Baby Food Series - Introducing Vegetables as First Food

After introducing rice cereal as baby's first food, we could start widening baby's palette by introducing fruits and vegetables. I introduced a couple of vegetables first before introducing fruits. What goes first is a matter of personal preference.
Sweet Potatoes:
The first vegetable I introduced was sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are considered as powerhouse of energy and this provides the energy your baby needs as (s)he begins to crawl.

Sweet Potatoes with  garlic, in cereal

Ingredients:

• Sweet Potato - 1
• garlic -1, optional
• water - 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the sweet potato.
2. Chop the potato into 1 inch cubes. 
3. Peel one garlic clove.
4. Steam these on stove top, in a pan, covered with fresh water.
5. Remove from fire when the pieces are fork-tender.
6. Let cool and puree in a blender or baby food mill.
7. Add the cooking water or formula or cereal to thin out or thicken the puree.

Other Combinations:

Mashed Potatoes:

Same as above, but with  red potatoes. Add a little formula to make it creamy.

Avocado:

Avocado is the only vegetable that can be fed uncooked to babies at this age. Cut the avocado and scoop out the ripe flesh. Blend this into a whipped cream consistency. Feed immediately to avoid discoloration. 

Creamy Avocado baby food

Spinach with garlic:

 Due to nitrate concerns, it is safer to discard the water that spinach was cooked in. Or, just use that water in your food. Steam 1 cup of spinach and 1 garlic clove in water. When cool, discard the water and blend to a smooth paste. Add formula, if desired, for creamy taste.

Cauliflower and garlic:

Steam 3 big florets of cauliflower, with 1 garlic clove. Using the steaming water, blend the vegetables to a creamy paste. If your baby is ready for texture, you could use a potato ricer to mash the cauliflower.

mashed cauliflowers and garlic - baby food

A note about home made baby food and disclaimer:
When to start solids and what to feed a baby are very important matters that you need to discuss with your child's pediatrician. Also, if you choose to make first foods at home, first follow what your family's tradition is. This is just an attempt to document  what is commonly followed in my community. I am not a pediatrician :)  . Please use extreme caution in matters of your baby's health.

Baby Food Series - Introducing Peach Fruit as First Food

Traditionally, rice is introduced as baby's first food. This could be any of the commercially available packaged baby cereal or home made. Once the baby is comfortable accepting food from a spoon, it is time to introduce other flavors. Fruits and vegetables are the next natural step in this. I introduced vegetables before fruits. This is purely a personal choice. The enzymes in fruits could tax a baby's delicate digestive system. For this reason, it is advisable to cook all fruits thoroughly until the baby is 8-9 months. Overripe bananas need not be cooked.

Here's how to introduce peach:
Ingredients:

• Peach, very ripe - 1
• water - 1/2 cup
• formula or cereal - 1 tablespoon, optional

Method:

1. With a fruit peeler, peel the peach. 
2. Cut the fruit in two and remove the stone/ pit.
3. Chop into 1 inch cubes.
4. Steam in a microwave oven or stove top in just enough water to cover the fruit.
5. When the fruit is fork tender, remove from fire.
6. When cool, use a blender , baby food mill or mini food processor to puree the fruit. You could use the same water to dilute the puree, if needed.
7. Based on the baby's preference, add desired quantity of cereal or formula, to thicken the puree.

This puree can be refrigerated or frozen.

Peach Puree as baby food

A note about home made baby food and disclaimer:
When to start solids and what to feed a baby are very important matters that you need to discuss with your child's pediatrician. Also, if you choose to make first foods at home, first follow what your family's tradition is. This is just an attempt to document  what is commonly followed in my community. I am not a pediatrician :)  . Please use extreme caution in matters of your baby's health.

Easy Mini Chicken and Broccoli Pies

I had this recipe pinned for a while now. When I saw Bisquick Heart Healthy boxes on sale at Publix, I knew I'll have to try this.
The prep work turned out to be perfect mother-daughter QT. And surprise of surprises, she ate the broccoli, even though it wasn't hidden in the pie!
Small, spongy pies studded with bite sized chicken and broccoli, oozing with cheese... it sounded very tempting. So, I brought out the box yesterday as an early release treat for my daughter.

Chicken and Broccoli Pie

We followed the recipe verbatim and when the pies were out of the oven, it tasted fine. But, I felt that the pie lacked a crust and it felt more like a stuffed omelette than a mini pie. May be the dough to egg ratio needs a little tweaking? So, for the next batch, I upped the bisquick to 1 cup and reduced the egg count to 1.

Chicken and Broccoli Pies

Head on over to Bisquick for the original recipe.


Source: Betty Croker's Bisquick recipe
Verdict: Liked it, with some changes
Will I make it again: Yes, in a heartbeat

Easy Mini Pies studded with Chicken and Broccoli Bites

Random Rant

I know that this post will be out of place in this blog. It is not about food. But, the message in this post could very well be a subject in my Little White Book. Because, like I had mentioned earlier, my Little White Book was more than just a collection of recipes. It is also chock full of household tips and parental advise.

This CNN Opinion piece reminds me of my dad . Apparently, Mick Jagger of Rolling Stones fame, refuses to bankroll his kids' future and that's pretty much what my dad told us when we were kids - education is the only thing he would give us and we will have to work for everything else.

It also reminded me of one of my oldest pins - I love me some Cosby!


Enjoy your weekend!