Baby Food!

First food = sweet potato

Someone is excited to start.  First day of solids = 6 month birthday!

Not so sure about it at first...

Getting the hang of it!

These are so yummy!

The smile says it all!

I have been waiting for this milestone for a long time!  I know...I know...I could have started solids two months ago, but then realized that we had a good thing going (aka I am lazy) and that we would wait until she was 6 months old. 

I have known since the beginning that I wanted to take the time to make my own baby food for Lainey.  Not that I have anything against the jarred stuff, but I wanted to know exactly what I was feeding her and to find the best and most fresh ingredients possible to maximize her palate.  I know what you are thinking...maximizing a baby's palate?  My goal is that she will be requesting to eat lots of different fruits and veggies from now forward and that I don't have a picky eater on my hands.  I have been researching and reading about different methods to make this as easy as possible.  Luckily, I stumbled upon some great blogs that had perfect how-to videos on methods to prepare and store baby food.  There are a lot of contraptions and appliances for buying products that make baby food, but I wanted to go simple.  The only things that I bought were a steaming basket, silicone ice cube trays, freezer bags, and a baby food cookbook.   I already had a blender and the Easter Bunny brought Lainey a small food mill that I can take for traveling or doing protiens and peas. 

First batch and so easy to make! 

Getting the system down!

Apples/Pears,
Peas,
Sweet Potato, Carrots

Just the first of many batches to come! 

So far she has eaten whole grain oatmeal cereal + mashed banana or apple/pear combo in the AM, sweet potato + avocado in the PM.  She is loving it and her favorite seems to be the sweet potato!  After tasting it, I can see why.  They were delish!  No butter, no brown sugar, no salt.  Just a simple baked sweet potato.  Maybe that is how I should start eating my food.  I forget sometimes to taste before sprinkling on the above without thinking about it.  She may have to fight me for the rest of the batch! 

-Manda