so, my baby isn’t a baby any more. to be honest, he hasn’t been for quite a while now…but i was having some trouble adjusting to that reality. i was able to ignore the signs until this past weekend when i realized we were on the last batch of frozen baby puree, and knew then and there that i would not be making any more.
it was a hard choice to make because with the purees he’s getting a ton of vegetables. also, he likes them. but (and this is a big but) we are still spoon-feeding him (literally, not figuratively). i knew that we weren’t doing him any favors in this, so we’ve decided to use up what we have and move on to proper toddler food full time.
though i was intimidated (ok, terrified) at first by how we would get vegetables into the little man, i’ve since done some brainstorming and extreme googling and feel like we have a good handle on the situation. here is the list of items i’m planning to try out on him over the next month or so:
pepperoni with cream cheese, crackers with hummus/cheese, cinnamon raisin bread with cream cheese or apple/pumpkin butter, veggie booty and fruity booty, fruit-a-bu or homemade fruit leather (planning on testing this soon, so stay tuned!), puffed rice cakes, tortilla rolls with lunchmeat and cheese/cream cheese, pretzels, pasta salad with broccoli/spinach, whole wheat fig newtons, egg salad, hard boiled eggs, celery and peanut butter, ham and cheese croissant pinwheels, olives, cherry/grape tomatoes dressed with basil and balsamic, edamame, broccoli salad, mini corn muffins with kielbasa and cheese, zucchini pizzas, pickles, dr. praeger’s spinach cakes, root vegetable cakes with goat cheese, fresh veggies with goddess dressing, falafel with hummus, mini meatballs in tomato sauce, battered and baked green beans, and steamed veggie potstickers.
(if you have any other ideas, i’d love to hear them!)
the best part is that i’ve decided to take up bento for his lunches! i ordered some proper bento making items and have been cobbling together some bentos with what i have in the meantime. it’s been really fun! here’s a peek at the bento i made for his lunch (on the left) and breakfast (on the right) today:
lunch: bartlett pear slices, 1/2 a whole wheat mini bagel with pumpkin butter, kiwi, mozzarella string cheese, animal crackers, diced canadian bacon, and sweet potato fries.
breakfast: sliced strawberries and mango, 1/2 a whole wheat mini bagel with goat cheese, and yogurt.
shnicklefritz on the rocks 
Very fun! Here’s how I sneak fruits and veggies into Cade’s food:
Find/make soups that have a lot of veggies in them (Cade LOVES split pea). You can either strain the veggies out and give them to him as finger food (they taste nice and brothy), OR mix the soup into mashed white or sweet potatoes and roll it into balls. He can pick up the potatoes with his fingers, and the peas, etc. are mixed inside. He won’t stop eating this “recipe.”
Those spinach cakes are great. The same company also makes broccoli pancakes, which are a big hit at my house. Also, look for “broccoli bites” and “spinach bites” in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. They look like chicken nuggets, but instead are lightly breaded (not fried) broccoli or spinach nuggets. Again, a big hit.
My last trick is to make oatmeal a little thicker than normal, and roll it into balls with raisins, bananas, or cooked apple inside. He can pick these up, too.
Bon appetit!
those broccoli bites are awesome! i can’t believe i didn’t know about those. i actually went to the grocery store sans baby this weekend and picked up a bunch of really good toddler food. i’ll be posting some ‘recipes’ here, and will be sure to try the mashed potato balls. 🙂 thanks emily!