Starting Solids + 5 Recipes Orlo is Loving

“Oh!! You must be starting solids soon – how exciting!” Have you ever ran into a parent either at the grocery store or a play group and heard this response after sharing your baby’s age? You’d assume that, for someone who is passionate about making nutritious meals (and eating them ;), who willingly and happily spends her weekends meal planning and prepping, who loves testing new recipes, that of course I’d answer, “Yes, I’m excited!” Was I excited? Yes… sort of. Maybe. Not really.

It surprised me how hesitant and overwhelmed I felt at the idea of starting Orlo on solids. You see, Orlo and I had found a sweet spot – a groove – to our breastfeeding relationship. Gone were the days of lugging the breast pillow around the house. We settled into the frequency of breastfeeding, proper latching, and storing milk for the apocalypse

(see How Anxiety Over Breastfeeding Turned into a Freezer Full of Breast Milk)? Was I really ready for my baby to grow up and eat real food – by himself?? Would our bond be weakened? Would Orlo no longer prefer mama’s milk? Part of me wasn’t ready for him to not only need me for nutrients. I believe it was these initial insecurities that made me so hesitant – and in turn, overwhelmed – to “start solids”. Where to begin?

What I knew for certain, and personally learned through our journey to Orlo, was that I wanted Orlo to be nourished with real food. If I wouldn’t put it in my body, it certainly wasn’t going in his. I knew I wasn’t going to find any “first foods” in the middle aisles of the grocery store, just as I would not find my own meals there. My health journey taught me how incredibly important eating nutrient dense foods are for our mind and body. It was important to me to ensure I was doing my research in learning how to best give Orlo the building blocks for a healthy body, as well as a healthy relationship with food. Understanding that as a new mama, this is not an area of expertise to me (yet ;)), I soon contacted Carley, from Oh Baby Nutrition, for some guidance.

Digging into Carley’s First Foods for Babies guides, this excerpt really connected with me:

Myth: “Food before one is just for fun.”

Fact: Babies have tiny tummies and growing bodies with high nutritional needs, so every bite counts right from the start! Food can and should be FUN but it should also provide babies with the essential nutrients that they need to develop & grow. Like the additional iron & zinc that they require between 6-12m’s. Introducing flavorful foods before 1 year helps babies become more adventurous, less picky eaters. Finger foods are also more than just fun because they improve dexterity and help babies learn how to chew and safely manage food in their mouths. Studies show that this is the most beneficial developmentally between the ages of 6-10m’s. So yes, eating should be fun to help your child build a healthy relationship with food, but it also serves as so much more!

It was quite clear my milk would no longer offer enough of certain nutrients for Orlo (such as iron… Did you know a baby 6-12 months in age requires more daily iron (11mg) than an adult male (8mg)?!). In addition to his vitamin intake however, I’ve always dreamed of involving Orlo in preparing meals. I believe it is important for Orlo to understand where his food comes from, how it is prepared (and also how it is cleaned up!). My hope is that he will come to not only enjoy the privilege of tasting and preparing different foods, but also respect the process. It became apparent that a baby-led approach was right for us.

*I highly recommend you do your own research on Baby-Led Weaning and/or Purees to ensure you understand and feel comfortable with how you choose to nourish your baby.

Orlo’s First Foods

Orlo’s first food (like many babies I’m sure!) was avocado! We cut him strips of a ripe avocado, and placed on his highchair table, showing him what this green stuff mushing between his fingers was. He wasn’t totally into this foreign texture and flavour hitting his lips, and on day two we decided to puree some avocado (more so for my assurance than his!). We tried some other common first foods such as sweet potato, however knowing how much iron Orlo requires, we wanted to include heme sources of iron to assist in meeting his daily requirement.

Enter: Vivi & Tom Baby Food!

My dear friend Lala just so happened to start a company offering organic, locally sourced, nutritious baby food just months before Orlo turned six months – Vivi & Tom! Lala is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, mama of Tom (now 19 months old!), who is passionate about nourishing babes, and is responsible for formulating all Vivi + Tom baby food recipes. We ordered jars of Beef & Squash, Salmon & Mango (I shared a version of this recipe below!), and Chicken & Parsnip, to support Orlo in his first few weeks of solids, while I got more comfortable in this new role.

After a few weeks of testing some purées and finger foods (mainly soft veggies such as carrots and squash at the time), I found I was getting more comfortable – and excited! – about meal times with Orlo. Fast forward to eight months old, two months into our journey of offering solids, Orlo and I are both loving the adventure of new foods and recipes. Funny enough, just last week I found myself saying to a Dad of a six month old, “Six months! Wow, you must be SO EXCITED to start solids!” I say that now, comfortable in our new “normal” of solids (and breastfeeding), fully loving the adventure of introducing Orlo to a whole new world of textures, tastes, and flavours. How quickly we can forget the intimidation of starting something new once we’re full steam ahead! 😅

As promised, here are Orlo’s five favourite recipes to date!

Probiotic Applesauce
Recipe: Oh Baby Nutrition

Strengthens baby’s digestion and immunity.

Ingredients
1 cup blended apples
1.5 tbsp of traditionally fermented (no vinegar) sauerkraut juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Peel, core, then cut the apple into chunks. Place in a blender or food processor with the
sauerkraut juice and cinnamon, then blend until desired consistency is reached. Pour the
applesauce into a clean jar and seal with a lid. Allow it to sit on the counter at room temperature
for 24 hours, opening the jar once or twice halfway through to release the gasses and check
progress. (Shorter ferment times for warmer climates/seasons).
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

O’s Breakfast Smoothie
Recipe: Kayla Leskiw

Ingredients
1 ounce breast milk*
1/3 ripe banana
6-7 baby spinach leaves
1/4 ripe avocado
2 tbsp berries

Put all ingredients in food processor or small blender. Blend until desired consistency (I like blending it until thick + creamy!).

*You can use almond or coconut milk in place of breast milk.

Chicken Liver Pate
Recipe: Oh Baby Nutrition

Liver is incredibly nutrient dense and the richest source of heme (highly bioavailable) iron,
an important mineral for babies.

Ingredients
1 cup trimmed livers, chicken, beef, or wild game (I chose chicken)
1/4 cup bone broth or filtered water
2.5 tbsp of butter or ghee (I used avocado oil)
1 tbsp coconut cream
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, no stalks (I used 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
1 clove garlic
1/2 small shallot *optional for babies who are not prone to gassiness (I omitted)
pinch of sea salt *optional depending on baby’s age (I omitted)

Finley mince garlic and shallot and then fry in 1/2 tablespoon of butter (or ghee) until they start
to become fragrant. Add livers, finely chopped thyme leaves, and bone broth (or water) to the
pan. Cover pan and cook until the livers are light brown on the outside and very lightly pink on
the inside, stirring throughout. Turn off the heat and keep the livers covered in the pan for
another 5 minutes. Drain the liquid then put the liver mixture into a blender or food processor
with the remaining butter (or ghee), coconut cream (and optional sea salt), and purée until
smooth. Additional bone broth, water, or coconut cream can be added to adjust the consistency
to baby’s comfort level. If time allows, refrigerate 4+ hours to set before serving.

*For young babies, do not top with fried onion or fresh chives as pictured.

Carrot Cumin Fingers
Recipe: Kayla Leskiw

Ingredients
4 medium sized carrots, peeled and cut into strips
1.5 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp cumin

In a small pot, boil water (enough to barely cover carrots), stove top. Once water is boiling, add carrots. Cook, covered, until carrots are easily pierced by a fork. Once cooked, drain water. Season with coconut oil and cumin, mixing well. Cool before serving babe!

Salmon Mango Purée with Super Food Avocado
Recipe: Megan Garcia

Orlo absolutely LOVES this Salmon Mango purée! You can find the recipe on Megan’s website by clicking here. Vivi + Tom use an adapted version of this recipe, which is what Orlo is loving in the photo below! 🙂

Let me know if you try any of O’s favourites, and if your little ones love them as much as he does! Find me on Instagram @kaylaleskiw and share what you think!

Happy adventuring!

Xo,

Kayla

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