I've been cooking meals for my husband and I that Bizzy can eat too! Or at least meals that she can have pieces of. Most days I'm still behind her eating schedule, so I end up giving her left overs from the night before while cooking tonight's dinner. I make enough each night for Bruce Wayne and I plus my lunch tomorrow and Bizzy's left overs.
Don't be afraid or overwhelmed to cook a healthy meal for yourselves and let baby eat it too! It's good for the family because:
It forces you to eat healthier. You don't want your baby loaded with salt, carbs, or fat. Try making foods that your baby can eat then you eating it too. It tastes a lot better than you might realize, and you feel so much better too. (As I type that I realize I also made a big pasta salad with light mayo and greek yogart and veggies last night; and completely ate way too much! But I didn't give Bizzy any because she was chowing on stew and salmon left overs.)
It helps the family eat together at the table. This trains your baby what dinner time means, and everyone has heard that eating together at the table is a positive habit for the whole family.
It trains you to have your baby's food ready when yours is ready. Bruce Wayne and I have had issues with this up until recently. I get home kind of late with Bizzy (around 6 and sometimes 6:30) because I pick her up after work. We made sure to feed her at a regular time, which was basically 5 minutes after we get home with her. Then we would end up eating anywhere from 7:30-9:30! Sometimes we wouldn't get to a point to start a quick dinner until after she was asleep. You know how it is! Anyway, if you make meals that baby can eat (or at least eat pieces of) then everyone's meal is ready together and you can eat at a healthy time as well as the baby!
You don't have to buy much (if any) more store bought baby food. This is a money and time saver! I still buy a couple of pouches and jars of stuff in case we are out somewhere and take longer than planned, or in case something happens with the electricity.
It's easier than you think! Just try it!
Try it for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. Plan out your meals on Saturday or Sunday for the whole week. Here is a free printable that I made to help me plan my weekly menus: Weekly Menu Plan. I like having the shopping list area right there on the menu because it helps me know that every meal is covered in the list. Then, I can make one big list before I go to the store (since I shop for two weeks worth of groceries at a time.)
I usually spend a little time on Pinterest looking over recipes. Then I pick two to three staple meals that I know go over well and are easy to make. Then, I try to fill in a couple of new recipes to try. Finally, I add in a left-overs or simple "chicken and salad" night. (I'm trying to get into the make-a-month-of-meals-ahead freezer plans, but I'm not quite there yet.)
When choosing meals, basically anything will work that isn't loaded in carbs and fat (and our pediatrician says "no peanuts or honey yet"). Any baked chicken or turkey recipe works great. If there is a breading that you don't want baby to have, just scrape it off and cut up the chicken. If you do have a pasta and veggie dish, baby can have a little pasta in my opinion, but try to pick mostly veggies. And don't be afraid to just try it and see if baby likes it. If the food just won't go down, try grinding it up in the baby food mill with some fruit or veggies you know they love.
Examples: I tried giving Bizzy salmon left overs for the first time last night, but forgot to take pictures. She didn't really like it, so I got creative. I put it in my baby mill with some peas and pears, mashed it all up, and she chowed down! She hasn't really been eating canned pears or peaches that well. I think it's the texture. I try to mix them in with other things, and eventually she'll get to loving them.
Also, Bruce Wayne made some delicious no-salt-added chicken and veggie stew last weekend. Bizzy LOVES IT. She loves the broth, the veggies, the potato chunks. She just gobbles it up!
Last night I made a "Crunchy Onion Chicken" bake from this awesome, simple, easy recipe. Tonight, Bizzy will have a little for dinner with some peas or green beans! Easy!
Check out these inexpensive food mills, books, and blenders:
The hand food mills run around $8-$10, and this electric blender is only $24! The hand mills hold about a serving size at a time.
Top 100 Baby Purees is a great start for learning what foods go well together for baby's taste buds. But really, you can mix and match about anything. You can even mix veggies and fruits!
You can make a whole week's work of baby food at once with this baby food blender!
Just boil or roast your veggies until soft, toss them in here, and blend them up. This holds more food at a time than the hand mills.
No comments:
Post a Comment