Transitioning to Independent Eating (Submitted by Sharon Chong)

Tips for Transitioning from Feeding to Independent Eating & a Recipe for a Yummy Pasta Favourite! 

When your child is around eight or nine months and can sit on his own without assistance, he may be ready for finger foods which means it’s time to start that transition from feeding to independent eating!  My son, Logan, is now at this stage and I’ve been doing some research on what I can do to help him through these early stages of self-feeding.

First finger foods are foods that have previously passed the four day rule in pureed form and that dissolve in baby’s mouth or that can be gummed to a consistency which is easily swallowed.  You can test a food by trying it yourself and checking to see if you can easily squash the food against the roof of your mouth.  The following are types of finger foods commonly suggested when trying out finger foods with your little ones:

• Dry cereals such as Cheerios & Nutrios
• Snacky foods such as puffins and biscuits
• Cottage cheese
• Ripened fruit
• Veggies
• Short pasta (penne, rotini, etc.)
• Boiled egg yolk
• Chicken or Turkey
• Semisoft cheeses
• Bread

For an extensive list of finger foods, I recommend the wholesome baby food website regarding finger foods:  http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babyfingerfood.htm. They list foods by fruit, veggies and other.  Also, they have several great recipes including Sweet Potato Fries and Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Nuggets.

From the many baby books I have on hand, one of my favourites is the Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracy Hogg.  What she emphasizes is that there are two key elements to successfully aiding your baby through independent eating: patience and creativity.

Patience consists of allowing your baby to play, feel, and even squish their foods between their fingers.  Before each meal, place the chosen finger food in front of your baby and allow them to explore with it.  You can even feed yourself as babies do love to imitate their mommies and daddies.  If not successful, don’t worry!  At some point your baby will decide to amaze you and coordinate his little fingers to put that food in his mouth. 

Creativity comes with not only the types of food you offer your baby but the form in which you present the foods.  To name a few, veggies can be cut into shoestrings and baked liked fries; pasta can be mixed with your favourite veggies (see below for You-Build-It Lasagna, a favourite for mommy, daddy and baby); fruit can be baked; and chicken can be breaded and served as baby chicken strips!  One of the Coquitlam Mommies, Brittany, shared that she even rolls Quinoa into balls so that her daughter Aydenne can pick it up and feed it to herself!   

I know a lot of Coquitlam Mommies are going through the same thing right now so if you have any suggestions that have worked for your little ones, we’d appreciate you sharing!  Good luck to all and here’s to having fun, being creative and helping our little ones take their first steps towards independence!!

You-Build-It  Lasagna from The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press

3 ribs celery, trimmed and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 ½ Tbsp low-sodium tamari

Freshly ground pepper

4 cups fresh spinach

Pasta:

1 lb dry lasagna noodles (I use whole-wheat rotini so that Logan can eat it too)

2 cups tomato sauce

2 ½ cups non-fat cottage cheese

6 cups grated low-or non-fat mozzarella cheese (I use 3 cups to lower the calories)

1 ½ cup goat cheese (I cut this out all together, again to reduce calories)

Instructions:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375F. In large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrot.  Cook 5 minutes until veggies are soft.  Add mushrooms and sauté for another few minutes.  Stir in tamari, pepper and spinach.  Let spinach wilt.

Step 2

In a large saucepan bring water to a boil.  Pour a little olive oil into the water to prevent sticking and cook pasta noodle al dante.  Drain noodles and run under cold water to prevent over cooking.

Step 3

Spread ½ cup or more tomato sauce on the bottom of lasagna pan that’s been coated with a non-stick cooking spray.  Place a layer of pasta noodles on top.  Spread ¾ cup cottage cheese on top of the noodles along with 1 ½ cups of grated mozzarella cheese (or in my case ¾ cup), ½ cup of goat cheese (or in my case none), and one third of the spinach vegetable mixture.  Repeat the layers until you run out of ingredients.  End with tomato sauce on top.

Step 4

Bake in hot oven for 35 minutes.  Sprinkle more grated mozzarella on to of the lasagna and return to oven for another 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside for 20 minutes before serving.