Mommy FTW

The other day I was hosting a playgroup at my house and one of the moms broke out some Snapea Crisps.  The babies were in a frenzy!  Cameron was double fisting them!  I knew I had to find these Snapea Crisps, and fast.  Fresh Direct came to my rescue, as usual.  I ordered 2 bags right off the bat!

Yummy Yummy in Cameron's Tummy

Now, I know these aren’t the healthiest snacks on the planet (I think the Fig Newtons are a lot better) although the first ingredient is “peas.”  But, sometimes it’s good to have a sure fire winner in your arsenal.

Brrr!  It certainly feels like winter out – which makes me want to eat something nice and warm for breakfast.  I posted awhile back about the Oatmeal that Cameron likes to eat that I make with Bananas.  Now that he is drinking cow’s milk I make it with whole milk instead of water and we share it (he ends up eating most of it though!)  I just thought I would highlight the post for my newer visitors in case you might have missed it.  Stay warm out there!

Check it out : What’s Cameron Eating? – Oatmeal with Bananas and Cinnamon!

If you want to try something different, add applesauce, pureed pears, or pureed pumpkin to the oatmeal.  It’s a great way to get some extra fruits or veggies in there.  Also, oatmeal is an excellent source of protein – so this really makes a great breakfast!

I’ve been struggling to get Cameron to eat his vegtables lately, and I had a nice butternut squash my mom had brought me from her garden, so I thought I might as well use it and make some soup – I hoped Cameron would eat it.  But at least I knew I would enjoy it, if he didn’t. Well, it turned out to be a hit, so I thought I would share my recipe:

Tasty Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash cubed

1 apple (I didn’t bother to peel it) cubed

3 carrots cut in big chunks

2 onions cut in big chunks

2 cloves of garlic

Butter, Olive Oil

Low Sodium Chicken Stock

nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste

Here’s what it looked like before I pureed it

Saute the onions and garlic in 1 TB of olive oil and 1TB of butter on medium heat until translucent. Add the rest of the veggies and fruit, stir around and let cook another minute or so. Add enough chicken stock to cover all the veggies. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer untill everything is tender – 30 minutes or so.

Puree or use a food mill. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. I didn’t really add any salt to the soup, but instead added it to my portion as I heated that up. Also to mine I added some hot sauce.

I served Cameron his soup over some rice yesterday, and today I am going to serve it over some orzo (little pasta that looks like rice).

I’m pretty sure you could make this soup with any squash, and just throw in any veggies you have in the fridge!

It’s no secret that Cameron (and mom) love the sweet potato fries at 67 Burger here in Fort Greene.  But we can’t be eating out there all the time, plus all that frying – though delicious – isn’t good for us.  So I was trying to think of a way to make these at home, and make them a bit healthier too.  Chatting with some moms one day at the park, I mentioned that I had bought some sweet potatoes that I was going to cut them up into sticks and bake in the oven.  Someone commented that this was “awfully ambitious.”  I thought to myself that they were right, and then a light bulb went off.

My husband and I order frozen fries all the time from Fresh Direct that we bake in the oven, and I knew there were sweet potato ones too made by the same brand – they are called Alexia Sweet Potato Julienne Fries with Sea Salt.  I defrost them for a few seconds in the microwave and then finish heating them in the toaster oven.  Cameron really loves them, and they are easy for me to make a few at a time.

I know that a baby eating scrambled eggs isn’t news to most of you, but I’ve been trying for months now to get Cameron to eat them, and after being encouraged by my string cheese victory, I tried them again with some eggs I picked up at the Fort Greene Farmer’s Market this past weekend – with success!  It might help that Cameron’s nose is so stuffy he most likely can’t taste anything, but I’ll take what I can get!  I am excited about the veggie hiding possibilities….

I was hanging out with some mommies yesterday in Fort Greene Park and lamenting that now that Cameron is on puree strike I can’t seem to get him to eat his veggies.  A mommy suggested spreading some veggie puree on toast (which I will certainly try) but it inspired another idea – why not hide some veggies in something Cameron already likes?  A classic Mom trick!  I make Cameron’s grilled cheese in the toaster oven on one slice of whole wheat bread (since he isn’t a big eater).  Today I slipped some peas in there and he was more than happy to eat them.  Not the most hearty portion of vegetables, I know.  But I’ll take what I can get!

click to see more posts about What Cameron is Eating

We were in Washington DC over labor day weekend visiting Cameron’s grand parents.  Grandma is an avid gardener and gave me some butternut squash to bring back to Brooklyn.  At first I was going to puree it, but then I thought I should go the finger food route.

I roasted chunks of the squash at 425 for about 30 minutes with a little olive oil until it was golden brown and nice and soft.  I turned it once while it was in the oven.  I put it in a tupperware in the fridge and now at meal time I bring out a few chunks for Cameron to eat.  He loves it!  Roasting the squash really helped to bring out its natural sweetness.  Yum!

I know, it sounds like a weird combination – but avocado and banana has been a big hit.  I’ve also heard from other moms that avocado and apple is a good one too.

Cameron loves food... and spoons

Feeding solid foods has presented a whole new challenge – variety!  Before the only choice to be made was breast milk, or formula?  Now there’s a whole world of possibilities, and I find myself getting stuck in a rut a lot.  One topic I always try and bring up at mommy group is “what are you feeding your baby now?”  So, I thought I would try and do some posts about what Cameron is eating to give some ideas to the moms out there.  Granted most of what I make isn’t groundbreaking, but sometimes all a mommy needs is a little inspiration!

So, today Cameron was eating Ricotta Cheese and some yellow summer squash (which had been steamed and pureed).  Today was his first time having Ricotta.  Apparently, it’s totally awesome!