Baby Food: Introducing More Texture with Refried Beans and Pasta

Since my little sweet potato has now mastered cereals, veggies, fruits, and meats, I decided to start introducing more texture into her food.  She is now nine months old.  She was probably ready for more texture a while ago; some babies will not be ready until later.  Each baby is different so feel yours out and use your instincts.  Keep in mind that any front teeth they have will not aid in chewing so you still need to make food soft enough to gum.

The first chunky thing I fed April was fat-free refried beans.  These are my normal refried beans that I feed the rest of my family.  She absolutely loved them and didn't even seem to notice that there were little chunks of bean.

Since she did so well with the refried beans, I figured she was ready for some pasta.  I made spaghetti for my family last night.  I simply took some of the noodles and chopped them into small pieces that could be swallowed.  I used my Pampered Chef chopper to do this.  A knife does work, but takes a lot more time and effort.

The rest of my family ate their spaghetti with marinara sauce.  But all three of my older kids would get diaper rashes when I fed them acidic foods at this age, so I didn't even try it on April.  Instead, I mixed her pasta into some squash I had in my freezer.

Once again, my little eater gladly accepted the new food.

She even clapped about it.