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Not sure if you're interested in baby led feeding but if so I got lots of recipes and help from this book: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0544963407/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_2YHY10RTWEYJ4551HGW8.
It went really well with my girls, and it was nice to not have to rely on spoon feeding both of them at the same time all the time.
We did Baby Led Weaning starting right around six months. Started with extra ripe bananas and avocados. Best decision we ever made as we had twins. We never puréed anything and never had to spoon feed them. Ever. Bought this Dust Buster to take care of the messy floors.
Pro-tip: shot glasses make perfect water glasses for tiny hands!
FYI Gill Rapley has two books, this one is the cookbook. It also has the philosophy but in not as much depth as the original book. 130 recipes, I read it with my first BLW baby and remember enjoying it.
Honestly though, if you love to cook I would focus on what you already love to make. Adapt as necessary. I.e. If you love spaghetti shape your meatballs into finger shapes instead of balls. Pick up some plain Greek yogurt to tone down spice for curry chicken. Sweeten your oatmeal with fresh fruit instead of honey etc
It's not exactly what you're looking for, but you might find this interesting. I though it was mostly an entertaining read.
For my state (MI) I think the obvious choice would be coney dogs. They're everywhere here.
I have been cooking and freezing my way through this book. The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook: Delicious Recipes That Will Help Your Baby Learn to Eat Solid Foods―and That the Whole Family Will Enjoy https://www.amazon.com/dp/161519049X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_iSs2FbMYEN8D3. Just made cod fish sticks and froze some last night. Basically make sure no bones, cut into fingers, dip in egg, roll in cornmeal/flour mixture and fry in butter or oil on at least two sides. SOO many of these recipes are freezable and the book is designed to make 2 adult, 1 baby portions. I just add salt to my individual food. Also, low sodium canned green beans. Frozen strawberries. Things like that for a quick side. I also roast sweet potato fries and freeze in big batches.
The Pokémon Cookbook: Easy & Fun Recipes (Pokemon) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1421589893/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_-zMTBb2VQM4DZ
I bought this pokemon cookbook on Amazon! I haven't made anything though, some are hard while others are easier.
>Am I fucked for hoping she will get back into fitness and working out eventually??
I don't know, but I have some ideas. Set some good examples, and see if you can get her to follow you.
There are gyms that have kid care. Most YMCAs have at least some hours where you can park your kids in the kid care and go work out. If you're not a stroller dad, where you go run a 5k pushing your kids, be that dad.
If you never do any of the cooking, step up and cook some good shit. https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Led-Weaning-Cookbook-Delicious-Foods_and/dp/161519049X
Buy that book and make some recipes. One of the recipes in there is homemade chicken nuggets. Your kids will like them, and voila, you made a non-terrible meal.
I'm not at this point yet, but my friend who has a 9.5 month old loves this book: Baby-Led Feeding: A Natural Way to Raise Happy, Independent Eaters
My mom and brother are really good cooks and live for America's Test Kitchen, the show, cookbooks, magazines, website, etc. They have my their baby and toddlers cookbook and I really like it. Everything from purées to finger foods with tips and suggested products to help.
The Complete Baby and Toddler... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1492677671?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I love this cookbook. I used it a lot when I was a nanny.
Ground beef, salmon, small amounts of rice, fruit like banana and strawberry, plain cheerios, tater tots or cauliflower tater tots ... I have a LO exact same age as you and the kid is already eating me out of house and home lol there's a cook book I bought on amazon that has purees and finger foods and whole meals
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1492677671?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
We started with purees and some attempts at BLW (that all ended up on the floor lol)
There's nothing wrong with doing a mix and seeing what's good for you. I recommend this book- https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Led-Feeding-Natural-Independent-Eaters/dp/0544963407/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?adgrpid=109498160827&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI64XFn8Ph9wIVhmpvBB1mLg8rEAAYASAAEgIhvvD_BwE&hvadid=455795486785&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9007215&hvn... ( Sorry long link)
Also, definitely get a drop cloth or something to put under the high chair so cleanup is less of a pain. There are also a lot of bib options to keep baby from getting too messy. The best one is the grabease all over bib for coverage, with the down side that my baby hates it lol plus you won't be able to use suction plates with it. We've had success with the smock style bib and a lot of people swear by the silicone bib that has a little pocket so food falls into it instead of baby's lap.
The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook: From Delicious Dole Whip to Tasty Mickey Pretzels, 100 Magical Disney-Inspired Recipes (Unofficial Cookbook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507214510/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_D2QG35F6TT5GCEDFMJZC
I made a LONG post below about my personal experiences, but wanted to add this... there are cookbooks out there for "sneaking" healthier ingredients into your kid's diet. One I always remember was written by actor Jerry Seinfeld's wife Jessica:
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
https://www.amazon.com/Deceptively-Delicious-Simple-Secrets-Eating/dp/006176793X/
I think you just have to find what works best for you. We did a mix of BLW and purées. I started with sweet potatoes around 5/6 months, and would purée them with breastmilk, then avocados. Once he got the hang of those, I was super confused on where to go from there, so I got this book from Amazon, and it helped a bunch! I learned what kinds of foods I could give him and how to cut it for his age. So I didn’t necessarily follow it where I only gave him exactly what we were eating- I used it to know how to cut certain foods so they were safe and which foods we could try. If I didn’t feel comfortable giving him what we were having, I would give him an alternative. He’s been such a good eater, but the whole introduction to solids is hard! Book I got from Amazon
I second this! It’s amazing.
I also found this book really helpful: Baby-Led Feeding: A Natural Way to Raise Happy, Independent Eaters https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0544963407/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_DCKRVR9QKCTS58KSN9XV
Between the two you’re all set.
I loved this book!
Thank you! And I think we’re going to actually go right into baby led weaning. I read this book to learn more about it and think that’s going to be our way to go. I still think I’ll do a few days to a week of some purées to begin with to get him used to the spoon and it’ll be a good gateway into the change of texture in my opinion. Wish us luck!
I like Baby Led Feeding a lot. My kids have liked everything that I’ve made so far (2 year old included!) Happy Healthy Eaters also has some really good recipes.
I got into the bento lunchbox thing a while ago but kiddo is picky and also likes school lunch, so I got out of it. I still have a lot of the supplies. She’s been asking for a sack lunch, so I’m going to start doing them again. But simple. My husband loves the wee toothpicks, but kiddo will lose them.
If you are interested, get a bento book. This one is great as it tells you the basics for building a box so you can come up with a lunch that suits you. A lot of the bentos in the book utilize leftovers and are easily substituted, and quite a few are more “American” in the taste. It can be quick and simple or complex.
The whole idea of bento, of course, is to get kids to eat a healthy, balanced meal. So if your kid doesn’t like carrots, maybe cut it in the shape of a flower, then they eat it. If that’s not an issue with your kids? 🤷♀️ why bother? And don’t worry too much about the looks. Focus first on food you know the kid eats. Maybe one cute thing in there. Pretty boxes are enough.
If you have a good Asian market in your town, they should also have a good section on bento supplies. There is also Amazon.
But ultimately, recognize this is a cultural thing in Japan that is being adopted by Instagram culture. Don’t feel bad about not doing it.
I wonder if it's a shipping thing? Glass is much heavier, takes up more space, and more prone to breaking during shipping, so I imagine it costs more to ship and the "premium" foods can't absorb the additional cost.
I went with a combination of store bought pouches and home made puree. I bought The Complete Baby and Toddler Cookbook from America's Test Kitchen, they have a ton of great puree recipes (and it goes way beyond purees, so it doesn't become useless once your baby 'graduates' from purees). I'd make like 4 different recipes at a time and just freeze it in ice cube trays, then transfer to a freezer bag. We also kinda did baby led weaning, but super relaxed (I didn't even read the book, lol). Whatever works to keep him fed with the least amount of thinking on my part is what I went (and still go) with 🤣
The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook: From Delicious Dole Whip to Tasty Mickey Pretzels, 100 Magical Disney-Inspired Recipes (Unofficial Cookbook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507214510/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_F3Q2AYBDSQC0EC2W7P3A
Looks like this one.
It's this one, you can buy it at lots of booksellers. It's more interesting for the anecdotes and behind-the-scenes information than the recipes, personally. It's not a must have but it's kind of cool.
Check out this book. It has lots of examples on how to safely feed your child just about anything an adult would eat. It also talks about allergens, choking hazards, etc. great place to start if you’re in over your head.
I couldn’t remember the title when I commented. Here it is: The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook: From Delicious Dole Whip to Tasty Mickey Pretzels, 100 Magical Disney-Inspired Recipes (Unofficial Cookbook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507214510/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_ZNMGEP51JD6P3WGMP6KR
Actually, there’s an amazing book for making baby food according to your baby’s age! We have it on our baby shower registry. You’d like it, I think. :)
The Complete Baby and Toddler Cookbook: The Very Best Baby and Toddler Food Recipe Book (America's Test Kitchen Kids) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1492677671/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_BRT4P66GRS7SGG09YKNG
It’s made by the creators of America’s Test Kitchen! So you know it’s good stuff. Heheh.
My friend never did “baby food” for her baby and instead did baby led feeding. Her kid is almost 3 and is an excellent eater, not picky. This is the book she told me to get so I can try it with my own baby. https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Led-Feeding-Natural-Independent-Eaters/dp/0544963407