Smoothie

I have a wonderful friend who gives her kids smoothies to sneak extra fruits and veggies into their diets.
It's really a brilliant idea, and one I tucked away for future use. Well, the future is now. I made myself a 
strawberry, banana, OJ and homemade yogurt smoothie the other day to use up a browning banana. I poured some into Buttercup's shot glass to see what she'd do with it. Well, she drank it, of course! In fact, she wouldn't even let go of the cup.


This was the first time Buttercup has ever liked yogurt. I'd like to ascribe that to my awesome yogurt-making ability, but I just don't know. By the way, making yogurt is a great way to use up the 52,000 gallons of milk WIC gives you a month, and it's super easy to do. Here is a link to a some good instructions: Modern Alternative Mama Blog. 


Since Buttercup has decided to officially drop her 4:00 nurse, I've been giving her an afternoon smoothie instead. I throw in a banana, half an avocado (makes it creamy), a handful of spinach leaves, some frozen fruit (great way to use up those sour strawberries), some OJ and some homemade kefir or yogurt. She will drink 1.5 to 2 ounces.


PROS: great way to get extra nutrients in your baby
CONS: parental vigilance required if giving baby a smoothie in a cup 

Yogurt

Most mornings I make myself a smoothie for breakfast. I usually throw in a banana and some spinach, then throw in whatever else I have lying around. The past few mornings I have thrown in whatever bits of food Buttercup was offered/played with/did not consume into the blender and drank them myself. Maybe that sounds gross to some people, but I cannot bear the thought of wasted food. We're in a recession, people!!

This morning I tossed some yogurt into my smoothie (nothing fancy, just plain-label low-fat yogurt) and decided to offer some to Buttercup. One of the reasons I'm doing Baby-Led Solids is that I want my baby to be an independent little food explorer. So, with that in mind, I put some yogurt on a grippable spoon and handed it to her to feed. My kid's no dummy! She put it straight in her mouth and started sucking on the yogurt! Then she made a horrible face. I'm sensing a theme here. Honestly, I think the face-making thing is just her way of saying, "Hey, now that's a new sensation!" But, she didn't seem overly excited about the yogurt. She had about three spoonfuls and I ate the rest.

Interesting funfact: yogurt apparently stings when it gets in your eyes. That's what Buttercup thought, at least. Who knew?

PROS: cute to watch baby use a spoon by herself
CONS: hurts the peepers