As Kasen has gotten older, we've begun to combine fruits and veggies and protein together for a hearty meal. He'll typically have three courses altogether - protein mixed with fruit and veggies, another variety of fruit and veggies on its own, and fruit by itself (meant to be dessert!). So a sample meal would be chicken stew (chicken broth, chicken breast, rice, potatoes, and carrots), peas with green beans and pears, and bananas and mango. Easy, right? Not so. Kasen began to get pickier and pickier, and my guess is that he started to develop a sweet tooth, preferring sweet to savory, so it caused me to have to constantly mix proteins and veggies with fruits. And even so, he wasn't crazy about it. He would never fail to make a face haha!
In some ways I'm not surprised. His parents are picky eaters as well. Sigh. Guess I was hoping he'd be one of those babies that was adventurous enough to enjoy everything...then use that base as a guide for becoming a foodie later. Fat chance!
So that naturally resulted in me researching like mad ways to get my baby to eat his protein...but more importantly, enjoy it. Yes, that's right! You heard me. It's just as important to me that Kasen enjoys what he's eating. I guess that's the self-processed foodie in me.
On my way to my in laws from work I picked up a papaya, a bag of carrots, peaches, and bananas from the fruit stand. I washed the papaya with a vinegar and water solution to kill bacteria, peeled the papaya on the outside, cut it lengthwise, then scooped out the seeds. I cut and pureed about 75% of the papaya as I planned to freeze it and use it to mix with other fruits, and cut and added the remaining 25% to an already simmering small soup pan of homemade chicken broth, jook (cantonese for broken down rice porridge), cut mangos and one small carrot. Once everything was boiled and soft, I added a few tenderloins of chicken breast to the simmering mixture and cooked the chicken breast slowly on low. In my opinion the chicken is more tender and less dry as it cooks more slowly. Once cooked I transferred the mixture to my beaba and pureed it. It tastes amazing. I hope he likes it!
And now, it's 4:30am and I'm just waiting for the concoction to cool. Yes, I have many random nights where I will get up just to make Kasen's meals. I'm crazy.
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