Food Glorious Food!

As my little monkey is growing and getting to be a big boy, I find myself exploring with new and interesting foods for him to try. In the last 2 weeks, we've gotten him off of formula and started introducing cow's milk gradually. Amongst the hundreds of articles and books I've read over childcare and child nutrition, most have said that his body has had enough time to fully develop his digestive system by 12 months, so he can process cow's milk easier than he would've a few months ago. He seems to like it so far, all though he's a little more gassy than usual (which he gets from his daddy's side of the family anyway). We've also started giving him new fruits such as mangoes, blueberries and strawberries, which he LOVES! He already chows down on bananas, peaches, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew melon and watermelon. I'm think I'm going to try to experiment with chick peas and make some chick pea burger patties for him this weekend. Chick peas are a great source of protein, without being terribly loaded with unhealthy fats. I found a good website for some different and yummy recipes, which is the source of my new found inspiration. I've got to find a creative way to get some green beans into his diet, because he's notorious for spitting them across the room with vicious fury! So maybe I can grind some up and throw them in the patties for some extra greenery....we'll see. I might even try introducing honey into his diet. Honey is loaded with antioxidants, but it's not a great idea to give to kids under 12 months, for they are at risk for botulism, which is no bueno! So maybe I can come up with a homemade yogurt dish or something to add a touch of honey to, now that he's old enough. He's loving pasta now, so I'm trying to do different things with that and throwing in as many veggies with it as possible. He loves sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, corn, broccoli, zucchini, squash and avocado (all though, I think that's technically a fruit). I'm sure between Matt and I, we can come up with a yummy, healthy pasta sauce that he'll eat. I must admit that homemade food is SO MUCH cheaper and you get 20 times more than you ever would with the jarred stuff....besides you know exactly what goes into it and you can even get them to "help" you make it....we're still working on that last part....that's a work in progress at the moment! I've made some of his food before, but must admit that I relied on the organic jarred stuff a lot, from lack of time. So it's a goal of mine to make more of his food, now that he's old enough to eat almost anything. Again, this is all a work in progress, so we'll see how it goes.