At 6 1/2 months my baby has taken an interest in food. She leaves forward, swipes at food on the plates, mimics our eating, and stares in deep concentration as we move forks and spoons to our mouths. So we decided to give her a taste and see what she thought.

It was an overwhelming success.

Homemade mashed potatoes are fun to smoosh around with her tongue while smiling. Mashed peas are an interesting taste sensation. But bananas, oh bananas, are the clear winner. As soon as she gets a taste she grabs the spoon from my hand and doesn’t let go until she has licked it clean. A little mashed banana mixed with a bit of water makes her a very happy girl.

With my desire to feed the family whole foods we are skipping the jars of baby food. Most are swimming in preservatives and added sugar, things so baby should eat. It’s also more of a hassle to keep track of half-eaten jars stuck in the fridge. Instead we just feed her a bit of what we are having. Baked potatoes for dinner meant mashed potatoes for her. Bananas for a snack for the boys meant she got to try bananas as well. No additional work required.

When she is a bit bigger and eating on a more regular basis I plan to pre-make and freeze homemade baby food for her. It’s fairly simple, all I need is an ice tray and a good freezer. That will make it easier when we are eating dishes that she can’t be a part of yet. It will also be easier on the rare occasions when we go out to eat and I can’t be sure of what is and isn’t in the food.

Of course she’s still breastfeeding on demand, so food isn’t really an important part of her diet right now. If she acts like she wants some then I offer it to her. I know there’s a bit of a cultural push to get infants eating solid foods as soon as possible, but I’d rather take it slow and let her eat at her discretion.