Baby Smoothies

So it turns out that Baby Girl is a fruit addict. She pretty much hates every vegetable I try to give her unless I mix it with a little fruit. Doesn’t matter how I season it. I’ve run out of single ingredient purees to make, so I decided to start making her the occasional baby smoothie. If you’re making your own, you could substitute pretty much any fruit your baby is old enough to have for any of these. I just used what I know she likes.

Ingredients:
1 banana
1 nectarine/peach (fresh or frozen)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup apple juice

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. It’s that easy.
2. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months.

Here’s To Baby Food: Prunes

Everyone always complains that prunes are too hard to make from scratch and that you’re better off buying them…I disagree. These were simple.

Equipment:
Food Processor OR Blender
Colander
Stove and saucepan

Ingredients:
1 cup prunes
1 cup Water

1. Add prunes and water to the saucepan. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer about ten minutes until prunes are tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Let cool.

2. Puree prunes and reserved liquid in the food processor or blender until smooth, adding additional water if needed.

3. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.

If your baby constipates easily, this is a good puree to have on hand in the freezer.

Here’s To Baby Food: Minty Green Beans

I’m starting to think I have a baby that just isn’t a fan of vegetables, because she isn’t a fan of this either. She’ll eat it mixed with stuff, but not on it’s own. I think it was delicious.

Equipment:
Food Processor OR Blender
Steamer OR Steaming basket, Stove, and Saucepan

Ingredients:
1/2 pound frozen cut green beans
1 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves

1. Steam the green beans in a steamer appliance or over boiling water for 14 minutes or so.

2. Add green beans and mint to the blender or food processor.

3. Puree in blender or food processor until smooth, add water as needed to make a smooth puree. I needed about 3 Tbsp.

4. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months.

It really smells great! This is suitable for babies 7 months and older.

Recipe: Savory Beefless Pie

I am a rare breed of foodie. I have a weakness for traditional comfort food, I am a vegetarian, and I am allergic to caffeine (I only have a reaction in large doses), so I don’t drink coffee. I know everyone makes fun of it, but one of my favorite cookbooks of all time is still my classic Betty Crocker Cookbook, circa 1969. It is one of the few cookbooks with meat in it that I still own. I’ve decided to cook my way through it, attempting to convert the meat recipes to vegetarian ones when it is possible to do so. This one was pretty delicious, and I seriously recommend it. The original recipe is “Savory Beef Pie” and appears in the Beef Leftovers section on page 14. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it is great when you need to go grocery shopping, as most of the ingredients can be frozen or are stock pantry items. I made it the first day home from vacation when we had nothing fresh in the house. One note: I am NOT a vegan. I don’t pretend to be a vegan. I’m also not shy about using frozen or canned ingredients (although I usually opt for frozen over canned), making it difficult for me to make a recipe vegan without reading a LOT of labels. This recipe uses Gardein Beefless Tips as a substitute for the beef in the recipe, as it is the best beef substitute I have found to date for stews and similar recipes to this one, but you could use TVP or another beef substitute if you prefer. I think it would even be pretty good with portobello mushroom chunks in it. Worth a try.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used frozen)
2 Tbsp. chopped green pepper (I used frozen)
2 Tbsp. margarine
1 package Gardein Beefless Tips
10 oz. frozen mixed vegetables
1 can Campbell’s Mushroom Gravy (1 cup of homemade gravy would be even better)
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sesame seeds

1. Melt margarine in a 10 inch skillet. If using fresh onion and green pepper, add to skillet and cook until tender. Add Beefless Tips, mixed vegetables, onion and green pepper (if using frozen), gravy, and water. Cook until hot, about five minutes.
2. Pour hot mixture into ungreased 8×12 baking dish.
3. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk until a soft dough forms. The dough will be super sticky.
4. Drop dough by the spoonful on top of hot mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle dough with sesame seeds.
5. Bake at 450° for 15-20 minutes, until the biscuit topping is light brown.

Here’s To Baby Food: Asparagus

Baby Girl doesn’t particularly like this asparagus puree, but mix it with pears, and she’ll eat it.

Equipment:
Food Processor OR Blender
Steamer OR Steaming basket, Stove, and Saucepan

Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus (about 1 lb.)

1. Cut woody, tough ends from the bottom of the asparagus. Steam in steamer appliance (I use an Oster) or in a steamer basket over boiling water until bright green and well cooked, about 10 minutes.

2. Run hot asparagus under cold water to stop the cooking.

3. Puree asparagus in blender or food processor until smooth, you shouldn’t need any additional water.

4. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months.

If your baby is old enough for spices, you can add a little garlic, basil, dill, or pepper for a little flavor.

Here’s To Baby Food: Apricots

I’ve always been a huge fan of apricots, but Baby Girl is pretty meh about them.

Equipment:
Food Processor OR Blender
Colander
Stove and saucepan

Ingredients:
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup Water

1. Add apricots and water to the saucepan. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer about ten minutes until apricots are tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Let cool.

2. Puree apricots and reserved liquid in the food processor or blender until smooth, adding additional water if needed.

3. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.

The puree can turn out a bit bitter. If your baby isn’t a fan, try adding a bit of apple juice or cooking the apricots in juice instead of water.

Here’s To Baby Food: Cherries

Yummy cherries do a baby good! I used frozen in this recipe because we’ve had rough cherry crops around here the last couple of years, but fresh would be even better!

Equipment:
Food Processor OR Blender
Mesh Sieve
Stove and saucepan

Ingredients:
16 oz. fresh or frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed and pitted(I used frozen, because I always have them on hand)

1. Puree the cherries in a blender or food processor until smooth.

2. Press the puree through a fine mesh sieve with a rubber spatula to remove the skins and any remaining pit pieces. Discard the skins.

3. Cook the puree in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until hot and thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. Once cool, store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.

If baby is old enough for flavorings, feel free to add a dash of vanilla for an extra delicious treat!

Here’s To Baby Food: Blueberries

Baby Girl really LOVES this pureed blueberry sauce. She loves it so much that she’ll even let me mix it with beets. That’s a true test.

Equipment:
Food Processor OR Blender
Mesh Sieve
Stove and saucepan

Ingredients:
16 oz. fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed (I used frozen, because I always have them on hand)

1. Puree the blueberries in a blender or food processor until smooth.

2. Press the puree through a fine mesh sieve with a rubber spatula to remove the skins. Discard the skins.

3. Cook the puree in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until hot and thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. Once cool, store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.

Super easy. Time and again I am amazed at just how quick and easy it is to make wholesome homemade baby food!

Here’s to Baby Food: Peaches

Baby Girl really loves peaches. I like them too, and she tolerates them mixed with all sorts of things, making them a go-to puree for sure!

Equipment:
Steamer OR stove, pot, and steamer basket
Food Processor OR Blender

Ingredients:
4 ripe peaches or nectarines, or 2 lbs. frozen peaches

1. Steam peaches for 5 minutes if fresh, 8 minutes if frozen. I used frozen because I wasn’t able to find fresh in my local grocery store. You can use an actual steamer appliance (I use an Oster, because it’s on a timer, so I don’t have to worry about walking away), or a steamer basket over an inch of water would work just as well.

2. Let the peaches cool. If you are using fresh, you’ll want to remove the skins and discard them. Since I used frozen, they were already skinless.

3. Process the peaches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add water as needed.

4. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months.

This is an easy and delicious one for sure. Love me some peaches!

Here’s to Baby Food: Peas

Everybody needs green vegetables in their life. That’s my opinion, in any case. So here’s a recipe for pea puree. Mine turned out really great, even if baby isn’t the biggest fan.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen peas
That’s it!

1. Steam the peas. If you are using fresh peas, wash them first. I use frozen because they’re cheaper, and just as good as fresh in this instance. I used my Oster steamer again (just like when I made the Apples), because it’s easy. Once again, a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water will work just as well as long as the basket has small enough holes that the peas won’t fall through. It should take about 5 minutes, and they’ll be a bright beautiful green when they’re done.

2. Run the peas under cold water to stop the cooking.

3. Process the peas in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water or cooking liquid as needed to make it the right consistency. As usual I used my basic Hamilton Beach blender with cooking liquid to thin the puree. In this case the ingredients would have fit in my mini-prep, but I didn’t want it to be a tight fit, so I went with the blender. Plus the pour spout makes putting the puree into containers simple.

4. Transfer to containers (I use the OXO Tot baby food containers because they’re airtight, plus freezer and microwave safe). To store, keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Simple as can be.

So far the easiest baby food I’ve made (but I haven’t done bananas or avocado yet).