Cooking for baby

Ever since Coraline was born, I have been so excited to feed her "real" food.  Our doctor advised us to wait until she was 4-6 months old, and sure enough, a few days after the 4 month mark I was giving her a carrot-breast milk puree.  She was anxious to try out "real" food too.  She had been staring at us while we ate and grabbing for our food since she was two months old.  Now, she is almost 9 months old and we have both been having a blast cooking and eating food.

I love to cook.  I love to experiment with new recipes and flavors.  Sometimes my experiments are epic disasters, but usually they turn out okay.  I knew I would want to cook for my baby even before she was born.  Once I learned I was pregnant, I started looking into baby recipes and the equipment I would need to prepare them.  I settled on the Beaba Babycook Pro, and so far, I LOVE it.  I sometimes use it to blend a little bit of fruit for a one-time, instant meal, but usually I use it to make a big batch of food.  I will then freeze the food in 1 oz. portions using these ice cube trays.  When it is time for a meal, I will pop the appropriate number of cubes into the Beaba, usually using a tiny container, and heat it up.  Cora loves it.  She loves trying new foods and textures (except for spinach, which must be disguised by other yummy foods) and I love watching her try them.  I am trying to make sure she is exposed to a wide variety of tastes now and praying that it spares us from a picky eater later.

Some of my favorite recipes are from this book, but I also enjoy trying to come up with my own recipes.  I also have started blending or chopping portions of whatever dinner I have made for Brian and myself.  It is super easy and saves us money.  Now that I have the Beaba, I find it to be convenient to have a piece of equipment specifically used for making baby food.  However, I think it would be just as feasible to cook for Cora with my regular pots and pans and a blender.  I also feel that she is getting more nutritious food than she would otherwise.  I recently made a batch of chicken liver mixed with onions, potatoes, apples, and carrots; it is chock full of iron and other vitamins.  I do let her eat prepackaged food.  Cora loves eating cereal, yogurt, eggs, cottage cheese, peanut butter, and crackers.  She goes nuts for frozen yogurt when we let her have a bite of ours.  I don't cook for Cora because I think that store-bought food is unhealthy.  I mainly do it because I love to cook and I really love watching her enjoy what I cook.

Cora in January, before I figured out how to disguise spinach :-)