Tuesday, February 1, 2011

6 month birthday and Banana Carrot (pan) Cake

010My sis-in-law (y’know, the one who passed on the fabulous banana bread recipe to me) reminded me for Mozely’s 6 month birthday. I’m a pretty terrible mother in that respect. People ask me how old Moze is and expect me to answer in weeks, and I’ve been saying “6 months” for at least a month now.

Luckily, Jill remembers these things, and it helps that Mozely’s cousin is one day younger than him. I’m fully expecting them to be best buds and that he will beat up all the boys who are mesmerized by her enchanting eyelashes. 236

Mozely has been chomping at the bit, literally, to get some food into his mouth. 019

The recommendations for introducing babies to food have become much more lax and the ideas that researchers had previously about allergies may have actually caused more food allergies. In a nutshell, they’ve found that babies are probably ok eating a variety of foods and the main things you need to avoid have to do with food safety or baby sensitivity and have very little to do with allergies.

For this reason I’ve exercised a lot less caution than I did with Amaya. I still haven’t jumped into peanut butter or anything, even though, supposedly, as long as there’s no history of allergies in your family or with previously fed baby foods, it should be ok. Swallowing it is a different issue, which is why I haven’t given it to him. Of course.

But in the less than month since we started letting him eat, he’s had avocado, rice crackers, squash, banana, bread, yogurt, carrot, Asian pear… And most of it hasn’t been mushy. I’ve been using the baby-led weaning technique and just let him suck and gnaw on things. I watch him very, very closely, but it’s been true so far that he hasn’t even tried to swallow chunks that are too big. If something does get in there, he just lets it fall out of his mouth. He’s gagged once, but his reflex just coughed it right out and my worry was over in two seconds.

Cons: It’s extremely messy. He loves having control over it, but usually freaks out when “mealtime” is over. 021

He loves food. So. Much. He acts completely crazy when we eat our meals without him.

Think we might be related?

011For his birthday I decided to make him a “cake”. No sugar, only foods he’s already tasted, and he tried to feed himself. I helped a little. Big sis helped out by smashing up the banana and actually did the flipping of the pancake herself. She was excited to “make him a cake.” She picked some flowers and said they were for the party. She loves candles, especially blowing them out for Mr. Moze who isn’t so skilled yet. Mozely went crazy over the pancake and just dribbled whatever he couldn’t swallow fast enough. Everywhere.023

Fridgidaire and Foodbuzz are partnering up to help us, the adults, think of ways to involve kids in healthier eating. In addition they’re working to get kids access to good food. When you visit they’ll donate $ to the Save the Children fund (oh yeah, and you’ll be entered to win an appliance—can you say double bonus?).

I adore that Mozely is beginning his life with whole, good foods. It shouldn’t be any other way. 007

Banana Carrot Pan Cake

  • 1/2 banana
  • 3 Tbsp shredded carrot (rasp grater works wonders here)
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp olive oil
  1. Mash the banana and carrot together (older sister can help here, but don’t let her NEAR the rasp grater. Way too sharp). Stir in the cinnamon.
  2. Heat a pan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and swirl around.When the pan is very warm, put two tablespoons of the mixture for each pancake into the pan. Smash down with a spatula and let sit for about 3 minutes until the underside is dried and somewhat caramelized. Flip and cook for a few minutes more (4-year-olds can flip quite well with supervision). Keep cooking the pancake on both sides until it seems firm enough to handle but still soft. 

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36 comments:

Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} said...

I love that you are doing baby-led weaning. I'm so intrigued by the concept. I love the picture of him staring at the cake--so cute. I also love that you celebrate his 6 month birthday. Okay, I love a lot of things about this post.

Boulder Locavore said...

Beautiful post and photos. Wishing I had been snapping some of these photos when my tots were that age with the food. Wonderful memories.

Mariko said...

Maryea: Thanks. I really like the baby-led weaning although I was scared of it at first.
Boulder Locavore: I always forget my camera. I miss most of everything. And I wish I wrote it down more! Curse of parenting, I guess. I don't know where my memory is.

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said...

He's so cute and you're so good for making him yummy real food.

Anonymous said...

That looks really good! I never thought of anything like this before! what a creative recipe and only 4 ingredients! :)

Nippon Nin said...

This is really cute post! The best of all, the baby Mozely. He is super cute!

Tanvi said...

What a cute post.I love the one where your baby is staring at the plate:)This is the healthiest cake for a baby..fruits , veggies and olive oil in the right proportion..so nice of you to share.I think I can have a bowl full of these coz I love both carrots n bananas.

Anonymous said...

Look at those baby blues.. her eyelashes are adorable! Happy B-day to the little Miss.

Nice bokeh in your photos as well!!!!

sippitysup said...

Happy Half Birthday Little One! GREG

Meg Luby said...

this is so cute! he is adorable, congratulations on a happy healthy 6 month celebration :)
-meg
@ http://www.clutzycooking.blogspot.com
@ http://www.myscribblednotebook.blogspot.com

Mandie said...

My baby boy is turning 6 mo on Sunday and I love the idea of celebrating with a special baby "cake"! Thanks for the inspiration!

Cakewhiz said...

He is just precious and that is a very healthy baby-friendly cake recipe. Thanks for sharing :)

Btw, I really like your blog. So, I am passing my stylish blogger award to you. You can check out the details here: http://www.cakewhiz.com/CakeWhiz/post/Awards.aspx

lesleyzellers said...

This is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing.

Christine Wu said...

Happy 6 months old Mozely! He's so adorable!

Pam said...

Oh EM GEE!!! Mariko! I just saw you in the StarAdvertiser. April and I are like "HEYA...it's Mariko"! I just DELICIOUS'd you so I can read you every day. YAY!

Mariko said...

Pam? The Pam and April? Awesome. I'm about to follow you back.

Cakewhiz: Thank you! First award ever. :)

Paris: Thanks. I'm not sure if it's on purpose or not. :)

Christine Wu said...

Wait, I forget to ask, what's this baby-led weaning thing? Mine is still 3 months old, but I'd love to know about it. What word should I google?

Belinda @zomppa said...

That face!!! Too much!!! =)

lynn said...

i want this cake for my bday :)

veggietestkitchen said...

i love this! it's such a clever idea to make a 'cake' out of stuff that your baby has already eaten, instead of introducing him to new (i.e. icing, sugar, cake) things. this is such an awesome idea. the pictures are great too. thanks for sharing.

gingerroot said...

Oh yum! One of my son's favorite combinations was pureed kale and banana. Happy 6 months to your boy.

alice said...

happy 6 months little buddy!!!

Jill Colonna said...

That is definitely one of the cutest baby cakes I've seen. What a Mum!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Such a gorgeous little guy! Happy 1/2 year to him!!!

Kate @ Diethood.com said...

Oh my goodness, how sweet!! I love it... all those yummy faces .. ah so adorable! Happy 6 months sweetheart ... enjoy your delicious cake!

~Lisa~ said...

Starting solids is such a fun and stressful time. But you're taking it with ease and I bet its easier with your second. He is so cute! And kudos to the big sis for being such a fab helper (=

briarrose said...

Such a cutie! Wonderful post.

Jackie said...

Awww! What a cute thing to give your little man! I love it. Hope it's going well, my darling, looks like you've got a real eater on your hands there ;)

Jax x

sophia said...

I honestly don't know how parents do it...there are SO many conflicting messages out there, and how do you know which advice is right? There's tons of information, too, and people always judge each other's mothering skills.

I'm glad the little dude loves his food though. That's a sign of health, right there. :-)

Zoe said...

What a cute-looking cake! Happy Birthday to your little one.

Anonymous said...

very cute baby, I love the cake you come up with.
bakeware

Eliana said...

What a great way to celebrate! And your baby is absolutely gorgeous.

FootPrints said...

Happy Happy 6 moths MOZ

Marisa said...

Cutest post ever! I really adore your writing style and your little guy is just gorgeous.

Amna said...

I made these yesterday for my son's 1/2 birthday. He loved them!! One tip I want to add is to squeeze the liquid out of the mash before forming the cakes. Our organic baby carrots were really juicy! I gave my son the carrot juice and he loved it. I served the cakes with some goat yogurt, which he loved as well lol thanks for sharing! Baby-led weaning/solids rocks! ;)

Amanda Wissmann said...

Made these on Sunday for our little guy on his 6 month birthday! It was his very first solid food and he LOVED it! Thanks for sharing!

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