As an adult, we are in control of everything that goes in our body – we have a choice. We can choose to have sugar and alcohol or have only vegetables. We can weigh ourselves, check our calories, and see our physical progress. But, in the life of a parent, we now have the responsibility to take care of our needs, as well as a child who is helpless. They will eat what we give them – they can’t tell us if they’re bloated or constipated (we learn the hard way), and we don’t always know if they’re deficient in Vitamin A or D. When they’re sick, we don’t always think about the food we feed them – we just make sure they’re hydrated and give them medicine.

For a g-tube fed baby, the responsibility can be a little weightier. Simply because you don’t have the reaction if food tastes sour or bad – you don’t know if a child is thirsty or hungry. You can’t tell if there is a seed in the fruit, because your child isn’t choking. But one thing you do know: you know everything that goes into their stomach! It’s a blessing – a huge blessing. For me, I am determined to not only feed my daughter, but hopefully allow food to be one of her many medicines to help Mr. Brain do his job right.

When beginning my journey to create meals for my daughter, I was overwhelmed with all the options. I was also overwhelmed with accepting the fact that my girl won’t taste her food – in a lot of ways, that’s amazing. But there’s also no reason to give her the joy of ice cream. I don’t need to make her French toast or give her juice with her veggies so it goes down easier. She doesn’t taste it. So, I first had to accept that – it never gets easier, by the way. Just because I began the process doesn’t mean I never cry over the fact I can’t feed my girl ice cream (not today, anyway!). I do take advantage of every opportunity to practice oral feeding with her, but it’s still not the same. It never will be.

One of the biggest reasons for beginning my blog was being able to encourage other moms on this journey – don’t be afraid of the process, or the work. For me, it is a joy and privilege to feed my daughter, even through the many emotions that come with it. I am not a dietician or a doctor – however, doctors and dieticians have seen my recipes and noted the nutritional value of them. I hope that one of you gains more strength in making YOUR baby food, and I hope those of you who know of a g-tube fed baby have the opportunity to share these recipes with others!

The Foundation of My Recipes

At the very beginning of my journey, while Paige was still being fed breastmilk via the tube, the dietician directed me to MyPlate. I highly recommend this as it’s easy to understand and you can use many ingredients in your own house. Once I had that resource, I then downloaded the app “Cronometer” (thanks to another g-tube mama!!) in order to easily create recipes, log Paige’s food, and make sure she’s meeting her nutrition goals on a daily basis.

In each of my recipes, these following facts remain constant – I’ll explain more in detail in my next blog!

I use the Blend Tec blender
I always weigh!
I use plastic 12 oz bottles (will share link and details in my next post)
I cook all meat and steam most vegetables
Serving size is always less than 8 OZ
I try to make all recipes reach the calcium, protein, and calorie need for Paige’s age & energy level
Each recipe is 4 servings, since I take one day’s worth of nutrition and divide it into 4 meals, so I can then diversify her daily meals

I’d love your feedback on any recipes, and if you have any ideas feel free to comment! Check out my first published recipe “Mama’s Breakfast”

Mamas Breakfast (560)

Sylvia

Mama's Breakfast recipe came to be when I just wanted to feed my girl what I was eating for breakfast, as we see other parents so often do! It created a bond between her and I, just with a simple recipe and a simple name.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Calories 140 kcal

Equipment

1 BlendTec (Vitamix could also work)
1 Food strainer (Holes have to be as small as the g-tube extension tube your child is using)
1 Food Scale

Ingredients

8 oz Unsweet Vanilla Almondmilk Yogurt
1/4 cup Strawberries
1/4 cup Blueberries
1.5 oz Shredded Wheat Cereal
12 oz Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 tsp Safflower Oil
1 tsp MCT Oil

Instructions

Add liquid ingredients (milk and oil) to BlendTec
Add berries, yogurt, and shredded wheat to BlendTec
Blend on Fruits and Vegetables cycle once, then blend on Batter Cycle twice (the berries seeds could potentially clog a feeding pump, so if using that you want to make sure the ingredients are pulverized completely)
Label 4 plastic smoothie containers (see link for the kind I use!) with the date and name of recipe while food is blending.
Zero out food scale with bowl on top. Once zeroed out, place strainer over bowl and begin to pour food formula through the strainer. The weight without the strainer will be the food quantity you'll then measure out.
Divide total weight in oz by 4. This will be the amount used for each bottle. (For example, total formula weight of entire recipe is 30 oz; you'll put 7.5 oz per bottle)
Pour equal amount into four separate bottles.
Can be stored in the fridge up to 3 days, or in the freezer for 3-6 months.
Shake, warm if necessary, and bolus feed through the g-tube.

Notes

Nutrition

Calories: 140kcal

Keyword formula, gtube, toddler, yogurt

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!