Love At First Bite: Raising Adventurous Eaters

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adventurous eatersWhen it comes to cooking, I live by the principal food = love.

What makes my food taste different than anything found in a store is that it comes straight from my heart. In fact, my three-year-old daughter has turned to me at dinnertime and thanked me for making “such a yummy meal for her.” The commitment and hard work (and I’ll admit, sometimes craziness) are all totally worth it (also, cue tears because, you know, postpartum hormones). I know that the investment I am making now with my kids will greatly impact their future eating habits, and that is a victory.

When it comes to feeding my children, my goal is to provide them with wholesome quality foods packed with flavor.

As a mom, I want to make sure my children get the freshest foods, free of preservatives, starches, and thickeners. By exposing them to various flavors and widening their palate, I am helping them grow into more adventurous eaters, eaters who will try anything once and want exactly what I am eating for most if not all meals.

As a former chef and an Italian, I grew up with food to bring family and friends together. Food was and still is a proclamation of love. Passing traditions made around the table onto my children is priceless. I believe in the importance of quality ingredients and experimenting with different cooking methods to bring out the potential in each ingredient. The bottom line is baby food made in your own kitchen tastes better. It is fresher and allows you to introduce ingredients that may not be available in a supermarket.

Do you need to be a Top Chef worthy chef? Absolutely not! Homemade baby food is actually pretty simple. Sure, it takes a little extra time, but the beauty of it is that you can make larger batches and freeze portions to save for later meals, making homemade food just as convenient as store-bought.

As adults, we eat what tastes good to us, kids tend to eat what they are familiar with and what looks appealing, and babies are the easiest. They eat what we give them.

I was determined to change the truth about how kids eat by feeding my daughter flavorful first bites to form her into a well-rounded eater.

In the past, many pediatricians recommended starting with rice cereal, but we skipped right over that and went to roasted sweet potatoes. Honestly, these were so delicious; I ate a bowl myself. If you want to introduce grains, consider millet, quinoa, or whole grain oats. Experiment with flavor combinations, methods of cooking, temperature, and texture. So have I convinced you to put on your apron and get cooking yet? Here is how to get started…

Choose Quality Ingredients

Seasonality is so important here. For instance, summer fruits are amazing right now. Think peaches, plums, cantaloupe, mangoes, and berries. Head to your local farmers market for summer squashes, corn, beets, and kale. By shopping for local and organic produce, you will know exactly where the food you are putting in your baby’s little tummy is coming from, and it will be safe and free of pesticides too!

In fall, aim for comforting flavors like pumpkin, butternut squash, pears, and apples (you can even be so ambitious as to strap on the Ergo and pick them yourselves). Spring brings fresh green veggies like asparagus, peas, broccoli, and fruits such as juicy apricots, sweet cherries, and strawberries (bonus if you pick your own). In winter, I like to focus on root vegetables, cranberries, and oranges.

When you use good quality fresh ingredients, you can make each fruit or vegetable the star. There is no need to hide foods; let the flavor of each ingredient shine. My kiddos are never coaxed into eating vegetables. They simply see them on their plate and gobble them up. Mind you, I add a lot of flavor with herbs, spices, and different cooking methods, which I think helps a lot! Let’s jump into that next.

Don’t Be Afraid of Flavor

We, as adults, don’t prefer bland food, and neither do babies. Tie on your adventurous apron and experiment with herbs and spices. Using these ingredients will help develop your baby’s palate to make them more daring and open-minded eaters. Consider adding some vanilla to roasted pears, ginger to apples, roasting butternut squash with coconut oil and sage, adding cloves to a peach puree, pureeing plums or peas with fresh, bright mint, sprinkle some immunity-building turmeric on roasted sweet potato, roast beets with earthy rosemary or thyme…the possibilities are endless. Just be sure to exclude salt, sugar, and overly spicy ingredients. I can attest to all of the above suggestions, and every single one has been a huge hit. Not only does my 9-month old eat every last bite, but my toddler also begs for some too (and usually asks for seconds).

Ok, Let’s Get to Work

How exactly does one elevate baby food?  I love to roast veggies and fruits in my kitchen because doing so brings out so much flavor you would otherwise lose by steaming, plus it is fairly mess-free and easy. It involves cutting everything up, spreading it on a sheet pan, add any additional ingredients (like herbs, spices, or oils), and roasting at 350-375 degrees until tender. Let everything cool, then puree with breastmilk, formula, or a small amount of water until you reached the desired consistency. A trusty magic bullet is perfect for this! Homemade food can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days and frozen in small portions (an ice cube tray is perfect) for up to 3 months. It is really that simple!

“Cinnamon Pear Pie”

When deciding to feed your baby homemade food, don’t hesitate to consult different books for recipes and ideas (hint I am in the process of writing one now). They can really inspire and take some of the guesswork out of the process. I am so excited to share this recipe with you for Roasted Pears with Cinnamon and Vanilla, or as my three-year-old refers to it, “Cinnamon Pear Pie.” This was one of her first foods, and she now eats it as a toddler for dessert. There is no sugar involved, but roasting the pears brings out their natural sweetness, vanilla adds an amazing depth of flavor, and cinnamon lends an element of warmth and a hint of spice. Keep them whole and serve warm or with a little drizzle of coconut cream for toddlers and older and puree as-is for babies. This is probably my simplest recipe and hands down my favorite; it’s that good! 

Cinnamon Pear Pie (baby portions yield: 15 1oz portions)

4 ripe organic pears

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Peel pears, cut in half, and core using a measuring spoon or melon baller to remove seeds
  • Place pears face down in a baking dish, drizzle with vanilla extract and sprinkle with cinnamon.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes until very soft and beginning to brown
  • Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving warm
  • If pureeing for baby, add pears and juices from baking dish to magic bullet and puree. If needed, add breastmilk or formula to thin to desired consistency.

Let me know if you try it! Happy cooking from my kitchen to yours!

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Janine Nyquist
Janine is a stay at home mom of four, two on earth and twins in Heaven. She grew up in Stratford, CT and now lives in Port Chester, NY. After graduating from culinary school in 2010, she went on to be an executive pastry chef, a cake designer, then a corporate sous chef in NYC. Janine started her journey to becoming a Mom following her 2012 wedding. After struggles with infertility, she and her husband turned to IVF and were blessed with identical twins. Her twin boys grew wings on 6/26/14, after being born severely premature. Overcoming the darkness of infant loss and finding a new normal were very trying. Janine and her husband welcomed a rainbow baby in August of 2015, who’s name means “pure light.” Their daughter brought so much joy and light back into their world. In November of 2017, their second rainbow and miracle, a boy, was born. Janine works very diligently, as a mother of angels, to make sure her boys are always remembered. She is a facilitator for Hope After Loss, a support group in CT for grieving parents, and honors her boys every day in special ways. Janine loves to do yoga, cook for her family (homemade baby food and all), drink wine, and is always up for a cup of coffee. She is also in the beginning phase of co-authoring a baby cookbook with a dear childhood friend, and creates custom cakes and cupcakes for special occasions. Her sweet creations can be seen on her website www.neaniecakes.com.