One of the great things about making baby food is that it allows me to regain an appreciation for the wonderful colors and textures of food. I've always loved the entire experience of food and eating--the color, the smell, the taste, the texture, and the visual appeal of a well-plated food--and now I get to share that with my son. I also get the responsibility for helping him to start and continue healthy eating habits, which will also help me to better plan my family meals to include more fruits and vegetables.
Joseph is now up to 3-4 solid feedings a day, in addition to his 5 breast feedings. This requires me to plan more in regards to what foods I have in the house, since he gets to try one new food every 4-7 days. However, it also means that I have to keep the foods he's already had available to round out his mealtimes. Case in point: over the weekend I roasted two butternut squashes (such a lovely bright orange color!). This made an entire bowlful of squash, which I will be packaging for freezing. However, my husband and I can also eat some of it, since a serving for a baby is 1/4 to 1/2 cup. I don't normally eat squash, especially in the summer, so it's good for me to add some more color to my veggie mix!
One thing I am a little nervous about starting is meats. I know my little guy will need more protein as he grows, but I am not looking forward to seeing the changes in digestion (most specifically, the smells). We bought a free-range chicken at the Public Market last weekend so I'm trying to decide if I save some of that for him to try or get some lamb or turkey per the recommendations in one of my baby cookbooks. However, something I found interesting was that I didn't totally enjoy the chicken, even though I know it's supposedly better for me. It tastes fine once it's got Dinosaur barbeque sauce on it (what doesn't?), but the texture was totally different than any chicken I've had before (more gamey/rubbery). Not bad, but different.
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