Baby Super Food
Have you mamas read the latest? Heavy metals in baby food brands? It's always something new! When Ryan was a baby, I was (even more!) crazy than I am now about this precious new pure perfect body I had just brought into the world and every single bite that he put in his mouth aside from my breastmilk. I had just finished nutrition school, learned everything there was to know about clean eating and label reading...and knew conventional baby food was not an option for my little grom.
This lead me to a new business that I cleverly called Homegrown Baby Superfood, where I bought all local organic produce from Northern Jersey farms, cooked and jarred the foods, and sold them at the local farmers market on the weekends. I had happy babies and happy mamas! It was a fun time for sure - teaching new moms WHY adding things like chia seeds and greens help their LO's brains form, immune system grow and much more. Setting up tiny humans for health success later in life became my passion!
A call to move down to Florida closed down the business, but I still kept my precious recipes on a file on my hard drive. Until now. I am ready to share them with my followers, as I want to empower YOU to make your own baby food. It's probably even easier than it was 8 years ago with new gadgets. I just used a basket steamer and food processor. Here they are below. ENJOY!
SIMPLE STARTERS
(4-6 months)
Zucchini (5 minute cooking time)
Carrots (10 minute cooking time)
Apples
Peaches
Pears
Sweet Potatoes (10 minute cooking time)
Green Beans (8 minute cooking time)
Butternut Squash (15 minute cooking time)
CRAFTY COMBOS
(6 months and up)
Perfect Pearings
Ingredients and Prep Notes:
Zucchini (Steam for 10 minutes)
Broccoli (Steam trees for 15 minutes and stems a bit longer until tender)
Pear 1 TSP Ground Hemp Seeds
(Puree pear raw with hemp seeds)
Add small amount of cooking water back in + puree until good consistency
Beet Red
Ingredients and Prep Notes:
Raw Beet
Eggplant (Steam for 8 minutes)
Raw Strawberries
1 TSP Seaweed Flakes
Add small amount of cooking water back in + puree until good consistency
Ginger Snip
Ingredients and Prep Notes:
Parsnip (Steam for 15 minutes)
Adzuki Beans (Soak overnight and cook beans beforehand)
Ginger to taste
1/2 TSP Wheatgrass
Add small amount of cooking water back in + puree until good consistency
Winter Wolfberry
Ingredients and Prep Notes:
Acorn Squash (Steam for 15 minutes)
Amaranth (Cook in rice cooker beforehand)
Lentils (Cook lentils beforehand)
1 TBSP Goji Berries (Soak in filtered water for 3 minutes)
Add small amount of cooking water back in + puree until good consistency
Sweet Potato Surprise
Ingredients and Prep Notes:
Sweet Potato (Steam for 15 minutes)
Brussels Sprouts (Steam for 10 minutes)
Cinnamon to taste
1 TSP Chia Seeds
Add small amount of cooking water back in + puree until good consistency
Squash 'n' Sprouts
Ingredients and Prep Notes:
Butternut Squash (Steam for 15 minutes)
Millet (cook in rice cooker beforehand)
Pureed Apples (with skin) (Steam for 15 minutes)
Cooked Millet
Pinch of Raw Sprouts
Add millet and puree
Add small amount of cooking water back in + puree until good consistency
Pumpkin Picking
Ingredients and Prep Notes:
Pumpkin (Steam for 15 minutes)
Millet (cook in rice cooker beforehand)
Apple
Squash (Steam for 15 minutes)
1 TSP Cinnamon
1 TSP Coconut Oil
Add small amount of cooking water back in + puree until good consistency
Glorious Greens
Ingredients and Prep Notes:
Kale (Steam for 5 minutes)
Swiss or Rainbow Chard (Steam for 3 minutes)
Quinoa (Rinse in strainer with purified water and cook beforehand)
1 TSP Ground Flaxseed
Puree greens with quinoa and flaxseed
Add small amount of cooking water back in + puree until good consistency
These recipes are fun to play around with, so make sure to experiment and taste yourself! Steam times work for me, but watch to make sure they are tender, not overcooked.
Babies are tough, but let me tell you - if you get their taste buds to love veggies and herbs before the age of one, their likelihood of being addicted to sweets and carbs as they grow up is much less!
Sources and Additional Reading:
