The Attack of Beige Food

Oh hey, remember this post - Baby Food Recipes - the one with all the fancy baby food recipes? Those were the days...the ones when B would eat anything off a spoon and trusted mom and dad to feed him. As of a few weeks ago, those are gone.

He now refuses to eat off of any utensil and prefers beige food, mainly chicken. This has led me to extreme frustration and, honestly, some hurt feelings. Not the proudest of mommy-moments.

Waffles are beige...
B will have that, hold the eggs and oranges.

Something beige in hand...
get that pouch out of here.

I tried for about two weeks to basically force feed him. Pinning him to the high chair and putting food in his mouth when we would open it to cry. This sounds terrible, but most of the time he would stop crying and gobble it up. Then one day he didn't stop crying and it felt like I was torturing him. So I had to stop, or dad begged me to stop...that's besides the point.

In the meantime, I got creative researching recipes with hidden vegetables and strategically placed fruits. Some attempts worked (for a day or two), others failed immediately. I am still finalizing my plan of attack and luckily some of his hesitations have diminished. He got over a little case of hand, foot and mouth and has two new teeth. I have some recipes and tips that I will stick with and even more left to try.

He has decided he will eat out of a pouch, but only when he decides he is ready. He likes to feed other people, and will maybe take food out of your hand after close inspection. Then some times, he will gobble up anything on his tray regardless of color or texture. I am at a loss but will not give up.

So far we have tested... 
Vegeta-balls: Savory and packed with lentils, celery, sweet potatoes and mushrooms. BIG HIT and easy to make.

Banana-Apple-Carrot Muffins: Recipe calls for dates, but I used some apple chunks instead. B likes these about half the time, but would prefer other things given the option.

Sweet potato sticks: Cut sweet potatoes into french fry shape, toss in olive oil, and roast in the oven on 450 for about 15-20 minutes. Sometimes B will chew on these, depends on the day.

Chicken: The favorite...chicken any way he can get it so I just give him whatever we are having. BBQ, Asian, grilled with our favorite seasoning, rotisserie, etc.

Waffles: No Eggo's here. B likes Van's Ancient Grains (I swear they taste like carrot cake, Dad disagrees) and we are trying Nature's Path Buckwheat Wildberry next.

Multi-Grain bread: He likes it plain or with peanut butter, love the fresh stuff at Publix made with peanuts only! I recently topped the peanut butter with some wheat germ for added nutrients and he didn't mind.

Grilled Cheese: I pureed chicken and broccoli together with some fresh shredded cheddar, slathered that on multi-grain bread then topped it with another thin layer of cheddar. Toasted it up and tore in to pieces. He liked this a few times, but wised up quickly...much to my dismay.

The chicken/broccoli grilled cheese.
He liked this the first two times, not so much the third.

Cheesy Eggy Triangles: I made these twice, first time he loved it, second time not so much. I will try again though because it was easy and eggs are super nutritious!

Fruit Shredz: He loves these, the shape and texture are perfect for him. I like them because they seem healthier than the puffs. 

Veggie Burgers/Patties: I got the Publix brand veggie burgers and B seemed to enjoy those. Next we are trying the Boca Burgers to see what he thinks.

"Pizza, where have you been all my life?!" - B

So those are just a few things I have tried to get him through the teething and beige food stages. He seems to have moved on, although his preference for bread and chicken has not gone away...he is just more willing to select other things as well. This will do for now. And he has decided to sample some of my homemade concoctions from the pouches I make with the Kiinde system. This has been great! He actually prefers these to the store bought ones, so that makes me a happy mom!

Banana/Apple/Carrot Muffin and a homemade pouch
with blueberry, apple, banana, oats and spinach.

B's lunch on Wednesday.
Top: Vegeta-ball, roasted red pepper, chicken
Bottom: Strawberries and watermelon pieces

Date Night Dinner, hold the vomit

To save money and spend more time with B, Dad and I like to have dinner at home on the weekends. But it has to be something good...we eat a lot of chicken and vegetables during the week so we need a change of pace. Last Friday I went to Publix with nothing particular in mind. Luckily they had New York Strips on sale. Couple those with some little rose potatoes, asparagus, a quick salad, some wine and we have a Date Night Dinner! 

I use DAK's spices in almost every meal I cook. They make awesome blends that are SALT FREE and the owners live here in Birmingham! The steaks were seasoned up with some DAK's Bourbon Barrel Smoked Pepper and Steakhouse blends. I also added a pinch of kosher salt.

Yummmmm. Sophie was jealous. 

For the potatoes, I added 1-2 tbsp. of Herb Oil (also made in Birmingham). This stuff is good enough to drink and really great with bread or any other starch. I also added some Herbes de Provence because it is Dad's favorite. We wrapped these up in foil and threw them on the Weber with the steaks and asparagus (not shown). 

Mini potatoes are cute and fun to eat!

B joined us for dinner, as he usually does, but wasn't feeling his green beans so I tried some Yo-Baby yogurt. Evidently he was trying to tell me he wasn't hungry because he proceeded to projectile vomit on my house slippers. We learn something new every day. 

Friday's Lesson: all high chairs should have wheels. I missed the second projectile by inches thanks to my quick reaction and our spiffy rolling high chair. 

"MA, NO MORE FOOD!" said B in his OXO Seedling high chair provided by G-pa Steiner.

Needless to say, bath time was quickly followed by ice cream for Mom. Good thing Publix had a Haagen-Dazs BOGO!