Eleanor is eating, not just putting things in her mouth and seeing what makes it to the back of her throat kind of eating, real bonafide eating with purpose. If I'm honest I was getting a bit disheartened with baby led weaning as it was looking like Eleanor was just using food in exactly the same why as she use anything she gets her hands on ie put it straight in the mouth for examination. It seemed like anything that she was swallowing was just by sheer fortune. I'm not ashamed to admit that thoughts of blenders and spoon shaped aeroplanes were haunting my dreams but thankfully I didn't succcumb.
I'd say the change took place a couple of weeks ago so not long before she hit the 8 month mark. Now when I give her a piece of toast for breakfast she actually manages about half of it whereas before I'd say she was managing less than an eighth, if that. The change did seem to happen quite suddenly. It wasn't really a gradual thing where we noticed an improvement over a period of time. It was just like one day she got it. The downside of it is I now have to be more rigorous in my salt checking. As she wasn't really swallowing much before I was a bit blasé about it but now food's actually being digested I'd better get my salt nazi hat on.
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Well, it's been a while since I last posted but in between cutting things into finger shapes and cleaning the high chair I just don't have the time. Weaning is going well on the whole. We've yet to encounter a foodstuff that she won't have a go at but then again we've yet to find anything that is small enough to get her gums around that she won't have a go at. Her favourite meal given the chance would be magazines followed by junk mail and plastic bags. Why aren't there any crinkly foods? She would love that.
Since my last update we've had the first barbeque of the season which of course was Eleanor's first barbeque ever. Now you may think it's a bit risky giving a baby barbequed food with it's notoriety for being burnt on the outside and raw inside but I'm pretty smoking hot when it comes to barbequeing (no apologies for the pun whatsoever) so I was confident that it was safe for our little lovely. To be honest she was more interested in eating the salad and pitta bread than the meaty bits anyway. She loved eating out in the garden and as you can tell from the picture she was having more fun than you can shake a sausage at.
We also had a not so fun development. After eating Sunday dinner in nothing but a nappy our poor little baby developed a lumpy rash all over her chest. She'd been rubbing a Yorkshire pudding on herself and it came up in what looked like nettle stings. We still don't know exactly what caused it but it seems to be a skin reaction rather than a food allergy as it hasn't happened since despite eating the same food groups. We've had to be a bit more strict with the dress code for mealtimes since though.
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Eleanor ♥'s meat! We started last week with some chicken stir fry. She wasn't even mildly cautious just went straight in for the kill and gave the chicken strip a good suck and gum. She's since had steak and chips, Lancashire hotpot, chicken curry and the pinnacle of her baby led weaning thus far (for me anyway) was her first roast dinner on Sunday. I bottled it on giving her a whole chicken drumstick to munch on although I have seen this done on you tube and it's very impressive. I was being a bit paranoid about that tiny wee bone that you find in the leg and also that weird gristly bit you get on the end of the bone. I'm sure I'll get over it one day but not just yet. The posh organic Sunday chicken proved to be a good purchase as it was the Dolly Parton of chickens so there was plenty for a curry the next day. Again I lost my nerve and gave Eleanor what I thought was a baby friendly curry. She had the same as us but I didn't add the chillies until I'd taken her portion out. It was still packed with spice but she has a habit of rubbing her eyes at the end of a meal and chilli fingers and baby eyeballs didn't strike me as a winning combination.
Eleanor has also had some dairy in the form of soft cheese stuffed into a chicken breast. There was no noticable difference in her eczema so it looks like dairy is in the clear. We're going to give gluten a go now which I'm more worried about really as it's not something that shows in breast milk. We have to try it at some point though and I don't want to be holding back on something that's perfectly safe so onwards and upwards!
Tried and Tested
Monday, 31 May 2010
Recently Eleanor's Daddy was working away for a week which meant I didn't have to worry about what state the kitchen was in for a few days so I decided to experiment with a few recipes for baby friendly finger foods. Unfortunately I didn't think to take any pictures of the finished articles but I can assure you they all got a big thumbs up from Eleanor, well more of a tiny thumbs up really. They are from various sources but all have been tweaked a bit to make them perfect for little fingers and tummies. All recipes make around 12 bitesize portions. Bon apetit!
Socca (provencale chickpea pancakes)
250ml cold water
3 tbsp olive oil
125g of gram (chickpea) flour
1/2tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp ground coriander
1/2tsp dried thyme
ground black pepper to taste
extra oil for greasing
Either put everything except the greasing oil into a food processor or blender and blitz until smooth or put the water and oil into a bowl, mix together the flour and spices then sift into the water and oil mix and stir until all the flour and water is blended together without any lumps. The mixture now needs to rest for about an hour at room temperature. You can leave it for a few hours if you like. To cook, grease a frying pan or flat griddle and spoon the mixture in to make small pancakes. Fry over a medium heat. After 2-3 minutes flip over and cook the other side. They're ready when they're golden on both sides.
Storecupboard Salmon Fishcakes
2 slices white bread
1 can pink salmon (213g) all visible bones and skin removed
small bunch chives (optional)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1tbsp mayonnaise
1tbsp tomato ketchup
2tbsp plain flour
black pepper to taste
oil or butter for frying
Put the bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs (grate the bread with a cheese grater if you don't have a processor). Using scissors, snip the chives into a medium sized bowl, add the rest of the ingredients including breadcrumbs to the bowl and mix together until everything is well incorporated. Shape the mixture into small discs and fry over a medium heat until golden on both sides.
Cheesy Courgette Muffins
1 medium courgette
4 spring onions
100g hard cheese (eg. cheddar, red leicester)
225g self raising flour
150ml full fat milk
50 ml olive oil
1 beaten egg
Preheat the oven to 200 C or gas mark 6 and grease a small muffin tin. Grate the courgette and cheese and slice the spring onions into small rounds. Put these in a medium sized mixing bowl and add the self raising flour. In a jug mix together the egg, milk and oil and then add this to the bowl. Stir everything together until well incorporated then spoon into the muffin tin. Pop in the oven for around 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and firm but bouncy to the touch. These will keep for a few days in an airtight container preferably in the fridge. Allow to return to room temperature before eating.
Socca (provencale chickpea pancakes)
250ml cold water
3 tbsp olive oil
125g of gram (chickpea) flour
1/2tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp ground coriander
1/2tsp dried thyme
ground black pepper to taste
extra oil for greasing
Either put everything except the greasing oil into a food processor or blender and blitz until smooth or put the water and oil into a bowl, mix together the flour and spices then sift into the water and oil mix and stir until all the flour and water is blended together without any lumps. The mixture now needs to rest for about an hour at room temperature. You can leave it for a few hours if you like. To cook, grease a frying pan or flat griddle and spoon the mixture in to make small pancakes. Fry over a medium heat. After 2-3 minutes flip over and cook the other side. They're ready when they're golden on both sides.
Storecupboard Salmon Fishcakes
2 slices white bread
1 can pink salmon (213g) all visible bones and skin removed
small bunch chives (optional)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1tbsp mayonnaise
1tbsp tomato ketchup
2tbsp plain flour
black pepper to taste
oil or butter for frying
Put the bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs (grate the bread with a cheese grater if you don't have a processor). Using scissors, snip the chives into a medium sized bowl, add the rest of the ingredients including breadcrumbs to the bowl and mix together until everything is well incorporated. Shape the mixture into small discs and fry over a medium heat until golden on both sides.
Cheesy Courgette Muffins
1 medium courgette
4 spring onions
100g hard cheese (eg. cheddar, red leicester)
225g self raising flour
150ml full fat milk
50 ml olive oil
1 beaten egg
Preheat the oven to 200 C or gas mark 6 and grease a small muffin tin. Grate the courgette and cheese and slice the spring onions into small rounds. Put these in a medium sized mixing bowl and add the self raising flour. In a jug mix together the egg, milk and oil and then add this to the bowl. Stir everything together until well incorporated then spoon into the muffin tin. Pop in the oven for around 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and firm but bouncy to the touch. These will keep for a few days in an airtight container preferably in the fridge. Allow to return to room temperature before eating.
Ooh La La
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Miss Eleanor had her first "proper" meal out yesterday. We went for lunch at French Living in Nottingham and were happy to see that the high chair we'd booked was none other than the BLW's best friend, an Ikea Antilop. As soon as we got to the table she pounced. So many forbidden things in one place, knives, forks, glasses, paper napkins, salt. If we'd not have moved everything quick sharpish she would have been in her element and then probably in A&E.
Lunch for her was the usual suspects of bread and salad garnish. Darren and I both had meat served rare so that was off the menu for her. I was very irresponsible though and let her have a taste of my orange parfait desert. I say a taste but what really happened is she tasted a tiny bit then made every effort to commandeer my spoon every time I re-loaded it. Like her Mummy, the girl loves pudding.
Lunch for her was the usual suspects of bread and salad garnish. Darren and I both had meat served rare so that was off the menu for her. I was very irresponsible though and let her have a taste of my orange parfait desert. I say a taste but what really happened is she tasted a tiny bit then made every effort to commandeer my spoon every time I re-loaded it. Like her Mummy, the girl loves pudding.
The Good, The Bad and The Lumpy
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Well, it's been a while since I last posted but in between cutting things into finger shapes and cleaning the high chair I just don't have the time. Weaning is going well on the whole. We've yet to encounter a foodstuff that she won't have a go at but then again we've yet to find anything that is small enough to get her gums around that she won't have a go at. Her favourite meal given the chance would be magazines followed by junk mail and plastic bags. Why aren't there any crinkly foods? She would love that.
Since my last update we've had the first barbeque of the season which of course was Eleanor's first barbeque ever. Now you may think it's a bit risky giving a baby barbequed food with it's notoriety for being burnt on the outside and raw inside but I'm pretty smoking hot when it comes to barbequeing (no apologies for the pun whatsoever) so I was confident that it was safe for our little lovely. To be honest she was more interested in eating the salad and pitta bread than the meaty bits anyway. She loved eating out in the garden and as you can tell from the picture she was having more fun than you can shake a sausage at.
We also had a not so fun development. After eating Sunday dinner in nothing but a nappy our poor little baby developed a lumpy rash all over her chest. She'd been rubbing a Yorkshire pudding on herself and it came up in what looked like nettle stings. We still don't know exactly what caused it but it seems to be a skin reaction rather than a food allergy as it hasn't happened since despite eating the same food groups. We've had to be a bit more strict with the dress code for mealtimes since though.
That's my girl!
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Eleanor ♥'s meat! We started last week with some chicken stir fry. She wasn't even mildly cautious just went straight in for the kill and gave the chicken strip a good suck and gum. She's since had steak and chips, Lancashire hotpot, chicken curry and the pinnacle of her baby led weaning thus far (for me anyway) was her first roast dinner on Sunday. I bottled it on giving her a whole chicken drumstick to munch on although I have seen this done on you tube and it's very impressive. I was being a bit paranoid about that tiny wee bone that you find in the leg and also that weird gristly bit you get on the end of the bone. I'm sure I'll get over it one day but not just yet. The posh organic Sunday chicken proved to be a good purchase as it was the Dolly Parton of chickens so there was plenty for a curry the next day. Again I lost my nerve and gave Eleanor what I thought was a baby friendly curry. She had the same as us but I didn't add the chillies until I'd taken her portion out. It was still packed with spice but she has a habit of rubbing her eyes at the end of a meal and chilli fingers and baby eyeballs didn't strike me as a winning combination.
Eleanor has also had some dairy in the form of soft cheese stuffed into a chicken breast. There was no noticable difference in her eczema so it looks like dairy is in the clear. We're going to give gluten a go now which I'm more worried about really as it's not something that shows in breast milk. We have to try it at some point though and I don't want to be holding back on something that's perfectly safe so onwards and upwards!
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