Sean and I are kind of into food. While I was not working, I wrote a food blog. (I tried to keep it up after I started back to work, but it started to feel like a chore instead of fun, so I haven’t written there in a while.) We celebrate special occasions with visits to interesting restaurants. We have way too many cookbooks in the house. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that when Maya’s pediatrician gave us the go-ahead to start feeding her solids, it was kind of a big deal.

MMMM, sweet potatoes

This is going to sound like one of those “she’s completely crazy” kind of things. In fact, I think Sean has said as much. So far, I’m preparing Maya’s food instead of buying pre-done jars. I wanted to do this for several reasons. First, I derive a great deal of satisfaction from cooking the food that I serve her. Also, the variety of food we can offer is really limited only by her palate and reasonable caution about the timing of introducing the more allergenic foods. Plus, the food just seems fresher and more appetizing. I look at jarred sweet potatoes vs the ones I’ve just roasted and pureed. The freshly made ones are vibrant orange. Her steamed peas are bright green.

It’s actually much easier than it sounds, at least so far. Most of the time, the instructions are: steam (or roast) food, then puree. Sometimes, as in the case of bananas, it’s simply: puree. For most of the food, I make a big batch and freeze the extra in what amounts to a glorified ice cube tray so I can dole it out as needed.

I won’t lie. It would be easier to stock up on the jarred stuff. It doesn’t have to be refrigerated, and the variety is good. Also there’s no equipment requirement for jarred food. I have a pretty hoss blender, a steamer, and a nice food processor. Meal prep wouldn’t be quite so easy without those.

We did buy a box of iron-fortified oat cereal for her, and that’s what she started on. We’ve been introducing a new food every three or four days since then (so that if there’s an allergic reaction, we’ll know what most likely caused it). Here’s what she’s had so far: apple sauce, sweet potatoes, peas, bananas, avocados, and most recently zucchini. Her favorites are apple sauce and sweet potatoes. She hated the bananas at first – I think she was just put off by the texture – but she warmed up to them over a few days. The avocados were similar except I don’t think she warmed up as much. (The bananas and avocados are mashed up to order, by the way.)

Everything we read said not to expect too much when we first started feeding her, but Maya took to it right away. She had been watching us very closely while we ate anyway, so I think she was just ready. Now she actively looks forward to dinner time when Sean and I both sit down with her to feed her and talk to her. She’ll fuss until we put her in the high chair and then she calms down and waits for her food. When we start to scoop up a spoonful, her mouth pops right open, ready to taste. It is so much fun to watch her try new things. Sweet potatoes – yum. Bananas – yuck. Avocados – double yuck.

You’ll notice in at least one of the pictures that her high chair sits on the floor and we sit on the floor with her to feed her. Here’s the deal: we still have the DINK-only dining room table with a lovely granite top surrounded by very nice upholstered chairs. Nothing about that set-up invites a not-quite-five-month-old to do her worst with banana mush and pureed peas. Instead, we have a good sturdy dining room table on order. Once it arrives, the plan is that we’ll all sit and eat together like civilized(-ish) people. In the mean time, Maya eats on the floor and Mommy and Daddy wolf down their food after Maya goes to sleep.