Ode to my Blendtec blender

What is this disgusting-looking green goop, you ask? That's Elsie's lunch.

Not all of it at once, of course, but enough for several days and to add to our freezer stash.

In case anyone has any doubts about my love for our new Blendtec blender, I've decided to dedicate yet another blog post about good ol' Blendy. And lest you think I am bragging about the superiority of my blender, keep in mind that I have never owned a high-powered, top of the line appliance, or car, or anything, really. Most everything that I've owned has been second-hand or generic brand or fairly low-medium quality. So, yes, I am excited about the awesome blender, and I apologize if it seems like bragging. It's just the coolest thing I've ever owned.

What do we blend for Elsie's food, you ask? Well, just about anything. We started out with one food at a time, to make sure that she didn't have anything allergies or negative reactions. Typical "baby's first solid food" foods like apples, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. We would add a few tablespoons of food to Elsie's milk and then wait for a few days before introducing a new food. We've been experimenting with her blended food diet now for several weeks, and Elsie's repertoire of foods has expanded enough that we can blend multiple foods together for added calories and nutrition. Lately I've been purchasing fresh produce through Bountiful Baskets, so whatever arrives with our basket is what I will throw in the blender. If I don't have anything fresh on hand, I have also blended leftovers from our family's meals, such as beef stew or meatball soup.

For example: Saturday's blend consisted of spinach, asparagus, celery, mushrooms, bok choy, plus some frozen peas, wheat germ, and flax seed. I threw it all in a pot, let it simmer in some water for 15 minutes or so, then threw it all in the blender. It turned out beautifully, and didn't taste too bad, either.

Yesterday's blend was some chicken and vegetables that I roasted in the oven before blending: two chicken thighs (more calories and fat than chicken breasts), a sweet potato, several carrots, half an onion, some leftover bok choy, and celery. When I put it in the blender, I added a handful or two of Multi-Grain Cheerios and a spoonful of wheat germ for some added carbohydrates and grains, plus a handful of frozen green beans and peas. This blend is the one in the picture above. Pretty gross-looking, I know, but it's full of nutritional goodness!

Some tubie-blender families make a large batch of the same nutritionally-complete blend that they use for each meal of the day. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, but it's not what I choose to do. I try to make Elsie's meals more like a typical oral meal. Here's what I mean by that: for breakfast, Elsie is tube-fed a blend of Cream of Wheat cereal, plus a fruit, plus some coconut oil for extra calories, plus her milk. Sometimes I'll add a teaspoon of flax seed, just for fun. Pretty typical breakfast of cereal and fruit, right? Lunch is usually a protein/vegetable blend, like the roasted chicken and veggies I mentioned before, plus milk. A snack in the afternoon is a fruit or veggie blend, sometimes with a graham cracker or some Cheerios blended in. And dinner is veggies and milk. She's also still on continuous feeds overnight, milk only. So as you can see, her meals are pretty typical to what an oral eating child might eat, just in pureed form. She is offered food on her high chair tray to munch on while being tube-fed to try to increase her oral eating skills.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I honestly get a thrill when I watch whole, healthy foods being pureed into a smooth blend that I can feed my child. She is fed more healthy foods than the rest of us eat, that's for sure. I was giggling in the grocery store the other day when I saw Elsie's foods in our shopping cart mixed in with the food for everyone else: wheat germ, quinoa, walnuts and almonds compared to frozen pizza, Cheetos, and Oreos. Of course, I rationalize the Cheetos and Oreos by telling myself that I am only buying them to tempt Elsie's palate. Ha ha. I am excited for more fruits and vegetables to come in season this summer so that we can stock up and freeze them to add to Elsie's blends. If you have any extra produce that you're wanting to get rid of, we'll take it!

Anyway. We love being able to blend Elsie's food, and we love our Blendtec blender. Don't worry, this will not be the last that you'll hear about it, I'm sure.

Isn't it lovely??