Hidden greens

Another post on allergy friendly baby meals (and other ideas/thoughts/notes).

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Here we are at 12 months…

I was telling my mom recently that each day it feels like two steps forward & one step back in the eating department.  [Actually I said one step forward, two steps back, but we really are moving in the positive so that’s an inaccurate portrayal of the situation]

Truth be told, I bet all parents feel like this, even the ones without children with allergies.  Some days he eats everything that touches his tray, other days he refuses all the same foods and it seems like he barely gets two bites in before he’s over meal time altogether.  But, he’s certainly not starving so his appetite is what it is.  I think it’s the ultimate intuitive eating.  Plus teething, growth spurts, and whatnot.  If only we were all so in tune with our bodies and their needs!  But I digress…

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Here are some of the things pacman has been eating (more often than not eating).

Broccoli was an on-and-off success this month, which I am taking as a HUGE step in the green direction.

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As you can see, there was still a level of skepticism involved, but I found if I didn’t watch him or act like it was a big deal, he was more likely to act the same and just eat it. 

For the record, this was maybe the 5th or 6th try with steamed broccoli, so for any other parents meeting the same resistance , just keep trying!  I tried jazzing it up with coconut and olive oil, but he ended up taking it plain.

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I’ve also been throwing ripped up spinach in his scrambled eggs.  More sneaky chef action.  He loves eggs so much, I knew it would work, and it did!  I’m going to try adding zucchini next…and many more veggies in the future. 

Baking greens (spinach, kale, etc.) and squash (butternut, pumpkin, zucchini) into muffins and breads seems like a good gateway for the things I haven’t been able to get him to eat plain.  Although I will keep offering them solo, I’d love to get his palate used to their flavors any way possible, so if that means hiding them in other baked goods, then that’s what I will do.  Of course, it’s not just about getting his taste buds accustomed to these foods.  More importantly, I want him to get the nutrients!  So I will use any vessel to do so.

Get ready for gluten and dairy free zucchini muffins (without nut flours or nut milks). 

In other news, P has FINALLY gotten the hang of drinking water out of sippy cups (praise the Lord!!!), which means liquids are soon to be on the menu.  He probably only drinks 1/2 cup of water a day, but it’s better than nothing.  Each day he gets the hang of it more and more, so I’m optimistic that we are about to turn a corner. 

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I made this green juice (for me) and he was so interested in it, that I decided to give him a sip.  I was expecting he’d make a face of disgust, because it had celery and kale in it (plus spinach, apple, desiccated coconut and coconut milk), but he liked it.  He took a few more messy slurps after the first taste…which left him with an adorable green mustache that I wish I got on camera.

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Comments (15)

  1. Katie

    We are going through the same stuff over here too… One day Drake loves a certain veggie & the next it’s on the floor (Good thing the dog is a good vacuum cleaner ;)) I’m hoping he gets better with his sippy cup soon because smoothie season is right around the corner…well lets hope so.

  2. karen

    Channel your inner Ellyn Satter!

  3. Rachel

    My twins are just slightly younger than P, and they don’t quite get the whole soppy cup thing just yet – it’s more of a chew toy. Would you (or maybe you already have and I missed it) share which you’re using? Also, do you only offer it at meal times? Thank you! I’m a fairly new reader and a huge fan of your blog!

  4. Livi

    I would have been interested in that juice too, sounds delicious!

  5. Jennifer

    Hi, love your blog. What highchair are you using?

  6. Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries

    I make green smoothies (it’s more like green juice) for Hunter all the time. He LOVES them! It’s great because I can pack in a ton of spinach and/or kale since he hates green veggies on their own. I’m hoping that eventually changes.

  7. Elise (Post author)

    hi rachel! I’m glad you found me – thanks for commenting. P currently uses the munchkin click lock zippy cup – its this one: http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Click-Count-Sippy-ounce/dp/B006WHR6CU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393369188&sr=8-2&keywords=munchkin+sippy+cup

    but i talk about sippy cups in a previous post, if you can find it you should check out the comments section because other mamas offered lots of advice 🙂

  8. Valerie

    Not related to this post, but I do know where else to place this. I have been making the most wonderfully easy guac with TJ’s green salsa and an avocado. 60 seconds to some really yummy stuff. If there is more time I add more stuff, but this with egg whites and some pumpkin seeds and I am living large at any meal.

    Thank you for this wonderfully inspiring and informative blog. I am also digging the pac-man in shoes!

  9. Ttrockwood

    Broccoli?!? Well, pacman officially eats more vegetables than my (otherwise) very healthy mother. He’ll turn out just fine 😉
    That’s kind of amazing he liked your smoothie! Maybe semi-frozen would be easier for him to have one than in a sippy cup…..? I know exactly nothing about kids so, maybe he can’t use a spoon yet…..

    Love the thumb sucking hair tugging shot- he looks very deep in thought…..

  10. Elise (Post author)

    thats his pose…all day long thumb in the mouth, hand on the hair. such a silly kid.
    im excited to try various textures – to see if he likes thicker and thinner smoothies. this one was more of a juice but it surprised me so much that he liked it. i truly think it has everything to do with the fact that it was “my” drink and since i was drinking it, he wanted it. forbidden fruit thing. I should try that with everything I want him to eat…

  11. Elise (Post author)

    omg, that sounds epic. green salsa!! and pumpkin seeds! its like a take on mole…i bet it would be great with black beans, too.

  12. Elise (Post author)

    so awesome that baby hunter loves smoothies. i wish i could do nut butter, nut milk smoothies with him, but I’m optimistic that coconut will be a good replacement and he will get the hang of slurping down green smoothies.

  13. Alissa - Not Just Apples

    I’ll have to remember this when I have kids!

  14. Ammie

    Loving the thumb in his mouth, hand in his hair pose…super adorable!

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