Weaning Diaries // Week 7

We were away on our first little Holiday as a family this week. Chris booked us to stay in a Cottage in Derbyshire for a week which was absolutely wonderful and just what we needed! However, it did mean that I had to be very lazy with what I fed Florence. I vowed that I would never give her shop bought pouches because I couldn't understand why I would spend so much money on them when it's cheaper and so easy to make you own. Essex to Derbyshire is a 3 and a half hour journey in good traffic, adding another hour on to stop at the services. No amount of Ice Packs would keep her food nicely frozen during the journey, not to mention there wasn't a freezer at the cottage and I was a little cautious about keeping meat and fish thawed in the fridge for that amount of time. 

I know that Ella's Kitchen are a very good brand for showing exactly what is in the pouch which is reassuring. I also know that their food is Organic, with no added preservatives, colorings, flavorings, salt, or sugar. It appears that other brands are following suit and also offer the same, so there were plenty of meals that I was happy to choose from! I tried to vary what Florence ate each day, offering her a good balance between vegetables, meat, and fish.

We also used shop bought fruit pouches for her breakfast too!

Here if Florence's food diary for week 7 - 

Week 7	Breakfast – 9.00am	Lunch – 1.00pm	Dinner – 4.00pm	Bedtime – 7.00pm
Monday	Bottle Ready Brek with Cow and Gate Apple Pouch	Bottle Heinz Sweet Potato, Chicken and Vegetables	Bottle	Bottle
Tuesday	Bottle Yoghurt with Ella’s Kitchen Mangoes, Mangoes, Mangoes Pouch	Bottle Heinz Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta Shapes	Bottle	Bottle
Wednesday	Bottle Weetabix with Cow and Gate Fruit Mix Pouch	Bottle Heinz Creamy Fish Pie	Bottle	Bottle
Thursday	Bottle Ready Brek with Cow and Gate Pear Pouch	Bottle Ella’s Kitchen Tomato and Lentil Bake	Bottle	Bottle
Friday	Bottle Yoghurt with Heinz Apple and Blueberry Pouch	Bottle Ella’s Kitchen Cheesy Pie with Veggies	Bottle	Bottle
Saturday	Bottle	Bottle Ella’s Kitchen Veggie Lasagne Bread Stick with Philadelphia, Ham, and Cheese	Bottle	Bottle
Sunday	Bottle Scrambled Egg with Butter	Bottle Salmon with Tomato and Sweet Potato Sauce	Bottle	Bottle

 

She absolutely loved the fruit pouches and ate an 80g pouch every morning with her breakfast. What I love about the fruit pouches is that the only ingredient is the fruit, nothing more and nothing less. 100% pure fruit. Another thing I love about them is that no matter the fruit, it's always a thick purée

in the pouch, whereas some of my home made fruit purées are really watery and almost impossible for her to eat. I have definitely considered stocking the kitchen cupboards with them to save clogging the freezer up with homemade fruit purée - I am a changed Woman!

Lunch on the other hand was a different story. She wasn't too keen on the savoury pouches and I don't blame her, they all smelt horrid let alone the taste...! She ate more of some than others, but on a whole it didn't go to plan.

 Saturday lunch time we were back at home so tried Florence with some new finger foods after her main lunch. She took to it really, really well. From Monday, we have decided to offer her finger foods at lunch time and then a hot meal at dinner time. This means that she'll be on three meals a day!

Weaning Diaries // Week 6

Top 100 Baby Purées - Amazon - £6.50

“Will the baby be Vegetarian like you, or will she eat meat?”

I can’t count on both hands how many times I was asked this question while I was pregnant, and when Florence was born thinking about it. It was a question that was up there with “will you be bottle feeding or breast feeding.” The answer is no. Chris and I will be feeding Florence meat, fish, and dairy products. Neither of us are from vegetarian families. It is only my Father and I who have chose to be vegetarians, and neither of us were born vegetarians, it was a decision that we made later on in life.

I am not one of those vegetarians who is scared of meat, or won’t have anything to do with it. I handle meat, I cook it for other people, and I am okay with that. I didn’t turn Vegetarian until I was around 11 years old. I decided to stop eating meat for ethical reasons, ones that were not encouraged by other people. Everyone supported my decision and helped me to transition.

Deciding whether or not to be a Vegetarian is a lifestyle, and one that should be respected. Just like people who choose to eat meat should be respected for their choice. If Florence decides she wants to lead a Vegetarian lifestyle then Chris and I will support her choice, regardless of her age. Food is such an important part of life and I believe that Florence should make her own choices. 

I only buy organic, free range animal product that have been responsibly sourced. 

Here is Florence’s food diary for week 6 - 

Week 6	Breakfast – 9.00am	Lunch – 1.00pm	Dinner – 4.00pm	Bedtime – 7.00pm
Monday	Bottle Ready Brek with Raspberry Purée	Bottle Vegetables with Cheese Sauce	Bottle	Bottle
Tuesday	Bottle Blackberry Purée on Toast	Bottle Potato, Broccoli, and Tomato Purée Banana Rice Cake	Bottle	Bottle
Wednesday	Bottle Yoghurt with Apricot and Peach Purée	Bottle Easy One-Pot Chicken	Bottle	Bottle
Thursday	Bottle Weetabix with Strawberry Purée	Bottle Parsnip, Carrot, and Courgette Purée Apple Rice Cake	Bottle	Bottle
Friday	Bottle Ready Brek with Blueberry and Banana  Purée	Bottle Fillet of Fish with Cheese Sauce and Vegetables	Bottle	Bottle
Saturday	Bottle Yoghurt with Blueberry  Purée	Bottle Ella’s Kitchen Cauliflower Cheese	Bottle	Bottle
Sunday	Weetabix with Cow & Gate Apple, Strawberry and Banana Pouch	Bottle Ella’s Kitchen Macaroni Cheese	Bottle	Bottle

  The recipes for Florence's lunches on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were from a couple of Annabel Karmel books. I think I have six of her books now and I love them all. Sometimes I struggle with food ideas but her books are very inspiring! If you don't have any of her books to hand she has posted a few recipes online that are equally as great.

This week was also a first for cheese too. Florence really enjoyed Monday's Vegetables with Cheese Sauce and couldn't get enough of it! The recipes calls for a couple of vegetables that Florence usually turns her nose up to so I do admit that the cheese sauce is a good mask.

The Easy One-Pot Chicken smelt amazing when I was cooking it, and my Mother and Chris both loved the taste. Florence, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. She tried it but did spit a lot back out. I am hoping it's because chicken has a different texture and is more stringy to what she is used to. I will definitely keep trying her with chicken, perhaps introducing some different flavours with it. Apparently I can take up to 10 times of trying a new flavour before a child will accept it, so I'll try not to feel too defeated that she didn't enjoy it the first time around.

I was worried that she wouldn't like the Cod meal either as the smell was very strong and lingered in the kitchen for days after I made it! But actually, Florence really really enjoyed it and would have certainly ate more if there was extra in her bowl. 

On Thursday and Friday I done what I said I would never do and gave Florence shop bought pouches. This was because we were going away for the week and the drive was very long meaning that all of her batch cooked food would have defrosted by the time we arrived. I'll come onto the pouches in Week 7...

Oh, and on an ending note we have changed Florence's water cup now. As some of you may know from previous posts we were having a little trouble getting Florence to drink any water. We tried it in her normal Dr Brown's bottle, a Doidy cup, and the Miracle 360 Trainer Cup but none of them were doing the trick! I done a little research and the cheap and cheerful Tommee Tippee First Cup was highly recommended . It's a free flow cup and the handles make it really easy for Florence to drink from, and for £1.50 from Waitrose you can't go wrong!