| Vegetables... mashed carrots* 2 lb. organic carrots water 1. peel all carrots 2. cut them into 1 inch chunks 3. place them in a pot with enough water to cover them 4. bring to boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until tender 5. pour the contents of pot into a blender and puree until smooth (it is important to pour the water that the carrots were boiled in into the blender because the nutrients from the boiled carrots disperse into the water. This is why it is important to not add too much water up front. If the recipe you made is too watery you can always add a little cereal to thicken it up.) 6. Pour into individual serving size containers (I use baby food jars that others have saved for me) and freeze. *variations You can follow these exact same instructions, substituting the following vegetables for carrots: yellow squash, butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Fruits... Banana-Avocado* 1 Ripe Avocado, peeled with the pit removed 1 Ripe Banana, peeled 1. Mash both together with a fork (nutritious and delicious!) * variations You can also make Apple-cado by mixing 1 cup all natural applesauce (made with apples, water and ascorbic acid(vitamin C) only) with a mashed avocado. Peaches* 3 lb. organic peaches water 1.peel all peaches 2. cut them into 1 inch chunks 3. place them into a pot with enough water to cover them 4. bring to boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until tender 5. pour the contents of pot into a blender and puree until smooth (it is important to pour the water that the peaches were boiled in into the blender because the nutrients from the boiled peaches disperse into the water. This is why it is important to not add too much water up front. If the recipe you made is too watery you can always add a little cereal to thicken it up.) 6. Pour into individual serving size containers and freeze. * variations You can follow these exact same instructions, substituting the following fruits for peaches: pears and apples (any variety is fine, but granny smith may be a little too tart; I find it to be just as inexpensive to buy "adult" sized jars of all natural applesauce; it just depends on how inexpensive apples are in your area.) Top Grains... I make my daughter some "pancakes" that she really enjoys eating and they are very good for her: I mix together a little whole wheat flour (about 1/2 cup) and rolled oats (also about a 1/2 cup) I then add a couple teaspoons of flax seed (make sure the flax seed is ground or milled, because the body won't digest the nutrients from a whole flax seed) and wheat germ and about a teaspoon each of baking powder and cinnamon. I then pour in enough Organic soy milk to make it a pancake batter consistency. I then add about 1/4 cup applesauce and then cook them like pancakes. They taste pretty bland to an adult but they have just enough apple flavor to make my daughter devour them and they are so healthy! *Variations You can add a mashed ripe banana instead of applesauce. Also, when my daughter got a little older (about 11 months I added an egg, but make sure to check with your pediatrician before doing this, since egg is a highly allergenic food) You can use other flours, too, to incorporate different grains, like quinoa flour, oat flour, millet or buckwheat. 3 in 1 meals... Sweet Potato, Apple, Yogurt This dish is a perfect medley of fruit, veggies, calcium and protein 1 cup homemade baby food sweet potatoes (recipe above) 3/4 cup homemade baby food applesauce (recipe above) 1/2 cup All Natural Plain Yogurt (Organic , if you can find it and NOT low fat) If your baby won't eat, you may need to add a little more applesauce or a little apple juice. It took my baby a few tries to get used to the yogurt taste. Stir all together and serve. Refrigerate the leftovers and use in the next 4 days. *Variations You can do whatever veggie and fruit combo you want. Make sure to always use the plain yogurt, though, because the other kinds have added sugar and/or artificial sweeteners. Carrot, apple, yogurt is another great combo! Also, butternut squash, banana, yogurt is great too! As always, it wouldn't hurt to add a few teaspoons of wheat germ and flax seed to the mix. Make sure the flax seed is ground or milled, because the body won't digest the nutrients from a whole flax seed. |
