On my last post about food "Baby Food Part 3" I was mixing purees with chunks of food and still mostly feeding her myself. So, for this post I'll list several ways that Evelyn feeds herself now. Including my take on the popular pouches.
One thing I am very purposeful about is the order I give her food. I put the veggies down first, then meat, and lastly fruit. If I do it in any other order she will pick the fruit/meat out and leave the veggies.
Vegetables
- Veggie Fries: I found these really cool fries at my local Super Target. Evelyn likes them...with mustard. I just noticed on the website they have other great products too! I'll be looking for them.
- Sliced Black Olives
- Mini Dill Pickles, sliced: I've never seen a kid who LOVES pickles and doesn't make a face like this one! Evelyn enjoys pickles so much!
- Diced Carrots and Green Beans: I found these at Wal Mart. They are a little pricey, but extremely convenient so worth it for me!
- Broccoli: Fresh, steamed
- Peas: Frozen and thawed (they come in the little cups like the carrots and green beans, but I think they look gross)
- Avocado
- Tomatoes, sliced up
- Sweet Potato Fries: Be careful when you buy these. Many of them have ingredients that are not healthy inside of them.
Meat/Protein
- Chicken: I buy these from a rotisserie chicken from Costco and then dice the breast meat into little cubes and freeze them in snack size ziplock bags. You can also use boiled chicken breasts or grilled chicken breasts, whatever is most convenient.
- Turkey: I bought frozen turkey breast burgers by Jennie-O (they come in a 6 pack), cook them all stovetop and slice them into bite size pieces.
- Meatballs: When I make meatloaf or meatballs I make some mini ones for Evelyn and freeze them in snack baggies.
- Turkey Sausage: Frozen Turkey Sausage Links (I get them at Costco) cut into bite size pieces. She eats 1 for breakfast.
- Beans: all kinds, canned
Fruit
- Slices of grapes
- Blueberries
- Sliced up blackberries/raspberries
- Fruit cups with fruit juice (not light or heavy syrup). They come in mixed fruit, tropical fruit, and single fruits
All about pouches:
- I love the pouches, they are great for when you are "on the go"
- They can be deceiving, because the veggies are often listed first, but the majority of the ingredients are fruit with a little bit of vegetables
- They are really sweet. So of course kids love them!
- So, I came up with a solution! I made my own pouches with 2 servings of veggies and 1/2 - 1 serving of fruit!
- I bought EZ Squeezees pouches online. They are refillable and dishwasher safe! I love them. So far I've refilled them 3 times and haven't had any problems with them. I bought 18, and calculated that I need to refill them 4 times to pay for the purchase.
- I did not use pouches until Evelyn was about 11 months old, and I only give them to her when we are on the go or at snack time. I have a few friends that have said they can't get their kids to eat the pouches anymore, so I'm trying to be purposeful about when I give them to her so that she really enjoys them. When I did start giving her the pouches at first I had to feed them to her, but then I started her on a straw sippy cup and she is a pro at downing the pouches herself.
- 1 bag butternut squash, 1 bag peas and carrots, 1 can of pears in fruit juice
- 1 can pumpkin, 2 steamed sweet potatoes, 1/2 bag peas and carrots, 1 can apricots in fruit juice
- 1 bag butternut squash, 1/4 bag brussels sprouts, 1/2 bag green beans, 2-3 apples (cooked stovetop), a little white grape juice
