Due to reader request and people asking me through social media I thought it was time I did an update on what Vienna's been eating for the last few months since my last post on Baby Food Introduction and Best Baby-Friendly Snacks. She's now 14 months and although things haven't changed drastically, she's definitely become a pro with finger foods!
From six months to one year Vienna was quite an adventurous eater but the last couple of months she's become much pickier. If it was up to Vienna, she'd be happy to eat carbs for every meal and snack.
After talking to my girlfriends with babe's the same age, it sounds like V's carb-mongering is not unusual because their little ones are the same. She definitely takes after her dad who would never turn down a baguette or croissant!
Fortunately, between the carbs, carbs and more carbs I manage to get her to eat some super nourishing foods.
Not that carbs are bad of course, but it's important for her to get fat and protein too.
If all else fails, then my go-to is always a smoothie. If I can manage to get one good smoothie a day then I feel confident she's getting some decent nourishment. Oh and I'm still breastfeeding which means three to four times a day she's getting mama milk. I plan on nursing until Vienna is two for theimmune boost benefits and of course, the bonding.
So here are Vienna's favourite foods these days, I'm sure this will change soon though!
You may have heard me talking about Vienna's love for curry in other posts or through social media. One of the first spices Vienna ever had was turmeric and then I went full on and started sprinkling my favourite organic curry powder on her scrambled eggs. She LOVES curried scrambled eggs as much as any carb ... for now. I thank my lucky stars because eggs are an incredible source of nutrition, they are high in iron, B12, vitamin D and choline. Eggs are a total brain superfood and goodness knows, that little noggin of hers doubled in size the first year.
She also loves these mini frittatas. By the way that mat is from EZPZ.
Even though Vienna is 14 months, she still gets these once in a while because life is crazy busy and as much as I would like to make 100% of her meals from scratch that's just not a reality when you're an entrepreneur. Before I had Vienna, my business was my baby, so now I feel like I have two babies haha!
Love Child makes them and they are all organic, very pure and I feel good giving these to Vienna because they are the next best thing to homemade.
I really love these purees, in fact, if they made them in adult size, I would be eating them too!
Pasta with Lemon Basil Pesto
I've really had to come up with creative ways to get Vienna to eat green veggies because so far, I've had zero luck with broccoli. She will chew on sliced zucchini and cucumber but I don't know how much actually ends up in her belly because a lot of it is on the floor! This is when pesto pasta comes in handy.
I mixed this pesto with fermented sourdough pasta. I don't add as much garlic as I would if making it for just Walker and I and no salt or pepper. She loves it and I feel really good knowing that she's getting a super easy to digest grain that is incredibly nourishing.
If you're gonna give your babe grains, fermented is a wonderful choice for ease of digestion. Now, this may bring about a question you might be wondering "But Joy, I thought little ones could not digest starches well". It's funny how we hear something once and accept it as the truth. The truth is that by five to six months of age babies produce a lot of salivary amylase (the enzyme that digests starches) and they swallow it too which means it ends up in their digestive system helping with digestion. Additionally, if you are breastfeeding then your baby is getting approximately 25X more amylase than cow's milk formula. Amylase will survive in the digestive system several hours after ingestion.
Does this mean I'm recommending grains, grains and more grains? No. There are many nutritious foods like vegetables to give your baby. I'm not against grain cereals for babies and toddlers and Vienna definitely loves her buckwheat chia porridge from Love Child, but variety is very important for babies and adults alike! Variety helps prevent food sensitivities.
The topic of grains and gluten is something I will delve deeper in an upcoming post so I will keep you in suspense! ;)
Blueberry Coconut Yogurt Smoothie
Drinks
Vienna's Blueberry Smoothie
Print
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Frozen Blueberries
- 1/4 cup Coconut yogurt
- 1 tbsp ground flax
- 1 tbsp hemp hearts
- Small handful fresh spinach
- Pinkie size fresh gingerroot
- Goat milk or nut milk to desired consistency
Instructions
- I actually never measure anything so these are approximations. It yields a couple of smoothies so I just refrigerate what's left over for another meal. If I've added chia seeds then when I give her leftovers I add a bit more liquid because it will have become jello-like after a few hours.
Notes
I use all organic ingredients.
Smoothies are an easy way to get protein, fat and complex carbs into Vienna's growing body. Now that she's figured out how to properly use a straw thanks to the Lolla Cup, I'm having some fun with different ingredients. She loves blueberry smoothies, pumpkin smoothies ... basically any ingredient I can toss into a smoothie I can usually get her to drink it. Unfortunately, we had to take a break from adding Greens+ Kids to her smoothies and the Berry Green Bites because she has developed a sensitivity to strawberries. This super common and she will likely grow out of it.
OMG, Vienna loves hummus -- the more the better! I'm beginning to wonder if hummus is the secret to getting her to eat anything I want. Hummus a fantastic source of fiber (great for pooping), iron, protein and good fat. Plus it's a food that satisfies.
She will eat salmon but only if it's warm -- forget next day leftovers. I love love love the Salmon Quinoa Burgers from Joyous Detox which I made last night but Vienna will only eat them the day after they are made. Perhaps if I smothered them in hummus I could trick her to liking the leftovers.
Just like her mama, Vienna is a pancake monster. I made these Apple Spice Pancakes for her the other week and she gobbled up 3 of them! I was in shock but also very happy knowing how nutritious these p-cakes are.
I make buckwheat pancakes for her often as well but it's in my second book Joyous Detox so you'll have to wait another month before trying that recipe. ;) If you've watched my insta stories you've seen how much Vienna loves pancakes. They are perfect for little hands, super soft and nourishing. In the meantime, the coconut flour pancakes in Joyous Health are always a hit but as you know coconut flour can be finicky.
Sweet Pea Hemp Dip with Mint
This may seem like a weirdo combo but it's amazing! I stick it on a cracker (usually a Love Duck). Vienna adores this Sweet Pea Hemp Dip with Mint! I don't give her these crackers in the photo because they are too hard for her. Giving Vienna this to snack on is a great way to keep her occupied while I make her dinner. She also loves my Beet Cashew Dip.
Pumpkin Muffins(minus the chocolate chips) and Coconut Flour Banana Spice Muffins are hits as well! And super easy finger foods.
So there you have it! Those are V's favourite foods. Now, if could just get her to eat kale... lol. Little does she know she's still eating it when I give her Love Child's Kale, Peas and Pears Super Blend.
And these "squeezies" as I call them are super convenient when I take Vienna to her music class. She's always hungry after the class so I give her a little snack and one of these squeezies. It's nice she just sucks it out herself while I'm pushing her in the stroller.
Check back next week for my post on the most Frequently Asked Questions I get as a mama and holistic nutritionist when it comes to feeding babies and toddlers.
Until then, have a joyous week!
Joy
Love these food tips Joy! I think it's so cute how much Vienna likes curry and pesto- such a little foodie! I'm saving this for a couple months from now :) can't wait for your FAQ post.
ReplyHaha, I'm not surprised she likes these foods only because I ate them a lot when I was prego. Now if I could just get her to like broccoli and cauliflower haha! Have fun with food intro!
I loved this post!! Unfortunatelly, my baby has a severe egg allergy, so I'm working on egg free recipes! Which coconut yogurt/milk brand do you recommend for babies? I live in USA, and I've been using So Delicious (coconut milk) for my husband and I, when I don't have time to make it.. Thanks for the post!! Awaiting your FAQ!!! Kisses :))
ReplyThat's great you make it! I do the the same but for the milks that Vienna drinks but I do like So Delicious Canadian Certified Organic coconut milk because it's really clean. I don't know if the additives are different in the U.S though. For coconut yogurt I love unsweetened YOSO.
Vienna is just SO precious! My daughter was born about 2 weeks after Vienna, so all of this sounds VERY familiar to me. Only thing I am struggling with is I am now pregnant again & just stopped breastfeeding. Our pediatrician really wants our little one on cows milk because she wasn't gaining a ton of weight. It's killing me, but I am giving her the cows milk. I'm hoping in the next 6 months or so, we can add in more goat & nut milk & less cows milk!
ReplyThank you!! I like goat milk better because not only are the fat globules easier for humans to digest but also because the proteins in goat are closer to a mama's milk and far far less allergenic casein alphaS1 protein in goat. I would suggest asking your Dr. about goat or go see a Naturopath :) Hope that helps. Take care.
Hii Joy thank you very much for this great post! How old was Vienna when you introduced turmeric / curry and hummus to her? Love to hear from you; lots of Swiss love Nadine with baby boy Elio (7month)
ReplyI'm trying to remember but I think it was around 7 or 8 months. Thanks for the Swiss LOVE! <3
Thank for sharing all of these great ideas! My daughter is 11 months old now, and we are always looking got new foods and ways of preparing them. Joy, would you mind stating where you get the fermented sourdough pasta?
ReplyMy pleasure! It was Kaslo Sourdough Pasta. Enjoy!
Love this post!! Was wondering if you could comment a little more on food sensitivities. We have also run into this with my son. We are avoiding tomatoes, cashews and a couple other things. Not entirely sure when we will be able to reintroduce these?
ReplyHey Ludivine! Without knowing much about your situation, I would suggest a minimum of 6 months depending on how severe. I would recommend chatting with your Dr. or Naturopath to discuss. I'm not going to reintroduce strawberries again to Vienna until next year's strawberry season. My fingers and toes are crossed she grows out of it.
Thanks for these tips! I'm looking forward to introducing foods to my little one, so I'll be saving this blog to use in a few months!
ReplyPerfect! It's so much! Many mamas get very stressed out about it. So have fun with it!
I told you I'd be saving this post! Haha Just wondering, what is your recipe for pesto?
Haha! You keep your promises – I like it! :) Joy typically uses a homemade pesto in Joyous Detox or Joyous Health or uses the Summer Fresh store-bought pesto! Rachel - Joyous Health Team
Great post, thank you! Where do you get fermented pasta from? Also, when do you recommend introducing nuts?
ReplyKaslo Sour Dough is the brand! Try your local health food store. Nuts should be introduced before one year. Please see this post here: http://www.joyoushealth.com/blog/2016/04/05/baby-food-introduction/ Hope that helps!
Hummus is a great way to get little ones to eat a variety of foods. Tzatziki works well too. Sometimes my son will only eat a bit of a veggie but once I offer the dip, he wants more.
ReplyAgreed! Vienna will eat pretty much anything with hummus... except broccoli! Oh I great idea with tzatzki I bet Vienna would LOVE it.
Love this post & love the ideas. Thanks! Like Vienna, Hailey has become super picky & is 14.5 months. Feels like teeth has been part of the issue. Does Vienna have lots of teeth to munch away?
ReplyI know what you mean! She's going through another bout of teething right now. She has 10 or 11 teeth now and for sure a molar. I can't really check because she won't let me get my hands in there, haha. And teething definitely slows down the food experimenting because all she wants is mama milk.
Where is the little smoothie cup from, thank you, Joy😁?
ReplyHey Dolce, It's called Lollacup from Lollaland :) https://www.lollaland.com Rachel - Joyous Health Team
I have a 2.5yo and was wondering if I could make her “treats” with raw cacao in it. I usually avoid giving her anything with chocolate and wasn’t sure if cacao was something with benefits for her.
ReplyI've been giving my daughter raw cacao in very small amounts for many months. It really should be a "treat" like you said, at this age because you want to be careful it's not too stimulating. The best thing to do it test out a little bit with her in the morning and see how she reacts.
Hello! Is there a link where I can find the recipe for the Apple Spice Pancakes mentioned in the pancakes section? I have a very picky child but loves pancakes and I want to bake some nutrient dense ones. Thank you very much!!
ReplyHere you go! https://www.joyoushealth.com/26447-blog-apple-spice-pancakes-with-raspberry-compote
And also these are super yummy: https://www.joyoushealth.com/16527-blog-world-s-easiest-pancake
Thank you so much for the recipes! Since I discovered your blog , I improved my child's relationship with food! Please, can you share how did you serve Vienna the mint dip or other dips when she was too little for the hard crackers you mentioned?
ReplyHi Patricia - wow, that's amazing!! Love that you improved your child's relationship with food. When Vienna was younger she loved eating this dip with a spoon or I would serve it with soft veggies like roasted sweet potato, cut up cucumber or zucchini.
All great advice. Could you post candida friendly recipe suggestions😊
ReplyI would recommend simply avoiding fermented foods, high sugar fruits and dried fruits. If you avoid desserts, then most of my recipes would be great for you!