What's For Dinner? Week 4

Let's talk about finger foods! This is such an exciting stage for babies because they get to be in control and explore new textures. It's also a helpful stage to parents because the whole process of finger feeding is very entertaining to babies and allows for a little self-sufficiency so that parents get to actually eat their own meal during dinner time too. Before this stage, it is usually a mad scramble to juggle spoon feeding baby while simultaneously managing to consume anything off your own plate. When it was just Will, we never ate all together. He'd get fed and completely taken care of and off to bed before we even bothered eating ourselves. Now with two kids, we are keeping family meal time all together, but often getting up multiple times during the meal for one reason or another (i.e. refilling Will's cup, grabbing washcloths to clean little hands and faces) and eating very quickly amidst the chaos. But hey, we're a family and that's how meal time goes with little ones.

Sophia is definitely not exclusively eating finger foods. I'm pretty sure it would take her FOREVER to consume enough to meet her needs. Instead we balance it out with about 2/3 spoon feeding and 1/3 finger foods. Obviously that proportion will change as she becomes more adept at finger foods. Spoon feeding is fast, fairly clean and condensed so that baby can consume a significant amount in a short time with little mess. Nice! Finger foods are generally messier and time consuming. But the beauty of this "mixed plate" is that she still gets a substantial meal out of purees/grinds AND gets to practice her hand at pincer-grasping lots of new things while mom and dad eat too.

Some people worry about choking and/or baby "not having enough teeth". Baby won't likely have those molars until well after the first birthday... and you're certainly not going to wait until then to introduce table foods. Instead, they're able to use saliva and strong gums to mash foods appropriately. The key is size and texture. Right now I'm sticking to "pea-sized" food pieces and soft textures. Some ideas include:
-any soft or steamed fruit, i.e. avocado and banana pieces (could be rolled in cheerio crumbs or oatmeal cereal for easier pick up), blueberries, diced pear, apple, mango, cantaloupe, peaches, etc.; same goes for any soft cooked veggie like peas, dices of carrots, squash, green beans, etc.
-grains such as cereals (cheerios, etc.), tiny pasta varieties such as orzo or ditallini work well, bits of toast, rice
-proteins such as hard-cooked egg yolk bits, shreds of cooked meat/poultry, diced tofu, canned or cooked dry beans
-dairy such as bits or shreds of cheese, cottage cheese, cheerios mixed heavily in yogurt so that yogurt can essentially be "picked up"

Banana pieces... So focused! - LOL It's pure entertainment!







Cheese bits. Love the little, open, birdy-mouth.


Steamed blueberries (make SURE to plan this right before bath time!)
Don't you just wonder what she's thinking? Such a new experience to feel this stuff all over your fingers! Almost all kids eat better when allowed to get their hands dirty. :)





She loved the tropical fruits last week. Now this week, I'm thinking we'll probably do red and green bell peppers, maybe diced and sauteed and then added to scrambled egg yolk for a "baby omelet". Then maybe broccoli - not sure I want to puree this so we may just do a small chop and steam for another finger food. I'm also going to dice up some pear and steam for finger food. You can dice, steam and freeze-in-a-single-layer-on-a-cookie-sheet just about anything! Then once frozen, scoop off into a freezer bag for future use in whatever portion you desire. I continued doing that for Will well after his first birthday. It was just so handy!

Speaking of Will... we're patiently waiting for another big snow so we can sled and build snowmen again. In the meantime... we'll settle for a snowman grilled cheese.


This week for dinner, I'm looking forward to a hassle free week. I did ALL the meal prep in advance. On the menu this week:
1)Chicken noodle soup and sandwiches. Tyler's recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-noodle-soup-recipe/index.html
It's in the stock pot ready to go for tonight. Just going to pop it on the stove top, add noodles, and simmer.
2)Chipotle Tamale Pie. Cracks me up that this sassy Latino lady on Food Network is named Ingrid Hoffman! Isn't that German? Here's her recipe - I've done this one many times: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ingrid-hoffmann/chipotle-tamale-pie-recipe/index.html
It's a pretty healthy casserole type meal - ground turkey, pinto beans, tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, etc. topped with a boxed cornbread "crust". Easy to make ahead and just top with the crust before baking.
3)Meijer had those pork loin roasts on sale again this week and I have leftovers of that marinade I used last time. So I made the roast last night along with some cheesy mashed potatoes and bacon green beans. Will got a mashed potato snowman:



And one last shot of him eating up those dried fruit and nut granola bars I made last week. That has been a lunch staple along with a cheese stick and some raw veggies and fruit.