[OnTheJourney]

Hi ladies,
I'm looking for some recipe ideas for baby food with meat -beef/chicken/fish/pork. DS is eating a wide variety of veggies and fruits, whole grain cereals and pastas, yogurt and cheese, eggs... so these things can be incorporated to make tastey foods! I tried a "meatloaf" today with beef, veggies, grains, and tomato sauce. It actually tasted pretty good, I ate some for supper before I pureed it. We'll see if DS likes it tomorrow.

I'm not at the point yet where I can give DS a meal from our table food 'cause I cook with too many herbs/spices/sauces ect. I'm trying to curb it so he can just eat what we have, (my goal for between 10-12 months!) For now I batch cook for DS, which works great!

Thanks in advance!
Michelle

[StorkWatcher]

Don't be too afraid of spices. I have cut back on the amount of pepper I use (and I use salt very sparingly), but our little guy loves garlic, onion and especially Italian type seasonings!

I've talked to many moms here whose babies LOVE spicy things, or more ethnic foods that are quite flavorful.

I noticed the regular baby food I was buying in a particular kind was really bland. THen the organic version I started using actually smelled MUCH better and tasted better - I checked the ingredients, and they'd used oregano, thyme, rosemary and onion. Things we'd use anyway, and it made the stuff almost palatable!

[OnTheJourney]

Thanks Stork, for the encouragment. I have used onion and celery to flavor food for him, but was so afraid of anything else. I guess salt is the only really biggie to try avoid. I mostly use herbs when I cook so it should be ok.
DS won't eat the jarred babyfood (probably b/c it is bland) so I make everything. Oh, and we had the 'meatloaf' yesterday for lunch. He loved it!

If anyone has some ideas for other recipes to batch cook for babe with meat, I would appreciate it!

Thanks
Michelle

[mommamarci]

We have not yet tried meat. I think we are going to start it this weekend. However, I am planning to use jarred baby food meats. I read that making and freezing baby food meat does not work as well as fruits and veggies. We are not big meat eaters any way, so he will probably only have meat 3-4 times a week. Once he is able to handle texture, I will have more options. (Like I could just blend up our dinner and feed it to him.) Right now, he still cannot handle anything that is not comepletely pureed. So, I doubt I could make the meats smooth enough. I haven't been able to get broccolli, peas, or carrots smooth enough for him... Texture child... (Of course he gets it from his mother. Dh just laughed at me the other day because I refused to try something because he said it was the texture of cooked spinach. Can't hande that one. Soemtimes I think I am borderline autistic...)

[redbonec]

Ugh, marci, cooked spinach, I'm there with you--those slimy stringy things, yuck.

Anyway, Journey, we haven't started meat yet either. I know I need to do something more with protein and iron soon, but for now K is still drinking 22 ounces formula a day. I have been holding off mainly because I do not eat meat (my husband does).

One thing other than mean you can try now are lentils. I have been wanting too, but haven't gotten around to more than frozen pizza this week!

[OnTheJourney]

Marci - You would be surprised at how well the 'meatloaf' pureed. It was about 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 fine ground grains(rice,oats and millet), and 1/3 grated veggies(carrot,parsnic,sweet potato) and tomato sauce. I added some liquid from the other veggies I was steaming at the time and wow. It was smooter than my peas, broccili and carrots! Now the chicken I made was a different story. lol. Luckily DS is quite the eater and has done very well with everything so far. His only texture issue is Avacado. He loves it but it has to be pureed very smooth. I mashed it with a fork the other day and he yelled at me! He'll eat cherios, bread, take bites of crackers but get those lumps outta my avacado! Funny kiddo! lol

Redbonec and Marci - I am a farm girl at heart, born and raised, and DH would have been if he could have choose, so we are meat everyday type people. But if you don't eat alot of meats, there are so many great things to use and soooo healthy! I am really into the homemade baby food and it's a good thing b/c DS eats like a horse! But I have a book 'Super Baby Food' (google it) And it is all about super healthy eating (no meat but lots of protein and iron and stuff for baby). Lentils are a great idea, along with tons of other legumes and tofu, whole grains and tons of other ideas.
The only thing they don't discuss much is meat. I get that there are alot healthier choices, but its a hard habit to break, so I want to give DS the other great things, but also meat.

[2manyks]

i have pureed everything from my table for my babies. i have hardly purchased a jar of baby food in my life. dont worry about using herbs abd things. your baby will let you know if a food doesnt agree with him. one of my babies favorites was spaghetti with meat sauce. i would grind it up and freeze it in an ice cube trays then keep it in a ziploc. just pop a few *cubes* in the microwave and you've got a quick lunch.

but anything works. leftovers. chicken, rice, lasagne. just skip dessert and your baby will do great!

[redbonec]

Journey, I have read about the book Super Baby Food but haven't read the book itself yet.
For your meat recipe question--the baby food book we do have is The Healthy Baby Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel, and she does have many recipes in there with meat and fish, along with spices, onions, etc. I did see that she another book called First Foods (I think?), have not seen it but just caught that it was a book also by her, and I think more recent than the other.

Our baby K is 8 months now, is it okay to start tomato sauce? And puree pasta with it?

2manyks, I also like making K's baby food, and it is easy to pop the cubes in the micro! How soon did you start giving your babies pureed meals? I am still pretty much giving K the single foods, some mixed, but simple like zuccini and banana mixed tonight. (I know it doesn't sound appealing, but she didn't like zuccini, and then I saw the z with banana recipe in the book I listed above, and now she eats it!)

[HBV]

I'm w/ Stork---as long as it's not hot pepper or too much salt, you are probably fine w/ using herbs & spices. I just gave H what we ate, pureed. I bought organic chicken broth to add to the puree to thin it, and I cooked red meats for him a little longer than for us (we like ours rare). I would also mix things--- like take a few bites of steak or ground beef I'd used for another recipe, then puree it w/ veggies or pasta---he usually liked the texture better when it was mixed w/ something.

[mommamarci]

Originally Posted by OnTheJourney

Marci - You would be surprised at how well the 'meatloaf' pureed. It was about 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 fine ground grains(rice,oats and millet), and 1/3 grated veggies(carrot,parsnic,sweet potato) and tomato sauce. I added some liquid from the other veggies I was steaming at the time and wow. It was smooter than my peas, broccili and carrots! Now the chicken I made was a different story. lol. Luckily DS is quite the eater and has done very well with everything so far. His only texture issue is Avacado. He loves it but it has to be pureed very smooth. I mashed it with a fork the other day and he yelled at me! He'll eat cherios, bread, take bites of crackers but get those lumps outta my avacado! Funny kiddo! lol

Yeah, um Cameron cannot eat anything yet. He gags on the Gerber puffs that are supposed to dissolve in the mouth. So, everything we make is pureed to completely smooth. It kind of stinks because we make a mess every time we eat because the food runs off the spoon. We had a ped appointment yesterday and she said it is not a big deal. Just keep trying and he will get it eventually. Our ped says babes must take at least 30 ounces of formula every day until age 1. So, right now he is getting all nutrition from formula. Food's only purpose at this time is to introduce him to tastes / textures so that when he turns one and we begin milk he will be able to eat with us to get his nutrients.

We did begin baby food jarred chicekn this weekend. He did just fine. (Of course this kid has not met a food he did not like...)