As a new mom, How important is it for you to know what your baby eats?

It's a top priority especially because I chose the Baby Led Weaning route. I wanted Pilar to be able to explore different kinds of food, and of course, to make sure that everything she eats is healthy and benefits her.

What is Pilar's diet?

She eats breakfast, a snack, lunch, another snack, and dinner, with breastfeeding in between. I try to make sure that she has protein, veggies and/or fruits and carbs with every big meal. I also try not to give her lots of meat, so protein can come from other veggies or yogurt or cheeses; tofu, too, sometimes. For snacks, I usually give her rice crackers, a banana or an orange. Simple fruits that aren't complicated to prepare.

Banana Bread

• 1 large egg
• 2 medium bananas or 3 (should be a cup)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter/ or coconut oil is good too
• 3/4 cups all purpose flour, sometimes I replace with grounded oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp spirulina

How to Cook:

1. Pre-heat your oven and prep the pan.
2. Prep your ingredients by melting your butter in a microwave and mashing your bananas.
3. In a bowl, mix in your flour or grounded oats, baking soda, spirulina, and cinnamon powder. Gently stir as all dry ingredients are fairly mixed.
4. In a separate bowl, mix in your melted butter and one egg. Once completely combine, add it to your dry ingredients.
5. Add in your cup of mashed bananas and mix well.
6. Add your lemon for taste
7. Fold in some chia seeds
8. Transfer your mixture to your prepped pan and then bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
9. Check using a toothpick if your loaf’s interior is cooked. Bake until top is caramelized.
10. Baking hours may vary, but start checking around 50 minutes and then every 5 minutes after.
11. Once baked, cool the pan for 10 minutes until you can transfer your newly baked loaf on a cooling rack.
12. Ready to serve.

Tuna Truffle Carbonara

Ingredients

• 1 serving of organic spaghetti pasta
• A can of tuna in brine
• Truffle Mushroom
• Olive oil
• A dash of pepper
• Cream milk
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ onion
• Cheese

How to Cook

1. Boil pasta until cooked. Drain and set aside
2. Soak dried mushrooms in water. And cut to bite size pieces
3. Drain tuna can from brine water
4. In a frying pan, sauté onion, garlic, and mushroom until brown. Add in tuna
5. Once all ingredients are cooked in the pan, add cream milk
6. Cook in low heat until sauce thickens.
7. Top with cheese
8. Serve on her favorite food tray.

As new parents, how important is it for you to know what your baby eats?

Very important. We want to know what goes into what she eats, and of course, to ensure good health and proper growth. Knowing what she eats also helps in the long run for her cognitive development. Now that Eli has turned one and has finally learned to chew, she's starting to enjoy eating sauteed vegetables with fried fish, fresh fruits, and rice on the side. Her favorite vegetable is broccoli, which we introduced to her as her first food when she was only six months of age.

What is Eli's diet?

We immediately introduced her to vegetables. We steam them—usually ones that soften easily— and would add seasonings such as pepper and turmeric. Definitely no salt.

We started by mashing the veggies together and adding the mixture into her feeder. Slowly, we gave her bite-sized pieces that she can easily hold and eat by herself. As part of this, we also encouraged finger-feeding, where we let her reach for the food and eat on her own. After two months, we slowly introduced her to other foods, where we cook and saute white meat: Either fish or chicken. Now she eats very well on her own and is not very picky. We are also teaching her to use her own spoon; we'd like to say she's doing well!