Potato leek soup from Imagine Foods

The potato leek soup from Imagine Foods was right next to the tomato soup and since the twins have never had leeks, I picked it up. This soup was really more of a bisque and did not help thin out anything.

I tried to spoon feed it to the twins straight but they didn't like it - too smooth a texture? After I added some hot cereal though they finished it.

Strawberries

The twins really like strawberries. They eat them rolled in graham crackers, with some honey drizzled on top and fork mashed and mixed with other fruit purees.

Creamy tomato soup from Pacific Foods

When I have to thin out the twins food cubes or cereal, I use some rasam (basically tomato+water) or the top watery part of sambhar ( a kind of lentil+vegetables stew.) These are handy, more nutritious than plain water and have some seasoning. Recently though the twins have been looking at me strangely when I am offering them food laced with rasam or sambhar. I interpret it as the what-rasam-again? look.

So I decided to look for soups to thin out their food - again they are handy, more nutritious than water and add flavor. For the introduction I started with this creamy tomato soup. My daughter said yummi-yummi!

Petit brussels sprouts

Being inspired by Mandy's twins, I decided to introduce brussels sprouts to the twins starting with these petite ones - really, some of them were the size of a cheerio!

The kids did not like them either whole, cut-up, fork-mashed or pureed. I mixed the puree with some garbanzo cubes and they ate it very very reluctantly. About half way through my daughter threw up the whole thing.

They eat enough of other veggies so I will lay off the brussels sprouts for some time.

Frozen 100% fruit bars from Power of Fruit

These will be great once the twins grow some molars. Like the package from Power of Fruit says, all it contains is 'fruit, whole fruit and nothing but fruit.'

The fruits are not pureed and the twins are not doing well with a mixture of textures and sizes yet. Some of the bigger pieces they try to spit out and everything comes out. I tried mixing it with some baby muesli but still no luck.

Chocolate bars from Enjoy Life

These chewy coco loco bars from Enjoy Life were a total miss with everyone. The kids did not like them at all and neither did I. They are not chalky or too hard or dry - it's hard to articulate - just not right.

Portobello mushroom soup from Imagine

I wanted the twins to try mushrooms but they rejected them cooked (not brave enough to offer them raw yet) and pureed. So, when I came across this Portobello mushroom soup from Imagine foods I decided to give it a shot. It's made with all natural ingredients and tastes pretty good.

It was hard trying to feed the twins soup with their little baby spoons. I added a cube of bean mix to bring it up to a bisque consistency and they ate it without making any faces.

Royal fig spread from St. Dalfour

I like figs - just not the fresh ones. In any other form though I like the grainy texture. So when I saw this Royal Fig spread from St. Dalfour I bought it. It has no added sugar (sweetened with grape juice concentrate) nor any preservatives, added flavors or colors.

Now that the weather is warmer, I know my yogurt will ferment without fail and so I stopped buying flavored yogurt. I just swirl in a tablespoon of fruit spread (this one has only 7 grams of sugar per tbsp) into the yogurt and they still love their 'desseaarr!'

For the really great part - the spread has pieces of fig which the twins do not really care for. Lucky me! I wonder how long it will last though…...

Peaches in white grape juice from Trader Joe's

Peaches are sometimes too much work so I give in to temptation and buy them processed. I liked that these peach halves from Trader Joe's were floating in grape juice (vs. sugar syrup) and that the container is glass (vs. metal.)

The twins accepted the halves rolled in graham cracker crumbs and I used the grape juice to food cube other fruits and thin out (and sweeten) greek yogurt for dessert.

Apple watermelon fruity flakes from Trader Joe's

These apple watermelon fruit-flakes from Trader Joe's are tough - like fruit leather. I didn't figure it out (missed the 'little dried fruit snacks' description) in the store and when I opened the packet at home I was disappointed. Still, I decided to let the twins have a go at it while keeping a close eye on them (choking hazard.)

My daughter spat out the very first bit but my son loved them. He ate a whole pouch and wanted more!

Pepper melange a trois from Trader Joe's

The twins like the flavor of bell peppers but reject them steamed or pressure cooked. I think it's the skin they don't like. So I still puree bell peppers. This pepper melange a trois from Trader Joe's looked so colorful I had to buy it. Of course, once cooked and pureed it looked like tomato puree but the smell was wonderful.

This pepper puree mixed with mashed hard-boiled egg yellow is one of the twins favorite lunch items. Since they cannot feed themselves egg yellow (too crumbly) and don't really like it if I feed it to them this works perfectly.

Soy yogurt from Stonyfield

I bought this o'Soy yogurt from Stonyfield just out of curiosity. It has the same amount of protein per serving as their regular yogurt and is almost as good in taste. For the twins it was just another 'desseerrrr.'

Yobaby 3-in-1 meals

Whenever one of the twins is especially fussy at mealtimes, I throw in a couple of veggie cubes into their flavored yogurt and add some lunch/dinner cereal for a complete meal. This has not failed me so far. So when I saw these 3-in-1 meals from Yobaby (yogurt+fruit+vegetable) I had to bring them home and see how they measure up against my concoction.

They are low in sugar but not enough fruit+veggie in my opinion. I add a veggie cube and cereal and it is still sweet enough for the twins to eat up.

Frozen yogurt, Greek style from Cyclops

After a couple of my friends teased me about how deprived my kids are since the only dessert they know (and ever get) is flavored yogurt, I decided to ease them into frozen treats with this mango flavored frozen yogurt, Greek style, from Cyclops.

The twins did not like it! To me it tasted a bit greasy and too sweet. So there it is - they are so not deprived.

Cauliflower

After cleaning and cutting, I pressure cook the meristems. When the twins were younger I used to puree, but now it's just potato masher-ed and food cubed. For lunch and dinner I either add another food cube or a carb.

The twins do not like cauliflower steamed/pressure cooked or pureed/mashed yet. They will only eat it with something else.

Half a banana a day

The twins split a banana every morning for breakfast. Sometimes I fork mash it (if I have to mix something in it to make it go down) and sometimes I cut it into bite size pieces. They love bananas and it is one of the first words they learned - manana.

Small mangoes from Sam's Club

These mangoes from Sam's club are among the best I had outside of India. The twins loved both the pieces and puree. Even though the fruit don't have a strong 'ripe mango' smell, once cut the aroma was wonderful. They were so good, that we adults ate all the pieces and when I went to Sam's again a couple of days later just for the mangoes they were out of them!

Sliced fresh mango from Trader Joe's

I cannot resist mangoes or mango flavored things - so even though I buy fresh and frozen mangoes I had to try these fresh sliced mangoes from Trader Joe's. They were average - rather bland.

The twins accepted pieces rolled in graham cracker crumbs but rejected the puree. I adding the puree to their mashed banana and they finished it without anymore fuss.

Yellow cucumber

Like the banana-plantain situation this yellow cucumber is a vegetable and has a fruit counterpart that I have last seen in India more than 20 years ago.

After, washing, scraping, cutting, removing the seeds and pressure cooking, I fork-mash and food cube. This vegetable can be tart sometimes and goes well with lentils. I add a cube of bean mix or a tablespoon of hot cereal and the kids eat it fine.

Ridge gourd or Luffa

I did not know I have been eating luffa all these years! This is a really mild vegetable and when it is still immature has no fibrous tissue at all.

After scraping off the skin, and cutting it up, I pressure cook it. Even though the flesh gets fork-mashed the seeds don't. They are not hard but just really thin and flat and the twins don't like them. So into the blender and food cubes. Because it is a really watery vegetable I mix it in with lentils or bean mix.

Plantain

A plantain is not a raw banana. I found that out a really long time ago, when I decided to let a plantain ripen and eat it. A ripe plantain isn't unpleasant but it's definitely NOT a banana.

I cut up the plantain, removing the head and the tail. After pressure cooking it I removed the skin and fork-mash it. The twins accepted it after adding a little salt. Just another vegetable - they didn't particularly like or dislike it.

Guava

The guavas with the pink insides are so darn pretty but I cannot remember the last time I saw one. Also, the ones I find in my area never get sweet no matter how many days I let them ripen.

The twins rejected guava pieces straight AND rolled in graham cracker crumbs. I remove the skin and seeds and puree them and food cube. For breakfast I mix the puree with some pear sauce and the twins eat it.

Papaya

An acquaintance who reads my blog asked me if I feed the twins anything 'fresh and normal fruits and vegetables.' After being taken aback, and then indignant (I hid it well though), I thought about it and realized she just gave me a whole bunch of things to blog about.

Papaya was one of the first fruits the twins had once I began venturing beyond commercial baby food. After letting the papaya ripen for a few days, I remove the skin (some papayas have a thick skin i.e. the slight bitter after-taste that is just under the skin) and seeds. Half of it I puree and food cube. The other half gets cut into toddler size pieces.

The puree I thaw for breakfast and the pieces make a great snack rolled in graham cracker crumbs/powder. Some papayas will have a bitter after-taste no matter how many days I let them ripen. The best ones, in my experience, are from Whole Foods and my local Indian and Asian grocery stores.

Yogurt sandwich bars from Revolution Foods

Even though I decided not to buy anymore revolution foods sandwiches after the last time, I could not resist these graham and yogurt ones. They are of course all organic, a nice soft consistency, great for on-the-go and the twins love them. But also I will not spend that much for sandwiches that small again.

Baby Muesli from Beech Nut

Finally a second baby muesli. The kids have been eating familia muesli for months now. This baby cereal from Beech Nut does not have as much texture as the familia one. On the other hand it is just right - I don't have to add anything else to improve the texture.

Tapioca pudding from So Yummi

This is so pretty - outside, inside and nutritionally (all natural ingredients with 10 grams sugar.) The outside picture shows regular sized tapioca pearls but the actual product has really tiny seed pearl sized ones.

The twins ate it up, especially since the size of the tapioca pearls did not bother them. Each pack contains 4 little tubs and the second time I added a dollop of plain greek yogurt to boost the calcium/protein content. The twins didn't even notice the difference - my daughter did peek into her bowl suspiciously a few times though.

Edamame Hummus from Trader Joe's

This is one tart hummus. I mixed one teaspoon into their cereal and the twins both puckered up. Once I diluted it with more with cereal and added a veggie cube they were fine.

Kamut puffs from Nature's Path

With 0 grams of sugar, these kamut puffs from Nature's Path did not go down well with the twins. My daughter spat it out immediately and my son gamely tried a few. These don't break apart and disintegrate easily like the honey sunshine pillows or cheerios which might be another reason for the rejection.

Coconut water from Vitacoco

When the twins had a bout with a stomach bug I wanted to give them something else besides pedialyte. I found this in the mom-and-pop organic store and decided to try it. It is the closest I have tasted to coconut water that is not directly from the nut itself. And that is because that is all there is in that carton - 100% pure coconut water and as the company's website says - it's just like sticking a straw in a coconut.

Surprisingly, my son did not like it at all - in fact, I have never seen him reject something (and sweet too at that) so vehemently. My daughter was the polar opposite - she could not get enough of it.

7 whole grain instant hot cereal from Eco-planet

Since this 7 whole grains instant hot cereal from eco-planet has apples and cinnamon (and 10 grams sugar per packet) in it, I cannot use it for their lunch or dinner. It has unique grains too, sorghum and amaranth, along with oats, buckwheat, brown rice, quinoa and millet.

My daughter did not like the apple pieces in it and spit them out. My son had no problem. About an hour and a half after breakfast though, they were both very very sleepy. I will probably split one packet between them next time.

Cream of buckwheat

I have seen cream of wheat and cream of rice but not cream of buckwheat so I picked it up. It is wheat and gluten free and has a high satiety value. Since Bob's 10 grain hot cereal does not contain buckwheat, I add this and quinoa flakes, on the days I remember, to make their lunch/dinner even more nutritious.