feeding le bebe...

I have had several questions about what we feed the kiddo, what she likes to eat, etc. So here goes!

Evie has been an amazing eater from day one. There isn't much she won't eat! We started her on solids at around 5 months of age, on rice cereal made with expressed milk, the odd piece of fruit in a muslin bag, and progressed to puréed vegetables and fruits, always made on their own to start with. She was eating three meals per day by around 10 months of age.

It's not very fashionable these days to spoon-feed your baby purées, the done thing seems to be a more organic, hands-on approach. But what can I say, I'm a traditionalist - if it was good enough for my parents, then it's good enough for me! Plus let's face it, there is no way I would be able to relax enough to let my baby loose at a plate of spaghetti, with the resultant mess 😂

I am pleased and proud to report that, despite the doom-and-gloom pronouncements we were met with by many, the kiddo has been independently feeding herself with a spoon since the age of 12 months, and very competently I might add! She eats pretty much everything she is given, with no food aversions or fussiness. So don't feel that, just because you aren't doing it the trendy way, that you are condemning your kid to a lifetime of bad eating habits! Moving on...

Breakfast is always cereal (porridge, or lately we have been having Vita-wheats with warm milk) with some stewed fruit, followed by toast...

Bear came to breakfast the other day - and was fed some porridge!

Marmite on rye toast is a real winner in our house! Peanut butter is another favorite, thankfully we don't seem to have any allergies to contend with *touch wood*

Lunch can be a bit more tricky - the kiddo isn't a sandwich fan, to my great disgust. They are so easy and portable! But unless it's toasted cheese, which she pulls apart to eat, she just doesn't seem to grasp the concept. The solution for us is cooked "finger foods", primarily vege-based (she's not the biggest meat eater yet).

This is what a typical lunch looks like lately - homemade zucchini frittata muffin, blueberries and a "yoghurt squeeze". (The muffin recipe is adapted from MamaG Made if you want to go check out her blog for the recipe!)

The tiny one is OBSESSED with these 5am plain yoghurt packets! It basically tastes like a mild Greek yoghurt. We have been giving Evie Greek yoghurt since she was around 6 months old, I've never given her any flavored varieties (I'm a bit of an ogre when it comes to added sugar), so my delight knew no bounds when I discovered these. The only ingredients are milk, milk solids and love cultures. Super portable and easy, and she loves them. Win!

Dinner last night involved some home made chicken breast "nuggets" - just small chunks of breast dipped in egg, then homemade herb breadcrumbs, and baked in the oven. 

Tonight, we are having some home-made mini meatballs - just lean beef mince, breadcrumbs, herbs and Parmesan.

She always has a bowl of steamed veges first - doesn't consider it a proper meal unless there is a vegetable component it seems! 

On Fridays (daycare days) I tend to do a vegetarian tea for her, as they often have meat for lunch and I don't like her having it twice a day.

Salmon with vegetables and brown rice is another favourite, and very quick and easy to throw together. I only give her John West wild Alaskan red salmon - we don't eat commercial farmed salmon, not since I visited a salmon farm when I was younger *vomit* Plus I'm a weirdo and try to buy sustainably caught seafood, and let's just say salmon is not a good choice, environmentally speaking.

We always do "dessert" of an evening - usually steamed fruit, sometimes with a bit of Greek yoghurt added, or some fresh fruit. I grew up having fruit after dinner, I think it's a nice end to the meal.

Morning and afternoon tea might be rye cruskits with avocado, a mini pack of sultanas and a drink of milk (often in babychino form hahaha) 

Evie no longer breastfeeds (stopped a few weeks ago, waaah!), she still has a bottle before bed and we are in no hurry to phase that out.

So that's the kiddo's day on a plate! I'm happy to share more recipes, although they aren't particularly exciting

xoxo