Thursday, September 10, 2009

Messy, good-for-her, fun!


Nowdays at our house, the most commonly used kitchen apparatus is the mini food processor. This little contraption has lain dormant for most of our married life because I found that it tended to puree things rather than simply chop them. Why does that fact matter now? Enter baby. Partly because of my love for cooking, partly because of my desire to be thrifty, and partly because of my desire to know exactly what our family is injesting, I make the little one's food. The mini chopper is used a LOT in our household now and the little guy is a trooper. It now handles everything that the baby eats: dried apricots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, green beans, roasted bell peppers, lentil stew, everything.

We've experimented with quite a few veggies and fruits and, with her seven month birthday coming up, will be experimenting with meats now more often. She's eaten everything she's had and not refused anything yet, but she's certainly more amenable to some foods than others. (Like her dad, she's not wild about broccoli but, unlike her dad, she will at least eat it. Thankfully, it's about the only thing he won't eat.) What fun!

I have several resources I've been consulting for ideas on what to make her. The first is a book called First Meals by Annabel Karmel. It is a very helpful book with recipes divided into age groups. I'm currently working my way through the puree section for the baby's age group. The second helpful resource has been a website called
weelicious.com. I'm just discovering this one, but it has pictures, step by step instructions and a peppy and "you can do it!" style. I'm sure I'll discover more helpful ideas along the way, but these are on my go-to list.

I have a crisper full of broccoli and cauliflower, sweet potatoes in the cabinet, and a bag of apples on the counter that all need to be tended to today if possible. Here I come, mini chopper!