Baby Food Purees

For Lisa.

I have been meaning to do this for awhile and when Lisa messaged about puree combos I decided to sit down tonight and transfer my notes to the blog.

Here are the stables to pureeing:


A great blender!  I have a Breville and can't say enough great things about it.  Worth every cent.


Ground ginger, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.


A nice 5-quart pot a large steamer.

I had the Baby Bullet but really used the small containers that came with it.  So shop for small containers designed especially for freezing and storing purees.  You will end up with a lot of these:



We started with rice cereal but only for a short while.  We then moved onto veggies and fruits.  Apples and pears were always in rotation.  He loved them with cinnamon.  You will figure out the amount of spice to add but start with a pinch and move up as you go along.  Spice is great to add to purees.

You will add the water from the steam pot to thin the puree in the blender.  However, never use the water from carrots due to the nitrates.

Here is my list:

Apples and Pears
Peeled, cored, chopped
Steamed and then pureed.
Cinnamon.
Note that apples take longer to steam so add the pears after the apples have been on for awhile.

Butternut SquashPeeled, chopped and steamed.
Ginger and a tiny bit of butter.

Sweet Potatoes and Apples
Peeled, chopped, steamed.
Nutmeg.

Frozen Peas
Steamed and Pureed.

Fennel and Carrots

Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes

Peach and Ginger

Sweet Potato and Apricots
Only use apricots that are unsulphured.

Yogurt with frozen blueberries with wheat germ
He still eats this every morning.

Edamame and Peas (Both from frozen)
Probably one of his all-time favorites.

Cauliflower and Apples

Mashed Bananas

Mashed Avocados

Carrots, carrots and more carrots
They are also great with sweet potatoes.

My notes aren't the best but I hope this helps.  I will add more as I remember them.

xoxo 

Links:

http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/index.htm#.UP9ghje5534
http://www.thehowtomommy.com/how-to-cook/how-to-make-baby-food-continued/

Baked Tofu Fingers

Sliced firm tofu
Dip in low fat milk
Dip in bowl of organic breadcrumbs, parmesan, wheat germ, garlic powder and oregano.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes turning once halfway.

Pizza!

White sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, shredded
Heat butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Slowly whisk in milk, adding gradually. Stir in remaining ingredients. Will thicken upon standing.
Trader Joes pizza dough
Toppings:
Fresh spinach
Whole garlic cloves
Mushrooms
Feta

450° for 25 minutes.
Yumma.

Dinner

Falafel with Tahini.
Baked sweet potato bites.

Lunch

Whole wheat quesadilla with hummus, cheese and spinach.
Kiwi.

Wow It's been a while & Finger Foods!

Recipes (and this blog) have taken a backseat to babyville.  I made all his baby food from scratch and kept a journal but am on to finger foods for a now 14-month old.  I will post baby food purees in the near future but wanted to start capturing finger food menus while they are fresh on the brain!   This is a tough time for picky eaters and hope these menus will help.

We primarily shop at Trader Joe's.

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Thursday

Breakfast

Whole Milk Yogurt
Blueberries
Wheat Germ
1/2 Banana

Snack

Whole wheat crackers with Hummus

Lunch

Smashed banana w/Almond Butter
Multi-grain bread

Snack

Organic Grapes and Cantalope

DinnerFish Nuggets
Lentils

Veggie Lasagna

I can't tell you how many times I have made this lasagna and it always turns out just right. Hearty and tasty. You can't go wrong with this one.

Ingredients

• 12 lasagna noodles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 small zucchini, sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 Tb. Italian Seasoning
• Pinch of Red Pepper flakes
  
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 (8 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
• 24 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 Large tomato
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot add broccoli, carrots, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, pepper flakes and garlic. Saute for 7 minutes; set aside. (You also can cook the zucchini separately if you want them to have their own layer.)
   
4. Place flour in a medium saucepan and gradually whisk in milk until well blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until thick, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in spinach. Reserve 1/2 cup spinach mixture. In a small bowl combine cottage and ricotta cheeses; stir well.
5. Spread about 1/2 cup of spinach mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer noodles, ricotta mixture, vegetables, spinach mixture and 2 cups mozzarella cheese, ending with noodles. Top with reserved spinach mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Top with sliced tomatoes.
   
6. Bake in preheated oven for 45 - 50 minutes uncovered, or until lightly browned on top. Cool for approximately 10 minutes before serving.

After you make this a couple of times you will definitely alter to fit your tastes. Have fun with it!

Pescatarian Recipes Receives Award

I received an email stating that my blog received an award as a healthy resource from Treadmill Reviews.net. They have sent a badge as well. It is much appreciated.

www.TreadmillReviews.net

Salmon, Bean, Corn and Flour Tortilla

Rob and I gobbled this up. It was super quick and tasty. I had most of the ingredients on hand too.

The recipe is for two people so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pieces salmon fillet
  
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 large flour tortilla
  
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn
  
• 1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
• 1/2 cup salsa verde
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Brush olive oil on front and back of flour tortilla and bake each side at 350 for 6 minutes each side. They will puff up and get lightly brown.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

3. Season the salmon with S&P and cook until opaque throughout, 5 to 6 minutes per side.

4. Roast black beans and corn in the oven with your choice of but seasoning. I used paprika, chili pepper and some garlic. (Trader Joes has great frozen roasted corn but I only had plain on hand). Fresh corn off the cob would be great too!

5. Using a fork, flake the salmon into pieces.

6. I placed the puffed tortilla in a large pasta bowl and used a fork to break it in the center, then topped with the, black beans, corn, then salmon, lettuce, and salsa verde. Serve with the lime wedges.

Garlic Paste

I use a LOT of garlic and paste is pricey so I made my own. For a pizza spread you will need 12 cloves of garlic, unpeeled. Put the garlic on a sheet of foil and drizzle with olive oil and 1 Tbsp of water. Fold up the foil in to a pouch thingy and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. When finished let the pouch cool down slightly then squeeze the garlic out of the skin (it comes out the dark stump end) into a small bowl. Add 2 tsp of olive oil and smash together with the back of a spoon.












I spread this on top of pizza dough that I made in the bread machine. If you make a good quantity of the paste you can freeze or it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Really great to have on hand for bread and other goodies :)

Potato Wedges

Not sure why anyone would buy frozen potatoes when they're so easy (and hella cheaper) to make. You only need the following:

2 golden potatoes
s&p
olive oil
Parmesan


Cut potatoes in quarters, long cuts, 1/2 then 1/2 those 1/2s :)
Place in a bowl and spread with olive oil. Not saturated but pretty covered.
Toss with S&P and some Parmesan

Place in preheated oven at 450 for 15 minutes, turn, 15 more and done!

Easy Chocolate Cupcakes! Vegan Too

So Easy to make!

1 box of Devils Food Cake Mix (you dont need any of the other ingredients as noted on the box)
1/2 Cup Water
1 can Pumpkin (15 oz)

Mix together and bake at 350 for 18 - 22 minutes.

I added mini chocolate chips* optional.

So moist and flaky you wont need icing!

No dairy ingredient either, so they are vegan.