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Baby Food. It took me a while to get into the swing of it, and I have to admit, I sometimes use the tinned and bottled baby food a little too often. However, there are some great products out there these days, including organic varieties with nothing but meat and vegetables included in the ingredients list. (did you enjoy my self-justification just there? hehe)

However, most of the time I try to give my bub a healthy mix of fresh and homecooked food. I’m very lucky to have a little kid that enjoys food – she’s really accepting of new flavours. This wasn’t always the case. Everytime she would spit out food, I would get so frustrated and annoyed, and would show it. “I’m a good cook! I’ve spent so much time and effort preparing this meal, why won’t she eat it?!”  I spoke to another mum about meal times, and she said when she had food spat out onto her shirt, she would just accept it and not make a fuss. A lightbulb went on and I started doing that myself. I realised that most of the meal time frustration stemmed from me, not my child. Now this has been sorted out, I’ve found that if she does spit it out it’s usually got to do with the texture being to ‘advanced’ or chunky/grainy or that she simply is full and has had enough.

I have tried a couple of times to do big lots of meat and vegetables, steaming them all up and freezing them until needed. I find that she really isn’t interested in these foods as much as having the same dinner we are having that night, just pureed. However, I find it really handy to have the freezer lots in the fridge as a back up.

A few lessons my daughter has taught me about feeding dinner to a little one is:

1. Don’t offer too much – it’ll never get eaten and will go to waste. If they are still hungry, then add more to the plate
2. If they won’t eat the food straight off the bat, it’s probably the texture that’s too course. Mash it up with a fork or stick blender a little more, and maybe add some water/milk/formula to smooth it out.
3. If this doesn’t work, sometimes… but very rarely, I will add a cube of this apple and pear puree to the mix to sweeten it. I try not to do this too often as it will condition them to expect sweetness in all their food. I only use this technique if really pushed!
4. If they don’t eat what is given to them, don’t offer anything else. I know – tough love. But it works, and my girl is nowhere near skinny!
5. If they turn their nose up at something, don’t worry,  try it again at a later date. They usually will try and love it eventually.
6. Don’t leave a full plate too close to them, unless you want a Picasso painting!
7. Once they’ve finished their meal – have a celebration together! “Hooray! Bubba ate all her food! YAaaay!”

So, here is my recipe for Apple and Pear Puree. It’s very tasty and a great thing to keep in the freezer for breakfast or morning or afternoon tea. For breakfast I often mix it with yoghurt, berries and rice cereal. Guarenteed to be eaten.

Apples
Pears
and that’s it!

Core them, Peel them, Chop them, Pop them in a saucepan on low heat. Cover. Leave to soften. Mash with a pototo masher, or puree with a stick blender for younger babies.