Mary Taylor (15 months)
I made homemade pureed vegetables for her when she was six months old, but she would not touch them. I stopped feeding her baby food and tried again when she was seven and half months old and this time she gagged every time I fed her. So I decided to go buy store bought organic baby food and see if she liked it any better. Well, finally we realized she liked any store bought baby food with bananas mixed with another fruit...the bananas had to be the first ingredient. She would not settle for apple/banana, it had to be banana/ apple. Her favorite was banana mango baby food by Earth's Best.
So... this is how she came into the world, not to mention how hard breast feeding was for her too, that's a whole other story in itself...considering I breastfeed her brother until he was eleven months old.
So... this is how she came into the world, not to mention how hard breast feeding was for her too, that's a whole other story in itself...considering I breastfeed her brother until he was eleven months old.
So a year later, she continues to be very very picky. She likes yogurt, milk, cheese, fruit bars, and bread all the time. She likes beans, turkey, chicken, frozen blueberries, pumpkin pie, smoothies, sweet potato fries, squeezable fruits from Trader Joes, Target, and Publix sometimes. Pure vegetables and fruit are a never. I am constantly trying to find new recipes with hidden fruit and vegetables that she will eat.
My sister-in-law, Jennifer, gave me the Deceptively Delicious cookbook for Christmas a couple of years ago. About 1 year ago I started to try a couple of these recipes. I spent a week pureeing fruits and veggies...it was really fun! It was a lot of work, but it was my newest creative outlet and I had to do it all at once. Yes...this is my personality...I get very into something and do it all full out and I will keep doing my task until I finish it. Not a good trait to have when you need to take care of children too. I definitely had to tapper this part of me once I had kids. You only get an hour or less to do something and then you have to be a mom again.
So after trying several of these recipes, I found one that the whole family likes and another recipe that mommy and daddy like. I have made both of these recipes part of our dinner rotations.
Everyone in the family loves these Pita Pizzas and little do they know that I have secretly sneaked in some spinach. Hehehehe!
Pita Pizzas with Spinach
prep: 3 minutes
total: 18 minutes
Makes 8 mini-pizzas
No Meat
Ingredients:
8 (4-inch) whole-wheat pita pockets
1/2 cup spinach puree
2 cups bottled tomato sauce
2 cups thinly sliced part-skin mozzarella
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
2.Spread spinach puree on each pita so that the spinach comes to within about 1/2 inch of the edge. Spread the sauce over the spinach; it should cover the spinach and come to within about 1/4 inch of the edge of the pita. Now lay the cheese over the sauce, covering any place where the green comes through.
3. Place the pizza on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the cheese melts and begins to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Let the pizzas cool 5 minutes before serving so the cheese cools and doesn't pull off (and the spinach stays completely invisible).
The author, Jessica Seinfield says: "The spinach puree in these baby pizzas provides your child with a hearty dose of beta carotene, plus 3 grams of fiber. Tomato sauce adds lycopene (a potent antioxidant that helps to enhance overall health.)
Mommy and Daddy love this next recipe and we are hoping that Henry and Mary Taylor will learn to love it too. What kid doesn't like mashed potatoes? ....Mine!
Twice-Baked Potatoes with cauliflower
Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 80-85 minutes
Serves 4 or more
4 large baking potatoes
1 cup cauliflower puree (I usually use the whole cauliflower)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread (I substitute butter)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 slices turkey bacon, cooked according to package directions and crumbled (optional, I don't usually go to the trouble for the bacon)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Scrub the potatoes and prick them all over with a fork. Place them on a foiled-lined baking sheet and bake until a knife penetrates easily, 50 to 55 minutes.
3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the pulp, leaving a thin (about 1/2 inch) shell.
4. Mash the potato pulp with the cauliflower puree, sour cream, margarine (or butter), garlic, salt, and pepper. Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells. Place the potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon, if using.
*This meal definitely takes some planning, but it is well worth it... I think. I boil and puree the cauliflower in advance, so it is ready to go when I need to mix everything together. We usually eat broccoli or spinach salad with this meal. It is super healthy and really yummy! And it reheats really well for left overs the next day and maybe the next!
But, as my mother often reminds me..."This is exactly what you were like! You were very picky and very particular about e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g." And my husband would say, "Some things haven't changed!" And I would say, "At least I know why Mary Taylor is this way, or I would think something is wrong with her. I feel like I can identify. So it helps...sometimes!"
I think this is just a taste of what is to come in the future! Yikes!
Adoption update: Dee talked to our agency worker at Generations yesterday and she said it would probably be two months or less before we will receive our referral. We are only fifth on the waiting list to receive a child, so I am not sure what is taking so long, but I am learning, TIA (This is Africa) and of course God's timing....which is perfect, so I pray that my heart would lean towards wanting God's timing for our adoption.
