Soup's on!



Lately Henry has been trying very hard to feed himself at meals.  The only problem is he doesn't want to use his fingers anymore, and he hasn't quite gotten the hang of the fork and spoon.  If the food is on the utensil, he can guide it to his mouth, but getting it on the utensil is a challenge.  And most of the time now, he does NOT want ANY help.  Many times if I even try to help, he will throw a tantrum, and meal time will definitely be over.

How does that impact my cooking? Well, I try to make things that would be easy for him to try and spear with a fork (i.e. anything not liquid).  This weekend, however, I really wanted soup, so I decided to throw a soup together in addition to the other foods I made.  I had some carrots and ginger in the house, and not that much time, so a quick Carrot Ginger Soup was the obvious choice.  I didn't really expect Henry to eat it since he wouldn't be able to feed himself.  And Friday night, as predicted, he did not eat the soup (nor did he eat most of what I made). 

And then we found a loophole to all of Henry's eating rules.  Saturday night, I went to have a bowl of the soup for myself.  Though Henry was happily eating his own foods, he decided he wanted what I had (which frequently happens).  And because it was coming from my bowl, with my spoon, he somehow allowed me to help him feed himself.  So now if I plan to make soup, I just have to hope that Henry is jealous of what I'm eating, and then in a good enough mood to let me assist him while he feeds himself...it's getting hard to remember all the nuances of his eating habits!

Carrot Ginger Soup
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced (keep leaves on in they have them)
8 carrots, diced
1/2 Asian Pear, peeled and diced (it's what I had in my fridge)
6 cups chicken/vegetable broth
1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated

1.  In a pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil, until onion softens.  Add celery, carrots, and Asian pear, and saute about 3 minutes more.  Pour in broth, and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer.  Add grated ginger and let simmer about 15 minutes.

2.  Use handblender to puree the soup, or puree in batches in your blender.  Once pureed, bring to simmer again for about 5 minutes, and then serve.

Happy and (mostly) healthy eating!