Oh baby, baby

It should come as no surprise that my daughter voraciously devours all we put in front of her. I can only hope this lasts, as she is a healthier eater than I. Up until now, we have been fairly unadventurous. I would smash, puree, and mill one type of food at a time, and test it out to see if she would accept it. She would have two or even three types of food at a meal, but not often mixed, and certainly nothing fancy. Then we went to the beach. On our drive down to the beach, Baby's fruit purees melted and mingled. I decided the best fix to this was to add prune juice and freeze them as Popsicles. Whether it was the popsicle format or the blends, I do not know, but she enjoyed every bite that made it into her mouth. I had been holding myself back ("She's not old enough!"), but as we rapidly approach 6 months (how?!) I've become more adventuresome. Tonight we feast.

Baby's First Foods


Berry Smash (1 cup of berries makes about 8 one ounce servings)

Berries are a labor of love, and my baby loves berries, so I make enough to fill an ice cube tray every time.

You will need: equal amounts of blueberries and raspberries.

Rinse berries well. Put in a microwave safe bowl, adding water in a 4:1 ratio of berries to water. (1 cup of berries would need 1/4 cup of water.)

Cover berries and microwave for 1 minute, keeping an eye on them in case they boil over (choose a high-sided bowl).

Run berries and water through a fine-mesh sieve or cheese cloth and strain by squeezing the skins.

Freeze into cubes or mix with (sugar-free, organic) apple juice for Popsicles. When I use the cubes, I either mix them with banana, oatmeal, or rice. They will be very watery. You can also run one through the food processor with an entire frozen banana for some easy sorbet!



Summer Fruit Puree (12 one ounce servings)

You will need: 2 peaches and 2 apricots

Cut an X into the bottom of each piece of fruit. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add fruit. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove fruit and immediately place into ice water. The skins should slip right off. (This is also how you peel tomatoes.). Remove fruit meat from the pit and put into the food processor. Puree. Freeze.

This can also be frozen as a Popsicle (with the berries! You could even layer them if you want to get fancy!) or served with oatmeal. I also give this to Baby as dessert, and when she gets just a little older, I will put it into her yogurt.


Cici Beans, Tomato, and Carrot Puree

I love cici beans (garbanzos) and was jazzed when I found out that I could give them to my baby.
I used an entire can of beans, which made 12 portions. In the future, I will do as follows:

Peel and slice 2 medium carrots. In a small sauce pan, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil and add carrots. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 a medium tomato, diced, to the pan. Simmer for another minute before adding about 7 ounces (1/2 can) of cici beans. Simmer until tender.

Strain, reserving liquid.

I love my little Cuisinart food processor, but running this through there would not remove skins, and this puree is entirely toothpick to press through a sieve like the berries. Enter the baby food mill! As it turns out, when you use the food mill with things like beans, corn, and tomatoes, all the innards get milled and the skins stay behind! If your baby is ready for lumpier foods, you can just crush the dish at this point. Add puree back to reserved liquid.

Babies can also have seasonings (except salt, sugar, and anything too spicy) so adding a small pinch of basil, thyme, or your favorite seasoning is fine. You can also add a small pinch of aged, pasteurized parmesan cheese once cooked.

Feeding Baby is my new favorite thing (besides looking at baby and playing with baby).