My little sweet potato

Aidan with sweet potatoes all over his face.

Mr. Kamaka'koa has now been introduced to baby sweet potatoes food; Gerber's Organic Sweet Potatoes. I just purchased a book on cooking baby food at home; I had planned on making the baby food for economical reasons but after reading a few things about "regular" baby food it's become more of a, "I only want real ingredients to enter my baby's body" movement. Now this baby food all over Aidan's face is "Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth" and USDA Organic. The ingredients shown are organic sweet potatoes and water but how convinced am I that this organic if these packs of baby food are sitting on a Target shelf in Hawai'i? Unrefrigerated. Anyway, I won't go into a "dietribe" about it but I'm just not totally convinced of this certified organic jazz if it isn't made in front of me or isn't regfrigerated or frozen.

So that's why I picked up the So Easy Baby Food book. It's a "personalized guide to making baby food at home." For me the book is more of a recipe book so that I can properly know how to make baby food for Aidan. It tells me what I need to purchase at the store, gives me some variations on all of the recipes, suggets which foods are good for each stage of the baby's life. It's a pretty nifty book in my opinion. I'm excited to start making Aidan's food - it's another way of connecting with him for me since I will be making his food and watching what goes in it so that he's properly nourished - perhaps I won't miss breastfeeding him so much.

At this stage in Aidan's life I can introduce him to: Acorn Squash, Apples, Bananas (done), Butternut Squash, Green Peas, Pears, and Sweet Potatoes (done). He seems to like the sweet potatoes and I'll continue to feed him them or the rest of the week. Next week I think I'll introduce him to Green Peas. Growing up I couldn't stand green peas but maybe he'll grow up liking them; they are a great source of protein, potassium, iron, vitamin A, etc.

My only objection to the book is the use of the microwave. I'm not sure if it is a European thing but while I was in Norway I got used to reheating leftovers on the stove (the family didn't have a microwave) and felt that the food tasted better from the stovetop rather than the microwave. I dunno - it's probably the whole radiation jazz that I fear but I'm just not that into them. So my substitute will have to be to just use the stove.

I'm also excited for the challenge of keeping my carbon footprint down by trying to only use local produce like mangos and papayas. In a few months I'll also introduce Aidan to fish. I read that if fish is introduce to a baby before he's 12 months that they'll most likely grow up to enjoy fish - if they don't have an allergic reation. It's very important to observe any allergic reaction to any of the foods being introduced. That's why it's suggested to only introduce one type of food per week.

Anyway, that's what I'm interested in at this moment and again very excited about making Aidan's baby food. I'll be researching about "Oregon Tilth" and their organic certification process - mostly because I'm a nerd.