Baby Food: 7 Months

If you missed it, I posted Davis’ 6 month, first stage foods here.  Now I want to post some more recipes for when it’s time to introduce some more variety into your baby’s meals.

Davis was definitely loving food more this month!

Here are a couple of things to remember:

• Wait a few days after trying one new food to introduce the next.  This will make you aware of any food allergies.
• I still stayed away from any dairy, nuts, or meat at this point.  (I don’t eat a whole lot of dairy myself, so I’m not in a rush to introduce it to Davis).
• Don’t be scared to try combinations. Think about how we put anything in a smoothie – greens with fruit, etc.
• This is a good time to begin introducing more flavors to your baby’s taste buds.  I slowly began flavoring things at this point – like adding lemon juice and parsley to garbanzo beans, and some cumin on beans or sweet potatoes.  I had been doing the cinnamon on apples, and I continued with this.  Be creative!  If you like a  flavor combo, and it involves foods that would be healthy for your baby – let him/her try it!
• I found some great motivation and ideas here on Camille Styles.
• Bibs are key. 😉
• Encourage your baby to drink water out of a sippy cup.

Here are the foods that Davis ate this month: avocado, sweet potato, oatmeal, apple, banana, blueberry, kale, spinach, lentils, garbanzo beans (with lemon and parsley), carrots, broccoli, pear, apple, nectarine. (meant to also let him try cantaloupe, but I kept forgetting!)

Blueberry Nectarine

I bought frozen wild blueberries from Trader Joe’s.  They are not organic, but they do not have pesticides like regular store-bought blueberries would.  They are tiny and really tasty!  (I use them in my smoothies as well).

Peel and dice 1 organic nectarine (or peach or plum).  Blend the nectarine, 1 c frozen wild blueberries, and a few Tbsp water. Freeze in ice cube trays and store in labeled freezer bags.

This is great mixed with oatmeal in the mornings!

Blueberry Spinach/Kale Nectarine

I made this with wilted kale, but I think next time I would do spinach, so that’s how I’ve written the recipe.  Blend 10 oz organic spinach, then add in 1 c frozen wild blueberries, 2 peeled and diced organic nectarines, and 1/4 c of water.  Blend until as pureed as possible.  Mine was not 100% smooth, but it worked!  Freeze in ice cube trays and store in labeled freezer bags.

Davis liked this warmed and mixed with pureed sweet potatoes or carrots.

Garbanzo Bean Parsley Lemon

Drain and rinse 2 cans of garbanzo beans.  Wash and chop a handful of flat leaf parsley.  Juice 1 lemon.  Blend all of this, plus a few Tbsp of water until smooth.  Freeze in ice cube trays, then store in labeled freezer bags.

Davis likes this plain, but it also works mixed with any of the veggies!  At first, any bean texture threw him off a little, but I kept trying, and now he enjoys them! 

Lentil Spinach

So, full disclosure, it took Davis a while to warm up to this.  Lentils have a pretty strong flavor, but they are so good for babies.  If I mixed them with another veggie, he ate them.

I bought dried lentils, and cooked about a cup according to package directions.  Blend them with 1 c organic baby spinach, and freeze the same way as the other foods.

I always mixed these with something like broccoli-pear.

Carrot

This is super easy!  I have used both whole organic carrots, that I peeled and diced, and organic baby carrots.  For either, steam them, and once they’re soft, puree.  Costco sells large bags of organic baby carrots, so you can make a large batch and have them for a long time!

Green Peas

This is simple as well!  Just steam a bag of frozen sweet green peas.  (I bought organic, but I don’t think it’s necessary for this).  Puree (add a little of the water they cooked in), and freeze like the other vegetables.

An example of a lunch: blueberry nectarine kale with some mashed banana; carrots; broccoli pear

An example of dinner: avocado; peas; garbanzo beans; sweet potato