teeny tiny foodie: ttfs TTFs

teeny tiny foodie’s Top Ten Favorites (so far)

Now that Eliana has been tasting and eating a variety of solids for a little while now, a few favorites have emerged. Her "favorite" is hard to determine because she will taste something and then do her "Happy Flappy" move of arms flapping, heavy panting and butt-bouncing for a bunch of foods. Sometimes a food warrants that reaction one day, and not another. But, here is the list of foods that she has definitely been excited to eat.

In no particular order, here are teeny tiny foodie's Top Ten Favorites:

Guacamole

Holy Guacamole!

Black beans and brown rice with cumin

The beans and rice are mixed with tilapia on her tray.

String cheese

Food hanging out of her mouth. Classy.

Oranges

Smashed sweet potatoes with spinach

Lentils with cumin

I served this to Eliana with some fried egg whites.

Eggs

My ttf loves eggs in many ways. This is part of a frittata with parmesan cheese, zucchini and onions.

Swiss chard soup

I hold the spoon!

Apples

A few months ago, I could hand her an apple wedge and she'd go to town sucking on it. Now, I wouldn't dare because she would break off pieces of the apple and I'd worry about her choking. Only cooked apples for now.

Pan fried trout

And, a list of This Mommy’s Life-Saving-Quick-Fix Foods

-String cheese

--A quick and easy “meal” that I peel into strips and break into smaller pieces for Eliana to eat. I learned the hard way that she loves it so much (she is a cheese-aholic like her Mommy) she shoves it all into her mouth at once. I need to pace her by putting only a few pieces on her tray at once. I give her Polly-O brand with 2% milk because that’s what I snack on. Full-fat is possibly preferred by her doctor but I think it is fine to keep her on these for now.

-Baby carrots

--An easy item to grab from the fridge and I don’t need to worry about it being a choking hazard. Not yet, at least. She doesn’t use her two teeth to actually bite. She gums her food. She does scrape off little bits of carrot to eat. I like Cal-Organic brand. Another way I serve them to her is to steam them and then add a touch of salt and cut them into little disks which I mash a bit so that she can pick them up but they will easily breakdown in her mouth.

-Oranges

--Another quick food that she loves. I used to be able to give her a wedge and she’d just suck on it. Now she actually rips pieces off- including parts of the rind. (She seems to actually like it! So strange.) So, my husband figured out that cutting little pieces is a good solution. She gums them a bit and then they slide easily down her throat. No rind or skin pieces to be a potential choking hazard.

Totally eating the peel!

-Bananas

--Banana sticks. Love them!

It's pretty funny to watch the banana pieces slip and slide all over as she tries to grab them.

-Plain Instant Oatmeal

--Matt and I both eat oatmeal most mornings so I put a little bit of mine aside and mix it with one of the sweet purees for Eliana to eat. It is easy for her to pick up and she likes it a lot.We like the brand Arrowhead Mills.