Baby Blase

So… we decided to eliminate baby food from the kids diet.

Done.

He will, from now on, eat like a normal human being! No more pureeing. No more ridiculously priced – but, oh-so-good, gourmet, store-bought mush.

I knew this day was coming, but, I hadn’t realized that it was THIS possible. THIS easy. I stumbled on a website – a forum – of families mainly in the UK who believe in “Baby Led Weaning“. These people believe and practice NEVER serving baby-food. At six months they start their kids with finger foods – teeth or no-teeth. I am fascinated and a total believer. I know that we are really lucky that H digs food and is not picky – yet. But, I also believe that our love of food, our commitment to eat with him at least one meal a day and our early introduction to foods made him curious and excited about eating. We let him touch, taste and play with almost anything on our table. And I am so excited that the jars and bags of baby food are now gathering dust in the cupboard. So… without further ado – a list of foods our kid has eaten!

PLEASE NOTE: I am aware that this is a completely narcissistic exercise – the recording of our kid’s eating habits. Internet, I’m sure you’ve heard quite enough blabbering already, so, please avert your eyes and pray that tomorrow will bring more interesting subject matter. For those of you who may possibly be interested in this drivel read on… I actually scoured the internet looking for ideas about foods to feed my kid and couldn’t find a good list. Perhaps this one may prove helpful to some kindred spirits.

Mac & Cheese (organic – instant and regular) mixed with veg (chopped spinach, zucchini, squash, butternut squash)

Macaroni with white beans, diced-canned tomatoes, chopped spinach, chopped zucchini and squash, fresh basil and dried oregano

Chicken breast, cooked anyway really, served sliced (big handfuls for finger food)

Pan seared white fish with a bit of salt and pepper

Steamed veg (finger foods): asparagus (the whole spear), zucchini, squash, cauliflower, potato, sweet potato, butternut squash, carrots

Fruits (finger foods): Pear, cantaloupe, mango, banana, strawberry (first taste last weekend)

Fruits (in mesh feeder): frozen blueberries, frozen peaches, apple, pear

Avocado

Toast (crusts cut-off – although, I’m sure he would eat those too – with butter or avocado spread on it)

Brown rice cakes (lightly salted)

Cheese (finger food)

Yogurt (plain)

Cottage Cheese

Oatmeal (although, this was the one thing that he wasn’t crazy about)

Beans (refried, charro, pinto)

Chili with ground turkey

Rice

Pho broth & noodles

Dim Sum: BBQ pork bun, rice noodles, fish soup broth

The photo below (click to see the whole thing) is an example of H’s enthusiasm for food. And, yes, we are aware that the kid could choke on this much food. We are teaching him to “bite” which he does really well, but, sometimes he gets – like I said – enthusiastic. We never allow him to eat unattended. He does, on occasion, accidentally swallow too early and he has learned to cough the food back into his mouth so that he can chew it more.

Listening: White Lies