Feeding a Local Baby

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

As I prepare for my son’s first birthday party this weekend (wait… how did that happen!?) I have been swimming in a sea of nostalgia. When he was just 2 months old, I started working with Garnish and Gather. With him strapped to my back, I tested recipes, visited farms and networked about town. He has been as much a part of G&G as I have and it’s been so fun spending this year watching both of these babies grow.

Like any good G&G team member, Gaines, is a locavore. He loves local, organic food. He’s been to farms and farmers markets across our great state. He helped me can peaches and tomatoes this summer (ok I did most of the work… but he looked pretty stinking cute holding the peaches). He’s even donned a hair net to help pack meals at the G&G office!

His first taste of the Georgia harvest was sweet potatoes from D and A Farms, then peas from Cimino Farm and even sunchokes from Crystal Organics Farm. He loves him some vegetables! To date, he’s tried over 35 different foods (yep.. I’ve kept track). With a farm-loving, nutritionist mama, it's just in his blood!

How have I found the time to make all this delicious local food for him, you ask? My trick has been to incorporate cooking for him into my routine of cooking for me and my hubby. If we’re enjoying Sweet Potato & Brussels Sprout Hash with Rabbit Boudin Sausage, I think about what ingredients he will eat and how I can easily prepare them without adding too many steps (or too many pots and pans) to the routine. It’s the same approach we take at Garnish & Gather when we include our “Feeding the Kids” tips.

So for example, when cooking the Sweet Potato & Brussels Sprout hash on our menu this week, I set aside a small amount of chopped sweet potatoes & brussels and tossed them with a little oil in a pan. I just popped that in the oven to roast while I finished the rest of our meal and voila - we were all fed. When he was smaller, I’d just throw the veggies in a blender to puree, but now that he’s a big boy he can feed himself the small, delicious bites. It only adds 2 minutes to my routine, but adds so much flavor to Gaines’s plate. I can tell he loves eating what we are eating.

One of the things that drew me to G&G is the commitment to bringing friends and families together around the table. In our household, we think that bonding over a shared meal is for all ages. Gaines may just be approaching one, but he has been a part of our dinnertime routine for as long as he could sit at the table. We have so much fun watching him try new foods. It’s even more rewarding when after the 5th try - he decides he actually loves peas!!

No parent can say for sure how their kids will turn out, but I have a feeling that this little guy is going to be a good eater!