Soy yogurt from Trader Joe's

A miss from Trader Joe's. This soy yogurt has 19 grams of sugar and even after adding some cereal neither of the kids liked it. I thought it tasted funny too.

Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's

Another winner from Trader Joe's - pomegranate greek yogurt without any arils and no chalky texture either. At this time the chalky texture is my issue - the twins love any and all kinds of yogurt.

Greek yogurt from yoplait

I bought this greek yogurt from Yoplait out of curiosity. Iam looking for their honey vanilla flavor and hope they put out more exotic flavors. No complaints from the twins.

skyr.is icelandic yogurt

Another tasty and healthy way to sneak proteins and calcium into the twins. They have already had skyr before so this was not a big deal for them. I like this soft cheese because it does not have the chalky texture that some of the greek yogurts have.

Blackberry pomegranate yogurt from yoplait

I bought this yoplus yogurt from Yoplait for the blackberry pomegranate flavors. With 15 grams of sugar for 4 oz it is sweet. I added a great big dollop of plain greek yogurt and the twins finished their cups happily.

Lemon yogurt from Pequea valley farm

This lemon yogurt from Pequea Valley Farm tastes and feels like really sweet lemonade flavored custard. I just could not sort it out in my head. There was no nutritional information on the carton so I went looking online. It is a small local farm that uses whole milk from grass fed cows, and a 6oz serving has ~20+ grams of sugar.

Even though I diluted it with plain yogurt it was still too sweet. Next time I will split the 6 oz into 4 portions and dilute with plain yogurt and see how that works. The twins loved it and my daughter was ecstatic over her 'dessaarrrr.'

Blueberry pomegranate juice by R. W. Knudsen

I finally succeeded in buying a non-Bolthouse Farm juice! The twins were not too pleased with it. My son outright refused it and my daughter accepted it very reluctantly. It's pretty sweet but a 'thin' juice compared to the Bolthouse Farm smoothies that the twins are used to.

Red pepper hummus from Asmar's

This red pepper hummus from Asmar's is really not as fierce as it sounds. Moreover the twins have already had (and like) spicy hummus. So it was just another hummus for them.

Artichoke Spinach hummus

The kids love hummus and on some days that is the only thing that makes their lunch go down. That and the promise of desssaaarrr. After plain hummus for a couple of months I started introducing flavored ones like this artichoke spinach hommus from Greek Gourmet.

The twins have been eating artichokes and spinach for over 5 months now so no surprises here. I thought the bits if spinach might bother them since they are used to pureed spinach. My daughter stuck her tongue out once and growled at me to remove the spinach bit on it. My son did not even notice the spinach pieces.

Happy baby food cubes

I picked up this Happy Baby think outside the jar pack out of curiosity (about how they measure up to my food cubes) and for the amaranth. The cubes are not that big but do have some texture. I nuked and mixed them into their lunch cereal.

Since the amaranth is mixed with turkey, vegetables AND fruits, there was no new taste for the kids to experience. I mix up my food cubes too but when introducing new items I try to give them straight (or mixed with a carb) and see the kids reaction. Also, from time to time I feed them just one vegetable or fruit so they know flavors and textures.

Sprout baby food pouches

I bought a couple of these out of curiosity a long time ago. Found them at the back of the pantry and decided to use them when the twins have to be fed on the go.

The food is very smooth with no texture. No problem - I had their hot cereal in little travel containers that I mixed it with and the kids ate them without any complaints.

Peanut butter brownies

Another great product that actually makes me feel guilty. Because I fancy myself a reasonably good cook and baker. I can make some mean brownies but if I make a batch then we (the adults that is) end up eating the bulk of them since the twins at this age eat so little - especially treats. I can't wait for them to grow up so I can cook to my hearts content.

These brownies are their introduction to chocolate. They both loved them and I mean it is one of their favorite foods. I hand feed these because they are very crumbly and my daughter will stand there and gobble her pieces while my son does his bobble-head wobble dance.

Idli aka soft steamed rice cakes

I make idlis the old-fashioned way - soak rice & lentils overnight, grind, let them ferment for 2 days, and finally steam them in special idli plates. The instant idli mixed available in asian/Indian grocery stores are almost as good and I use them occasionally too.

You don't need special devices to steam either. The batter can be steamed as one big pancake in any steamer or can even be cooked as a thin savory pancake. My mother-in-law bought me idli plates that make tiny idlis for little hands to hold. Iam trying to teach the twins to take bites (vs. shoving small pieces in which they have been doing so far when feeding themselves)

I fortify their idlis with thawed food cubes and almond meal. Idlis are one of the savory snacks Iam trying to get the kids to eat. My daughter will not take a second helping of them - she will only eat what I first put in front of her. Iam trying to figure out if it is the temperature that is bothering her. My son is OK with them.

Plain idlis are usually seasoned with a little salt and nothing else. So they are eaten with chutneys and Indian pickles. For now, the twins do not get any chutney but my mother-in-law slathers some honey on the idlis sometimes.

Sapota aka chikoo aka prune de sapodillo from Deep Foods

I remember eating Sapota as a kid in India. So when I saw them in the Indian/asian grocery store I had to introduce them to the twins. The thawed pieces were stringy and after I separated all the stringy part there was barely any edible pulp left. I fed it to the twins and my son at the time was engrossed with something so he barely registered it but my daughter made a face and tried to fish something out of her mouth.

That was when I noticed the waxy coating on the feeding spoon and remembered the milky sticky secretions from the fruit. The kids seemed fine but I think Iam going to wait a few months before feeding them sapota again - because of the stringy texture and waxy buildup. It does taste wonderfully sweet though which is probably why they both ate it.

Very berry snack bars from Enjoy Life

The twins have had sunbutter crunch bars, and lively lemon and snickerdoodle cookies from Enjoy Life and liked them all. So when I saw these at the mom-and-pop organic store I bought them for the kids to try. They liked them fine - no overt displays.

Mixed berry cereal bars

Like the fig bars from trader joe's, these mixed berry cereal bars from Whole Foods are very soft (and do not get stuck to their palate) and the twins love them. My daughter likes to squish them too but most of all she just cannot resist applying the goo all over her face and hair. So it's hand feed only for now.

Amazing mango from Bolthouse Farms

Another smoothie from Bolthouse Farms. Everytime I go to the grocery store I tell myself sternly to try something else but ……

My son especially loves this. As much as he likes his 'juich' he usually takes a good 15 minutes to finish 4 or 5 ounces. This is the only one so far that he has finished in under 5 minutes!

Apple applesauce

The twins have applesauce almost everyday. So I have seen a lot of different kinds of applesauces. It is one of those foods that I think I am better off buying - it is available cheap, (especially when I combine sales and coupons) is fortified and comes in many flavors.

This one from Musselman's particularly caught my eye because it is - you guessed it right - apple flavored! The twins had no reaction -and I did watch intently for one too.

16 bean soup mix

My nutritionist (sis-in-law that is) called me a few days back to tell me about a 15 bean soup mix she found that has a couple more beans than the 13 bean mix I told her about. So I went looking for it in my grocery store and right next to it I found this 16 bean soup mix.

I food cube it just like the 13 bean mix and the kids don't know the difference.

Acai mangosteen BomDia

Another product from Bolthouse Farms. By now, I am over Acai, but the twins have not tried mangosteen so far. With mangosteen in it I thought it might be a bit tart but it was sweet - too sweet for me. Nothing is ever too sweet for the twins - they loved it.

Sprouts salad

Another find at whole foods was this super salad - sprouted clover, radish, peas, garbanzo, sunflower, lentil and azuki. I brought it home not really knowing how I was going to feed it to the kids. Since cooking sprouts takes out some of the nutrients, I decided to puree them raw and see how the kids react.

The sprout puree has a very strong 'raw' smell and flavor. I added half a cube each to their lunch cereal and masked it with some hummus. After the first spoonful they looked at me and at each other with a there-is-something-fishy-going-on-here expression but finished their lunch. So I pureed the rest of the 'super salad' and food cubed it.

Omega 3 eggs

Apparently all eggs are not equal. I mean I knew that on some level - organic vs. non-organic, different sizes, USDA grades etc. Bt once the kids turned one and eggs were ok'd by their pediatrician I brushed up on my egg knowledge.

Hens fed a special diet of flax seed, fish oils and/or kelp produce eggs high in omega 3 fats. Also direct heat destroys omega 3 fats but in boiled eggs these are protected. The kids rejected the egg white for a couple of months but accepted the yellow crumbled into their cereal. Now they eat up the pieces of egg white I put in front of them while preparing lunch/dinner.

Sliced beets

I try not to use canned fruits and veggies for the twins. Sometimes though it just is so much easier, not to mention not available fresh. These sliced beets from whole foods are one of my guilty short-cuts. They are not soft enough to be fork mashed - so into the blender and the food cubes process.

I mix a cube into their lunch or dinner cereal along with a combination of other cubes. Two cubes and the flavor is too strong for the twins, even when mixed with other food cubes.

Zac O Mega peanut butter strawberry bar

Another PBJ bar that was a big hit with the twins. Made with all natural ingredients, the zac o mega is an unusually (and a really pleasant surprise after all the itsy bitsy bars) large bar. I opened it after the twins had some laughing cows, and so decided to stop half way. Both of them started howling for more. Also, my son after the first piece did his bobble-head wobble dance - he liked it that much.

Wildberry Acai toaster pastry from Nature's Path

After the success with Nature's Path cherry pomegran pop tarts I came across and decided to try their wildberry acai. Never mind that acai is one of the last ingredient listed and I never could figure out what the 'wildberry' is/are. No 'wildberry' came up in my search and Nature's Path does not elaborate either. Still, it's all organic and more exotic than strawberry.

The twins were not crazy about it - I don't know if it's because of the flavor or the fact that they have already had pop-tarts. I will be sticking to the cherry pomegran while looking for other varieties.

Kashi TLC cereal bars

Another nice product from Kashi. Their soft-baked tasty little cereal (TLC) bars come in 3 flavors and the twins like them all. My only complaint is that the bars are small - sometimes the kids eat a bar each and still want more - I just give them some sunshine!

Mini ravioli

I was getting concerned that all the snacks and finger foods that the twins were getting were sweet. I wanted to try something bland/savory. They cannot handle crunchy yet, and will simply squish their way through steamed/boiled veggies (vs. actually putting them in their mouth and eating.)

I came across these mini raviolis and decided to give them a try. I had to cut them in half because they are still too big for the twins. Limited success - my daughter will eat them but takes longer to chew than usual. My son will either pull the stuffing out and eat it or put the whole thing in his mouth and later spit out the shell.

Perfect Foods peanut butter bar

Perfect Foods? Bee-superman?? But it was something new so I picked it up. A really good find - the best peanut butter bar I ever had - not to mention the twins loved it. The consistency is a perfect grainy -not too smooth and not too chunky. The twins could eat it without it getting stuck to their palate.

Even though it has a ton of ingredients (usually not a good sign) all of them are natural and mostly organic. And the bar tastes completely like peanut butter. If Perfect Foods ever came out with cashew bars I would buy them by the crate.

40 spices hummus from Tribe

Usually when something touts itself spicy, I bring it home, taste it and roll my eyes about the hypocrisy of it all. But this 40 spices hummus from Tribe foods is all that and some. It is spicy and tastes 'fresh' too.

I was apprehensive that it might be a bit too spicy for the twins, especially my daughter who has more 'delicate' taste buds than my son. Surprisingly (actually maybe not) she liked it more than him. I started with a quarter teaspoon and now they are at a teaspoon each. I mix it into their lunch/dinner for the extra kick.

Baba ghannouj

I already use hummus and tahini sometimes to make the twins meals interesting. Another introduction is this roasted baba ghannouj I picked up recently. The kids have had egg plant cubes already so this was no big deal for them - moreover I split a tablespoon of it between the two of them.

Berry fiddlesticks from Plum Tots

These berry fiddlesticks from Plum Tots looked like they would be a welcome change for the twins from the soft bars that I had been feeding them. They are intimidatingly hard and when I gave each a whole stick to munch on, they both tried to shove the whole thing inside at once. So I had to break them up into small bits and it was smooth sailing from then on.