Baby Food Guest Post: Pam Baumeister

Don’t Baby Their Taste buds
By Pam Baumeister

I’m a personal chef.

I have four kids ranging in age from 15 months to nearly 15. Every one of them has their own taste preferences. One hates peanut butter and one eats the middles out of every piece of bread she can get her hands on. Generally, those older girls are expected to eat what I’m making for everyone (or else!). But, the baby, well, she gets the special treatment. I pull out all the stops for her.

Since having my third child I decided not to buy any more baby food in jars. Sure, they’re convenient, but the nutritional value is the same or less than from foods you make yourself. Babies are expensive enough. I reason that they’ll only be little once — why not spend the time guiding them through their culinary discoveries?I’m a purist. I like knowing exactly what is in the food I feed my family. I read labels and I avoid chemicals and processed ingredients. When I start feeding my babies “regular” food, it’s usually after they aren’t satisfied with breast milk alone.

Here are some of the foods I feed the littlest of eaters under nine months:

Rice cereal. Yes, I know. It comes in a box. I use it mostly because it’s easy to mix with breast milk and new eaters can’t really tolerate flavors. I’m so glad I’m not a baby anymore. That stuff tastes…blech.

Veggies. I’ve found the best way to prep them is to steam them. This way, they retain their nutritional value and it’s easy for you to gauge how soft they need to be for little gummers. Try potatoes, turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes (the white ones), and butternut squash. Root vegetables are mild and chock full of great vitamins.

Fruit. I’ve found the easiest way to prep hard fruit for little ones (under a year) is to boil it in natural apple juice or filtered water until it’s soft enough to mush in between your fingers.

Hard crackers. Melba toast is just right for babies to chew on and most don’t contain sugar. They’re hard and thin, so if the baby is persistent and drooly, they’ll dissolve the cracker before they grow impatient. The rounds are the perfect size for chubby little hands.

As baby gets older, I make more “gourmet” foods. Here are some my daughter has been eating and loving since age one.

Bananas, plain yogurt, and avocado. This tasty treat has all the good stuff in it. Mash up the banana and avocado separately and stir in plain yogurt. This yogurt is sweet without being too sweet.

Chicken noodle soup. I make it from scratch and throw in carrots, onions, garlic, celery, chicken (breast or thigh meat), and egg noodles in chicken broth. You’ll definitely want to have a good bib for this meal because it’s so wet. Make sure you cook it long enough that the vegetables are soft.

Fried cinnamon apples. I discovered this treat when I decided to stop eating sugar…and it turns out to be one of my baby’s favorites, too. I use one crisp apple, one tablespoon of unsalted butter, a dash of sea salt and cinnamon to taste. Fry it all up on the stove and serve warm. Note: I also add chopped almonds or pecans to mine…but, you can’t give those to babies who don’t have molars.

Bon appetite!

Resource: The Healthy Baby Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel

I’ve found this book to be extremely helpful in what and when to feed babies. There are lots of great recipes in here you’ll find very useful.
Don’t hesitate to use spices in your cooking. If your baby doesn’t like the spices, she’ll let you know. My baby loves to play spices.

Isn't Pam awesome! I sent a message out on Twitter asking for people who would be interested in doing a baby food week, and was completely honored when Pam said that she would do it!