How many easy, healthy options do we have on the grocery shelves these days? From chia squeezies to yogurt tubes and organic purees, parents have their pick of good-for-them choices for children and toddlers and baby. Still, many moms and dads like to supplement with homemade food or go the make-at-home route altogether. After all, it’s easy to do, a Busy Mom’s key ingredient!
First Favorites: Some of the best first purees for baby are Carrots, Bananas, Avocado, Green Peas or Butternut Squash. These purees tend to be popular because they are smooth, mild-flavored and slightly sweet. Tip for first few meals: Thin purees to an almost liquid consistency.
An Apple A Day. For homemade apple puree, choose Gala, Golden Delicious, Rome or Pink Lady apples. These varieties are sweeter and less acidic than other apples, like Granny Smiths. Here’s an apple recipe from Cooking Light: Read more…
4 apples, peeled, cored and quartered
1. Place quartered apples in a vegetable steamer. Steam, covered, 12 minutes or until very tender.
2. Place apples in a food processor; process until smooth.
Kitchen Tip: The riper the fruit, the less steaming time it takes to soften the flesh, so use the lower end of the cook time range.
Easy Freezing: This recipe is based on 1/4-cup serving sizes. If you freeze batches in ice-cube trays, one cube usually holds 2 tablespoons. Cooking Light recommends defrosting just one cube when baby is new to solid food. Later on when baby has started eating more solid foods, defrost two to four cubes (2 to 4 ounces or 1/4 to 1/2 cup).
Here’s an avocado recipe from Cooking Light:
One avocado
1. Scoop out flesh from one-half of the avocado; reserve half of the avocado with pit for a later use.
2. Mash avocado with a fork, adding 2 tablespoons water, formula or breast milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach desired consistency. Serve immediately.
Yum!
