Mama-Made Baby Meals

It seems like yesterday that I was making batch after batch of baby purees for my little Bubby. My fridge was stocked with cubes of various fruits and vegetables. It required some effort to always have a good variety of purees on hand, but so worth it. I believe that fresh, full flavor food in a wide variety from the very beginning leads to healthy children that will eat anything!

While Bubby was learning how to eat, he was also figuring out what he liked and didn't like. He showed a particular dislike for green veggies. And dislike is stating it mildly. If I would sneak a bite in, he would actually gag and spit it out. It appeared that I had a picky eater on my hands. But I was not giving up easily. I was determined not have a picky eater. So I continued to feed him green veggies every day, but the only way I could get him to eat them was to mix them with something else. Banana, his favorite food, was the best bet, although just about any fruit would work.

Now, at almost 11 months, this boy will eat anything you offer him! Gone are the days of making batches of purees and disguising his greens. Bubby's lunch/dinner meals typically look like this:
This particular meal is a vegetable/fruit puree made with yellow squash, broccoli, green beans, and nectarine. Next to the puree is rice cereal. I saved a few pieces of veggies for some finger food. Some pieces of nectarine and some peeled and quartered grapes for his fruit, and scrambled egg yolk for protein.

Most meals will consist of a puree of some sort, some rice or 5-grain puff cereal or pasta, bits of cooked veggies, a protein, like cooked egg yolk, cottage cheese, or tofu, and bits of fruit. The puree is made with whatever vegetables and fruit that I have on hand using a little mini blender kind of like this one. Other options include fruit mixed with plain yogurt, bits of cheese, avocado, and of course O's.

Since we eat out a lot, I always bring Bubby's meal in a to-go plate like above. I love my to-go plates with lids. They make it easy to take his meal with us anywhere. While out, people are always commenting on Bubby's food. So many people are amazed that I actually prepare his meals. But as you see, it's really quite simple. And honestly, I can't imagine feeding him the commercial jarred baby food. That stuff seems so gross to me! I want my baby to eat real food that is full of flavor and nutrients, not that over processed and completely tasteless stuff.