Apple sauce or Apple sauce

Today was a day of learning. We attended a Super Baby Foods Class at my local cloth diaper store, BabyAwearness in Manoa, Hawaii. (Great place!) There was a lot of information given out and a quick demonstration for a really nutritious kale and apple sauce recipe. The instructor had a lot of info to offer; most I agreed with and some I thought was just a little too much. Rowdy was annoyed with her "hippie" approach to feeding her daughter so automatically he blew her off. But whats important is that at the end of the class, Rowdy and I both agree on how cooking for our baby/family works for us. 

The class was based off a very popular book called "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Paron. We went over mostly everything, including some suggestions for first time foods, preparing healthy foods, and the benefits of using wholesome organic foods. This lady obviously has a lot of invested interested in cooking all organic and local, more than I do at the least. Anyway, Im all about eating healthy but I also have my own theories that differ from the typical 'all organic' diet.

Hear me out....(My theory...I dont know if there is study out there that proves or disproves this) I think there is a connection between microwaved and processed foods and the epidemic of cancers with causes unknown. In the 1950's the microwave come out and TV dinners were being nuked in almost every home. Now fifty years later folks are discovering malignant masses everywhere and people are being routinely screened for early detection. People who were around before the microwave ate more natural foods and then went nuts over a new way of cooking thats faster and easier than the conventional pot and pan. I think that switch from 'real' foods to processed foods like TV dinners has had a adverse effect on people and its now starting to show. SO now I foresee the same effect happening with parents feeding their child all organic non processed foods up until a certain age...or until its out of their control....and then later the processed-commercially grown stuff is introduced. Their little body is going to freak out when it gets alil taste of artificial sweeteners, corn syrup or any other commonly used additive in everyday foods. I really hope Im wrong because I think its great that parents want to provide the best start for their babies; its what we all wish for our children.

One thing that had me perk up an ear was how she mentioned that there are links between autism and ADHD and the consumption of pesticides from our produce. I certainly dont want to become part of that statistic. We do plan on reducing exposure as much as we can, but I also think we are doing more good than harm by allowing a balance of organic foods and commercial foods into our son's diet. For reasons I mentioned earlier, we want to provide that exposure so when our son is making his own food choices, if he chooses something commercially made it isnt going to throw his system into panic. So for now, while we have the choice as parents, we are going to make homemade fruit and veggie purees, organic when possible and buy the more uncommon stuff in jars. 

Two weeks ago, we started Ryatt on solids. Hes eating fresh mashed bananas, prunes, home made apples sauce and pear sauce, carrots, green beans, rice cereal and oatmeal. So far, it seems like he likes his veggies more than the fruit. We eat three times a day; oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, fruit or veggie for lunch, and rice cereal with veggie for dinner. Im so glad I waited til he turned 6months to start solids because Im confident he was ready for it. Hes taken to eating solids very well and really developing the skill of eating from a spoon. Its been a messy and fun milestone for sure!

SIDE NOTE: I am aware that there are other components to developing cancers and disabilities, not just in what we eat but also in the environment we expose ourselves to.