Guest Post: a rainbow of baby purees!

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Hi Veggie Mama readers!

It's Talia from The Climbing Tree here, sharing a rainbow of veggie purees with you!

Baby purees don't really need cooking instructions, so I'm just outlining the ingredients for each, and have basic instructions below for all the different combos listed. To be totally honest, I'm not much of a measurer either, so you can honestly just guestimate these amounts and I'm sure you'll be fine!

Generic cooking instructions: For all these I just put all ingredients in a microwave container (or saucepan if you're cooking them on the stove), blip them till they're done, mash 'em up, and once they're cool, serve! Whatever is left over, freeze or put in the fridge to keep for tomorrow, or later that day.

Note: All my baby food recipes use herbs or spices. It's totally up to you whether or not you add these in. The herbs and spices I've used are all safe for babies under 12 months, but if you are starting your baby on solids before six months, you might like to do your own research first, just so you know what you're doing :-). We used a bunch of these with Lior before six months, and he's fine!

Red : Strawberry Surprise (Half the fun of baby puree is thinking of ridiculous names for them!)

½ punnet strawberries

3 apples, cored, peeled and chopped (alternatively, I like to slow cook my apples and then freeze it to use in recipes like this)

1 tsp fennel seeds, ground to a powder

Water

Blip. Mash. Cool. Eat.

Yellow : Corn mash

1 cup corn kernels (I use frozen)

Organic vegetable stock

Blip. Mash. Cool. Eat.

Green : Pea-tastic!

½ packet of frozen peas

1 packet frozen spinach

1 spring of rosemary

1 shallot, cut into four

1 clove of garlic

Water

Blip. Mash. Cool. Eat.

Purple : Beetroot Belly

1 beetroot, peeled and chopped

1 sprig of sage

½ tsp lemon zest

2 small potatoes

Blip. Mash. Cool. Eat.

Orange : Sweet Potatoloosa

1 sweet potato, washed & cubed (I like to leave the skin on as they are FULL of nutrients, more so than the actual vegetable part we normally eat, and then just blend it up really well)

½ tsp cumin

1 medium potato, washed & cubed

1 carrot

1 clove of garlic

Blip. Mash. Cool. Eat.

Blue : Blueberry Mint Supreme

½ punet of blueberries

2 springs of mint

3 apples (cored, peeled and chopped)

Blip. Mash. Cool. Eat.

Veggie Baby Food: Herbed Pumpkin and Rice

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Veggie Baby is right at that point now where I can get two spoonfuls of food into her mouth before she grabs the spoon from me and tries to do it herself. Making a gigantic mess. I let her go... she's gotta learn! And it's way cute to see her clumsily dump the spoon into the bowl, picking up absolutely nothing, and getting it to her mouth, usually via her chin. Growing up so fast.

She especially liked this pumpkin and rice concoction, which I whizzed in the blender before she started eating chunky things.

All you need is a cup of steamed and mashed pumpkin and a cup of cooked rice. Mix it all up with a pinch each of fresh basil and parsley and watch them shovel it in. YUM!

Veggie Baby Food: Pear and Apricot Puree

How pretty is this colour!

Back when baby veggie ate puree, (which went by fleetingly, to my surprise!), she loved this pear-and-apricot concoction. These days she's all about broccoli spears and whole nectarines, but I still make a puree now and then for dinners and things and when I've already changed her outfit 4 times and she's had two baths so damned if she's getting dirty again!

This one's terribly easy - peel, core and dice a pear or two and put in a saucepan with a little water. Add 3-6 (depends on amount of pear) finely-chopped dried apricots. Cook gently until all is soft. You can add a lid to help steam the apricot if you like. Puree in a processor.

And if you're funny about sulphur and dried fruit and whatever, feel free to substitute for fresh.

Yum :)

Veggie Baby Food: Spinach and Cottage Cheese Pasta

I remember thinking when I was younger that babies just ate puree and it was pretty much vegetable or fruit. Nowadays we know so much more and are getting less and less afraid to get their kids to try more adult foods early.

Back then you wouldn't have caught me eating spinach anything. If I can get Veggie Baby to eat spinach this early, then it will just be normal... right? Well, I'm going to try anyway!

This was super-easy, I just cooked a handful of pasta (doesn't matter what sort) until it was well overcooked. Easier for them to chew that way! Well, gum. In the last few seconds I threw in a handful of fresh spinach, and drained all when it was wilted. Popped it in the food processor with a spoonful or two of cottage cheese, pulsed all until it was at the soft but-bits-still-left-in stage (technical term) and it went down a treat. It does need some thinning with water if you have leftovers and want to use it straight from the refrigerator... but that's easy enough to do.

Linky bitz...

♥ The linky will be up at 9am every Monday morning, and will stay up until the following Sunday.

♥ Grab the Meatless Monday button above and put it in your post, and even on your sidebar if you're feeling generous.

♥ Visit at least one other blogger and leave some love. This is so much more cool if we're in it together!

Where it says "Name", you might like to add the name of your dish instead or as well.







I do want to know though... are you a spinach fan? I went from sheer loathing to true love. Is this normal?!

What happens when you leave your kid within arm's reach of creamed corn... and Meatless Monday.

She will grab it, of course, the nanosecond your back is turned.

And she will be stoked.

And then she'll wonder how she can get more out of the bowl.

And then she will break your heart.

Meatless Monday has been brought to you today by creamed corn.

A favourite of babies everywhere.

Next Monday I will still be in Tokyo. Fussy Eater's Mum has kindly agreed to host Meatless Monday.

She has linked some incredible dishes so far, so go check her out and play along... you won't be sorry!

There'll be no creamed corn anywhere. Promise.

Veggie Baby Food: Banana Pudding

You know those days when everything gets on top of you? Stuff you didn't realise was weighing you down all becomes too much to carry? Then it takes one tiny straw and your camel's back collapses.

I had one of these days recently. I had been plodding along in my usual fashion, one foot in front of the other, trying not to get swamped in new-mother-juggling-work land. Or what I thought was my usual fashion. I hadn't felt any different, yet here I was after a slight public disappointment with hot tears pricking my eyes and a lump in my throat. An overreaction by any stretch.

As I sat in the car ready to go home, I caught hold of myself and wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Breastfeeding hormones? Tiredness? I'm not usually so sensitive. Sure I'd been looking forward to getting something done that needed to be done, and had met yet another roadblock with time ticking away too fast... but to want to cry? I've yet to see a man cry with frustration, but it seems women are born for it. Thanks, Eve.

I realised I'd been absorbing a lot of negativity without knowing that I had, and that I normally wouldn't. Things people had said to me that caught me off guard, butting heads ever-so-politely with well-meaning people which meant holding my tongue, lack of sleep, not eating anywhere near right, and the feeling that I was always one step behind everything in my life, running to catch up when I'm usually so organised. I sat there thinking "I've been holding on to that? Really?" about random things people had said...  and I hadn't noticed until it was too late. Positive Pete had a Negative Nancy moment. And I can't say I liked it.

So I did what I always do when I know things just need some time to work themselves out in my head without overthinking it - I cook. It keeps my brain from overload and is an excellent distraction. Bananas have finally come down in price to a reasonable level, so I bought a couple and made Veggie Baby a banana pudding from a cute old book from 1985 I had laying around about baby food called Feeding Baby. There's a bunch of cute stuff in there, like warnings that "a chop bone could poke into an eye"... OK!

This banana pudding is way cuter than an impaled eye, though. I bet your little one will love it.

BANANA PUDDING:

Mash half a banana with 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 tsp rice flour and 1 egg yolk. Pour into a small greased custard cup and bake in a moderate oven 20-30 minutes until set. Wait until cool before serving.

Ahh cooking. Where would I be without you?

Veggie Baby Food - Cherry-Apple Puree

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I can't get over how much I actually enjoy making food for the baby. Don't get me wrong, she still eats stuff out of a packet at times, but I'm really getting a kick out of making kid food.

Mind you, I find myself eating it too... this kind of puree in plain yogurt is good, as is putting it in the freezer on a hot day (I'm not telling you to add vodka...), and the apple purees and things are excellent on my morning oats! It's a win-win all round.

I always make batches of things on a Sunday afternoon when I'm pottering around the kitchen. It's nice to have something delicious and fragrant on the stove at that time of day.

Ingredients
2 sweet apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 handful fresh cherries, pitted.

Directions
1. If you don't have a cherry pitter, slice them around in half and twist to separate. Pull out the pit.

2. Set the apples in a small pan on medium-low heat with a little water. Cook until apples are soft, then throw in the cherries. Add more water if needed.

3. When all are soft (it won't take too much longer after you've added the cherries), process until smooth.

Very pretty stuff :)

Veggie Baby Food: corn, carrot and lentil curry

It's been fun experimenting for miss Veggie Baby. What will she eat? What will she turn her adorable button nose up at? How far can I go, and how much can I get away with?

With the original single-veg or fruit purees tested and received without incident, I've been mixing it up, creating new things and on the lookout for inspiration.

The first time I tried a little curry powder... just the teensiest taste... I was met with an unimpressed look. I wasn't sure whether it was the curry, or the texture of the lentils, as I'd left it less pureed than usual. I mixed it with a little mashed potato, and bam, we had a winner.

Dear child, I didn't eat curry until I was at least five. You rule.

This is the simplest curry ever, super-easy and takes just minutes to make. The sweetness of the fresh corn lends a good counterbalance to the "new" flavour of the curry. To be honest... I'd even eat it. In fact, it was hard not to when she originally refused to eat it, and if it wasn't for my dogged determination to try again, I would have!

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 clove garlic
1/2 large carrot or 1 small, diced
1/2 cob fresh sweetcorn, kernels sliced off
1/2 cup red lentils
1/8 tsp curry powder, or whatever you're comfortable with.

Directions:
1. Add all ingredients to a saucepan and add water until it just covers the veggies.

2. Cook on medium-low heat until everything is soft enough to puree.


3. If your baby looks at you like you've lost your mind, mix it with a little leftover mash. They'll love you again.

♥♥♥


Meanwhile, if you're concerned about the food marketing techniques used to target your children (I'm sure I'll be defenceless against Veggie Baby's future pester power... have you seen that face?), then The  Parent's Jury is inviting you to have your say at the Fame and Shame Awards.

You get to vote on the companies that are doing it right, and the companies that have it so, so wrong.

Check them out on Facebook here and while you're there... you should so "like" me ;-) ♥