My daughter hates food, and broccoli pasta
Oh, I wish this post had a different title. I’ve been wanting to tell you about Josie’s forays into the world of solid food for some time now. You’ve all been so kind to be interested in her developments and to comment on how much she’s growing and to let me know that it’s okay that I devote a little bit of this space to talking about her and not just food, even though this is, technically, a food blog.
But, well, I really wanted to have some good news for you. I wanted to say how much fun it is to share the wonders of fresh fruits and vegetables with my little one. I wanted to tell you how much she loves to sit in her high chair, how she leans forward to welcome the spoon into her mouth, how she can’t wait for the next new food. Instead, I have only this to show you:
Some days are better than others—she seems to tolerate spinach and carrots better than anything else, and yogurt for breakfast is sometimes okay with her. But, very often, she turns her head from side to side, tightly closes her lips, and refuses. If she’s feeling particularly witty, she’ll perform her newest saliva trick and blow bubbles right as the pureed food meets her mouth for a fantastic fireworks display of vibrant green or orange (as you see in the photos above). We’ve tried it all, it seems: mashed avocado; applesauce, both freshly made and from a jar; carrots, in commercial baby food form and steamed and blended by hand; spinach; bananas; rice; oatmeal; yogurt; yogurt and oatmeal with pureed fruit mixed in; butternut squash; sweet potatoes. She seems to dislike it all equally, with rare exceptions.
She’s eight and a half months old now, and I’m starting to get discouraged. So I come to you, dear readers, to ask: What in the world do I do to convince my child to eat? Will she just eventually accept that food is part of her life? Am I worrying too much? Is her dislike of bland food somehow connected to the way I eat? I tend to like my food on the robustly flavored side, and my taste for seasonings seemed more pronounced when I was pregnant; the more well-seasoned, the better. That has not dissipated since I’ve been breastfeeding, so is it possible she has acquired a taste for more flavor than the average pureed fruit or vegetable has? Should we go straight to table food? Has anyone else encountered this problem, or is this my particular punishment for being a picky eater as a child? (So sorry, Mom!)
At this point, I’m willing to try most anything (well, within reason, of course; the point is to get nutrients into her body and to cultivate her taste for healthy foods, so I’m not willing to give her chocolate pudding or ice cream just so she’ll like it. At least not yet.)
She’s usually such a happy thing, disgruntled only for the expected reasons — hunger, discomfort, fatigue. Oh, and when we try to put a spoon in her mouth. So, if you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them. I want her to look like this when she sees food coming:
While we’re waiting for the happy, food-hungry Josie to emerge, we have needed food to sustain our own appetites, preferably of the hearty, comforting sort. More often than not this time of year, that comes in the shape of a warm bowl of pasta. Because locally grown broccoli is so plentiful right now, we buy it at the market every week, and this little dish has become something of a standby. I particularly like it with whole wheat penne or tiny shells; the toothsome noodles stand up well to the cloak of creamy, ham-infused sauce. Plus, it cooks quickly, so there’s time for, oh, I don’t know, dancing around a baby in her high chair begging her to open up. One day, I’m hoping I will feed her whatever I’m making, straight from the stove, with minimal cajoling, and we’ll have put this whole baby food stage behind us. I can’t say that I blame her all that much; I’d rather have this pasta than plain, pureed broccoli any day of the week. Wouldn’t you?
Oh, well, in the mean time, at least I won’t be starving.
Pasta with Ham, Mushrooms, and Broccoli
The trick to this being a quick recipe is the order of the steps: if you start the water to boil for the broccoli and pasta, by the time the noodles are done, your sauce should be ready too. In terms of flavor, this is a dish that benefits from frequent sprinkles of salt: don’t save the seasoning step until the end, instead, sprinkle a little in every time you add something new to the skillet.
1 head broccoli, chopped up into bite-sized pieces
16 ounces small pasta shells or penne rigate
4 ounces ham, diced (we used leftovers from a honey-baked ham)
1 t. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 t. flour
1/2 cup white wine (if you don’t have wine on hand, chicken stock would probably work too)
1/4 cup milk
2 T. heavy cream
Coarse salt, to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated, for serving
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. You’ll use this pot for both the broccoli and the pasta.
Meanwhile, prep your ingredients: chop the ham, broccoli and onions, and slice the mushrooms and garlic.
When the water is boiling, add the broccoli, and blanch for about 3 minutes; it should be crisp-tender and bright green. Drain the broccoli and set it aside, but reserve the cooking water, putting it back in the pot. Let the water return to boiling, and add the pasta. Cook until al dente.
While the broccoli and noodles cook, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add the ham and cook over medium heat until well-browned. Remove the ham with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the mushrooms and onions to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the onion is beginning to turn golden. Add the garlic slices and stir them in, continuing to cook until all the vegetables are tender. Season well with salt. Rubbing it between your palms, sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables, stirring quickly to coat.
Pour in the wine, and cook over medium-high heat for a minute or two, then stir in the milk. Reduce the heat to medium. Season with salt. Keep stirring and cooking until the liquid has reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the reserved ham and broccoli, and finish with the cream. Cook for just a minute more. Serve the sauce over the pasta, and top with plenty of grated cheese.
January 27th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
My parents told me I was a big fan of spinach, too. I don’t really have any suggestions except keep trying. They say it takes many introductions of a food before kids like it. Have you tried (I’m sure you have) mashed up bananas? This seems to be popular among my cousins! Maybe she just doesn’t like the mushy texture…just PLEASE don’t start feeding little Josie french fries and ribs…I had some parents of babies younger than she is tell me they fed their babies what they ate: french fries, ribs,fried chicken, potato…ARRRG! Not that I think you’d do that! The broccoli sounds WONDERFUL! I’ve been wanting some but I can’t find any reasonably priced. Maybe soon!
January 28th, 2008 at 7:52 am
My son was the same way. He didn’t care for anything gooey or goopy. He wouln’t eat carrots or peas or sweat potatoes, not even mushed up rice with breastmilk in it. Finally one day, when he was about 9 months old, I was at an Indian restaurant with him, he lunged forward and grabbed one a piece of pampadum out of the basket in front of me and just shoved it in his mouth. So later that day, we went out and got some organic all oat cheerio knockoffs and he went to town. Turned out that he just wanted to feed himself and wanted something dry to eat. So you might want to try that instead.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
The main thing is not to worry too much. It is pretty much experimental at this age, just getting them used to tastes and textures. It seems true that it takes them quite a few times to get used to and to like a particular taste. This is true even of teenagers! My sixteen-year-old was finally able to stomach a piece of red capsicum for the first time last night, and that has taken years of trial and error! I do think that they like to feed themselves and they also, even at such a young age, seem to like to have something of what you are having, so that if you happened to have mashed potato or similar suitable stuff on your plate, I reckon she would think that was far more exciting than something in her own bowl. If there is a suitable baby food which she could hold onto by herself, maybe that could work. They do seem to pick up parental anxiety even at such a tender age, so I think it is best to be very casual about the whole thing. That didn’t stop me worrying though, when mine were this age!But - one day she will be tucking into all your wonderful recipes, just as my two are about to try your mushroom and eggplant lasagne this very evening! Good luck.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Aw . . . precious, precious Josie!
January 29th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I don’t have much advice of my own to give. Also not sure if she is ready for this type of solid food, but when I read your lines about Josie possibly not liking bland food and little line crossed from one side of my brain to other. So I will point you in the direction of another blogger. Who also has a young daughter and some of the recipes she made that are spiced and for the little ones. I see that she is on your links sidebar so hopefully you know what a wonderful cook Barbra is.
http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/07/18/making-baby-safe-curries/
She has more like it, but you have to hunt around under the food & kids
GL, K
January 30th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
1. A quick question: how old was Josie when you started introducing solids?
2. Did Josie show you some of the typical feeding cues (hands in mouth, opening mouth and leaning toward you when food is offered on a spoon etc…) before you started feeding her?
Josie is actually giving you cues that she has had enough (turning head away, pursing lips etc.) What I say to my patients is… the parents decide what to feed the baby, the baby decides how much. Once the baby is showing disinterest in food, stop feeding. It is OK that the feeding was short and the baby didn’t eat much.
The good news is, Josie is not getting all of her nutrients from solid foods yet. She is learning how to eat (i.e. move her lips around a spoon - it may not be a big deal to us, but it is a developmental stage for babies).
Even though Josie may be rejecting some foods now, what I tell pts is to re-introduce it again in a couple of weeks and to keep re-introducing foods that were at one time rejected.
Josie will get the hang of it and love all the beautiful food that you make.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Hey everybody, thanks for the encouragement. It helps to hear that she isn’t the only baby who’s ever had a hard time getting used to solid food.
DM’s suggestion to give her things she can feed herself is one I’ve considered, but I’m concerned that her swallowing isn’t sophisticated enough to handle Cheerio-type cereal. Thoughts?
And, Deirdre, you are probably exactly right that she’s picking up on my concern. I will try not to worry so much; the last thing I want is for her high chair to be a place that causes us both stress!
K, I had completely forgotten that Barbara had written about little Kat’s forays into food! I am going to dig through her archives this weekend and see what advice she has. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.
Hi Jody! To answer your questions: We started trying solids when she turned 6 months. One of the reasons I thought she was ready is that she seemed so interested in what we were eating, grabbing my spoon, watching me chew, etc. But even now, she doesn’t lean forward to accept a spoon into her mouth, except on very rare occasions. Do you think that means she just isn’t ready yet? The signs she’s giving that she’s had enough often come before she’s eaten anything at all. We try to get her to at least put a little of the food in her mouth, but we don’t force it, so many times, she’ll have only had a tiny bite of food and then the feeding is over. We just try again later. I’m hoping that she’s still gaining the skills you mention and that you’re right, she’ll get the hang of it eventually.
Thanks for all the great advice. I’ll have to report back if there are any developments…please chime in with more suggestions if you have them!
February 1st, 2008 at 8:37 pm
I wouldn’t start cheerio-type cereal until she can handle other textures such as puree, then mashed, then soft chunks (i.e. diced and peeled ripe, soft vegetables and fruits etc.) and work your way up. Strawberries and other “seedy” fruits and veggies, peels and skins we suggest introducing later…as it is a different texture.
Glad to hear that you started to introduce solids at 6 months. Sometimes however, when feeding/readiness cues are missed at around 6 months (common), babies don’t start learning how to eat until a little later. It is a developmental (oral) stage that babies go through - simple as that.
Some other feeding/readiness cues are:
(the one’s I mentioned) leaning forward when food is offered on a spoon,
putting hands in mouth, sitting with assistance, can hold head up on own, opening mouth wide when you are putting food into your mouth, breast feeding more than 10 times/day and baby is still hungry and … baby can hold food in mouth and swallow. Is Josie using her tongue to push the food out of her mouth or can she hold the food in her mouth and swallow it? If she is pushing it out with her tongue (a baby’s natural reflex and a sign they are not ready to start eating) then I would wait a couple of days and try again with a pureed texture introduced on a spoon (first “solid” food is preferably iron-fortified infant cereal - soupy consistancy: 1T cereal with 2-3 T water or breast milk). I must say that Josie is on her way — the fact that she is showing interest in what you are eating and watching you chew! That’s great because babies learn how to eat from watching their parents! I am also glad to hear that you eat together as a family - I recommend this as well, because babies/toddlers/children learn good eating habits if they have good role-models. So keep it up!
Another thing to consider is the length of the feedings. If baby is showing disinterest in food, take it away, baby is done. Babies know when they have had enough and remember their tummies are a lot smaller than ours. Long, drawn-out feedings just don’t always work for children. When baby turns their head away and closes their mouth, your baby is telling you they are done. Even if they have only had a little bit. Also, make the high chair a place for eating, not playing. 20 minutes is a good amount of time for a baby to be in the high chair eating. Don’t get me wrong though, as children progress with textures they will play, hand feed themselves and make big messes! ;O)
Do you mind if I ask you to try something? Try this when Josie has shown the feeding cues above and see what happens.
Take a time during the day after Josie has been breast fed (or formula fed), so she is not hungry nor tired, but is curious and has a bit of energy.
Sit facing Josie at eye-level. Have Josie sitting comfortably in her chair for eating with no toys or distractions.
Put a small amount of pureed food on the end of a spoon. Let Josie see the spoon and food coming towards her and place a little on the top of her lip, let her do the rest. Is she interested in this food? Talk and encourage her. If she is not interested, try again tomorrow doing the same, still talking and encouaging her. If she shows signs of wanting more, offer her a little again on her lip. Keep giving postive words. If she is oblivious to the food, try again in a couple of days. I hope all this is helpful!
February 2nd, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I agree with Jody — it just seems like Josie is not hungry. Babies are born with a great instinct for when their bodies have gotten enough of what they need. Since you’re still breastfeeding, most likely she’s simply just still getting enough nourishment with her feedings. You could try going a little longer between breastfeedings to stimulate her appetite, and see how she goes with the puree — another part of the instincts they’re born with is that babies won’t let themselves go hungry! Or, you could just not worry about it. Josie isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. All signs suggest that she’s simply not hungry. And that’s a good thing, really — for her to overeat would be worse than for her to be fussy.
February 4th, 2008 at 3:50 am
Trust yourself and trust Josie.
From her photos - Josie is healthy! She’ll eat when she’s hungry. There is a great deal of learning going on right now. Don’t teach her you’re all worked up about her not eating.
I can’t say don’t worry because we all do.
I will say Josie is gorgeous!
Trust . . . she will eat.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Ha! This has been fun reading all this chatter - sounds like Miss Josie has a mind of her own. Wonder where she got that from?….. She’ll eat when she’s ready. Jenny, I need some vanilla beans to make extract. Seems like I remember reading something in weeklydish about where you can order them cheaper than in stores. Please advise o’ wise one. love you
February 5th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Happy update! I tried Jody’s suggestion of putting the food just on the top of her lip with pureed sweet potatoes, and after a few minutes, she took it into her mouth happily. I thought maybe Alex was right — that she just hadn’t been hungry enough — because after three more tiny bites of sweet potato, she was clearly finished. However, she was hungry again soon after, so perhaps she just still prefers breast milk? Maybe we’ll try to cut out a feeding and see if that encourages her to want other food more. It feels like progress, though, and I know that you all are right — she will learn, and all of this is just part of that process. Thanks for your support of that learning (for both her and me!)
February 15th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
great day in the morning!! I am so glad i finally got around to reading all of this…give that child a drumstick and let her have at it. she is from the deep south ya know. BTW prissy I have some vanilla beans for you, I think I have about 35. josie is a doll
February 26th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
If her eyes are bright, she’s growing and happy and curious… well, you’re fine. (obviously, check with your pediatrician). We went through some SERIOUS picky eating with our son, and she assessed our boy carefully. His eyes were bright. His hair was shiny. He was curious, interested and happy, happy, happy. She said we could give him a multivitamin if we were really worried, but otherwise, to let go a bit. Sometimes it’s our wishes for them, more than their actual health. Your babe looks beautiful. Just gorgeous.
And, as a bad parent aside, I used to feed my boy strained peas in front of other people just to show the way he would hang his tongue out and attempt to scrape them off. It was hilarious, if a bit sadistic.
March 12th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Jennifer, you were saying in Sunday School you were thinking of who might need Wilhelmina’s clothes now that Josie has outgrown them. The Wilsons might be a good candidate. Now that they are expecting again, they could probably use the clothes again, at least some of the generic baby clothes…..just a thought. Best, Becky Lane