Solids

On the morning of the 2nd, we went to the Dr. for Ava's 6-month well baby check up and after Ava's weigh in and evaluation, the Dr. gave us the go ahead to start feeding her solids (other than oatmeal cereal). So, after the Dr. appointment was over, Ava and I went grocery shopping.


Matt and I have made the decision to make Ava's baby food instead of buying it (unless we're travelling or it's unsafe to make the food at home). Since I love to cook, it didn't seem like making Ava's food would be too tasking or difficult and we both liked the idea of knowing what Ava would really be eating...which means that we also decided that we only want her to eat organic food whenever possible. We figured that what we feed Ava is a gift to her health and we want it to be only the cleanest, the freshest, and the best (don't worry, we've done a lot of research on what DEFINITELY needs to be organic and what DOESN'T need to be). Anyhow, while at the store we bought a ton of fresh organic produce and we came home with lots of excitement for cooking it.


On Friday/Saturday, I baked, steamed, and boiled my heart away and had a great time doing it. I grouped the different types of squash, sweet potatoes, and peaches and put them in the oven to roast, got my double boiler steamer out for the green beans, and boiled the apples and pears (after doing research, I found that different cooking methods retain more nutrients for certain foods than others). It didn't really take much time to cook everything and I could do other things with Ava while it cooked. After each food was finished cooking, I just pureed it in my mini food processor and it was perfect. Since I made so much of each vegetable and fruit, I froze it all in ice cube trays with lids that I had bought online. Once frozen, I just popped the cubes out of the trays and into labeled freezer Ziploc bags and put them in the freezer.


Since each cube is 1 ounce of food, knowing how much Ava eats is a breeze. When it comes time for Ava to eat, we just thaw out 2 cubes at a time or nuke it for a few seconds to thaw and her dinner is ready. It's so easy. So, both Ava and I are happy...Ava gets to eat fresh, organic, nutritious food and I get to do what I love, cook.