Prunes

I have been a vegetarian my entire life.

My parents chose to raise me and my three brothers as vegetarians after they went veg in the '70s. My parents' reasons for changing their diet, my brothers' return to omnivorism, and why I'm choosing to raise my daughter as a strict vegetarian are topics for another day. Today I'm thinking about prunes.

I had a baby 7 months ago and this beautiful girl recently started eating solid food. It must be a strange experience - going from just drinking sweet, watery mothers milk (yes I tasted it) to suddenly having weird tasting "smoosh" shoveled down your throat...

As a new mom there are all these things you are told to do to "be a good mom" -- read to them every day, don't let them watch TV, put them to sleep on their back, always strap them in to the stroller/car seat... And breastfeed exclusively for the first six months... So, six months rolls around - it's the big day - first feeding - yay! With some trepidation I sat my girl into her new high chair and mushed up her food. In preparation for the big day a lot of thought and earnest conversations with my husband (aka Daddy) went into deciding what our daughter's first food should be. I think putting "a lot of thought" and having "earnest conversations" about even the most mundane topic -- such as if we need to buy a diaper warmer (we did not) -- are part of "being a good mom".

Our earnest conversations let to the conclusion that banana mushed up with some breast milk was the ideal first food. The pros: no cooking required, easy to make at home (I want to make her foods, as much as possible), and lastly, banana is sweet, bland but yummy - kind of like breast milk.

There she was sitting at the table, all gussied up in her bib looking expectantly at the bowl... actually she was ignoring me and happily playing with a toy -- but in my imagination she was looking interested in the smoosh I had lovingly prepared. I scooped up the banana mix with a

spoon and gently shoveled into her mouth. A puzzled look befell my babe, but she swallowed and accepted another bite. Then when bite number three was making it's way into her mouth she pursed her little lips and decidedly turned her head away. Success!! Sort of.

So began my little girl's foray into the glorious world of food and vegetarian foodie-hood. But, you may be wondering, I thought this was about prunes...

Did I list the cons to bananas as a first food? They are part of the BRAT diet. My poor baby became immediately constipated and unhappy as her digestive system worked to process the new addition. After all, her system was finely tuned to digesting exclusively breast milk - that any new food would unbalance her belly should have been expected...

After a few days I called the pediatrician (another thing you do when trying to be a "good mom" is call the doctor at the drop of a hat). She recommended replacing the banana with prune juice or purée. So I whipped up some purée with the prunes in our pantry -- yes we already had some on hand. I happen to like them, even though they have a bad rap. Did you know they are starting to label prunes as "dried plums" (which they actually are) to make them sound more appealing to a younger crowd? Ah America.

Long story short, they worked. Now everyday my baby eats prunes mixed with cinnamon, or sometimes other fruits and veggies and spices. As my pediatrician said "some kids just need to eat prunes every day for a couple of years - it doesn't mean she will need to eat them when she's 20".

What a relief! Imagine what her college friends would think!