Michael really likes sucking on his toast (from homemade bread--of course!) so I think it has potential to be a conduit for dipping and introducing other foods, which I did for the first time today with guacamole and olive oil. He still liked sucking it. :-)
He liked his applesauce, which I made by chunking up some organic Pink Ladies and boiling in water and seasoning with a bit of cinnamon. It mashed very nicely into a chunky applesauce. (I did something similar for the mashed potatoes, adding some buttermilk and other seasonings for Ben after I reserved a bit for Michael. No need to peel the apples or potatoes, as the skins get very soft and fall apart.) He was naturally frustrated with trying to pick up a lump of applesauce on his tray, so I spooned some onto a baby spoon for him and handed him the spoon. He loved playing with the utensils and sucking on the spoon, even though he kept turning it over and dumping most of the applesauce off! (Some stayed on, so he sucked on what remained.)
After lunch today, I was munching on an apple while holding Michael, thinking he was done eating. He lunged for my apple, so I let him play around with it. He really liked sucking on it and even bit off a chunk, but he hasn't learned how to chew or move food to the back of his mouth yet so the chunk came sliding out his mouth. I'm sure he enjoyed the taste of the juice, though!
(Becky, I got your comment about your kids' adverse reactions to apples -- Michael, luckily, seems to be unaffected. I offered him apple awhile back and he hasn't had reactions to any of the food he's tasted yet. If he does, I'll slow down to the 3-5 day at a time suggestion so I can identify what's causing a reaction.)
He liked sucking asparagus, which comes with an easy handle.
I don't know if he was in a bad mood that day, but he completely rejected one of my dinners, which was the veggie burger, broccoli, and mashed potato. It all went straight to the floor and he wanted out of his booster seat. Unfortunately, he rejected my veggie burgers all three times I offered it to him!
Finally, he really enjoyed the leftover smoked pork we had last night! He sucked and gnawed on some chunks from the middle, which we figured were the least salty.
Even though Michael didn't like my lentil/quinoa burgers, I quite enjoyed them! Here is the recipe I used (adapted from here). Makes 6-8 patties, depending on size.
- 1/2 C. dry white quinoa
- 1 C. chicken broth **
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 C. brown lentils
- water
- 1/4 C. oatmeal
- 1/2 C. mashed sweet potato
- 1 T. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- Bring chicken broth to a boil; add quinoa and simmer for about 10 minutes until the broth is absorbed and the quinoa is soft and fluffy.
- Add lentils to a separate pot; add enough water to cover lentils, plus a little extra, and bring to a simmer. Cook until lentils are mostly soft, about 10 minutes. Add onion and garlic (and more water if necessary) and cook another few minutes to take the edge off the alliums.
- Combine all the ingredients, and form into patties (makes about 8).
- Place patties on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until crisp, turning over after 10.
** I had some leftover unusual chicken broth from this slow cooker chicken drumstick recipe which went well with the quinoa. (Unusual due to the seasonings, which are less neutral than most chicken broth seasonings.) I just added half a cup or so of water to my slow cooker to catch the seasonings (though I left out the salt) and I added some carrots, pearl onions, and I believe some celery and garlic and onion to the pot for more flavor.
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