Feeding Our Little Foodie.

We've been spicing it up . . . in the kitchen that is. That's right, over vats of puréed baby food.

We make all of Noah's organic baby food from scratch--and so far, so good. Though I consider myself to be more "the baker" of the house and Dean "the gourmand", it seems that I have a newly-found knack for puréeing too . . . though it's honestly not that hard.

Last night I whipped a few weeks worth of the following:

• Apricots
• Zucchini with fresh garlic
• Asparagus with fresh garlic
• Apples with a dash of cinnamon
• Mixed fruit surprise! (Nectarines, Apples, Mangoes & Bananas)
• Sweet Potatoes
• Curried Butternut Squash
• Mangoes

Our baby food cookbooks suggest several ways to cook the fruit and veggies before puréeing them, and though they say baking preserves more flavor, I think that it is a less energy efficient method for us. For example, in the time that it takes to preheat our oven and then bake the food, I could have already prepared several batches of steamed food using less resources. I have found that using a steamer basket placed in a pot on the stove top with just a small amount of water in the bottom produces quite yummy and perfectly softened fresh fruits and veggies--the only key is not to over steam.

The best part is the vitamin-packed juices that have drained from the fruit and veggies during the steaming process and fallen to the bottom of the pot. Though we think that we are going to avoid giving Noah juice more than just once or twice a week . . . we think that this is a perfect substitute to sugary store-bought juices. We just dilute the juice with a little bit of water and . . . voila . . . a refreshing treat!

Noah Finn is, unfortunately, still not too keen on avocados which greatly disappoints me because I love, love, love them--and they are oh so super nutritious! I continue to offer them once a week hoping he might cease to gag and spit them out the second they hit his little pink wagging tongue. Other than that, he is a super great eater and has no problem packing down two square meals a day plus plenty of mommy milk in between.

If you haven't already given making your own baby food a thought or two, I strongly encourage you to try it . . . just once. I truly take pleasure in the process--it's just a ton of fun. Plus, knowing EXACTLY what goes in to my little guy's tummy and knowing that it was prepared with love is the most fulfilling feeling in all of the land. The website wholesomebabyfood.com has been an incredible and indispensable resource for all things baby food. They even have a search feature that allows you to type in the name of any fruit or veggie to get detailed nutritional information, cooking directions and tasty recipe suggestions.