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 

Strawberry, take 2

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I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of making fruits and vegetables the basis of your baby's diet while introducing solid foods. I read so many things online about people who are doing baby-led solids with their babies, but regularly give them junk food. I think this entirely misses the point of BLS, and I would actually recommend those people give their babies purees. Say what you will about Gerber, but at least that they don't make pureed french fries and pizza! I mean, "special treat" foods are fine on occasion (like pancakes), but try to stick with healthy fruits and veggies for the most part.


Because of my commitment to giving Buttercup healthy fruits and veggies I am extremely thankful for frozen foods. There are only so many apples a girl can eat in a week, so I am happy to buy frozen fruits that are not currently in season (though I'm happier when they are in season). Buttercup enjoyed strawberry during the summer so I recently let her have a thawed frozen strawberry. It was cut into quarters for easier handling. She made her "sour face" and spat out the same piece about a million times (I counted). She kept picking it back up and putting it back in her mouth, so I thought it couldn't be that bad. Then, I tried a piece. oooooeeeeee was that sucker sour! 


I've gotta hand it to Buttercup for her persistence. That particular batch of frozen strawberries was not fit for consumption without the aid of much sugar (which I did not give to Buttercup). I guess we'll go back to apples and pears for the time being - good thing citrus season is coming up!


PROS: frozen fruit is always in season
CONS: potential for extremely sour fruit

Strawberry

Strawberries were one of my favorite foods as a child and I'm proud to say that Buttercup likes them, too. (I'm sure one day she'll like them even more with some shortcake under them and some whipped cream on top of them...MMMmmm...)

You may have read somewhere that strawberries are highly allergenic and you shouldn't let your baby near a mile radius of them. According to wholesomebabyfood.com strawberries are one of the top food allergy culprits. I haven't found anything from other reputable sources to back this up. According to the American Academy of Pedatrics, you can now safely introduce any food to your 6 month old (they don't even mention strawberries). Their latest research shows that delaying the introduction of certain foods does not decrease the incident of food allergies at all. It is important to keep family history as well as other food allergies in mind when introducing foods to your baby. Buttercup has no known allergies, hasn't reacted to anything she's consumed via breastmilk, and has no family history of food allergies. WOW! That was a long-winded way to say "Go for it!" If you're still worried about food allergies when introducing your baby to solid foods, here is an excellent interview discussing the AAP's new recommendations.

So! I washed the strawberry with Fit veggie wash, and handed it over. Buttercup immediately gummed a chunk out of it and began chewing away. I ended up taking it back and cutting it in half, as she kept trying to shove the whole berry in her mouth and it wasn't fitting very well.

PROS: yummy, high in vitamin C

CONS: stains...a lot...(a cold soak for clothing work wonders, though)