him that he TEARS UP! So give them a try! AND it doesn’t even have to be just for baby — these are actually meal preps that I love that my baby subsequently loves as well. I ALWAYS leave out spice and add it separately to my serving for this reason.

Give it a try!! I’d love if you could leave a review or comment on the recipe card — it helps so much for others to see what you think of it 🙏🏻

Happy eating, mes amies! A plus tard…