March 5, 2009

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.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Microwaves have zero danger as far as radiation, but with that being said, food tastes better re-warmed on a stove because you are evenly heating the foot... microwaves internally boil food from the inside out... result? dry food... dry foot equals less tasty ;O)

Anonymous said...

You go girl! Hope I'll have the energy to do the same when I have kids someday. And the mircrowave? Really, you don't need it ... I haven't had one for four years now and only miss it about, mmm, five minutes a year :-)

Ian said...

Organic or not, the process of canning was used to preserve foods long before there was such a thing as non-organic foods. That's why even stuff that spoils easily (like mayonnaise) can last a long time until you open the jar.

Melissa said...

I'm so glad you're learning all about this first! We'll have to have the food conversation and what worked best for you in a couple more months, once we are reading to make the big adjustment.

ANd I'm so glad you left your last comment on my blog. It is so nice to know I"m not the only one that feels that way! And I'm glad you get the extra time with Aidan now that you are in Hawaii. I don't know if that was planned or not, but I do love being able to stay home with Soren - even if it is a big adjustment.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails