Please email your questions to Catherine@weelicious.com. I will get back to you and post your question by the end of day.

Q: “I’m not sure how much I should be feeding my 9 month old or what I should be feeding her”? -Sarah B/ Tulsa, OK

A: This is such a fun stage. At this point your baby has been turned on to all kinds of new foods and is probably up to 3 meals a day. This will vary baby to baby, but in general, you should try to feed your baby 3-4 tablespoons of food per meal. This can consist of cereal, dairy, fruits, vegetables, grain, and meats. It’s important to give your child a variety of foods so they’re getting plenty of vitamins and minerals as well as being turned on to new flavors and combinations.
Along with the food, you will be nursing your baby 3-4 times a day or giving your baby 20-32 oz of formula.

Q: “My 10-month-old is learning to enjoy solid foods. I would like to start feeding him table food (as opposed to jar food) for dinner. Unfortunately, I am a busy working mom and don’t have much time for cooking. Can anyone recommend nutritious table foods for baby’s dinner that are quick and easy to prepare?” Deborah G./ New York City, NY

A: I always keep tons of table food in the refrigerator. Usually I steam a big batch of assorted vegetables and some organic chicken or fish. When it’s cooked through and tender I cut it into bite size pieces for my baby to feed himself. Tempeh and tofu are also great prepared foods that can be cut into bite size pieces.

Q: “I have a nine year old boy who refuses to eat any fruit (yes, any fruit including watermelon) or juice… he will eat three vegetables… broccoli stems, edamame and avocado… I, of course insist that he eats at least one of these everyday but it indeed gets tiresome. He won’t care if there is a sweet sauce on anything… there has been no getting around it! Can you help”?! ms.g/ CA

A: This is part of the reason I started weelicious. So many kids supposedly “hate” fruits and vegetables. If we start early enough with a love and respect of what goes in our bodies then hopefully kids will grow to love them. My advice is to try and cook with your kids at least one meal a week. Get them to participate in cooking with you, knowing where the produce comes from and how important the vitamins and minerals are in their little bodies in order to play and be active. Take their favorite foods and add fruits and vegetables. Make hawaiian pizza with pineapple and ham, zucchini bread or strawberry sorbet. Most of the time it’s a control issue. If they see you eating and enjoying these foods, then hopefully they will too.

Q: “What a great website! A friend of mine who lives in Seattle, WA sent it to me. I of course forwarded it to several other moms here in town. We live in a small rural area of Eastern Washington, but have all lived in California, Oregon or Seattle for most of our lives. We all have babies from 11 months to 2 years and we struggle to find the best produce and high quality organic foods to put into our child’s bodies. We miss Trader Joes! Do you have any advice on how we can get access to better quality foods maybe via online or do we just need to pack a cooler and drive 3 hours to Seattle…Any advice you can give would be so greatly appreciated”. -Kathyrn Jones/ WA

A: Part of the reason I love farmers markets so much is that the food comes from the farm and then right to the market, so there’s less handling. You’re getting the freshest ingredients and you meet the people that grow it. First I recommend shopping at your local farmers market and eat seasonally. Local Harvest is a also a great resource for markets and most areas have food coops which deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to your home weekly.

Q: “I love your recipes. I know you mentioned freezing the pureed baby food, but what about older items like the meatballs. Will they freeze well? How long would you recommend they would last in the fridge if not. Thanks!” -Adrienne/CA

A: I freeze everything I make and test it to make sure it will work. The meatballs freeze beautifully (no more then 3 months, though). Make sure to seal them in freezer bags so that ice crystals don’t form.
All of the purees freeze great, especially in the little cubes under my cooking gear. Truthfully, I will feed Kenya most of the purees, the turkey bites, polenta balls, etc.. for 4 days out of the refrigerator. To be on the safe side go with 3 days, but as a busy working Mother, I do the sniff and taste test myself and then feed it to him. As long as you let everything throughly cook before you put it in the refrigerator, it will be fine. The one food I don’t let go for more then a day or 2 is cooked fish. I usually steam it the day I buy it make sure Kenya finishes it within 24 hours.