24-8-2009 - Finger Foods on the go

My mood while writing this blog: Ok

I dont know if anyone is in the same boat as me, but I have done a LOT of research and experimenting in this department and thought I would share my findings! My son eats ANYTHING! To the point that he doesnt care what it is, if it is put in front of him he will double fist it into his mouth until every speck is gone. Since we no longer do pureed Gerber food, keeping the variety has been my main goal. I work fulltime and have a hour and a half commute each way. Wyatt's daycare is down the street from my job, so he comes with us. That means being out of the house by 6am and not home until 6:30pm. As much as I love that he gets to try and experience new things, I LONG for the day when all I had to do was grab a jar and bottle to leave the house! Anyway, with barely anytime to cook I came up with some shortcuts!

First of all, whenever I do have the time at night or weekends, I boil loads of frozen veggies because they are his favorites (all kinds!) and by boiling them even though it takes longer than microwave, it makes them much softer and I can leave the pieces a little bigger so they are easy to pick up (spoons are a thing of the past he has to do everything on his own). I used to make a bunch and then give him the same thing 2 sometimes 3 times in a row. I always felt bad but I just didnt have the time to cook every night and it was a lot easier microwaving leftovers. So my big solution that I read online about... ice cube trays! I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought 4 trays with big cube sections and a cover. Now when I make extras, I cut them up to Wyatt sized pieces and pack them into the trays. I label the outside with a P-Touch label with whats in them. Then whenever I have time to cook I just make sure to put a couple of cubes of extra in there. Then come dinner time, I just pop out a couple of frozen cubes, zap and serve. And he gets a couple of different things instead of a lot of one which is how we used to do it. It also makes daycare lunches so much easier. I take out a couple of cubes the night before and let them thaw in the refrigerator. Then at daycare they just microwave. They make patented official baby versions of this freezing divider thing, but the 4 dollar trays work great for me!

Here are some of the things I have made that my son loooves...

Sweet Potatoes (both mashed like potatoes and little cubes to pick up), frozen mixed veggies (all kinds), turkey, chicken, meatballs, spagghettios, eggs (hardboiled and scrambled - egg whites I held off on until recently since you are supposed to wait a year), crescent rolls, jelly on bread, pancakes, waffles, toast, string cheese, tomatoes, all sorts of fresh fruits, canned fruits, (I tend to not do canned veggies because of the sodium although they are way quicker than frozen), etc... we havent tried dried fruits yet but they are on my list.

I am not a cook at all and rarely have the time or patience but I am always looking in magazines and online for simple recipes for Wyatt. If anyone has any ideas I am all ears!