Snack Time!

Now that Delilah’s getting a bit older we are beginning to try out so many different foods with her to see what she likes. Also, with new foods comes snacks and I thought it would be fun to share some of Delilah’s favorite snack foods and different ways we prepare them.

When Delilah was first diving into the world of solid food, I tried to avoid giving her packaged baby snack foods, but with some extra label reading I found there are some great options out there. I really don’t have any issues with premade snacks – I’ll munch on them from time to time – but I wanted her first exposures to certain foods to be as fresh as possible. Plus, Delilah loves them!

Snack time is a great opportunity for me to get some stuff done around the house. To be honest, I was counting down the days until Delilah was able to eat those Gerber Banana Cookies. I remember giving them to my niece when she was little and just one of those cookies would keep her occupied for a good 15 minutes, perfect for getting the laundry switched and folded! I like to put Delilah’s high chair in the room where I’m working so I can keep a close eye on her while she’s snacking. We bought the high chair because it has wheels for that very reason.

Yogurt:  I was so excited when Delilah’s doctor gave me the okay to start giving her yogurt. Yogurt is one of my favorite snacks, and I was happy we could finally eat some of the same things. When we first started giving her yogurt, I mixed in a little fruit baby food that she was familiar with and she absolutely loved it.

When the weather was warmer, I used a plastic bag to pipe yogurt into little dots on some wax paper for a little frozen treat. She liked them but they were a little hard for her to pick up as small as I had to make them. I think that will be a more successful snack next summer when she’s a little bigger.

During the holidays my dad bought some freeze-dried yogurt snacks after hearing how much she loved yogurt, so that was a new and exciting way for her to try one of her favorite snacks and she was crazy about them. I wasn’t sure how I felt about them at first, but I tried a few and they’re actually pretty tasty.

Baby Food Pouches: When Delilah first started eating solid food, I avoided these like the plague. I remembered a horror story my grandma had told me about not being able to see the food inside of the pouches and opening one to find it completely rotted inside. As a rule, I try to always follow suggestions from my grandma so I bought those pouches. But, I found a brand of the pouches at the store where you could see the food inside the pouch, so I figured it would be okay. Delilah loved them right away. I was scared to let her hold the pouch herself for the fear she might make a huge mess, but she loves them so much that I can hand her the pouch and she’ll eat the whole thing without spilling a drop, most of the time at least! One thing I also like about the pouches is the variety of food and grain options in them, but I still only buy the ones I can see through.

Crunchy Snacks: This is kind of a broad category but there are a few foods that are some of Delilah’s favorite things to snack on that fit this description. When she was smaller, the baby puffs were one of the first foods she could pick up and feed herself. Now she prefers to snack on dry cereal like Kix or Multigrain Cheerios.

Another one of her favorite crunchy snacks is called just that, Gerber Lil’ Crunchies snacks. She snacks on these while I’m getting her lunch ready. I remember giving the cheese flavored ones to my niece when she was little and how much she loved them. Surprisingly, Delilah’s not a fan of the cheese ones (she’d much rather eat the real stuff), but she is crazy for the garden tomato and veggie dip flavors.

The last crunchy snack on Delilah’s favorites list is a little different from the rest – raw celery! I was shocked because I’ve never been a big fan of celery unless it was cooked in soup or chicken pot pie. Even as a kid I would just eat all the peanut butter off of it whenever I had it at snack time. For Delilah, I cut it into little sticks and she gnaws on it until it’s in pieces and we swap it or for a fresh one.

I am so excited for the future of cooking and food with Delilah. It’s so fun to let her try different things and find out what she likes. I look forward to cooking as something we can do together as she grows. She’s not quite there yet but I’m already coming up with ideas to get her involved in the cooking process, even if it’s just talking to her while I do the cooking for now.