I did not eat quinoa until I was 31. I probably couldn't pronounce it until two years ago. I had never heard of it my whole life, yet here I am giving it to my eight-month-old baby. How times have changed.
I'm really hoping that Veggie Baby likes a vast array of food, because I like cooking it. I'd be sad if she was a chips and nuggets girl... but I'd deal with it. For now though, it's so fun to try stuff and see if she'll eat it. She usually does, but we've learned our lesson with banana and parsley. If the kid had the dexterity to slap me, she would have.
Quinoa to me is just another thing to add to the veggies she eats - just like rice or lentils or beans or anything else. I know it's touted to have a vast array of health ticks in the right boxes so I'm pleased about that. It doesn't have much of a taste, but it has a little resistance when you eat it, so perfect for a baby trying new things and moving on from puree.
I cooked 1/4 cup quinoa in 1/2 cup water until done. Then mixed it with half a steamed carrot and half a steamed cob of corn. I'm a little paranoid about corn kernels, so I mashed it all and made sure they were all smooshed. It was a hit.
I do want to know, though... do you give your kid food you never ate as a child? Or things you don't eat now?
There's nothing (healthy) that I don't eat, so it's not a problem! Poppy has had pretty much every type of fruit and vegetable so far and loved them all (some first time, others the 3rd or 4th time). Quinoa is an interesting one, I mix the flakes in her brekky cereal. Couscous is something she also loves and what I would have never eaten as a child. Times, they are a-changing (for the good!).
ReplyDeleteMy ten month old eats anything and everything so he's had brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa... All things I didn't eat till quite recently (31 too!). I haven't given him millet yet, or amaranth. But he also eats lots of food that I don't-apples, pears, bread, pasta... (i can't eat wheat or sugar). I wonder what other fabulous foods will become more mainstream? There seems to have been such an explosion in new foods. Love it!
ReplyDeleteLily eats a lot of food that I never would have as a child - quinoa, cous cous, sushi, chilli. She had her first pasta with a chilli sauce at about 9 months - just grabbed a piece out of my bowl. She also eats a few things I don't like - pumpkin, bananas. Both Mr Monkey and I don't really like mushrooms but Lily loved them so theyve suddenly become a necessity in our house.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the best things we did was Baby Led Weaning. Because Lily had the opportunity to just eat what we were eating she tried so many things within her first year. Now, trying something new really isn't a big deal for her.
I have just discovered Quinoa. Delicious!!
ReplyDeleteWhile I wouldn't say I'm not chips and nuggets guy per se (though I do love me some nuggets), I'm traditionally a very plain eater. I feel sorry for my parents. They're both people who'll eat just about anything, and they got stuck with Mr Fussy Pants over here. Oy. But the fact that I've gotten excited about every recipe you've posted since I started reading means there's room for education in all of us. ^_~
ReplyDeleteI have only recently cooked Quinoa too...but I still don't know how to say it.
ReplyDeleteCrazy good, huh?!
ReplyDeleteHaha that's the aim of the game! I bet I get a conservative eater, just to throw a spanner in the works. And one that doesn't crochet either, the horror!!
ReplyDeleteI still don't really eat cous cous! I'm sure the Veg Babe would love it though :)
ReplyDeletehaha it's keen-wa... definitely not how it looks like you should say it. Oy.
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