cinderella complex

Its been a while since my last post. Not because I haven't had anything to say - far from it, my head is bursting with unfinished thoughts and ideas - more on that later - but because my days consist entirely of what has become known as my cinderella complex. Anyone who is trying to keep a small baby alive during the weaning process might know what I'm talking about here. Now that baby River is pretty much on solids, my life revolves entirely around her diet. I'm attempting to not rely on those very very tempting little pouches of food that look and taste a bit like how I imagine space food tastes - like it has the memory of a real, home cooked meal, but only its spirit remains. Don't get me wrong, I use them, and River gets positively excited when she sees one of those brightly coloured little pouches coming her way at lunchtime. But they're not what I want my daughter to think of as normal food. I cant help but think if all you eat is food out of a bag that has been heat treated to make sure its as inoffensive and safe as possible, you're going to want pretty bland stuff your whole life. Thats not something I want for my kids. I want them to have a passion for good, healthy, delicious food like I do. So.
My day goes something like this. Baby wakes up, I make her milk. I get the other kids up and washed and dressed. I make her breakfast (normally porridge or weetabix or toast - we have a bread machine which as a baker I never thought id say - but its amazing), then I make the kids breakfast, then bundle everyone off to school, hair just about brushed, clothes just about tidy. Then we get back and I tidy up from breakfast. then the baby has a snack, fruit or rice cakes or something. then I start her lunch - this is pretty much whatever im having, normally veggie soup or a sandwich or omelette. She eats that, covers the floor, herself, me... then she has milk and a sleep. And I clean up. And then she wakes up, we pick up her sister from school, I make them a snack and its time to start dinner, and the whole feed/clean cycle begins again. Trying to make a range of interesting foods, both in flavour and with different textures, some she can feed herself, others that are nice and filling, hitting all the major food groups every day, enough protein, vitamins, calcium, carbohydrates, not too reliant on sweetness, both challenging her taste buds and giving her the things I know she likes..
This only stops after she's gone to bed, so i get about an hour of not cooking/cleaning per day. Oh woe is me, I know. You can see why i get the cinderella thing... I'm not complaining (at least not right now). I love that I get to feed my beautiful kids good food, and have the priviledge right now to do that at home. How I will do all this while working I have no idea. But for now, there's been little time to do blogging, or thinking any coherent thoughts for that matter.
Anyway, I thought in the few spare minutes I have today, that I'd write a few of the things I make for her that she really loves. Both for my own posterity, but also because I remember the first time around, I was really worried about weaning, about what to feed my baby, and how much, and when. This second time around it's much less fraught, if still just as exhausting! I'm not a nutritional expert, i don't claim to know better, but if anyone at all reading this (hello, if you're out there??) wants any tips on weaning id be happy to help :)
I reckon weaning is less about recipes and more about a general way of thinking. The sooner a baby starts eating what the grown ups are eating, all together around the table, the better it is for everyone. As for baby led, it didn't really work for us. River is a big hungry baby, who wanted solids well before she could hold them herself. Even now, at ten months, she would much rather be fed than hold her own food.
After River had tried a few things on their own, like stewed apple, baby rice, pureed carrot etc.. I just started blitzing up whatever we were having for her - omitting salt and alcohol from the meals when i was making them of course. Some things taste better mushed together than others. I have to say one of my favourite foods in the world is mashed potato, peas and carrots with grated cheddar and butter. Add some tinned tuna and I'm in heaven :)
Family staples include: the pancakes I've mentioned before - river will eat these all day if she can.
Greek yoghurt with stewed fruit - a great breakfast/lunch. just stew some apples/pears/peaches with a pinch of cinnamon until soft, keep in the fridge for a day or two.
Minestrone - loads of veggies cooked in chicken stock, with mini soup pasta. don't bother paying the premium for 'baby pasta' - just get the Italian mini pasta shells from the pasta aisle. also good with rice or spelt or pearl barley. jus make sure its cooked long enough to be soft and mashable.
Chicken curry - use a mild curry powder, and natural yoghurt or double cream, and blend it with rice - it looks disgusting but she'll love it.
Matzo brei - these are those unleavened crackers you get from jewish delis. soak one in water or milk, then mush it in with whisked egg and treat in the same way as an omelette - filling and protein packed. add grated courgette or carrot and it looks really pretty and is full of vitamins too!
I add grated veg to everything - cakes, bread, omelettes, lasagne, salads. River loves grated carrot with lemon juice and sunflower seeds - really fun for a baby to try and pick up.
Writing this I'm realising you can pretty much give her anything - just blend it with a stick blender, adding a little water or milk if its dry. River has had stir fry, steak, cottage pie, lasagne, all just blended up for her. leave a few lumps in as they get older.
The most challenging aspect of feeding a weaning baby is when you're short on time. Its fine if you're home all day and don't mind doing nothing but cooking and cleaning. Freezing extra portions helps, but then you need to keep on top of what to use and when. Quick meals include scrambled eggs - you can chuck all sorts of finely chopped veg and cheese and tinned fish and herbs in. I have been known to throw tinned sardines into a lasagne and blitz it for her if she needs omega 3 that day. My six year old loved it!
Right, its lunchtime. better go blitz something. and add some sardines.