Learning about Food

If there is one thing that Baby T has taken after me is her looove of food. Since 6 months when we started table food Taya has dug in and eats, boy does she eat! I get tons of questions about it so I thought I would blog about it! 

baby t at 6 months easting an avocado. left part of the peal on so she can grip it. she was amazing at spiting out any peal or even orange casings eating only the insides!  

We decided to go with what has been named 'Baby Led Weening' (BLW) fancy name but what it means is we feed Baby T what we eat and we never mashed or pureed her food - well almost never. Shock horror she lives and we can tell the tale on how it works and what works for us. As a teacher I also feel there is a huge learning exploration involved in this way of food introduction. BLW really lets babies/ children learn about their food taste, texture, feel, colour some of which is lost when pureed and mashed. They develop skills to feed themselves and their fine motor skills develop sooner. Best part is it is fun, messy but oh so much fun

we stared with baby t eating the steamed vegies we had for dinner

So we love baby led weaning because: 

• it's easy (way easier then pureeing then spoon feeding baby)
• it seems natural for us to let Baby T be in charge of her eating
• it lets Baby T explore food in a form that she can be familiar with (unlike purees where only colour and taste differentiates and there is no texture or shape involved) 
• Baby T eats what we eat 
• Watching Baby T build her eating/fine motor skills (this is my fav part!)
• makes us all as a family eat better 

Looking back I fell that added benefits are Taya's ability to eat on her own and with confidents. People I have spoken to about BLW worry about choking which I can totally understand. From what we have observed with Baby T she had  a strong gag reflex at 6 months which helped keep choking at bay. Her reflex to this day helps her deal with food that might be a bit to big or even when she on occasion has been distracted and choked a little she dealt with it calmly and with no problem or intervention from us.  


So here are snack and meal ideas that Baby T loved: 


(please note we often did not follow food introduction guidelines - this was our personal choice as we did not have any food allergies in our family BUT do your own research to see if this is right for YOUR family)


Snacks: 


dippers- viggies, bread sticks dipped in hummus, tzatziki, avocado dip, or this one 
dippers sweet - fruit dipped in yogurt 
Banna pops - cut a 2 inch chunk of banana, stick a popsicle stick in it, roll in yogurt, roll in rice  puffs freeze
Smoothies - options are endless, I hope to share my green smoothie cube recipe with you soon (maybe by tonight!) 
Toast fingers - with either butter, tahini, cream cheese (I mix mine with salmon &herbs) peanut butter, mashed banana & cinnamon
seaweed  - we started with the non salted verity used for sushi
Lara bars
Muffins - I make muffins and breads weekly in my house (we used agave or maple syrup instead of honey or sugar to start)

quinoa, roast veggies and canned mackerel or was it left over salmon (?) that we both had for lunch

Meals:
Meat and potatoes - I roasted or steam vegies cut them and the meat in spires (1 inch or so) and let baby go at it
Pasta - I found elbow or the twisty kind the best to start with
Quinoa - I would make a salad with fish and roasted vegies and Baby T would eat it by the hand full (messy but worth the goodness of the meal)
Scrabbled eggs - mix with veggies 
Boiled eggs - cut in wedges 

so happy eating her favourite meal of pasta! we used to have a specific outfit dubbed the 'pasta outfit' for her to wear as it was sooo messy! 

You can do so much the rule of thumb though is to limit salt intake, eat healthy and as many whole-foods as possible. Start with spires but I soon found Baby T got over that and I cute things into cube shapes. Baby T often let me know that she was ready for the next stage of food or for a whole grape opposed to be cutting it in half. You have to trust your baby on this journey, they are in control and that is ok. My belief is that the child should be in control of their food at this stage it should be enjoyable. Make it about learning and they will love to eat and eat well. You are there as a facilitator, support  in case they need you but really they will show you want they can and can't do. 

by 8 months baby t was drinking water out of a shot glass (it was the best sized cup for her!!)

Few tips to help with the mess - get a bib with arms that looks like shirt, get a splat mat or a picnic table cloth to lay under your high chair (we did not bother as we have hard wood), get a dog to avoid clean up (I wish we could!!).