Whining and Dining

List of Finger Foods for Baby

Here's a great primer on finger foods with the majority of the information coming from Kellymom.com, which is a fantastic resource especially for breastfeeding moms. I've compiled a list of ideas for what to feed your baby when they are ready for finger foods.

When your baby's between 7 and 9 months old, he'll probably let you know that he's ready to start feeding himself — by grabbing the spoon you're feeding him with or taking food off your plate.

How chunky can the food be? If your baby is not gagging & choking on the food, then the texture (table foods, etc.) is fine. Watch carefully the first few times your baby tries a new food to make sure she can handle it without gagging or choking. Always supervise your child when she is eating finger foods.

Suggestions for finger foods:

• cubed soft foods
• grated or scraped apple, pear, carrots
• small pieces of avocado
• Small chunks of banana or other very ripe peeled and pitted fruit, like mango, plum, pear, peach, cantaloupe, or seedless watermelon
• sliced kiwi
• cooked carrots/peas/green beans/asparagus tips
• cubed cooked yams, sweet or white potatoes
• cooked broccoli florets
• veggie pancakes cut up
• unsweetened dry breakfast cereals (Cheerios, etc.)
• slivers or finely chopped pieces of meat that has been softened with broth or warm water
• cubes, strings, or small pieces of cheese (Laughing Cow is a good one)
• cooked pasta in shapes and colors sprinkled with some parmesan cheese (Organic ABC pasta from Trader Joe's is great)
• whole-grain bread strips
• pieces of toast or crackers (try adding cottage cheese or hummus spread)
• dry waffles baby can carry around (try frozen mini-waffles from Eggo)
• frozen cucumbers for teething
• rice cakes
• fruit or vegetable muffins (like zucchini or banana)
• deli turkey slices cut up
• Gerber veggie or fruit puffs
• graham crackers
• Fig Newtons (help with relieving constipation)
• beans
• pieces of quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla
• grilled cheese cut into small bites
• mac 'n cheese
• edamame
• whole wheat pita bites with hummus or avocado
• hamburger or gardenburger patty or Italian meatballs from Trader Joe's cut up into small bites
• pieces of Multigrain French Toast from Trader Joe's
• pretzel sticks
• other recipes for finger foods

Warning: Steer clear of finger foods (including nuts and dried fruits) that may be choking hazards. Also, highly allergenic foods may not be suitable for babies under a year or who have a family history of allergies.

Resources:

Kellymom.com

BabyCenter.com

Dr. Sears

Wholesomebabyfood.com

Safe, BPA-Free Drinkware for Babies & Toddlers

Want to find the safest drinkware for your toddler? Thanks to the tip from my mommy friend Tracy, I discovered the ZRecommends blog, where they featured the safe, BPA-free sippy cups in last November's BPA Report . Also, here's a BPA-Free Bottle and Sippy Cup Cheat Sheet from blogger SafeMama. if  you're busy like me and your head is spinning with all of this BPA in plastic news, I'm grateful for those that can break it down and tell me what to buy and what to toss.

Today, Zrecs also did a round-up of the Best BPA-Free Water Bottles.

As a part of your spring cleaning, take a sippy cup inventory this month and make sure your toddler is sipping from the finest of sippies.

Meals on the Go: Japanese Balls

Tonight's featured recipe idea inspired me to create a new category, "Meals on the Go." Especially since many of us parents are constantly racking our brains for portable meals.

I thought this was such a great idea to feed an older baby or toddler on-the-go. It's from one of my new favorite blogs, Weeliscious.

Can't wait to make these, wrap'em up and take'em to the beach or zoo or picnic. After all, summer is almost here!

Celebrity Scoop: Apple Martin's Organic Roast Veggie Sticks

Mama Gwenyth Paltrow shares a few healthy, eco-friendly food tips in the April 21 issue of People Magazine. Once her kids were old enough to eat solids she would, "make organic brown rice and keep it in the fridge. I'd puree it with organic vegetables that I'd steamed. It's easy to make organic oats for them in the morning with a little pure maple syrup, or yogurt with flax meal and fruit. As the kids get older: brown rice and black beans with soft tortillas and guacamole - they love dipping."

She also gave People the recipe for Apple's Organic Roast Veggie Sticks. Here goes....

My kids eat these with their fingers. When they cool, the sticks are caramelized and delicious.

-Peel carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnips and cut into thick French-fry size pieces. Toss with a drizzling of olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees. After 20 minutes, stir in maple syrup, then return to oven until lightly browned. Allow to cool before eating.

Making Your Own Baby Food

So your baby is finally ready for the world of solid food? This is an exciting time to introduce a variety of first foods to a palate that is virtually a blank canvas. While you’ll likely face some challenges along the way, it will be a fun adventure for your baby.

Making your own baby food is actually quite easy. Many parents like to go this route because it assures them that they are giving their babies the freshest, best-quality ingredients. Also, you can make large quantities at one time and can freeze for later.

Don’t be intimidated to roll up your sleeves and give it a try. I’ve included basic recipes and resources below to help you get started.

First Fruit Puree

-You may use sweet apples or ripe pears.

1. Peel and core your apples or pears.
2. Chop into small pieces and place in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a little water.
3. Cover and cook on low heat until fruit is tender. Or steam the fruit over the water for the same amount of time.
4. Blend the fruit to a smooth puree. Add a little apple juice, boiled water or water from the pan to the puree.
5. Serve lukewarm and freeze remaining amount in an ice cube tray.

-You may also mash a raw banana, avocado or half of a papaya and puree with a little breast milk or formula. Note that these raw fruit purees do not freeze as well.

First Vegetable Puree

-For the first vegetable puree, you may use sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut squash or pumpkin.

1. Boil water in a pot on your stove top.
2. Chop vegetables into small pieces and place in a steamer or colander over boiling water.
3. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Blend vegetables into a puree using some of the liquid from the steamer or the pan.
5. Serve to baby lukewarm.
6. Pour the remaining puree into an ice-cube tray and freeze.

Source: “First Meals” by Annabel Karmel.

“Eat Your Greens” Puree

1/2 Cup Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 Cup Baby Carrots, chopped
1/2 Cup Green Beans, ends removed
1/2 Cup Broccoli Florets
1/2 Cup Peas, fresh or frozen

1. Put sweet potatoes and carrots in a steamer over boiling water, cover and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients and steam for another 3 minutes or until fork tender.
3. Put in a food processor and puree.
4. Serve.

Source: Weelicious blog

Book Resources:

“First Meals” by Annabel Karmel

“Super Baby Food” by Ruth Yaron

“Homemade Baby Food Pure and Simple: Your Complete Guide to Preparing Easy, Nutritious, and Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler” by Connie Linardakis and Constantina Linardakis

Web Resources:

Weelicious blog

WholesomeBabyFood.com

FreshBaby.com

“Making Baby Food” video by Parents TV

For the busy, working parent who wants to serve homemade baby food but just doesn’t have the time, there are new homemade baby companies popping up across the country or are readily available in your local Whole Foods. Visit these sites for more information:

Homemadebaby.com

HappyBabyFood.com

YummySpoonfulls.com

BabyCubes.com

BohemianBaby.com

Acorn Squash Deconstructed

It truly is amazing what happens when you bake, broil or microwave winter squash. It's sweet, hearty and delicious. Oh and the smell....I recently baked an acorn squash, and the smell was heavenly.

Now I know there are some of you out there, you know who you are, that are turning your nose up at my squash post. You don't like it. You never have. We'll I think you might like acorn squash, so give it a try. Think of it as a cousin to the pumpkin. And if you don't like pumpkin or pumpkin pie for that matter, then I really can't help you here and you should gloss over this post.

Cutting It

Now, the acorn squash as with other squash or pumpkins are a little challenging when it comes to getting to the inside goods. You'll need a sturdy knife to begin with. Try piercing it in a few places and cook in the microwave for 2 minutes. Let it stand for another few minutes and then cut it. Always cut stem to bottom rather than across the middle.

Open up the squash and scoop out the seeds. Get your kids to help you scoop out the insides. It's a fun way to get them involved in the process. (Save the seeds for later to bake like pumpkin seeds. Older kids will love cinnamon & sugar seeds and adults would love salt & cayenne pepper seeds on a salad).

Microwaving It

If you don't have much time, you can microwave your squash easily. Click here for a microwave recipe from the Food Network.

Baking It

Also, try Elise's recipe for Baked Acorn Squash. I haven't yet, but it sounds wonderful.

Try This: Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

If there ever was "fall" in a soup, the Barefoot Contessa's Butternut Squash & Apple Soup would be it. Especially when you drink it with a pumpkin beer. I might as well be rolling around in a big pile of leaves right now. Oh wait, there are no big piles of leaves here in LA. Only in my dreams.

We had our regular Sunday trip to the Hollywood Farmers' Market today, and the multitude of butternut squash were screaming to be plucked for my soup. And I couldn't resist. This recipe is so yummy and flavorful with lots of spice from the curry.

I should warn you, though, that there is a fair amount of slicing, dicing and peeling with this recipe. Thus, the reason for it being a Sunday favorite (when I tend to spend more time cooking than on week nights). Tonight, I almost decapitated my pointer finger while imaging myself in a QuickFire challenge on Top Chef and jammed a small piece of squash into my thumbnail. Ouch. So, it's not for the faint of cutting. My big secret is that if you don't want to deal with cutting and peeling of a butternut squash, you can buy packages of peeled, pre-cut squash from Trader Joe's. Also, I am lazy and do not peel the apples. We all could use a little more fiber, right?

We usually garnish our soup with a dollop of non-fat yogurt, so you get the same effect as you would with sour cream but with fewer calories. We also like to add a little cilantro.

We fed this to our daughter when she was six months old, and she absolutely loved it. If you do make this for your babe, you may want to consider using a smaller amount of curry. My daughter was fine with the amount, but some babies may be more sensitive. The recipe makes quite a bit and freezes well. You can freeze it into ice cubes for baby food.

Need More Coverage?

When it comes to bibs, ever feel like your wee one needs more coverage? I do. The I-can-use-the-spoon-and-feed-myself-even-though-I-make-the-biggest-mess-ever business calls for a big bib with more square inches of coverage.

I can't recommend the sleeved bibs enough. They really mimize the mess and actually stay on. These days, all regular bibs end up on the ground in less than five minutes in our house. My daughter's not clever/coordinated enough to get this one off. With the sleeves, she doesn't even know she has a bib on. And these bibs can double as art smocks for the creative set.

I first came across the sleeved bib at Beverly Hills' store, "The Good Life," part of the Party on La Cienega, across from the Beverly Center.

You can also check out Bumkins where I am ordering a few new "Junior Bibs" for my girl right now. All of our regular bibs are going in storage.

Speaking of Plastic.....

Check out "Plastic may not be so fantastic for kids" in today's LA Times. My mommy groups have been abuzz with the potential harm of plastic baby bottles, so this article is quite timely (although we've already given up the bottle in this house). This is enough to make me think about going glass the next time around.

The Klean Kanteen Sippy

It's a sippy cup that's good for the environment, easy to navigate and keeps drinks cool in hot weather. No spillage, either. What more can you ask for from a sippy? Mom and dad can have matching ones, too. How cool is that?! (OK, maybe not). But the environmentally conscience folks will give you props for going green. And that is cool these days.

Oh, and there's no worry of leaching nasty BPA chemicals with these sippies. See story if you don't know what I am referring to.

Anyways, it's our current go-to cup, especially in the dog days of summer. I can vouch for it staying cool in the Sahara-like temperatures over the past seven days. (Yes, I have secretly taken a swig or two from my toddler's cup).

Check it out....Klean Kanteen.