Lunchmeat

Most people I've talked to have serious problems with pureed meat. Even the staunchest baby food fan will tell you there is something about pureed meat that is just weird and creepy. Well, I'm here to say that babies are quite capable of eating meat. Real meat. Non-mushy meat. In fact, Buttercup had straight up chicken in her second week of baby-led solids. 


I picked up some nice, healthy, nitrate-free lunchmeat for easy family lunches. While making sandwiches for Hubby and myself I took two slices and cut them into one-inch pieces for Buttercup. She quite obviously liked them, and scarfed both pieces. 


Lunchmeat makes for a really easy "on the go" meal (ie: church nursery, daytrips, lunch dates). And, since I found a healthier alternative to the usual crapola found in lunchmeat I am happy to give it to my baby.


PROS: easy, portable protein option
CONS: none

French Toast

Because Mommy and Daddy generally have more free time on Saturday mornings it provides great occasions for Buttercup to try breakfast foods that actually require preparation. We've recently been making quite the tradition of the family Saturday morning breakfasts, in fact. I'm so glad Buttercup is able to join us in these meals, since they just don't make scrambled eggs, pancakes, brown cheese, or french toast in pureed baby food versions. 


This particular morning we made french toast, which was my favorite Saturday treat as a girl. It actually makes a great breakfast food for baby if you leave off the sugary syrup and other toppings. Because of the egg and milk, french toast is high in protein. Depending on what kind of bread you use it could become even healthier. I like flax seed breads, myself. Yummy! I cut a slice of french toast into one-inch squares for Buttercup and gave them to her when they were slightly cooled. She ate about half of the slice. 


Because I consider french toast to be a special treat I always forget how easy it actually is to make. There's really no reason to limit Buttercup's french toast eating to Saturday mornings. This would make a good lunch option, too, especially when my pantry is starting to look like Mother Hubbard's. 


PROS: easy, high in protein
CONS: not as easy as a pile of fruit or dry cereal

Tuna salad

It's important when introducing solid food to your baby that you are making sure to offer her foods that represent a well-balanced diet. I'll admit: sometimes I forget about protein. I am better with Buttercup than I am with myself. I'll find myself going a few days without making a conscience effort to eat protein of some sort. The solution usually ends up being tuna. Firstly, tuna has those super Omega-3s. Secondly, I get it free from WIC (a government nutritional supplementation program for women, infants and children). Thirdly, it's easy - no cooking required! 

One day I was making myself some tuna salad for a sandwich and thought I'd give some to Buttercup to try. I left the pickle relish out, since it's mostly salt. So, hers just had tuna and some mayo (I use the olive oil variety). I plopped about a quarter cup onto her tray and she happily shoveled it into her mouth. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, but we'll definitely be keeping this as a protein emergency staple.

PROS: easy protein option

CONS: gives baby fishy breath

Veggie Burger

I'm sure other babies would love hamburgers, but I don't eat red meat which means that Buttercup doesn't get hamburgers. I do love a good veggie burger, though. Morningstar veggie burgers are my current favorites. They're great because you can stick them in your toaster and they're done super quick! And, check out these ingredients: mushrooms, water chestnuts, onion, carrots, green and red bell peppers, black olives, brown rice, and rolled oats. I cut a patty into squares for Buttercup and gave them to her for lunch.

For some reason, she tossed it overboard first, the little stinker. After she realized it was actually her lunch she ate it like it was going out of style. In fact, she can eat a whole patty! She loves her veggie burgers just like Mommy and will even beg for more if she runs out. 

PROS: great, easy, source of protein and veggies!

CONS: a bit high in sodium

Peanut Butter Toast

I always tell people that if they're going to do baby-led solids then they need to offer their babies nutritious, healthy foods. I'm shocked to hear stories of people who claim to be doing baby-led solids regularly giving their babies junk food. I am passionate about Buttercup loving healthy food. That is why I almost always give her fruits and veggies, and portions from our own healthily prepared meals. Sometimes, though, there is no food in the house. And for those times I am thankful for peanut butter toast. This isn't a regular food of Buttercup's, but I do bust it out when I haven't got much to offer her in the protein department. I use Smucker's natural PB, because it only has one ingredient (peanuts, duh), and I put it on whatever whole wheat toast I happen to have on hand. 

I mention in my previous post on spreads that the American Academy of Pediatrics has lifted their allergy "ban" on peanut butter for babies. If you have a family history then be more cautious than I am. I do make sure that I don't spread the peanut butter too thick, as that could gunk up the windpipe. 

When Buttercup was 6ish months, I would give her long strips of toast (look how teensy she was!) to make it easier for her to handle. But, now I cut one-inch squares for her. It is easier for her to eat, and less messy since she isn't squishing peanut butter in her fists. 

Buttercup does love her peanut butter and will eat 3/4 of a slice of peanut butter toast, all the while making smacking noises with her lips. Very funny. And, in case you're wondering if toast is too hard for babies without teeth? The answer is "no." Babies have so much drool in their mouths that toast instantaneously turns to mush. 

PROS: good source of protein and easy to prepare

CONS: messy hands

Chili

Baby-led solids is so much fun. Really! I love that my baby eats the same things I eat. I love that she gets so excited to feed herself. I love that she is learning different foods, flavors, and textures. I love sitting down for meals as a family. No pursed lips to my incoming spoon. Just. Eating. 

Buttercup recently tried chili for the first time. My chili is heavy on the beans and veggies, mild-medium on the spice level, and vegetarian (we use Morning Star crumbles in place of ground beef). Buttercup has also eaten grandma's chili, which is more meaty (ground turkey) and less veggie-y. 

Unlike her technique with shepherds pie, Buttercup picked through the chili piece by piece looking for specific food elements. She was really quite scientific with it, especially honing in on the beans. But, she enjoyed the entire meal and ate quite a bit.

I have noticed Buttercup has starting to consume more at each "solids" meal. This has coincided with her dropping one nursing sessions a day. She is now down to nursing 4-5 times a day. I've also noticed she is suddenly drinking more water after meals (nearly an ounce, twice a day). I still think most of a baby's liquids and nutrition should come from breastmilk at 9 months. But, hey, I'm no doctor.

PROS: lots of nutrition and variety

CONS: none

Cottage cheese

Cottage cheese is one of those foods I keep hearing suggested in the world of baby-led solids. It's touted as an ideal early food since it's super high in protein, easily digestible, and soft enough for the tooth-deficient. Before I got pregnant I loved cottage cheese, but after a few very unfortunate incidents in my first trimester I went off it. I decided it was time to give it another try, and let Buttercup have some, as well.

I just gave her about a quarter cup scoop for lunch. She wasn't overly thrilled about it, but did eat most of it, using the same 'scoop and suck' method she devised for refried beans. If I had it to do over again I would look for a low sodium variety (do they even make that?). 

Also, maybe I'm being paranoid, but I really think Buttercup might have some kind of weird intolerance to cow's milk. Even though the enzymes in cheeses have eaten up the lactose which is the culprit for many with proper dairy allergies, some people can still be intolerant to different components in cow's milk. I've been suspect of cheese since Buttercup's first experience which left her stinking like sour cheese all day. This time, she became insanely hyperactive after eating cottage cheese, which can be a symptom of a milk intolerance in small children. I tried it again a few days later with the same result. It made for very difficult afternoon nap times. Very suspicious, but luckily many children outgrow these kinds of things.

PROS: good source of digestible protein

CONS: high sodium, possible intolerance??

Refried beans

Thinking outside the box is great, when I remember to do it. I don't know why I didn't think of serving refried beans to Buttercup when she was 6-7 months old, as I have discovered it to be a great early baby food. 

I gave her the vegetarian version, which is low in fat (and does not contain lard, unlike the regular version). I've never really understood the name "refried" beans, since this mexican staple hasn't been fried once, let alone twice - they're just mashed pinto beans. Tis a mystery, but I digress.

Buttercup enjoyed this food, though it could partly be because she enjoyed the process of eating them: she scooped up fistfuls and then sucked it off her hand, the dirty little piglet! 

I will keep this in mind as a quick and easy lunch option, since these beans are a good source of protein, manganese, magnesium and fiber. Lots of great bone and muscle-building nutrients! I'll keep a wet washcloth handy, though, as this was messier than our usual BLS fare. Even after a thorough hand-washing, I found it impossible to entirely remove the beany smell from between Buttercup's fingers. 

PRO: good nutrition, easy to eat, easy to prepare

CON: messy

Meatloaf

With as much as Buttercup loves fruits and veggies, I'm always a bit surprised at how much meat she will eat in one sitting. She is a big fan of meatloaf. My meatloaf is made out of ground lean turkey meat, with onions, celery, oatmeal and egg. There is a sauce that I put on top, but I left that off of Buttercup's portion, since it contains honey. I might as well take this opportunity to mention that you should never give your under 1-year-old honey. It can potentially have spores in it that produce neurotoxins in little bodies with immature guts. This makes for very sick babies. Public service announcement over.

So, I sliced the "safe" end off for Buttercup and she ate it. A lot of it. Quite happily.

PROS: good lean protein

CONS: don't give baby the yummy honey/ketchup/mustard sauce.

Lentils

Lentils are a great solid food for babies! Not only are they easy to eat, but they're chock full of nutrition. Lentils have the most iron of any vegetable, and they are full of other vitamins, minerals and fiber. They're a great substitute for red meat, for those like myself who are withholding red meat from their babes.

I'm sure Buttercup didn't know how good for her these little gems were when she was eating, though it might explain the little 'happy dance' she was doing while eating this meal. I have a recipe for slow cooker lentils that has lots of other veggies and savory goodness. It's one of our family's favorites, and Buttercup concurred.

We noticed a few new developments during this meal. Firstly, Buttercup now only picks up as much in her hand as she can comfortably chew. This means much less spitting food back on the tray. Also, she is getting much better at moving food around with her tongue and chewing it up. She even chews with her mouth closed. Watch out, Miss Manners!

All in all, this will be a great staple to add to Buttercup's diet.

PROS: great nutritional value

CONS: none

Shepherds Pie

Happy Autumn! I'm very pleased to be making comfy fall-like dinners again. One of my standbys is shepherds pie, in which I use Morning Star Crumbles, mashed potatoes (made with natural yogurt in place of milk) and frozen mixed veggies (green beans, carrots, peas, corn, lima beans). Obviously, there is a lot of room for customization with this meal as you could use any kind of meat or veggies.

I plopped a mound on Buttercup's tray and said/signed "hot" to her. She does really well at waiting for her food to cool down. I used to wait to serve food to her until it had cooled, but that got to be a nuisance. I don't think most babies would purposely hold on to something if it was uncomfortably warm, but maybe Buttercup is just a genius.

Anyway, she loved this meal. I've noticed that Buttercup has no qualms with foods being mixed. She will happily pick through it for specific items, or shove a handful of mixture in her mouth, depending on her mood. She ate this meal hand over fist, using both hands to move food to her mouth really quickly like a little machine. By cleanup time she had eaten roughly half a cup, and there was absolutely no fallout on the floor which made mommy very happy. For the record: Buttercup doesn't usually eat that much food during her solid meals.

PROS: great way to combine yummy foods

CONS: none

Salmon

You'll have to take my word for it, but that really is a chunk of salmon in Buttercup's fist. I broke the fish into quarter-sized pieces. She loves fish, and although she's had it several different times, the only salmon she'd had up to this point was canned salmon and smoked. For this meal, the salmon had been pan-fried in olive oil (with some pepper, garlic and lime juice). She gobbled it all up!

This was a great meal for her because the fish was a nice consistency to hold on to. It was also flaky so she could chew and swallow it easily. I've mentioned it before, but fish is an extremely healthy food for babies (and adults for that matter) because of its high Omega-3 and protein content. Other health benefits of fish, especially salmon, is it has essential vitamins and minerals that promote healthy tissue growth, lowers cholesterol, regulates metabolism and is good for eye, brain and nerve development. Sounds like a super-food if you ask me! I’m so happy Buttercup has a love for fish!

PROS: Multiple health benefits
CONS: Maybe watch out for bones (depends on the cut and species of fish)

Smoked Salmon

A great advantage to baby-led solids is that baby eats what we eat. We are a picnic kind of family. As I've mentioned before, we are also not a bring-lots-of-extra-baby-gear-everywhere-we-go kind of family. Baby led solids is a great solution to the baby/picnic dilemma.

On the grownup menu was smoked salmon on baguettes with cucumber and cream cheese. Buttercup, being the little beggar she is, wanted some too. So, she got some smoked salmon. Now, before I get chastised I want to say that smoked salmon is not a food I would regularly feed my baby. It is definitely a special occasion food, due to its high sodium content (though at least I did look for a nitrate-free variety). But, I'm super vigilant about giving salt-free food to Buttercup so I decided it was ok this one time.

Of course she loved it. She is a posh baby of refined palate.

Here is a great article on why fish is so essential for babies. The ironic thing is that scientists are looking at how to make salmon puree baby food (blech!), but they can't find a way to make it appetizing. Hmmm...can you think of a solution?

PROS: high in DHA, portable

CONS: high in sodium. Yowzah.

Spaghetti

Buttercup is mainly eating the same dinners as Hubby and I now. When we first started baby-led solids we would give her a single food item to work on. Now she happily chows down on complex meals. For example, I like to make a healthier version of spaghetti bolognese with: whole wheat noodles, Morning Star crumbles (meat alternative), spinach, mushrooms, garden tomatoes, and cream cheese. We gave some to Buttercup 's. The only difference I made to her portion was that I threw in some avocado, because I had to use some up and Buttercup hasn't been too thrilled with avocado lately (see Avocado, take 2). I made a little spaghetti pile on Buttercup's tray, since this is what's worked best with similar items (ex: tabouleh, rice).

Buttercup ate it all with gusto, even the mushrooms and tomatoes. I guess she likes those foods cooked better than raw. Also, this was the first time Buttercup had eaten dairy products that she didn't stink (see dairy posts). It was only a small amount, but maybe her body is getting better at handling it? Anyway, I love that her meals require so little preparation (and virtually no extra cost). BLS is so easy!

PROS: good way to combine lots of healthy foods

CONS: requires a bath afterwards

Mostaccioli

It was a happy day when Buttercup's grandma showed up on our doorstep with a pan of mostaccioli! I was very prepared to not have to cook dinner, but I was unprepared for Buttercup's response to this new food combo. I have never seen her eat so much in one sitting, consuming about a half cup of mostaccioli. It was a sight to behold!

I'm not sure of the exact recipe, but the dish contained ground turkey meat, penne noodles, tomatoes and portobella mushrooms. We weren't sure if Buttercup would like it, considering her response the first time she tried tomato and mushroom, but after her first little taste she devoured every little scrap she could find on her tray... and then had seconds. Ironically, this was one of her cleanest meals, since no little pieces of food ended up on the floor or in her high chair. Yep, she was that intense!

This meal provided Buttercup with lots of protein and nutrition along with the multiple flavors, and it provided me with the mandatory "baby covered in pasta sauce" photo. I think she will be enjoying this meal again soon.

PROS: yummy yummy

CONS: staining

Tofu

I wish I had remembered to pick up some tofu at the store 2 months ago, because my little hippy baby loves it! She is making up for lost time now, though.

Along with being high in protein, calcium and iron, tofu is a really good consistency for babies. I cut a quarter inch slice off of a block of "raw" tofu, then cut that into one inch squares. I figured that would be easier than cutting it into longer rectangles, which I was sure would get squished to mush. I was right: Buttercup used her fingers to pick up the squares, rather than wrapping her fist around them. I am so enjoying her developing those fine motor skills. After the tofu started crumbling, Buttercup still enjoyed going after the tiny pieces on her tray, to the exclusion of the avocado that was simultaneously offered (one of her favorites).

So, Buttercup loved the tofu, and I love having another protein option for her that requires absolutely no preparation on my part.

PROS: no preparation, good nutrition, easy consistency, no stains

CONS: none!

Hard boiled egg

One of the Top 10 Things To Love About Baby Led Solids? Cute baby photos! Ok, now that I have that out of my system:

Buttercup has had scrambled egg yolks before, but I decided to try hard boiled eggs for a little something different. I just gave her the yolk for several reasons: egg whites contain allergens (Buttercup has a family history of allergies to egg), most of an egg's nutrition are in the yolk, and the whites are rubbery in texture, thus difficult for little toothless mouths.

Buttercup did enjoy the egg, consuming over half of it. The rest was left in drooly crumbly puddles on her tray.

PROS: good protein

*CONS: messier than the average BLS meal

*UPDATE: Although Buttercup likes hard boiled eggs, apparently the eggs do not like her. Twice I've given them to her at lunch. Both of those afternoons she puked a lot and cried through her third nap. Guess we will give eggs a rest. Tragic! Ya live and ya learn...

Beans & Raisins

I thought since Buttercup was doing so well with her cereal I'd try some other small finger foods. I'd made a moroccan dish that called for beans and raisins so I pulled out a few of each and put them on Buttercup's tray for her. I gave the beans a little pinch first to soften up the skins, but the raisins were already soft from being cooked.

I was so impressed with how well Buttercup did! She hasn't mastered her pincer grasp skill, but I have noticed with her breakfast cereal that she has devised her own method of getting small food items into her mouth: she rakes them into the part of her fist by her thumb then shoves that part of her hand in her mouth while simultaneously opening her fingers. That is what she did with these teeny foods, as well. She enjoyed both of these new foods.

I can see both beans and raisins becoming good staples for Buttercup in the future. And beans are the magical fruit, after all...

PROS: good nutrition, no preparation!
CONS: baby must be able to handle small items

Salmon Croquettes

Up to this point, Buttercup had only had simple one ingredient meals. I made salmon croquettes for dinner so I thought I'd try that out with her. They consisted of salmon, onions, bell peppers, bread crumbs, and egg. Ok, so they're really just salmon patties, but calling them "croquettes" makes me feel more sophisticated.

I cut one into thirds and gave it to Buttercup during our dinner. 

As far as I could tell she liked it. The multiple ingredients didn't seem to phase her. She smashed a fistful in her mouth like she'd been doing it all her life. Buttercup did get quite a lot of food in her mouth at one point. She had a bit of a coughing fit, but didn't end up spitting anything out. She kept working and eventually swallowed it all! I know that a lot of people have reservations about baby led solids because they are afraid of the choking thing, but honestly I've had more issues with food going down the wrong pipe than my baby has recently. Remember the FAQ's post: coughing and even gagging is a normal part of the learning process.

Sidenote: I'm starting to really wish we had a dog. A dog would come in really handy for cleaning up high chair fallout.

Check out this great article outlining the necessities of introducing fish to your baby early on. 

PROS: great nutrition (hello Omega-3s), easy to chew

CONS: Hubby said it made Buttercup's face smell like the lake

Spreads

Along with rice cakes, toast makes a good carrier for spreads. Other spreads worth trying are: smashed avocado, smashed banana, cream cheese, and thinly spread peanut butter. Interesting to note that the American Association of Pediatrics has changed their recommendations on delaying giving peanut butter to children under a year. That practice hasn't been shown to reduce peanut allergies in children so pediatricians have lifted the advice. The only thing to keep an eye out for with peanut butter is its consistency. If you put too much on, it can be too thick for your little one to safely manage without gagging and possibly choking.

By the way, we use Smucker's natural peanut butter. One ingredient = good. Although I think cream cheese is a good idea, we are waiting on that one because of the "cheese incident." Since discovering an easier way to serve bananas and avocados we haven't done as much of those as spreads, but I would recommend them to babies having issues with hand-mouth coordination.

PROS: a great way to boost nutritional value of grain foods and add variety

CONS: messy.