It looks my high calorie, over the top baby food mixes are paying off as our pediatrician said that Sumner’s growth was “progressing well” at our last appointment. Woot! His doctor’s appointments always cause me a bit of anxiety because no matter how well Sumner is doing, his providers seem to think that we could be doing more. If only they could see how much we do every day.
In addition to getting a pat on the back for fattening up the kid, we also got some good news. For the last 47 days, Sumner has eaten all of his nutrition and medications orally. In other words, we haven’t used his g-tube. Since he’s been gaining weight well, our pediatrician wants us to talk to Sumner’s surgeon about removing the g-tube and sewing it closed when he goes in for his hernia repair. For most kids with g-tubes, the hole closes on it’s own within a few days of removal. Since Sumner already has to have one procedure done, it makes sense to just do the closure then so that he won’t have to undergo another procedure in a few months.
I’m simultaneously excited and anxious at the same time. We’ve been working towards this goal for a while. We almost got his g-tube removed in April, but decided to wait for the outcome of his swallow study first. I’m glad we waited because Sumner was not a fan of the reduction in thickness and we ended up using the g-tube for 100 percent of his food for about 10 weeks. It was frustrating to go so long without using it and then ending right back at square one. However, I am thankful that we have the g-tube because we’re able to make sure that he gets what he needs to grow.
This week’s CSA box included purple sweet potatoes and baby carrots. I decided to take a break from the sweet stuff and made Sumner a purple power bowl for some of his lunches and dinners this week. With his three meals and two snacks per day, supplementing our Yumi delivery with homemade food is helping us to keep our budget in check.
Ingredients
- 170 g baby carrots
- 438 g purple sweet potato
- 30 ml olive oil
- 4 oz Yumi black bean purée
- 161 ml coconut milk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Peel and cut purple sweet potato into cubes. Combine with carrots and toss in olive oil. Spread evenly across a sheet pan.
- Roast sweet potato and carrots for about 50 minutes or until fork tender. Stir part way through.
- Transfer roasted vegetables to a mixing bowl use a fork or hand mixer to mash. Stir in coconut milk and black bean purée.
- Evenly portion into five containers and refrigerate.
Notes
- As an alternative to roasting, you can boil the vegetables for 10-15 minutes until fork-tender. I prefer the flavor of roasting.
- Do NOT use a blender. You will end up with a thick glue.
- If the end product seems a bit too thick, add water until you reach the desired consistency.
- Each serving is approximately 222 calories.
Homespun in Colorado 