Food Introductions: Here we gooooooooooo!!!
So, food introductions have always been really interesting to me. We’ve done Whole 30 many times, both the slow introduction and the fast introduction, so we understand the need to pay attention to our bodies as we introduce foods.
For example, adding dairy back into our diet after doing the Whole 30 for the first time, we found out that Ben has a pretty significant issue with dairy. Knowing this, we could make informed decisions about how we wanted to deal with dairy going forward. 😜
Knowing this, we wanted to make sure we did a couple of things for Little Miss.
1) Introduce GOOD foods - focusing on veggies first (America’s Test Kitchen “The Complete Baby and Toddler Cookbook” was REALLY helpful with planning this!!)
2) Take advantage of the things in season (Check out Amy Pennington’s book “Fresh Pantry”)
3) Take it slow and steady with and easy introduction (we are using the simple rules for “reintroduction” from Whole 30) taking 3-5 days to introduce something and watch for reactions
As you probably remember (or you’ll find out now…) I’m a little bit of a spaz, and have some control issues (#sorrynotsorry) and I want to make sure I understand what our options are, and that we make the best decisions with what we can do. This meant that we pulled the trigger a little later then “normal” to start Little Miss out on foods, but we didn’t break the bank, we are getting to try some fun gadgets to help make our life a little easier, and I had plenty of time to research, then actually MAKE her first foods. (HUGE shout out and thanks to her Auntie Amy for all her help!!)
We decided that we would prep several different types of food so we had quite a bit to process, freeze, and still be able to try some out with her.
👉Let me tell you…. it was a crazy, messy, wonderful experience and I even have some tips for next time! 😜
We decided to make up several different things to stock up and see how she did….
Sweet Potato
Cauliflower
Sweet Peas
Carrots
Broccoli
Needless to say… she wasn’t an initial fan of sweet potato… and yes…. I laughed at her….
We decided to steam and then puree all of the foods. Through this process the old saying, “many hands make light work”, really rang true. Also, I am incredibly thankful for my Insta-pot (this isn’t the exact one that I have but mine is getting older and this is the updated version. This is the one I’ll probably replace mine with when the time comes.)
Auntie Amy let us borrow a steaming basket (the one she brought was local but this is the one we are ordering from Amazon: Steamer basket).
It was as simple as:
Making sure we chopped the veggies into small pieces (smaller pieces = less steam time)
Steaming the veggies (cook time varied but it ranged from 4 min - 10 min)
Puree (we used the immersion blender we got for our wedding but here’s the upgraded one: Cuisinart Immersion Blender)
Store - we opted to use a couple of different methods to see what would work best: small batch freezing, large batch freezing, and canning. Storage in the fridge lasts approximately 3-5 days, so we needed a long-term plan for all the food we made!
For the large batch freezing (and sorry….I forgot to take some pictures!!! I’ll try and get some next time!), we used large freezer bags and labeled them WELL (Example: Pureed Sweet Potato Frozen 6/27/23, and yes, I ALWAYS put the year… you never know what will get lost in your freezer!!). We then flattened them, getting as much of the air out as possible, so they laid thin and flat. In doing this, my “plan” is, that I can break off small chunks as we need them, so I don’t have to defrost the whole batch each time.
For the small batch freezing, we are trying it a couple of different ways. First through popsicle molds (these might be a little big for her right now, but I’m excited to have her use these later too), and then through little tiny ice cube trays. The little trays were a little more difficult to fill.
I’m also really excited to be able to use this for breast milk as well. We initially just used a spoon for her to try the first bite, but I’m really focused on helping her with her independence so we got a couple of different self feeding teethers for her. The NatureBond one has different sized silicone pieces so it can grow with her (honestly I’ve been looking at these for a while and really like them so far!!!) and the Haakaa which has a great teether on the other end.
So far she likes both of them, and they have been easy to use with fresh / chilled puree and their big handles allow Little Miss to hold it herself, and it has to be the cutest thing ever!!
We really have been excited to see how her little personality changes as she grows, and her enjoying food with us is just one step along the way. 🥰 We’ll continue to try new foods and new ways of feeding / preserving naturally. ❤️
