What's for Dinner? (And Breakfast, Second Breakfast, and Lunch!)

A couple of days ago I mentioned I wanted to do a post about some of the things the babies are eating right now.  This is not a complete list by any means, and these are just a few things I have stumbled upon in the few weeks we've been trying to incorporate more table foods into the babies' diet.  If I have featured them in this list it is because:  1. Both babies readily eat and enjoy these foods.  2. They are quick and easy to prepare.  3.  They are relatively healthy and I feel good about giving them to the babies.

Another quick note:  For the first feeding of the day at around 7 AM, they still just get 8 ounces of formula.  At the other three meals of the day (second breakfast, lunch, and dinner) they also get 4 ounces of formula mixed with 1 ounce of cow's milk in addition to any other foods I may serve.  They do not always drink all of their formula/cow's milk, much to my chagrin.

I make sure everything is appropriately bite size, and they pick up with their hands and feed themselves all foods set out for them with the exceptions of yogurt, hot cereal, and applesauce.

Breakfast Options

• Cheesy eggs:  I put a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the pan, scramble 2 egg yolks, grate cheese over the egg yolks, cook until cheese is melted into the eggs and the eggs are not too dry or too wet.  Then I break up into bite sizes and serve.  These are a daily breakfast staple for the babies.
• Plain Cheerios
• Yogurt (some flavors with whole grains)
• Hot Cereal with Fruit
• Cereal bars

Veggies and Fruits (Served at Second Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner):

• Cooked peas, carrots, corn
• Fresh bananas, raspberries, blueberries (soon want to add strawberries and blackberries)
• Dole Mandarin Oranges in 100% Fruit Juice

Things that hide a full or partial serving of Veggies:

• Prego Veggie Smart Pasta Sauce:  Can serve over any pasta.  Has two servings of vegetables per 1/2 cup sauce.  No Preservatives, no added sugar.  Our babies love the taste. 
• Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta:  This pasta contains carrots, tomatoes, and spinach.  Comes in several different pasta shapes, our babies really like Rotini.  I like to serve the noodles with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and real butter.  Sometimes with a little grated cheese melted in too.  
• Mott's Medleys Applesauce in Cherry Berry or Peach Apple:  Has 2/3 serving of fruit, and 1/3 serving of veggies!  Tastes great for kids and parents alike!  We usually eat at lunch time.  

Meat:

• Lunch meat (I try to buy Low sodium or No Preservatives options)
• Grilled Chicken Breast:  This type from Hillshire Farm cooks in 60 seconds in individual pouches, is 98% fat free, 120 calories per serving, and has 19 grams of protein.  Has 2 breasts per package.
• They recently tried and loved turkey meatballs that you buy pre-packaged and frozen for dinner at Nana's house, so I am going to buy some and see if they like them at home too on our next grocery store visit
• Last night they devoured chicken tenders and hamburger steak when we went out to eat at Saltgrass so I am going to have to find ways to incorporate these items into dinner times too

Whole Wheat or Whole Grain Items:

• Goldfish with Whole Grains
• Whole Wheat Ritz Crackers
• Cheerios

Miscellaneous:

• Jif Peanut Butter with Omega 3 and DHA and EPA:  Tastes just like regular peanut butter, but you get the added health benefits of Omega 3, DHA, and EPA.  I like to spread on the whole wheat Ritz crackers and break up in bite sizes for the babies to eat as a snack.  

I am still learning and trying out options as we go, but so far we have been very lucky that the babies seem to be open to eating a variety of foods.  Now if I can just get them converted to drinking cow's milk!  

 

Food for Thought

We have incorporated several changes into feeding times, and it is exciting to see the new options the babies have in terms of eating.  One big recent change is the addition of our new high chairs! 

Enjoying our new high chairs!

If you are in the market for a high chair, I would recommend this one.  It isn't too big, rolls around (but also has the option to lock the wheels), has several height settings, a five point harness for safety, easy adjustable trays in both snack and dinner size, and it is a very neutral color.  I would watch the price on Amazon because we looked at Babies R Us ($179) but ended up getting them on Amazon on sale one day for $135!  Also it comes with a booster seat that will last them well into toddlerhood. 

Since we use these high chairs on the 2nd floor during most of the days' feedings, we were able to move the old high chairs (compact space savers) up to the nursery for the first feeding of the day.  This is nice because now that we have chairs up there we can also do a solid at the first feeding (usually yogurt).  

Old high chairs in the nursery now (they even match the wall color!)

Another new thing I have been trying to implement for some time is the baby safe feeder.  This is a product that has a mesh net secured by a handle that allows babies to safely feed themselves.  You can put a variety of frozen or fresh fruits and vegetables in the feeder to allow your baby to begin getting used to the taste and textures of food that is not pureed.  I loved this product in theory, but I had a terrible time trying to get the babies to actually use it.  I tried frozen blueberries (very messy by the way), frozen pineapple, fresh cucumber, fresh apple, and in a moment of desperation, even baby puffs to try and get their interest.  Neither baby had any use for the baby safe feeder except to bang it against their tray.  UNTIL the other day when I decided to try bananas since that is a familiar taste to them.  This was going to be my last ditch effort before giving up.  Well, wouldn't you know it?  Chloe LOVES eating bananas from the baby safe feeder!  She had three helpings yesterday.  I am going to try and find other fruits with a similar texture to try for her next (I am thinking kiwi).  Here is a video of Chloe actually enjoying the baby safe feeder:

Chloe is Bananas for Bananas!

   

Another new facet to feeding time has been the addition of meats.  This has also been a bit of a struggle.  The babies have definitely not warmed up to meats yet.  They have rejected beef with gravy, chicken noodle soup, and turkey with sweet potatoes.  They make faces and gag when we try to feed them meats.  We did find ONE meat that they love and will eat without any problems, and that is chicken and apples.  This sounds gross to me personally, but I think they are used to the taste of apples and so they accept it.  Again, it just took something familiar mixed with something new in order to get their acquiescence.  So, in terms of meat we are giving them some time to get used to the idea and eating a lot of chicken and apples for now. 

One great thing is that they are getting an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables in the Stage 2 foods, and a lot of these food options are organic and mix whole grains, oats, rice cereal, granola, and oatmeal in with the food.  They have also come out with more varieties of yogurt including apple cinnamon with whole grains (their favorite!) and blueberry with whole grains.  In terms of finger food they love any flavor of puffs and a new thing they enjoy are yogurt melts.  I like these items for finger food because they are designed to melt in their mouths and I don't have to worry about a choking hazard.  

The last new thing we've been working on in terms of eating is learning to drink from a straw.  We have been using these cups and I like them a lot.  We are still working on this, but we had a breakthrough today with Chloe when she sipped from her straw by herself several times today.  I think she has the hang of it!  

Sipping from a straw!

That is pretty much it for today.  One last thing I wanted to mention is that all the pictures (except one) and the video were taken with my new Iphone 4S.  I have never had a smart phone before but I seriously love my new phone and I am so pleased at how easy it is to use to send/receive/take pictures and videos.