I have a confession to make: I have been a convenience eater most of my life. When I lived alone, I lived off of pasta, pizza, and quesadillas. I got away with this until my responsibilities expanded to include other mouths to feed. I am slowly learning; so when I say things like "I just found out you can eat yellow squash and zucchini raw!" you understand why. (My husband used to be a vegetarian, so when I exclaimed this revelation at dinner last night, it was met with a 'what rock have you been under?' expression. Uh, the pizza stone, evidently.) I realize not much is more convenient than raw fruit like yellow squash, but I never knew I could eat it that way.
It is nice to learn that eating healthier doesn't necessarily mean cooking more complex dishes. Feeding a 6 month old, however, is a little different. I am learning how to cook vegetables (and fruits!) so they are tasty, healthy and, so far, mushy. After a few days, and a somewhat disastrous batch of yellow squash and zucchini, I have the following note to myself for the future: Cut larger wedges. I have to remember that fruits and veggies are full of water and therefore dehydrate during cooking. In other words, they shrink. When I am cutting the raw food, I am concerned that I cut pieces that are large enough for J to grab, but not so large that she bites off too much and chokes. The result has been pieces that are harder for her to grab, and fall apart too easily. I hope to have better luck cutting pieces even double the size I have been.
Something to learn:
I have also noticed that the skins of both the sweet potatoes and the squashes are very thin, not easily removed when raw, but too tough for J to chew when cooked. I can somewhat peel them once they are cooked; can anyone share with me the easiest way to 'peel' these foods, or how to cook and serve them with the skins to a 6 month old?
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