Making Peas....

Last night I had the time to make some baby food peas for Emma.  I followed the cookbook recommendations and went with a bag of frozen peas (which costs almost the same as 1 2-serving pack of Gerber 1st peas).  The cookbook recommended to use a food mill to make sure there were no chunky skins so I followed along diligently.  This however did not work out for me at all.  It's one thing to make applesauce with the food mill - but peas was another story.  It was just one big pea smushed mess, and barely any peas in the bowl that made it through the mill.  So I busted out the trusty blender and "liquefied" it all.

I am not a big fan of the smell of peas and they had an interesting color from being steamed which was pretty cool. 

They came out very smooth - less chunky than what I got from the food mill actually.  With the 1 bag of frozen peas I made 30 1-oz servings and a small Tupperware of extra to serve the next couple of days.  I believe the bag of peas was $1.89 or something along those lines, so again GREAT SAVINGS!  2013 is our year for penny pinching and we're off to a good start.  From recipes I have read about for 2nd foods peas are often used to mix in with other vegetables so it will be a good one to have. 

But what did Emma think about them???

She took the first bite just fine, then what you see in this picture is about a 3 minute stand off where she wouldn't open her mouth.  I thought this might be the first food she doesn't like.  We tried different sounds, airplane noises, you name it, that jaw was clamped shut!

Then I brought in reinforcements - the entertainer of Emma.  Megan can get her to laugh at about anything she does, so between the two of them she started eating them again.  I'm glad to see I am not the only one who has an open mouth when feeding a baby :).

This was actually the first time I have let the girls help feed Emma.  I showed them how small her bites should be and how to get food she might spit out with the spoon.  They did really great with her and had a good time.  Even cleaned her up with a wipe when they were done. 

Next up: sweet potatoes!