What Do You Feed Your Babies
Posted by Kalen on Wednesday, August 3, 2011. Filed under: Food and Drink, Parenting, Parenting Trends
Everly in February 2011, Covered in Prunes
I have seen this question asked on message boards over & over again:
"What is your baby currently eating?"
I'm usually just as curious as the original poster, so I'll scroll through the replies for a couple of pages. These are what the answers usually resemble:
Breakfast:
Yogurt with Berries from Our Backyard, Homemade Wheat Bread
Lunch:
Steamed Broccoli from the Farmer's Market with Organic Cheese and Homemade Applesauce
Dinner:
Roasted Turkey with Honey Glazed Carrots and Whole Wheat Pasta
Snacks:
Pureed Kidney Beans on Hummus Crackers
Quartered Grapes with Organic Cottage Cheese
Hand-Ground Oatmeal with Breast Milk
I think nutrition is one of the most important gifts we can give ourselves and our children. However, realistically I can't really make this type of meal plan fit into my daily life without giving it constant thought, and I have other things I'm thinking (and doing) that are important, too. I don't think I'm as good at managing time as some of these moms.
I'm not putting down moms that put so much time into their children's diet (and I am not referring to moms that have to do this because of allergies or special needs). I'm trying to say that I'm not one of those moms and I'm not sure that makes me any less of a caring, nurturing parent than they are. But maybe it does make me lazier?
Should I throw in that Everly has been sick one time in her life? Does that give me any more credit? No? Crap.
I kind of do what they do in moderation, though. I do believe in buying quality, organic ingredients when you can. I do believe in balancing each meal if possible. I do believe in offering a variety.
But unfortunately, I also use lots of packaged products... and even if they are high quality, that will earn me a slap on the wrist from most "crunchy" moms. However, I have a feeling a mom like Mandy would probably high five me and totally understand what I'm talking about. And then we'd get dirty looks.
So I'm sure you're wondering what Everly's meals look like, then? Well... not much different... minus all the homemade stuff. At 13 months old, this is a typical day's meal "plan" for her (with all these meals she drinks organic milk & has water for snack times):
Breakfast:
Yobaby Organic Baby Meals in Apples & Sweet Potato with Wheat Toast
Lunch:
Steamfresh Mixed Veggies and Cottage Cheese
Dinner:
Spaghetti w/ Organic Canned Pasta Sauce, Garlic Bread, Diced Peaches
Snacks (Varies):
Puffs (Organic if I can find them) and Yogurt Drops
Shredded Cheese
Graham Crackers
Cheerios
Bites of whatever I'm eating (cereal, sandwich, whatever)
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So what do you think of using packaged foods for your baby, even if they're organic, no sodium added, wholesome, etc.? It saves me time and money, and I feel like Everly is getting the nutrition she needs. Sure, I do still use fresh produce as well, but frozen vegetables are as healthy as fresh vegetables, so I wonder what's the point sometimes?
If you're a mom that's horrible at cooking and would rather fall of a cliff and break all your bones than plan every meal your child is going to eat for the day, I'm right there with you. I hope you're not beating yourself up over the trendy "make your own food or it will harm your baby" movement or the claims people make of feeding their baby only things they grow themselves. These things are great but not always necessary.
I'm not saying go feed your baby Fruit Loops with chocolate milk and ice cream all day, by the way.
I do agree with many of the sentiments made about children's food today (Everly has had fruit juice like 3 times in her life because it doesn't make sense to me, I don't give her food with red dye in it, I watch the sodium content of foods, etc.) but I also think moderation is key.
Maybe the reason more people aren't eating healthier or feeding their babies healthier is because they feel overwhelmed and pressured? Our current culture seems kind of obsessed with it, too. And while I think it's great and optimistic to shout, "Cooking can be fun! Grocery shopping, too!" that's just not the case for everyone. Some of us hate both, and although I am sometimes a little envious of these households that eat so amazingly smart, I'm also kind of okay with just being in the middle. And what if we encouraged more people to just ride the middle line instead of crossing all the way over into kale smoothies for breakfast and apple slices with almond butter for every snack? What if they just need to start with using Whole Wheat Bread instead of White or No-Salt Added ketchup on their hot dogs?
Baby steps. For the health of our babies and the health of each other.
What do you think?
August 3, 2011 at 2:44 PM
I imagine a lot of the moms who are posting about homemade food are doing A LOT of food prep ahead of time. I don't have children yet but both my husband and I work 40-60 hours a week and so I do a TON of food prep every Sunday...so the weekly menu for us resembles the first example you gave. Things like oatmeal, beans, even steamed and roasted veggies can all be prepped ahead of time--for example, I make a big oatmeal batch to last the entire week, and then I can just reheat a single serving for breakfast. I also utilize my crockpot a lot!
I hate grocery shopping too but this type of "prep ahead" meal planning style is what works for us. I think your menu sounds great and there's no shame in using some pre-packaged foods! Lord knows I do too.
August 3, 2011 at 2:54 PM
We don't have children yet, but I make a lot if homemade stuff because in Australia pre-packaged/processed food is crazy expensive. (Basically anything processed has a 10% GST while fresh stuff is tax free. So... Much cheaper!). We shop at markets and buy what is cheap and in season. I think the trick is to just make things that are quick and easy. Prepare stuff ahead of time and freeze it, save leftovers... Whatever. I kinda feel like if we can make fresh dinners and snacks (like homemade biscuits and muesli bars) while we both work full time, then if I'm staying at home with a baby I should be able to squeeze in some food prep :)
But it sounds like you're picking healthy packaged stuff so it's not like you're feeding her string cheese and lunchables every day!
August 3, 2011 at 3:05 PM
I did make my son's food when he was little, especially meat, because then I could identify what was in it. Something about that off-beige turkey/chicken/beef in jars grossed me out something silly. It was really simple because I'd just make a big batch of whatever and freeze the rest of it to zap in the microwave when it was the next meal time.
I think the parents that do all the high-strung feeding times (in cases where it's not required by medical reasons) will probably end up getting burnt out in the end. Or panicky because there's no more home-grown organic zucchini left over ;)
August 5, 2011 at 6:46 AM
I pureed lots of Truman's baby food and tried very hard to use organic fresh or frozen veggies.. I did well!! Now that we are on to finger foods I have started using some of the prepared things because they are just the right size and I don't have to cut carrots and veggies to these lil mini bites.. (Truman is one to try to put the whole thing in his mouth, nut into taking bites yet.. So now I am having to watch what I eat as well because for dinner these days he is eating whatever we are and the sodium intake scares me especially when it comes to adult prepared foods like my beloved veggie corndogs (Thanks Kalen ) :) My struggle these days is trying to get Truman to eat enough food to start backing off on the formula but he tends to get distracted or just hates the highchair and doesn't eat much so I have to start feeding him instead of him feeding himself.. oops I'm getting off subject... but I don't feel bad for what I feed my child because children end up eating the way you do in the end..and I feel I did and am doing a good job with food so I don't stress... plus I swear people make crap up to sound and look good .. lol...
Andrea
August 5, 2011 at 9:13 AM
I honestly love when i find pre-packaged food that my daughter will enjoy and eat. these are usually hard to find, and if i do find them they are outrageously priced. I also find that when i buy fruits and veggies at the farmers market it is a little cheaper.
August 7, 2011 at 11:59 AM
Ha, those sound ODDLY like my week's menu for work breakfast and lunch, and dinner alone.
I think the key with anything mothering or LIFE in general (cause I don't have a baby but I freak over stuff like this too) is do what you can, when you can. Yes, we'd all love to feed ourselves and our babies organic veggies with a side of peace and intelligence but we just CAN'T all the time -- so you do what you can when you can and pride yourself on even trying.
August 12, 2011 at 5:22 AM
Chesney's menu looks a lot like Everly's. I try to make sure she's eating healthy, and make a real effort to 'balance' all meals. That said, it does make things a little difficult around meal times when my husband is at home -- I'm convinced he's the pickiest eater in the world!
That said, I do allow her to 'cheat' a little, because while healthy eating is important, I feel as though it's also important not to 'deprive' her of things and make them out to be terrible foods that she should never eat... because then when she does get them (say, when she starts school in three years), I feel like she'll eat massive amounts of those foods every chance she'll get.
Luckily, my child loves fruits and veggies more than anything... for now. My father-in-law tried to get her to eat a Tootsie Roll, and offered a banana at the same time. The banana won :) I was a proud momma.