Day 49 – Breakfast

Today marks the end of seven weeks into this food adventure. Malina is just a couple weeks away from being eight months old and starting to do two meal a day of solids.

Even though the technical point of two months will be the end of week eight, I plan to count by the actual day of the month to the following day of the next month as far as tracking from here on out.

With our major allergens all introduces I am also going to stop thinking about what week it is since now we have free reign. I’ll still be keeping an eye out for reactions of course, but being able to relax a little and not worry about making things around one ingredient will be a big relief as I serve Malina more food.

Doing eight allergens in seven weeks was interesting and exceeded the plan of eight weeks. But honestly that was a mistake on my part more than anything when I introduced wheat without giving it its own week.

So as our last day of tree nut introduction I wanted to do a mini celebration for Malina and made her something special.

Almond biscotti!

I love biscotti, they go great with tea, coffee, or just by themselves. They are a hard biscuit cookie that are a perfect size for Malina to pick up and hard enough that she’s not going to break off a piece easy or eat too much of it.

That being said, I did soften one slightly with hot water so she could get some of the exterior off easily and actually try it.

The rest of her breakfast was baked apple slices from yesterday, goat cheese, and mashed peas.

So as you can see in our first picture, Malina was eager to start breakfast. And the thing she was going for was the biscotti.

And apparently Malina preferred the hard biscotti to the one I softened for her. She gnawed on it until it got soft on the outsides and she ate what came apart. She really seemed to like it though and I am glad.

When she was done with the biscotti she moved onto the goat cheese.

Malina has gotten better at eating things like the goat cheese with her hands. She gets it on her fingers and brings it to her mouth well enough. She’s even figured out how to open her hand and put the food in her mouth. I’m so very proud of her and her progress.

Also, she liked the cheese.

After a little bit of time she decided to mix things up, literally mixing bites of cheese with the apple.

I did the same and it’s a great combination. The savory cheese brings out the apple sweetness while playing off its tang. It was so good.

Finally, when she seemed done with the apples and cheese I switched out her plate for the bowl of smashed peas.

She was not impressed with the peas. She ate the first bite and then played around with the mush. They were good peas, just not up to Malina’s high standards apparently.

So remember, even when baby is being more of a fine connoisseur, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 48 – Breakfast

Some days I feel like I have to do too many things and then other days I feel accomplished because I actually did so many things. Then I’ll feel accomplished just for getting through the day. Being a mom is hard, even when it’s not a hard day.

But today was a day that I planned to take on and get stuff done. I had laundry to fold (like a lot of if), laundry to clean, dishes go wash, and I was making dinner today too. Then Malina woke us up an hour early in preparation for daylight savings (which is still somehow a thing) and I had to be extra on top of things.

So first I had to start with our breakfast.

So today I decided to go easy on myself and we did toast with the mixed nut butter, steamed green beans, and baked pink lady apples.

Surprisingly, the first thing Malina went for was the toast.

“I’ll try it as many times as you make me I suppose.”

Malina has not had the best track record with toast. There are times when I don’t cook it just right and she hates it and then there are other factors that I don’t even know that make her not want to eat it.

So I was super surprised when she went for it first and even more so when she started to gnaw on it and actually eat it. She tore off a piece and chewed it up as she continued to mess with the stick of toast.

When she was ready to move on she went for the green beans.

“To green bean or to not green bean, that is the question.”

Malina still likes her green beans but she is at a stage where she stuffs the whole thing in her mouth and can’t quite figure out the next step since she only had the two bottom teeth and no way to break it up further once it’s in her mouth.

Still, she gnaws on it awhile before spitting it out and shoving the next thing in her mouth, apples.

There are so many types of apples. I know some of the ones I like and there are still so many more I haven’t tried. There was once a time that I categorized them by color but not anymore.

I don’t like the pink lady apples raw. They are too tart and grainy for me. So I had no problem tossing the apple in the oven and seeing how it came out.

Baking these things brings out the sweetness and I found myself appreciating the flavor of the baked apple.

Malina felt much the same. She definitely preferred this apple to the cosmic crisp she’d tried before and now I wonder if we shouldn’t try a few other apples to see how she does.

Malina’s next step was to then try and shove green beans and more apple in her mouth at the same time and we soon had a gagging episode that made me almost consider if I should treat it as choking, but she worked it out and soon showed signs she was finished.

So remember, even when baby shoves all the food in their mouth and gags a little, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 47 – Breakfast

So I actually got around to filling in a new meal plan. It only goes to Friday though so we shall see if I lapse back into unprepared territory.

That being said, today for breakfast I had the great idea of mixing one of Malina’s favorite things with our allergen.

Yogurt with mixed nut butter!

It was a little odd to have the savory and sour together and it would have benefited from some sweetness, but onwards we went.

I paired the yogurt mixture with sliced cherries, quartered meatballs, and steamed asparagus.

The first thing she went for though when the plate was laid down was the asparagus.

She ate the asparagus fine, opting to chew the tops off before gnawing on the sides.

The next thing she tried was the yogurt mixture and with her interest I provided a spoon.

“I’m trying to figure out what is wrong with my yogurt.”

The yogurt was well received in the long run but Malina was not having the spoon today as she soon tossed it aside.

She also tossed aside a couple meatballs and cherry slices before digging into the yogurt again, quite literally.

So she enjoyed eating and making a mess with the mixture but I was happy she ate a decent amount since she needs the exposure.

So remember, even when baby decides the food belongs all over the place, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 46 – Breakfast

Today I did not have anything planned.

So to clarify, I usually have a meal plan calendar. It’s 6 weeks long. We just hit week 7 though and I haven’t filled out a new calendar. This means that my planning, as little as it is, is basically nonexistent at this point.

So when I looked at the full calendar and realized there was no plan and that I did not really prepare anything I got creative.

Today for breakfast we are having Joe’s O’s mixed with mixed nut butter, Korean scallion pancakes, and frozen cherries in a silicone feeder.

While she was waiting I gave her the cherries.

Malina really likes her cherries. I think it goes beyond the fact that they are cold and feel good for her teething too.

She chewed on the feeder for five minutes while I finished preparing breakfast. By the time she tossed it aside there was only a small amount of cherry pulp left.

I am kinda curious how these things work but I haven’t had the time to try it out myself. I assume that the food gets pushed out the holes but I put fairly solid pieces of frozen fruit so I don’t know.

The next thing she went for were the scallion pancakes.

She still loves these things. I can’t blame her, so do I. The crunch, the savory onions and vegetables, and they have a surprisingly small amount of sodium.

She chewed on them for a while. I actually noticed today that Malina has been getting better at taking bites and chewing. She will do so and chew in an exaggerated manner while smirking at me. She shows me the food in her mouth and then either swallows or spits it out. But she’s learning.

I guess that whole mimicking “monkey see, monkey do” stuff works pretty well.

The last thing she tried was the cereal mixed with the nut butter.

Sadly she quickly decided that the work required to grab the cereal pieces and put them in her mouth wasn’t worth it. She picked up some cereal and at least one piece made it into her mouth, but she wasn’t interested enough to try for more.

So remember, even when baby doesn’t want to put in the work to eat the food, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 45 – Breakfast

Malina hasn’t had any reaction to the tree nuts and so we are continuing exposer today!

Because she’s showing signs of teething I gave her frozen cherries in a silicone feeder and we offered the leftover spinach pancakes on the side with some of the mixed nut butter.

Malina always goes for the feeder first and today she did not disappoint.

She really likes the cherries. These frozen ones are super sweet and the cold probably feels really good on her sore gums.

She gnawed in it for a while before she tried the pancakes.

Unfortunately, she played with the pancakes more than she ate them.

One wound up on the floor right away and then the second was thrown at me.

She only played with the third for a bit and took a small nibble before swinging it around more. You really can’t win them all.

So remember, even when baby rather have a good fight than eat, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 44 – Breakfast

Today on our journey through tree nuts we have a special treat. I buy these frozen almond pastries and they are so good. So since almonds are a tree nut that’s what we’re having.

I also served up some sliced cherry tomatoes smashed blueberries to go alongside it.

The first thing Malina grabbed was the pastry. She’s had some practice with bread and rolls we’ve allowed her to slobber all over, but today was her chance to really go for it as she picked up the pastry.

She liked it, taking bites and chewing on it until it became a soggy mess. She definitely ate some of the almond filling as well.

The next thing she went for was the blue berries.

Sadly she still doesn’t like the blueberries when they are presented this way and she threw a mini for over it and refused to eat any more, effectively ending breakfast.

So remember, even when baby throws a tantrum, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 43 – Breakfast

There are some mornings that are harder than others for one reason or another with a baby.

Sometimes they wake up early by an hour. Sometimes they need to be changed twice back to back. Sometimes, they don’t want to cooperate when you are trying to help them.

Or sometimes you get so distracted with baby and keeping everything running smoothly with them that you burn the first batch of toast and it takes you twenty minutes to make toast at all.

Hi, I burned toast and waisted time.

But hey, we’re starting our next and last allergen today.

Tree Nuts!

So many nuts fall into tree nuts but then again a lot also don’t. It’s kinda odd. Another thing I’ve found out is you can be allergic to one nut but not the others in this group.

So I decided to throw caution to the wind and offer Malina a mixed nut butter with all of the tree nuts in it. Well, all besides pistachio because that’s just how it’s made.

So breakfast was toast with nut butter, strawberries, and asparagus.

But Malina couldn’t wait to start today since she’d been waiting through the toast incident and went straight for the berry.

For the record, these strawberries are super ripe and sweet. That’s what happens when there is a bumper crop of these things that don’t make the Valentine’s Day cut I suppose. Either way, these berries were really good.

Malina has a hard time with the pieces and so we’ve been using the fork with a giant berry. But as these are super ripe it fell off. She still went for it though because they are so good.

When she was done with the strawberry she moved on to the toast.

Something I’ve noticed is that Malina prefers her toast just warmed and a little crisp. She also doesn’t like the crust. I don’t know how she’s managed to develop these preferences but here we are.

She liked it well enough and got really sticky because of the nut butter. She also did not have any immediate reaction to it nor any reaction later on either.

So after making a mess and a light clean up, Malina moved on to the asparagus.

“I like these spear vegetables. They taste good.”

There she goes holding the ends and eating the middle again. She nibbled off the tops of the asparagus too as she went and I’m just so thrilled that she has so many different vegetables she likes.

So remember, even when it’s a burnt toast day, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica