Sweet Potato Puree

The time has come when Miss Kate-a-Licious has become ready to eat “real food”.  And by real food I mean ANYthing that has not been pumped from my boobies (because in case you forgot, Katie and I never succeeded at nursing so I have been exclusively pumping for the last six months!).

The hard part was deciding which d’lishes food to start with…

I mean, just think of all the yumminess she has coming her way!!

For no other reason then that they are sweet, d’lishes, and I had one sitting on my counter… I chose to start Katie off with some sweet potato.

I’m happy to report that Katie LOVES her Mama’s cooking;).

I’m talking “diving-after-the-spoon-liked-it”! BUT I must admit – I’ve been learning through trial and error because she hasn’t been this excitied about EVERYthing I have tried feeding her so far.  She nearly gagged at the mere site of my home made pear puree (the nerve of her – does she have any idea who I am?!!! – you better believe we’ll be trying those again!).

Allow me to share what I have learned about feeding a baby SO far:

1.  Texture. The thinner and smoother the better.  Some of the initial mashes/purees I made where a little on the chunky side and Katie made some of the funniest saddest “I-just-might throw-up-in-my-own-mouth” faces!  At first I thought she might not be liking the foods BUT quickly realized it was the texture!  Smooth and thin = Good.  Thick and chunky = Not so good.

2.  Timing. It seems at the beginning you kind of have to catch baby at the right time.  Sometimes Katie is super excited and interested in eating and other times, not so much.  It seems you have to catch baby right in that sweet spot.  Not too hungry.  Not too full.  Not too tired.  Not too playful.  Not too distarcted…. etc., etc., etc.

3.  Try-Try Again. The first time I tried to feed Katie peas she wasn’t having it.  At first I thought, maybe she doesn’t like peas BUT since I had another jar in the pantry (because NO I don’t plan on making ALL of Katies food) I tried again.  And much to my surprise, not only did she like them, but I might go so far to say I think peas are her favorite food to date.

4.  A little Water Never Hurt Anyone! The first time I made a puree, I foolishly did so with my breast milk (aka Liquid Gold).  After watching Katie spit out, decline, waste, refuse, play with (basically anything other than eat) the food I quickly realized we would NOT be doing that again (at least not with my sacred milk).  So unless you’ve got an abundance of breast milk or your using formula don’t hesitate to use water when experimenting – we do:).

And so that’s where we’re at.  We’ve got lots more playing and experimenting to do in the “baby” food arena SO let the games begin!

Mommy Notes:
Throw a few
extra sweet potatoes in the oven to use as a head-start ingredient for
some of your own meals throughout the week! See below for a few recipes suggestions for you and the rest of the family!

Sweet Potato Puree

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Ingredients

1 Sweet Potato
A few tablespoons of breast milk, formula OR water

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes and then place directly on the oven rack.  Cook for about one hour or until the sweet potato is soft and tender.

Allow sweet potato to cool a bit and then peel off the skin and either mash with a fork until smooth or pop in a food processor.  Add enough breast milk, formula OR water to create a nice thin, smooth puree.

Enjoy!

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