cooking for baby

When I tell friends that my 17 month old daughter has never had store-bought "baby food" and that nearly every meal she has ever had has been home-cooked by me, reactions span from “Wow!  That’s awesome” to “You must be one of those crazy over-functioning super-moms” accompanied by an eye-roll.

I’m always surprised by the second reaction because I consider myself relatively low-key on the mom spectrum.  I’m not a morning person, I work full time and I’m in bed by midnight most every night.  I don’t spend every waking moment caring for my child or engaging in a child-specific activity.  I love her dearly and am constantly amused by her (what I consider) completely adorable personality but I leave the house every day and go to the workplace where I get my day-job accomplished efficiently.  Generally I am minimally distracted by what she might be up to at home.  Cooking all of her meals isn’t a chore for me, it is something I like to do.  It isn’t difficult at all and it makes me feel like I have the opportunity to be a part of her day even when I’m not there with her. 

I find all of the expensive specialized baby food tools slightly hilarious.  As if I need MORE baby-specific gear in my life!  I live NYC where space and time is a premium.  The last thing I need is to store and clean more stuff!  Making baby/toddler food is quite simple, requires very minimal “equipment” and you don’t need to be chef-trained to achieve excellent, nutritious results.  I plan to use this blog to talk more about that.

I cook mainly with organic ingredients.  I also employ some “short-cuts” when I can.  I keep it simple.  Babies don’t have sophisticated palates.  One or two ingredients in a dish is usually enough.  I have baby food cookbooks.  The finished dishes in those books are very pretty, yes.  They offer me some inspiration, but for the most part they are filled with complicated recipes that include more components and complex flavor profiles than a baby or toddler is likely to appreciate.  When I see a beautifully plated “baby” meal styled and professionally photographed, I laugh out loud at the preposterousness of it. 

I’m a pragmatist.  I prepare balanced, flavorful meals comprised of seasonal ingredients for my child that are nutritious, inviting and require minimal effort.  I’m not a super-mom.  I’m a regular parent who wants to raise a child who (I hope) develops a healthy relationship with food.  I think everyone can agree that fresh foods (even those that are later frozen) cooked at peak ripeness are more flavorful than those that are processed and shelf-stable.  Evidence suggests that foods lightly cooked (and even frozen) are actually more nutritious than the stuff that comes in jars or cans.  

I'm not a trained chef.  I like to cook, I love my family and it makes me happy when they eat well.  If you are the type of person who wants to make your child/children's meals and don't know how to start, I welcome you to start here at my blog.  My goal is to make home-cooked meals for you and your baby easy, fun and healthy.  

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