For Moms and Grandmothers

Feeding Babies Healthy Food

Leanne Ely, The Dinner Diva asked me if I’d like to write for you all and I felt like I was back in school and got an assignment from a favorite teacher. Her assignment: Write about feeding little ones.

 I was at a neighborhood block party and one of my neighbors was there with her nine-month-old (he’s seven now). This was a baby that was delivered at home with the help of a midwife. No anesthetic, no doctor, no problem. My neighbor was in labor one hour! She brought the baby to the party in some kind of a hammock hung from her neck and he was in a fetal position as he happily slept through the first half of the party.

When it came to feeding time (I love to watch babies eat) the mother hauled out a Tupperware container full of the most ghastly looking green gruel from her diaper bag. (I’m sure that by the time the concoction went through the baby’s digestive system, it looked exactly the same in his diaper as it looked going into his mouth.)

With each spoonful, the baby would make a nasty face and then smooth out his grimace as the bite continued on its way. As we talked she fed, he ate. When the container was gone, I was relieved. But he wanted more! The next course was pureed peaches and it was way more fun to watch him enjoy the non-grimace-producing fruit. I assumed my neighbor makes her baby food from scratch, but I didn’t ask. I think I carried a jealous miff at the one hour of labor.

I remember, years ago, a period in my life that the thought of having another baby was compelling. (I’m sure it’s nature’s way of insuring the continuation of the species.) The thought that brought me to the baby wish came when I was talking to a mother who made her own baby food. She made it sound so easy. “All you need is a blender,” she smiled as she poked another bite into her baby’s mouth and scraped the leftovers off her lower lip and corners. She told me her family ate a lot of fruit and vegetables and she made her baby food from leftovers. She blended up the produce, put the contents in Ziploc freezer bags and froze the food.

I hadn’t been down the baby food aisle for years and I didn’t remember what I’d paid for baby food in the seventies, but I was sure it had gone up and I could save a lot of money making my own if, of course, I had something to feed.

If I were baby making age, I would make my own baby food too. I believe that mother who told me how simple it is to do. Especially now that I’m aware of how harmful excess carbohydrates are to our systems! I did a little research and discovered how much sugar there is in many of the baby foods and it’s appalling!

 If you have a freezer and a Cuisinart – and a baby, put them altogether and start serving your baby real, non-processed food.

 If you are interested in cutting back on carbs and you haven’t done it yet, I recommend my book The Mouth Trap: the butt stops here! I share my journey, along with assignments, and tools to make the change fun.

Love,

P.S. Don't take my word about cutting carbs for your infant. Go to www.google.com and search for carbs in baby food.