The Daily Grind

Recently feeding Tanner and Abigail has become more challenging. As they have grown and transitioned from purees to table foods every meal has become a guessing game. Sometimes they won't eat a food they have gobbled up for several months and other times they can't seem to get enough of a food they have regularly turned away from. Having to cater to TWO appetites can be frustrating especially when Abigail has almost a full set of teeth and can chop on almost anything and Tanner has only four teeth and can't handle as many foods.

Step One: Peas and Scrambled Eggs

My mother-in-law told me about a "food mill" that she used with her children when they were transitioning from purees to table foods. She told me she simply ground up what ever foods she was serving the rest of the family and then served it to her current toddler. She no longer had her food mill but assured me I could buy one online or at Babies R Us.

I found a used Baby Steps Food Mill at Young'uns in Damariscotta for $3.99 a few months ago. I brought it home, used it once or twice, and then forgot about it...until this past week. Last weekend I made beef stew in my crock pot. As we sat down for supper I picked out some carrots and potato for Tanner and Abigail to eat. Each was thrown to the floor within moments of being put on their tray. My mother-in-law reminded me of the food mill which I got out and used to grind up some carrot, potato, and beef...they ate it with no complaints. I used it a few days later to grind up some chicken casserole that we were having for dinner. The following night I milled some cooked carrots for Tanner. Abigail would eat the carrots whole but Tanner would only eat them after they had been milled. The other night I used it with broccoli, which normally the Twinkies LOVE, but for some reason they weren't into it whole so I put them through the Food Mill and they ate it up.

The Food Mill is super easy to clean so I keep it washed and ready to use for any meal. Since I ultimately want to do away with the Food Mill I always offer the foods whole first (in bite sized pieces, of course). I will continue to use the mill when necessary until Tanner and Abigail are able to eat table foods like the rest of us.

Step Two: Lobster and Corn on the Cob