Favorite baby food

nbc2015

Just for fun: what are some of your LOs favorite baby food recipes/purees? So far my LO loves sweet peas and butternut squash mixed together, but that's about it. Peaches are a huge dislike. I'm looking for simple recipes to get LO to try new things (but I'm not creative so I have no clue what to mix together). 

katieashley13

Peaches are Caroline's fave! She loves fruits: apples, pears and bananas too. She gagged on sweet potatoes the first two times we fed her, but she seems to tolerate them now. She HATES peas 

middy411

Spinach!!! She went crazy for it!

lilqt3929

Squash and peas are a favorite so far. He also liked gumming on a banana. We just started within the last couple of weeks so we haven't done too many varieties yet. I decided this time around (STM) I'd buy some purees to experiment with and figure out what he likes/dislikes before I spend time making purees for him. You can really mix anything, if you'd like ideas of things to mix together you could always stroll through the baby food isle and see what they have premixed for ideas. 

kinnonam

My LO loves mango and sweet potato. Ive always thought the mixes were strange lol. But I'm having so much fun making his food I was thinking of doing banana and mango for him.  

VitaLuna

We've only given her sweet potato and avocado. She LOVES the avocado. We're skipping most fruits for awhile, except for maybe a little banana soon.

I don't enjoy "making" purées, and I'm lazy, so i just steam the veggies and mash with the back of a spoon before feeding. 

Tsearfoss

Bananna,prunes,and chicken w Apple's are liams favorites so far,depending on his mood sometimes he likes carrots and sweetpotatos.I did buy some "little crunchies"from Gerber in Apple and sweetpotato flavor and he loves them

rainbowminion

James is a big fan of food in general but he absolutely loves blueberries. 

jarob747

We tried avacados at 4 months and he was too young so we've held off till this week and introduced sweet potatoes and he loves them. Will mix it up a bit in a couple weeks. I like all the ideas on here, excited to have my son try them.

mrsc12414

I haven't started mixing them up yet we are just now starting solids . She loved apple sauce though . Today I made green beans and I made carrots for some freezer stash she did like the carrots we will try the green beans soon 

vannakay

Zoey started solids at 5 months. I try to start one on Fridays. So far she hasn't made a single face on anything I've given her. She eats apples, green beans, sweet potatoes, and bananas. I also started giving her a little bit of the baby apple juice. She loves it all! We are planning to start squash this Friday! 

robinj716

Just started doing baby oatmeal this week. Will probably introduce some vegetables next week. My son is almost 6 months, but we are just getting started. I'm new to all of this- not sure where to start! 

DrillSergeantCat

Between work, school, and baby I don't have a lot of time and I'm not willing to spend what little time I do have making his food. So far his favorite is carrots, but he hasn't tasted anything he doesn't like yet. 

=caenis=

So far he's had banana, snow peas (from the garden), and carrots. He found these all just OK. No love, no hate.

He got REALLY excited about zucchini. He reached for the spoon, kicked his legs, opened his mouth, etc. He's also a fan of his cherry-flavored Tylenol drops.

There are lots of other foods we're excited to try, but we've been taking it slow. He doesn't even get the solids every day yet. We're trying to get him used to the idea of food before we introduce it as a regular part of his routine around 6 months.

Latina211508

Carmine loves bananas. My husband has also let him suck on orange and apple slices. He loves it. 

jarob747

Just a question here... should I introduce all the different veggie types before I introduce fruit foods? 

VitaLuna

jarob747 said:

Just a question here... should I introduce all the different veggie types before I introduce fruit foods? 

You don't have to. With DD1 (3yo), we tried to stick to mostly veggies the first couple months, and in general we didn't do much fruit until she was more of a self-feeder (could pick up little chunks, that kind of thing). I still don't really give her things like applesauce much (we opt for whole fruit instead), and we don't do any juice at all unless she's constipated or sick, in which case we water it way down. It really depends on your philosophy on food in general, though, and your family's goals/definition of "good choices". 

One argument for limiting fruit is so they don't get a taste for sweet things. That's not a good reason, IMO, because breastmilk is really sweet if you've ever tasted it. I personally give smaller portions just because of the general sugar content. We have done bananas with LO, and will probably do peaches in another month or two. You have to be careful with bananas because they're constipating! 

ashton2190

jarob747 said:

Just a question here... should I introduce all the different veggie types before I introduce fruit foods? 

My plan is to start with sweeter veggies so it's a nice transition (sweet potatoes, peas, etc). You can also put some breastmilk in other veggies to sweeten them up a bit and make it an easier transition 

VitaLuna

Oh my gosh! How did I forget this?! This little thing is the BEST. Way better than the mesh feeders (which are floppy and a PITA to clean) and better than the Munchkin silicone feeder that just has one slit. I *love* this Kidsme silicone feeder. I just remembered about it today and pulled it out of the closet. Put some steamed carrots in it that I cut into chunks in it and LO had a field day. Do yourself a favor and go for the large size (skip the small). It was just fine for my smaller than average babe. 

https://www.amazon.com/Kidsme-Food-Feeder-Green-Yellow/dp/B00M6N5Z86/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1470005173&sr=8-1&keywords=Kidsme+feeder

middy411

VitaLuna said:

Oh my gosh! How did I forget this?! This little thing is the BEST. Way better than the mesh feeders (which are floppy and a PITA to clean) and better than the Munchkin silicone feeder that just has one slit. I *love* this Kidsme silicone feeder. I just remembered about it today and pulled it out of the closet. Put some steamed carrots in it that I cut into chunks in it and LO had a field day. Do yourself a favor and go for the large size (skip the small). It was just fine for my smaller than average babe. 

https://www.amazon.com/Kidsme-Food-Feeder-Green-Yellow/dp/B00M6N5Z86/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1470005173&sr=8-1&keywords=Kidsme+feeder

Is this for eating or just sucking flavor like the mesh one? Looks awesome!

rainbowminion

@VitaLuna thank you! My little guy is going to love it! I think it will help with teething too. 

sheslikeasunburn

When did you all start solids?  My baby is 5 months 1 week and she hasn't tried anything.

jarob747

sheslikeasunburn said:

When did you all start solids?  My baby is 5 months 1 week and she hasn't tried anything.

I first started at 4 months per my pediatricians recommendation but he wasn't ready and it caused significant diarrhea and GI upset so we waited again until 22 weeks and it's been a much better experience now. He's currently 24 weeks. He will be 6 months on Aug 11. We've done oatmeal (neither loves nor hates) peas (which he hated) and sweet potatoes (loves), Gave him a little of my banana this morning and he absolutely loved it. 

jarob747

VitaLuna said:

Oh my gosh! How did I forget this?! This little thing is the BEST. Way better than the mesh feeders (which are floppy and a PITA to clean) and better than the Munchkin silicone feeder that just has one slit. I *love* this Kidsme silicone feeder. I just remembered about it today and pulled it out of the closet. Put some steamed carrots in it that I cut into chunks in it and LO had a field day. Do yourself a favor and go for the large size (skip the small). It was just fine for my smaller than average babe. 

https://www.amazon.com/Kidsme-Food-Feeder-Green-Yellow/dp/B00M6N5Z86/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1470005173&sr=8-1&keywords=Kidsme+feeder

I just bought one can't wait to try it out!! Thanks @VitaLuna

VitaLuna

@middy411 it depends on what it is. Things like cantaloupe, for example, mostly just juice and a little fruit comes out. For soft foods (peaches, steamed veggies, etc) they can eat almost the whole thing, minus some stringy pieces. The holes are big enough to get the food out. 

Kimbarbour08

sheslikeasunburn said:

When did you all start solids?  My baby is 5 months 1 week and she hasn't tried anything.

We just started this past Saturday, he'll be 6 months on Friday. So far we've been trying homemade avocado purée (mixed with breastmilk), he's not really sure what to think about it yet!

VitaLuna

Here's my 5 month LO with it. It's good for chunks of food (like cubed steamed sweet potato or bananas) not purées. We particularly liked it with DD1 for restaurants, so we could put a chunk of food in there that wasn't mashed or puréed and she could work on it during dinner. 

VitaLuna

@rainbowminion you can totally put frozen or cold fruit (like blueberries) in it and let them knaw away with sore gums without worrying about choking. It's great! When DD1 was 9 or 10 months, my mom (childcare) would put an ice cube in it on really hot days since they don't have a/c. 

@sheslikeasunburn I was absolutely adamant that I would never start solids before 6 months. That's what the current research says, although the 4 month "ok" is still out there, too (our pedi said it was fine). With that said, my LO would scream like a banshee when she saw us eating, was very interested in food (smacking lips, grabbing at it, etc), so I went against my own rule and started with avocado at 5 months. She loves to eat solids, where DD1 couldn't have cared less until she was closer to 8 months. It really depends on the baby. I'd try to push it to 6 months if you can, unless you baby is an oink (like mine is!) and cuing that they're ready. 

=caenis=

jarob747 said:

VitaLuna said:

Oh my gosh! How did I forget this?! This little thing is the BEST. Way better than the mesh feeders (which are floppy and a PITA to clean) and better than the Munchkin silicone feeder that just has one slit. I *love* this Kidsme silicone feeder. I just remembered about it today and pulled it out of the closet. Put some steamed carrots in it that I cut into chunks in it and LO had a field day. Do yourself a favor and go for the large size (skip the small). It was just fine for my smaller than average babe. 

https://www.amazon.com/Kidsme-Food-Feeder-Green-Yellow/dp/B00M6N5Z86/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1470005173&sr=8-1&keywords=Kidsme+feeder

I just bought one can't wait to try it out!! Thanks @VitaLuna

Ditto. I just got one for my LO and for my litte nephew. Thanks, @V@VitaLuna

rainbowminion

VitaLuna said:

Here's my 5 month LO with it. It's good for chunks of food (like cubed steamed sweet potato or bananas) not purées. We particularly liked it with DD1 for restaurants, so we could put a chunk of food in there that wasn't mashed or puréed and she could work on it during dinner. 

Yesss! James is going to love this! He always wants to eat what we're eating. 

@sheslikeasunburn We started about 4.5 months old. James has been fascinated watching me eat since he was very little. I wasn't sure he would be ready but he grabbed the spoon and put it in his mouth the very first time we fed him. He has varying degrees of excitement about different foods but we have yet to find anything he won't eat. So, that's my kid.
There's also a new study out that suggests early introduction of allergenic foods may have a protective effect. With his doctor's blessing he has already had peanut butter (very small amounts), egg, and yogurt. But we also don't have a strong family history of food allergy. I would never suggest trying it if you do or without talking with the doctor first. https://scienceofmom.com/ has some good info on lots of things, but her latest 2 postings talk about early feeding. 

sheslikeasunburn

@vitaluna my baby stares us down when we eat, but not grabbing at or fussing for food yet.  Will see what the doc says at her 6 month - i am definitely excited for her to start trying things out!  I ordered the feeder you recommended last night :-)

thanks for the info @rainbowminion !

=caenis=

rainbowminion said:

VitaLuna said:

Here's my 5 month LO with it. It's good for chunks of food (like cubed steamed sweet potato or bananas) not purées. We particularly liked it with DD1 for restaurants, so we could put a chunk of food in there that wasn't mashed or puréed and she could work on it during dinner. 

Yesss! James is going to love this! He always wants to eat what we're eating. 

@sheslikeasunburn We started about 4.5 months old. James has been fascinated watching me eat since he was very little. I wasn't sure he would be ready but he grabbed the spoon and put it in his mouth the very first time we fed him. He has varying degrees of excitement about different foods but we have yet to find anything he won't eat. So, that's my kid.
There's also a new study out that suggests early introduction of allergenic foods may have a protective effect. With his doctor's blessing he has already had peanut butter (very small amounts), egg, and yogurt. But we also don't have a strong family history of food allergy. I would never suggest trying it if you do or without talking with the doctor first. https://scienceofmom.com/ has some good info on lots of things, but her latest 2 postings talk about early feeding. 

I live outside the USA, and the *new* advice here is to start giving baby tastes of food from 4 months. My doctor said the national medical stance here (in the Netherlands) on that just changed recently - previously they recommended starting solids at 6 months. Apparently the change is due to new research that indeed suggests giving tastes early on helps their digestive systems adapt to food better. That then allows them to transition more smoothly to larger amounts of solids at 6 months, when they truly require the nutrients.

With all the different advice I've heard and read on this count, I just waited until my LO seemed interested, which happened shortly after he turned 4 months. :-p He gets really small tastes every now and then. We'll make it a real part of his routine at 6 months.

Cherylaf83

Question...what did everyone do for peas? I bought frozen peas but the ingredient list has salt which makes me apprehensive.

lilqt3929

Just tried pumpkin with ground oats mixed in and he loved it. He seems to do better with thicker purees. 

jarob747

Fed my DS ground up oatmeal and mashed bananas with breastmilk this morning and oh my he loved it. 
@Cherylaf83  peas was the one food I just bought even though it's made with water. He did not like them at all. Tried 3 separate times and his whole body shook with disgust each time 
@nbc2015 I think I'll try mixing the peas with squash and hopefully he'll like that. 

VitaLuna

For those just starting, it's recommended to try one food at a time, about 3 days apart to monitor for any sensitivities (not the mixes like you can get at the store). 

@lilqt3929 my DD does fine with thicker stuff eating-wise, but she got a little backed up in the bowels last week. It could be that she was dehydrated (it was HOT last week and my mom kept them at her blazing hot house during the day instead of bringing them to mine with AC, grrrr), but I'm wondering if maybe I need to water down her food some instead of just mashing it straight?

Tsearfoss

How many times a day do your babies get solids?right now we are doing breakfast and dinner but he wants to eat so quickly and finishes 2jars in under 10minutes!I'm wondering if I should add lunch or wait till 9 months like they recomend.he still nurses every 2 1/2-3hours as well except at night he  nurses at930 sleeps till about 1and wakes up to nurse then sleeps till530 when he wakes to nurse again 

lilqt3929

@Tsearfoss Are you doing 2 jars each for breakfast and dinner? If so, wow!  My LO only eats between 2-3 tablespoons once a day (some days we skip if we are super busy). 

lilqt3929

@VitaLuna thats a good idea to water (or use BM/formula) some of it down maybe even every other time and see if that makes any difference. I just started mixing in the ground oats because LO was blowing raspberries/spitting it out when I was feeding him the watery purees and so far I've had good luck when making it a bit thicker. I'll have to keep an eye on his bowels though. 

jarob747

@VitaLuna since I gave him oatmeal a couple weeks ago and have been since and he's doing fine, I introduced banana yesterday then mixed the two. That should be ok right? What about peas and carrots? He hates peas, but loves carrots and has had both with no reaction so I was going to mix the two. That's ok isn't it? As long as I know that both foods are ok?
@Tsearfoss I can go days without solids and my DS is fine. But I will usually do once a day for breakfast after he nurses. When he goes to the sitter on Wednesday's when I work I'm going to have them give him solids 2-3x a day to help my pumped breastmilk last while he's there.
This is all new to me so I'm getting all the advice and help I can get. 

VitaLuna

@jarob747 oh yeah, definitely ok to mix them if they've had them separate. I think the issue is when you get/make the purées with 3-4 new ingredients in them.. If they react, you have no idea what it was to (and, in turn, would have to re/introduce the allergen again to verify). 

@lilqt3929 I never remember having this issue with DD1, so maybe it was mostly the dehydration. Feeling like the crappy mom here, but I didn't see her awake (just to nurse) for 2 days during that heat wave, so I feel like I may have missed something because I work such long hours.  

@Tsearfoss that is a TON of food! Don't quote me on this, but I think they're only supposed to have around a tablespoon per sitting. It might be worth asking your pediatrician, because I'm not sure what the actual recommendation is. We do solids 1-2x/day.