Workshop #6 - Feeding the Family; First Foods, Healthy Eating for the Whole Family [Archive]

Jacque Savageau

09-10-2008, 09:59 PM

Workshop #6 - Feeding the Family; First Foods, Healthy Eating for the Whole Family.

Welcome to our sixth Natural Family Living discussion: Feeding the Family; First Foods, Healthy Eating for the Whole Family. This discussion will key in on Part 3 – Feeding the Family; First Foods, Healthy Eating for the Whole Family from Peggy O’Mara’s (http://www.mothering.com/sections/about_us/about_us.html#staff) book Natural Family Living (http://www.mothering.com/shop/index.php?target=products&product_id=29778).

Some of the topics we'll discuss are;

Chapter 10 - First Foods

Solid-Food Myths

Solid food does not help a baby sleep through the night
Solid food does not help a baby gain weight
Breastfed babies do not need the additional iron in solid food
My mother thinks I should feed the baby solids

No Need to Rush

Delaying solids decreases your child's risk of developing food allergies
Introducing solids too early can interfere with your child's growth
Waiting to introduce solids is more convenient for you

When is your Child Ready for Solid Food?

Physical readiness
Hunger
Interested in food

Getting Started
First Foods

Fruit
Vegetables
Grains
Nuts and legumes
Meat, chicken, fish, and eggs
Dairy products
Sugar and spice
Drinks

Your Budding Gourmet
Homemade Versus Prepared Foods
Going Organic
Fostering a Healthy Attitude Toward Food

Chapter 11 - Healthy Eating for the Whole Family

Trusting Your Children's Eating Habits

Let your children make their own food choices
Recognize that children have erratic eating patterns
Consider serving one hot meal a day
Start out with small portions
Let go of the idea that your children must clear their plates
Do not worry about unconventional food choices
Let hunger be your child's guide
Do not use sweets as a bribe
Let your children help prepare meals
Do not let mealtimes become battles

Whole Foods Make Healthy Bodies

Whole grains
Fresh fruits and vegetables
Essential fatty acids and sweeteners
Unprocessed foods

Living in the Real World
Food Allergies and Intolerances

Persistent congestion
Recurring ear infections
Frequent headaches
Hyperactivity
Bedwetting
Mucle aches
An anemic appearance

Cow's Milk: Good for Calves, Bad for Children?
A Cup of Apple Juice a Day
The Vegetarian Family

Calories
Protein
Calcium
Iron
Vitamin B-12

Food, Fun and Children

School lunches
Snacks
Sweets
Vegetarian entrees
Tofu
Sea vegetables

Please join us in discussion on feeding the family. We welcome everyone to share their personal experiences, what works for your family, your struggles and your ideas. This is an open dialog and we ask that everyone be respectful of others' opinions. Take what feels right to you and leave the rest behind. Please be respectful to all our members so that the workshop can be a place of meaningful and respectful discussion for all our members. If you have a favorite quote from Natural Family Living, please share it.

We would like to invite everyone to join us no matter where you are in your thinking or feelings. These discussions are meant to be nonjudgmental so please keep in mind when reading members' responses that this is a true discussion based on Natural Family Living and not a place to debate or criticize. For more ideas and information, please see our Nutrition and Good Eating forum (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=686718).

We’re excited to offer this workshop and hope it will give our members a glimpse into the grassroots of Mothering magazine and Natural Family Living.

This workshop will be facilitated by our moderator Shantimama (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/member.php?u=2550). She is here to guide the discussion and keep it on topic. She will occasionally post references or ask questions to keep the conversation flowing. Please feel free to contact her at any time with questions, suggestions or concerns. Please keep in mind our workshop guidelines (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=874173) and current user agreement (http://www.mothering.com/mdc/mdc_useragreement.html) at all times.

We are compiling a Natural Family Living Resources Sticky (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=876855) which we will update with each workshop. Please feel free to refer to it for more information. For articles and information on our current workshop, please see the Feeding the Family; First Foods, Healthy Eating for the Whole Family (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showpost.php?p=10934981&postcount=8) page.

janasmama

09-11-2008, 12:03 PM

Well, I'm going to jump in here and start with the fact that my DD just started preschool. I know this skips Chapter 10 and goes right to the end of Chapter 11 but...it's my current dilemma with feeding the whole family.

Although I can pick her up before lunch, she often wants to stay to eat lunch at school...she'd stay there all day if I let her. :wink

Anyway, I let her stay for lunch the first time on Tuesday. This has been the first time that I haven't been in 'control' of what she is eating. When I got there to pick her up they were giving them dessert....chocolate pudding with marshmallows in it :irked:. I'm thinking to myself...do you really need to put marshmallows in the pudding?

Then I was given a little newsletter...on the back it was talking about healthy eating and parents feeding their children well. At the bottom of the statement it warned parents to avoid high fructose corn syrup....which I do like the plague.

I'm just a little annoyed that the school would send this home yet be feeding the kids pudding with marshmallows in it for a lunch dessert. I want to talk to the director about it but I just feel like I'm nagging but I know that if no one ever says anything than nothing gets done.

Has anyone ever approached a school about the food program? What were the results?

LionessMom

09-11-2008, 12:11 PM

we neeeeeed to eat healthier. DH might have a gall bladder or an ulcer problem and my kids hate veggies. i would so love to get rid of the processed everything that we eat. we always have some combo of meat, potato or noodle, and some canned veggie. and i am on a budget. i can make it stretch pretty far on what we eat now but would love to have more fresh veggies and way less bad fat. def need to cut out processed sugar (I am a junkie but hide it from my kids). oh help please. i will be watching this discussion eagerly!

georgia

09-11-2008, 12:30 PM

Carrie, here are a few past Mothering articles about school lunches you might find helpful (which have excellent links, too for further info):

School Lunches that Nourish (http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/school_lunches.html)

Slow Food (http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/family_society/slow-food.html)

Homemade Lunch (http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/homemade-lunch.html)

Healthy School Lunches (https://www.mothering.com/community_tools/toolbox/growing_child/lunches-snacks.html)

Liven Up Lunch (http://www.mothering.com/sections/news_bulletins/october2007.html#lunch) (lunchlessons.org looks particularly helpful for info about approaching your school!)

Jacque Savageau

09-11-2008, 12:32 PM

Carrie, thanks for opening the dialogue. I too have been frustrated with some of the school food choices. My kids both have food allergies and my son is a vegetarian. We've found that packing lunches and snacks works best for us, but I understand your little one is going to want to eat what everyone else is eating. My advice - be creative and make everything look 'fun'. Sandwich and an apple gets boring pretty fast.

My son enjoys rice dishes and will eat them either cold or hot. We also pack black or refried beans in either a salad or with a burrito shell, cheese, and veggies. Both the kids love soup, I can make a Veggie soup for both hearty turkey veggie, potato with ham or beef noodle, this way my daughter gets some protein. Mashed potatoes are also a big hit - you can put last nights leftovers on top.

Snacks are simple fruit, cut veggies with or without dip, cheese, yogurt with fruit. I also make home made muffins for both breakfast and lunch and you can make some delicious cookies with flax seed, nuts, oats or whole grains.

I like to freeze water in a liquid tight cup and place it in the lunch, it keeps the food cold and they have a nice glass of ice water at lunch.

I found this article on the main page with ideas for school lunches that has some great ideas.
Secrets of the School Lunch Box: Fresh Healthy Meals Kids Will Actually Eat (https://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/lunchbox.html)
By Lynn Walters
Issue 92, January, February 1999

earthmama369

09-11-2008, 12:43 PM

I have two kiddos, ages 3 and 2. My youngest has food allergies related to gut damage at birth. We're dealing with a few issues surrounding that right now.

1. How would you balance your 3-year-old eating some of her favorite foods when your 2-year-old can't have any?

2. In theory, ds should outgrow his allergies as he gets older and his gut heals. When do you decide to test that?

3. I'm facing an elimination diet to help get a handle on my IBS and panic disorder: wheat, corn, dairy, citrus, alcohol, caffeine, fats, sugar, dairy, and foods high on the glycemic index. Because I'm still nursing ds, I also can't eat foods he's allergic to: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers, including anything with "spices," paprika, curry, potato starch, or potato flour in the ingredients. I'm a pesco veghead, so nothing with gelatin or land-based meat. Er...what the hell am I going to eat while we figure this IBS thing out? I need to maintain a decent diet while I do this because I'm still nursing and recovering from a serious muscle-based illness. Eek.

janasmama

09-11-2008, 12:50 PM

Thanks for all the input and links.

Posting here actually helped me get up the nerve to call the director and ask her about lunches and the high fructose corn syrup.

She was really nice and said that most of the items they give the kids are organic and that I was right that marshmallows didn't need to be added to the pudding.

I'm not going to worry too much as DD is only going twice a week and won't be eating lunch there both of the days. Once she is in kindergarten I will be packing her lunch for her.

It's really hard to leave the duty of feeding your child up to someone else and not feel like I'm being 'overprotective' or something but I'd rather someone think that I'm a bit 'anal' then have my DC eating non-nutritional food.

janasmama

09-11-2008, 01:12 PM

loraxc

09-11-2008, 04:34 PM

The links you posted, georgia, are really hard to read because of weird symbols everywhere in the text (I use Firefox, but I doubt this is a browser thing--I think it's an HTML issue).

Arwyn

09-11-2008, 05:22 PM

The links you posted, georgia, are really hard to read because of weird symbols everywhere in the text (I use Firefox, but I doubt this is a browser thing--I think it's an HTML issue).
It's probably Firefox (do you use a Mac? I do) -- I had the same thing on a lot of webpages (most aggravatingly on Mothering), but it seems to have gone since my latest Firefox upgrade. I never had it happen in Firefox on my partner's work laptop (Windows XP).

BurgundyElephant

09-11-2008, 05:44 PM

My child's diet was a component of why we originally chose to homeschool. I looked at the on-line menus of what they served at her school and found the choices substandard. Although I could obviously pack a lunch every day, I didn't want there to be ongoing questioning "Did you trade things with anyone?" "Did you get any candy?" Since DD#1's behavior is very dependent on what she eats I didn't want to have to deal with that constant issue.

I do pack snacks for everywhere we go. I just started making whole-grain breads again as the bread costs at the store around $4 a loaf for decent bread with no HFCS. I make sandwiches daily and I joined a CSA again toget local organic produce. I did cut down on the amount of milk my two little ones get - not somuch for health reasons as I can't afford to buy as much as they'd want. Since food costs have risen here about 40% since last year we are eating less meat then we used to. If I switched back to "big market meat" we could still eat as much meat as we used to, but since I want free-range it really ups the price. We do have meat at dinner but not at lunch. At breakfast we may have eggs or oatmeal.

The best advice I can give is to go cold turkey when making a switch off all the "junk". If you stop giving it and start giving healthy choices, eventually they will eat the healthy choices. Hold firm and don't go back. My kidlets are to the point now where they will tell another adult "I have to ask my mom" when they are offered a treat. And they don't complain if I say no. (Usually it's yes because the other Mom has already asked me.)

janasmama

09-11-2008, 07:52 PM

Since food costs have risen here about 40% since last year we are eating less meat then we used to. If I switched back to "big market meat" we could still eat as much meat as we used to, but since I want free-range it really ups the price. We do have meat at dinner but not at lunch. At breakfast we may have eggs or oatmeal.

My kidlets are to the point now where they will tell another adult "I have to ask my mom" when they are offered a treat. And they don't complain if I say no. (Usually it's yes because the other Mom has already asked me.)

Thankfully we have some locally grass fed beef we can buy here. I usually just buy the ground beef and do different things with it. I even use it is stews, I just don't crumble it as small as I would for tacos.

How old are your kids? I tell my 4 yo she needs to ask mommy for things first when someone offers her something but she doesn't do it all the time.

Amys1st

09-12-2008, 05:40 PM

I was waiting to post to find out what people really wanted to know. I have always cooked from scratch and even started tribes of the like here and are always well received.

Both my mother, grandmother(s) etc always cooked from scratch and so did my MIL so this is not foreign to me. My mother did because it was the way a young couple with 3 and then 4 kids stretched their dollar in the
70s. She made pizza dough from scratch, pizza sauce etc. We didnt have any junk food in the house- one it was expensive and two, with 4 kids it would disappear too quickly. We had plenty of fruit and after school we would have pretzels, cut up fruit and my mom made cookies from scratch like I do. They were reserved for after dinner. We had soda but drank it on "popcorn" night.

Turns out, DH had a very similar upbringing but he is one of 9 children, he being number 8 of 9. So when he was a young boy, his mom had to cook for a table of teens with hearty appetities. My SIL always jokes when she first came over for dinner before marrying BIL he told her- IF you something you like gets passed to you at dinner, take enough because it might not come back! She is a great cook and can stretch any meal really well.

I always cooked for my boyfriend (now DH) in college as well as my roommates and their boyfriends and when we were newly weds we both cooked all the time. DH is also a very good cook. We always sit down and eat dinner each and every day.

So when it came time for our own family, it was easy to get our kids to eat because it was in front of them. Even as new borns they were at the table with us. Sometimes it would be me eating dinner as they did- I would have a babe on me while eating. Later they could sit up on DH's lap or in a bouncy on top of the table to watch us.

When they would reach for our food, we started introducing solids. At first a bit of rice cereal drowned in breast milk and they would just squish it with their hands and we might spoon some in their mouth. Maggie would turn it into body paint! Then it was a baked organic squash or sweet potato baked and then grinded down to mush. I made all my baby food and then put it in ice cube trays for later. When it was meal time, we defrosted a few and fed the kids.

I did worry about things for Liz, dd1 that I didnt for Maggie dd2. Such as, we would not give Liz fruit until she had veggie so she didnt not only eat sweet things! For Maggie her first solids were french fries and a donut. :wink

We were at a McDonalds playland meeting a group of moms (obviously not from my mdc friends!!) and Maggie reached over and grabbed a friend of mine's french fry at age 5 mos corrected so about really 9 months old. That was her first "solid" food. Then on the morning of DH's bday, we had special pasties/donuts with our coffee that morning. Maggie leaned over and grabbed a hunk of glazed donut. Try taking that away!

When she was about 13 mos old I was bringing in the groceries. It was a long weekend and I bought some more pastries (our local grocery has the best bakery and DH is a huge huge fan) Maggie was on the ground going thru the stuff and found the glazed rolls. She somehow picked off the wrapping and was picking at the roll. DH said "Maggie what are you doing?' she looked up and said "YUM"

Where my DH has a major sweet tooth, I love spicy things. So both girls will eat some strange things. We were at a deli and Liz at age 2 was pointing at the kalamata olives. She also loves pepperoni and sushi. Maggie has a thing for thai food and sticky rice. I dont know if both were breastfed so long and would eat it anyway thru the breastmilk, but since we eat so many different spices, meats, veggies and fruits, both girls will eat many many things.

One thing I noticed (thanks to MIL) is anything with a toothpick, kids will eat. She jokes you can put liver on a toothpick and kids will eat it. We make a fruit kabob for functions with kids and I have yet to not bring home an empty dish. The kids go crazy for a huge stick of fruit.

I also at dinner time will put something special as a side that I know the kids will eat. So they eat their meat (we eat non meat veggie meals and meat meals here) rice (kids love rice in my house) or whatever the side such as string beans etc. But I will also include a cut up raw carrot, cut up apple or peach or even raisons on their plate. I have found that something they already know goes well with the other things and they eat or at least try the new thing on the plate or just what is there.

Amys1st

09-12-2008, 05:46 PM

How is everyone doing on their grocery shopping with the rising cost of living?

We've had several bills increase over the last few months including our grocery bill. Groceries have always been the one thing that we would spend extra money on for the sake of eating healthier. Because the grocery bill is one thing that I can try to reduce, I'd like to while still getting a good variety.

We still eat healthy...it's just a lot simpler and not as much variety but I believe that a big part of eating healthy is having variety of veggies, etc.

Funny, my style of menu planning, cooking from scratch and using what I have on hand was always frugal or old fashioned. Now more than ever, I have people asking me to show them how to "cook like I do"

I feed the freezer after double batching cooking or find things on sale that frozen raw can be used later. More than ever, I shop the sales and now we have our fruit, veggies, milk and eggs delivered. I also annually buy a side of beef from a local source. So I do not have to go to the grocery as much but I am very creative in stretching the food I have because of rising costs.

We have also recently started baking our own bread. Bread is sooo expensive now like everything else so we added that to our scratch cooking.

We tell our delivery service to send a different box of veggies or fruits every week. That way we have to use what is sent and thus making us try new things. ITs actaully a lot of fun but also could get serious with dds. A few weeks ago they sent 2 lbs of organic strawberries- dd1 said- FINALLY!! Since I wont buy them right now, peaches and blueberries are in season in IL! Also everyone begged for apples all summer- not in season until this week. Pretty soon we will be drowning in apples, you can wait. In the winter, its citrus fruits.....

amnesiac

09-13-2008, 10:31 AM

My first children were twins. When they were born dh & I were young & didn't have a big grocery budget. I really started making their food myself because we couldn't afford the jarred stuff. Then one time I bought some for an outing & they kept spitting it out. I tasted it myself & realized the fruit tasted unripe, sour & rather flavorless. So from then on, we always fed them the same foods we'd eat ourselves with the same seasoning & all. They're 13 years old now & actually have a much more adventurous palate than I do. And they've always been very good eaters. I'm not certain if it has anything to do with how their diet started out or not - maybe it would have been a part of their personalities anyhow. They actually don't like the school lunches & prefer to take homemade.

Growing up, my mother & grandmother were always extremely health & nutrition conscious. We always had foods cooked from scratch & took our lunches. I sort of got away from that as a young adult as I explored more of the prepared foods that I'd never experienced before. But now that I have a family of my own I really appreciate the things I learned from them about feeding a family. My kids have an enthusiasm for good food & enjoy knowing how it's prepared so I hope I am able to pass along some of those things I learned along the way.

We really enjoy eating fresh things from our garden but we still spend about $350/week for our family of 5. I try to buy things in season when they're less expensive & keep an eye out for sales. I used to make a menu for the week & then make my grocery list from that but now I've taken a different approach. I see what the best prices & quality are for that week, buy enough volume of those meats & produce items and keep my staple pantry items constantly stocked. That way I make my menu according to what I was able to buy, if that makes any sense.

lachingona1

09-15-2008, 11:52 AM

We eat raw living food. My almost 4 year old was raised for the first 2 1/2 years on a diet of no meat, dairy, sugar, or any processed foods, basically just fresh organic cooked foods. She had food allergies and had pretty bad eczema behind her knees and elbows, she is 90% raw and all the eczema is gone. My 14 month old has never had cooked food of any kind. Her first food was a young coconut and avocado. She is still nursing about 7-9 times in a day, mostly at night. Her favorite food right now is diced up cucumber and avocado with flax seed oil. They both love green juices and smoothies made up of things like kale, celery, cucumber and apple or whatever is in the fridge. We eat lots of nuts and seeds. Last night we made raw brownies out of agave, cacao, coconut butter, coconut oil and walnuts and DD had them for breakfast.

We spend about $275 a week on food, we just had Whole Foods open up so I'm buying groceries there. Most of there stuff is pretty overpriced. Hopefully our bill will go down in the winter.

Autumn C.

09-15-2008, 02:35 PM

oyinmama

09-15-2008, 03:05 PM

our LO is a hair shy of 5 months and i'd like to talk about first foods. :)

i was getting ready with my cookbook and steaming/pureeing equipment for 6 months but my mom says wait until 9. and to def. start with a veg... i've never heard of starting with meat either!

janasmama

09-15-2008, 03:07 PM

Hi!

I was wondering if anyone wanted to talk about first foods.

I have a 6 month old that I think I will start on solids soon.
I read an article (or advice column?) that recommended meat as a first food. I had never heard of that before! I don't know how i would get meat to be as creamy as rice cereal. Meat is not listed as a "Stage 1" food in all the various baby books I have. Why?

Of course, I've heard of feeding rice cereal. But introducing a carb first is not a good thing, right? Veggies, fruit?

When did you start solids? What did you choose? Why?

Any info would be great!

I've always started with avocado as a first food. It's got a really creamy taste and lots of good healthy fats. Avocado is a fruit and some people like to start with veggies first so their children don't get that 'sweet' taste and only want sweet....but avo's aren't sweet.

My DS didn't really like avo's though so we gave him butternut squash b/c I got a bunch from a local farm and they keep well over the winter. After a while I mixed apple into them.

After that I gave him mashed up pear with pureed spinach and mango. He loved that.

Some people do infant led weaning where the baby only eats tiny chunks of small food that they can pick up themselves... I do this also but I like to do some spoon feeding though with thinner foods. Partly b/c I think it's fun.

As far as when I fed my DC, I waited until they cut a tooth and were at least 6 months old (DS didn't really eat food until he was 10 months. Food was only a novelty though and I never had a schedule for them to eat and only fed them if it was a happy thing for them...if fussing happened we stopped b/c to me that's a sign that they just aren't ready at that time. Try again another day.

ishereal

09-15-2008, 05:05 PM

Chapter 10 is definitely where I am at right now. Ds will be 6 months next month and already displaying signs os readiness. I am so nervous about how to give him solids, what to give him, how I will incorporate my breast milk etc. so much to think about, I feel like I am starting all over again :o

Autumn C.

09-15-2008, 09:49 PM

Mama Poot

09-15-2008, 09:53 PM

Well, I'm normally pretty strict about what my family eats, but lately we've kind of strayed because we are getting ready to move. I can't wait until life is normal again :dizzy:

My own "food history" is quite mixed. My parents divorced when I was only 15 months old. At my mom's, where I spent most of my time, she used to cook more when I was in elementary school. But by the time I was in middle school she didn't as much and we started eating more processed foods. As I got older, in high school, I started doing most of the cooking and made dinner most nights, so I learned a lot about how to cook during those times. But even then my diet was not good--way too much refined sugar, hydrogenated oils (I did not start using butter until I was 18 and left home! It was all country crock before that....yeech)

However, on the other side there was my dad and stepmom, who raised us on many "Traditional" foods (lacto-fermented veggies, pickled everything, wild game, fresh eggs, etc....) As a child I found these things kind of foreign and didn't always enjoy them, but that's mostly because I just wasn't around it enough. However, now that I'm grown and have children, I have returned to my "TF" roots and I'm so excited to be learning and passing these traditions on to my own children. I've been calling my stepmom constantly and asking her all sorts of questions....my next one is going to be "Can I borrow your dehydrator?" I have tons of peppers I need to dry...

Canning has become a way of life, and one that I hope to continue until I'm dead and can't do it anymore :p Ive got fed up with everything in the grocery store not being good enough. Not even the expensive, fancy-shmancy organic stuff was good enough. I wanted it to be picked by me, made in my kitchen, stored in my pantry. No machines, no factories, no long ride on a train or truck.

I think the most wonderful thing you can do for your children is to nourish them well while they are young. It is so, so valuable. And I feel blessed to have the chance to do this for my children, and do better than my parents did, and hopefully my kids will do even better than we did for them.

janasmama

09-16-2008, 01:42 AM

Funny, my style of menu planning, cooking from scratch and using what I have on hand was always frugal or old fashioned. Now more than ever, I have people asking me to show them how to "cook like I do"

I feed the freezer after double batching cooking or find things on sale that frozen raw can be used later. More than ever, I shop the sales and now we have our fruit, veggies, milk and eggs delivered. I also annually buy a side of beef from a local source. So I do not have to go to the grocery as much but I am very creative in stretching the food I have because of rising costs.

We have also recently started baking our own bread. Bread is sooo expensive now like everything else so we added that to our scratch cooking.

We tell our delivery service to send a different box of veggies or fruits every week. That way we have to use what is sent and thus making us try new things. ITs actaully a lot of fun but also could get serious with dds. A few weeks ago they sent 2 lbs of organic strawberries- dd1 said- FINALLY!! Since I wont buy them right now, peaches and blueberries are in season in IL! Also everyone begged for apples all summer- not in season until this week. Pretty soon we will be drowning in apples, you can wait. In the winter, its citrus fruits.....

It seems like having an extra freezer can help with making more things from scratch. I would love to make my own bread but it's just not something I want to do on a weekly basis and with just our regular fridge/freezer, the storage space isn't there. Neither is the option of buying half a cow. :lol

I cook a lot from scratch but I've always liked to make things that have not so ordinary ingredients and I was buying a lot of organic foods. With our budget I'm finding that I have to be picky about what I buy organic.

We go to our local farm and I spend almost $4 on a cantaloupe instead of getting one on sale at the grocery store for $1.50....same thing with the rest of the stuff there...

Amys1st

09-16-2008, 08:27 AM

We bought the freezer in the last year after waiting several years for space etc. We had a mini freezer in our old house that worked well and left for the new owners because I could buy a huge huge freezer for my bsmt in my current house. I am fortunate that we have the space for the huge freezer plus my larger pantry I have now. But, this was one of the reasons we bought the house- the larger area in my bsmt for the freezer and the pantry.

But in my previous space - about 20% of my space now, I was still able to stock up, plan etc. Of course there would not be room for 1/2 a cow then!

oyinmama

09-16-2008, 11:46 AM

oyinmama,

Would you mind sharing the reason behind waiting until 9 months?

i'm sorry, i was incomplete/flippant in tone. she wasn't saying 'don't start until 9 months, no matter what' - but i was kind of raring to go, have my babyfood cookbook out and was talking about rice cereal and buying a steamer, and she was like, 'don't rush. you don't HAVE to start him on solids at 6 months just because he's six months. wait until he tells you he's ready. there's plenty of time, you guys didn't start solids until like 7, 8, 9 months sometimes.'

she was basically saying, wait for his cues, he'll ask when he's ready. and don't do what i was talking about (slowly introducing solids if he hasn't 'asked' for them) until 9 months or more.

Autumn C.

09-16-2008, 12:41 PM

she was basically saying, wait for his cues, he'll ask when he's ready. and don't do what i was talking about (slowly introducing solids if he hasn't 'asked' for them) until 9 months or more.

So, since my Littlest has "asked" for them she'll get them.

ishereal,

I'm nervous too! What's that about? :D

mean_jeannie

09-17-2008, 02:45 PM

So veggies is a common way to go, right?

<snip>

My Littlest has been teething forever but has not actually cut teeth yet. But she's been practically lunging for our food for over a month! I feel like I'm starving her! (I know I'm not!)

I've given her utensils to play with and she was not amused. She wants the food. :o

Pureed carrot was an early food for my boy, as were peas.

My son showed he was ready at 4.5 mos. He would watch us eat and mimick us by licking his little lips. He would try to grab our forks and divert them to his mouth. So I fed him! The first thing he ate was mashed banana. Then we mashed avocado and then ripe pear.

I made baby food cubes and froze them. But when he got really good at picking up food that would actually make it to his mouth, I stopped pureeing and grinding and just cubed up soft foods for him to eat.

It was great fun. And now I have a little booger that still loves those first foods - well not pear anymore, but he still adores avocados and bananas, as well as carrots and peas! :love

BTW, all the food I pureed I used breastmilk in the puree. I did feed him oatmeal when he was 6 mos and I used breastmilk for that too.

Geez, now I am missing breast feeding, :lol !

And I forgot the other topics, so I have to go back and look. :innocent

ishereal

09-17-2008, 09:57 PM

So, since my Littlest has "asked" for them she'll get them.

ishereal,

I'm nervous too! What's that about? :D
Don't know but I feel I'm some how entering a new world of mommy (ing)!!! lol

mean_jeannie

09-18-2008, 01:23 PM

One thing I noticed (thanks to MIL) is anything with a toothpick, kids will eat. She jokes you can put liver on a toothpick and kids will eat it. We make a fruit kabob for functions with kids and I have yet to not bring home an empty dish. The kids go crazy for a huge stick of fruit.

:rotflmao

My sister told me about this trick and it works here too!

My ds is very sick right now. And like any sick toddler (or adult for that matter) he just doesn't want to eat. Of course as his mama, I WANT him to eat SOMETHING! :lol

So I was very happy to see that he ate good things. For example, dh tried to give him a tortilla chip which he refused. I offered some scrambled egg and he did eat that. It makes me feel confident that he can make good food choices and already does. I have no doubt in my mind that it is offering whole foods at home (where I also cook from scratch) that will continue to guide him later. More often than not when he chooses his own snack, it is something healthy.

As for the fruited jello he gets at daycare - I'm just going to have to get over that aren't I?! :o

Autumn C.

09-18-2008, 10:10 PM

I made baby food cubes and froze them. BTW, all the food I pureed I used breastmilk in the puree. I did feed him oatmeal when he was 6 mos and I used breastmilk for that too.

I remember hearing somewhere (who knows where) that freezing homemade baby food destroys most of the nutrients in the food. That prepacked baby food would be "better" in that regard.

Is there any validity to that? Or is it a line of hooey like so many I've been fed before?

mean_jeannie

09-19-2008, 07:26 AM

I remember hearing somewhere (who knows where) that freezing homemade baby food destroys most of the nutrients in the food. That prepackaged baby food would be "better" in that regard.

Is there any validity to that? Or is it a line of hooey like so many I've been fed before?

I don't know if it's hooey necessarily! :lol But my recollections tell me that frozen food retains more nutrients than canned or jarred food. And if you make purees with the veggies just steamed enough to puree you won't have cooked them so much that there is a significant loss of nutrients.

I do know that freezing breaks the cell walls of food - maybe that was the destruction you were recalling? It's why many food frozen in a home freezer have a funny texture after freezing - a home freezer takes too long to freeze. Packaged foods don't have that issue because they are flash frozen and thus suffer less cell wall damage.

Perhaps there is a more knowledgeable mama that has links?!

Amys1st

09-19-2008, 07:59 AM

BTW, all the food I pureed I used breastmilk in the puree. I did feed him oatmeal when he was 6 mos and I used breastmilk for that too.

Geez, now I am missing breast feeding, :lol !

Funny you say, this whole thread talking about making baby food etc is bringing back memories! And yes, I have been nostagic about bfing this week!

lisavark

09-21-2008, 11:12 AM

My DD will be seven months this week (!!!) and we're still only barely starting on solids. Like other moms here, I was nervous about it when she turned six months. DH had been really eager to "get to feed her too" :lol, and I kept telling him we could feed her solids at six months, but then I just didn't feel ready. I still don't know why. When she was six months and one week, I finally gave in and gave her a little bit of mashed-up banana on my hand. She gagged on it, which is normal for self-feeding, but it was a little scary, and then she cried and was pretty upset about it. About a week later we gave her some avocado (again, just mashed up and let her self-feed), but she wasn't very interested. She's been grabbing at our plates for months, but I think it's more that she's interested in EVERYTHING we're doing than that she's interested in food per se.

Anyway, today she's a few days shy of seven months, and we gave her a little meal this morning of avocado and banana. I didn't mash it at all this time, just cut them into long pieces so she could hold part of it and put part of it in her mouth. And she LOVED it! She gagged a little once or twice but wasn't upset about it at all--just kept on eating. She really had fun with it and I felt so much better about it than I did the first time.

All that to say, I really think we as mamas should listen to our instincts about when to start foods. DD cut her first teeth a while ago and she's had all the "signs" of readiness since about five months, but somehow I just knew she wasn't quite ready. And this morning I just knew she was. I still probably won't give her food every day for a while--maybe a couple of times a week, whenever I get around to it. :) Too much work for me to cook for her every day!

(I am so impressed with you mamas who cook all your meals, by the way...I am working on moving in that direction but I HATE cooking...DH likes it but doesn't get home till 6:30 or 7 so it's not very practical for him to cook every night...and man, anyway, it's a lot of work. I don't know how you do it. And from scratch! I used to do that a lot more before DD was born when I wasn't working, but now...! Some days it's all I can do to get the diapers washed before we run out.)

Anyway, for those of you with six month olds, I do think that if you're nervous about it, there's probably a reason...wait till you feel right about it, and then start really slowly. So many people were telling me I *had* to start her on solids, but it's really not true.

(Although even my LLL leader looked at me funny when I asked if I could wait till she was over a year before starting solids...:lol)

Autumn C.

09-21-2008, 04:26 PM

[QUOTE=lisavark;12226251]

Anyway, for those of you with six month olds, I do think that if you're nervous about it, there's probably a reason...wait till you feel right about it, and then start really slowly. So many people were telling me I *had* to start her on solids, but it's really not true.

QUOTE]

You know, I've been thinking about my reluctance to start solids. And I've been thinking that it signals to me a beginning to the end of babyhood. We've just got started! It's already been a half a year? :D

wombatclay

09-21-2008, 04:32 PM

We're another "self-feeding" family. :) With dd1 (now 3.5yo) and dd2 (now 15mo) we introduced a few solid foods that we (DH and I) were eating anyway and let the girls explore the taste/texture at their own pace. We followed their "readiness" cues (sitting on their own, pincer grip, head control, no tongue thrust, grabbing for/mouthing food) and as a result dd1 was noshing along with us when she was about 6mo but dd2 didn't really join in for more than a mouthful here and there till she was almost 11 months! The food was available, but she just wasn't that interested in eating it. :lol

Although we avoided foods with the "big allergens" we didn't really do much more than that in terms of what we offered the girls. Both have preferences (dd1 adores veggies and anything "creamy" while dd2 is a spicy/hot food junkie who is really into chewy things), but it's been nice never having to worry about bringing "baby food" with us, and since both girls still nurse we didn't worry that their on and off solids weren't meeting their nutritional needs... solids could remain a fun exploration of the senses without any added stress or pressure. Or at least, that's how I justify what some of my friends call my "lazy mama" attitude. ;)

School foods- I've actually run into the opposite problem! I live in a very natural living friendly region and dd1's play school has a very "restrictive" lunch policy. All kiddos bring their lunch, but due to allergies and general health concerns they've requested that those lunches avoid nuts, non-organic fruits or veggies, anything with added sugar (including homemade items that contain extra sugar, with the exception of homemade bread), dried fruits & juices that are naturally high in sugar, anything pre-packaged or heavily processed. And dd1 has sensitivities to wheat and corn. It's been a challenge to come up with healthy, balanced, fun, and interesting lunches! :lol She often takes some leftovers from dinner, but it's still a challenge.

In general we deal with the high price of food by getting all out veggies and herbs through our CSA (which is local, organic, and biodynamic). We're drying and freezing a lot of the self-pick produce included in our CSA. Right now we're also picking a lot of apples at local organic orchards and drying them for the winter, but when we buy at the store we limit our organic "budget" to the dirty dozen and just try to buy local for anything else. We have a bread machine, rice cooker, and slow cooker and those have been a life saver for healthy/busy cooking. We make a few loaves of bread a week, I put whole oats in the slow cooker and let it go overnight so that we have hot oatmeal in the mornings, and the rice cooker... well, we eat a lot of brown rice so that's one of my favorite kitchen "gadgets". I know Alton Brown says no "single use items" in the kitchen but I looooooove my rice cooker!

Does anyone else enjoy making bento style lunches for their littles or the adults in the house who are "out and about" for lunch?

lurable

09-22-2008, 07:35 PM

I've always started with avocado as a first food. It's got a really creamy taste and lots of good healthy fats. Avocado is a fruit and some people like to start with veggies first so their children don't get that 'sweet' taste and only want sweet....but avo's aren't sweet.

We started with avocado too. I've always found not starting with fruit idea on the basis of it being sweet weird- isn't breastmilk sweet? I'd say my dd definitely has a sweet tooth now ;)
Anyway, I wondering about recipes for homemade cereal- do you simply grind rice and add bm? When my dd is ready to start experimenting- she's only 4 months so we have awhile yet--can I simply give her some of our morning porridge? This is a great thread!

wombatclay

09-23-2008, 11:05 AM

We generally let the girls play with whatever dh and I were eating (assuming no big allergens)... so a scoop of our morning oatmeal or rice porridge was (and still is) a pretty common breakfast for the girls. With dd1 I did cut the thicker oatmeal with breastmilk, but these days we make a thinner porridge and dd2 didn't have any problems with eating it "straight up". (I'm really fond of chewy porridge, but dh and dd1 like thinner stuff and at a certain point they "won" the battle :lol)

I think the LLL site suggests meat as a first food? I know dd2 was really fond of chewing on little strips of meat early on. She didn't always swallow it, but she loved gumming it up into goo before spitting it out.

DD1 loved avocado straight from the skin but dd2 refused to eat it... until she tried guacamole. She still wont eat plain avocado (crazy child :) ) but add a little lemon or garlic and she eats it by the spoonful. :lol I think the real key to low stress eating with kiddos is to just go with the flow and let them show you which foods they like! (within reason of course, but if all the options are "healthy" then there shouldn't be too much trouble)

oyinmama

09-23-2008, 01:37 PM

i was eating a peach last week and holding DS and he lunged for it. typical, but unlike when he lunges for my sandwich or my glass of smoothie, or my sunglasses or hair, it was actually a ripe, squishy whole natural food i was eating... i let him lick the peach and you could see his little mind working - like, "WOW! what's THIS?"

ishereal

09-25-2008, 05:22 PM

MamaEli

09-25-2008, 10:19 PM

About first foods, for DD1 we did a multi grain cereal, but within the same week she also had some of my yogurt. She was (and still is) very into food from babyhood, maybe 4 months old watching us eat with that "gimme" look. I don't think we started anything until about 5 months, but her cues were very clear. For DD2 we'll see.
I wonder why DS loved a good tofu curry and avacado as a toddler, and now won't even touch either?

Regarding the food budget, ouch. I've started going to the cheaper grocery stores around here, and picked up a breadmaker at goodwill when the bread I'd buy went up to almost $4/loaf. Everyone is loving the homemade bread. I'm pretty much a from scratch person anyway, so that's not a big deal. Thankfully we don't rely on things like premade mixes (pancakes, cornbread, biscuits, brownies, etc.) I don't buy a lot of snacks, with the exception of Goldfish or Pretzels about once a month. We're doing at least 3 meat free dinners, versus one before. Our grocery stores are now carrying rBGH free milk, so I've started getting that instead of the organic milk I was getting. Eggs keep going up, but we have an egg man nearby where I can get fresh eggs for $2/doz. (Wish I could have chickens!) And today I bought a bushel of apples to make applesauce and some sliced freezer apples for pies. Peaches were $40/bushel :eek so I really need to sit down and do the math to see if it's worth it to can some. Worth it financially, at least. I know it would be worth it for my personal satisfaction.
Looking at all of my paraben and SLS free soaps, oils, and lotions.....they may be the next to go if things keep on tanking. It's very frustrating.

slmtoya

09-28-2008, 09:31 PM

First Foods
With DS I started with purees a few weeks after he turned 6 months: avacodo, banana, apple, pear, green beans, basically any produce that I could get my hands on. He really didn't start eating one "meal" a day until almost 8 months, 2 meals at 9 months and 3 meals at 13 months. It really took him until around 15 months to really be into solids, thanks goodness for mama milk!! Although I did notice that once he turned a year and I stopped making his food (my mom was complaining about the space I was taking in her freezer) he became a picky eater. DS is now 2.5 and it's a struggle to get him to eat anything at all. He went from loving everything but meat to not wanting anything but eggs, grits, yogurt and goldfish all day long.

Any tips for a picky eater???

Baby #2 is due to arrive any day now and I'm planning on doing baby-led weaning: cutting the food up in small pieces and letting baby feed themself. I'm hoping that now that I'm in my own place I can continue what I started with my son with the next baby.

Feeding the family
With my picky eating habits and DS's feeding the family is a challange. I'm still learning how to cook a lot of things. Just really learned how to bake meats this year and now I'm turning to veggies. We really only eat corn, collard greens and cabbage so I'm trying to cook more variety of veggies. I can make myself swallow the new stuff but DS just isn't interested. And with the price of everything going so hi I find it difficult to always get the healthier choices that I want for my family. I make due with organic diary, frozen or fresh produce and whole grain pastas.

arelyn

09-29-2008, 12:47 PM

So veggies is a common way to go, right?

oyinmama,

Would you mind sharing the reason behind waiting until 9 months?

My Littlest has been teething forever but has not actually cut teeth yet. But she's been practically lunging for our food for over a month! I feel like I'm starving her! (I know I'm not!)

I've given her utensils to play with and she was not amused. She wants the food. :o

My son was exactly like this so we gave him banana on his 6mo birthday and he hated it. He like the concept of eating but not teh actual practice of eating. Until 11 mo he would only eat a bite or two and then completely lose interest. Now he eats anything. Kids are funy sometimes!

kayleesmom

10-03-2008, 01:10 PM

so cool we need to eat healthier taking notes and subbing

oyinmama

10-06-2008, 11:29 AM

Looking at all of my paraben and SLS free soaps, oils, and lotions.....they may be the next to go if things keep on tanking. It's very frustrating.

you had so many good food tips and money saving tips in your post - but i wanted to respond really quick to this - dr. bronner's liquid castille soap is available by the gallon and is a better deal that way than by the individual bottle - it can be diluted, and it lasts forever. also, i was raised using olive oil as a body moisturizer; it's amazing for your skin. you can get one of the 'light' versions if you don't want to walk around smelling like food... also it's less expensive than EVOO.

and all paraben free!!

on topic, LO will be 6 months on the 18th. since our peach experiment we have let him teethe on a whole fresh garden green pepper, but haven't done anything with actual food in his actual mouth. he just started sitting, so we're keeping stocked on the organic carrots. ;)