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Over the last several months, many of our friends have become new moms (and several more have little ones on the way)! And as their “mini-me(s)” have grown, many of our friends have developed a keen interest in making their own baby food. So, we thought it would be fun to call upon our friend, fellow dietitian and founder of SuperKids Nutrition Inc., Melissa Halas-Liang to share her tips and tricks for how to make your own baby food.
Saving time is important to modern families and by using the same ingredients to make meals that work for baby as well as all other family members, you will reduce your time spent picking up groceries as well as in the kitchen.
Foods you feed baby do not have to be different from the foods you feed yourself and the rest of the family! For example, when making a chicken and butternut squash meal for baby, think about ways you may like to enjoy these foods as well. Add chicken slices to a delicious chicken Caesar salad, or roast the chicken and butternut squash and serve over whole-wheat pasta or wild rice. Use the mashed butternut squash as a base to make a delicious butternut squash soup or as a creamy base for risotto or macaroni and cheese, which will allow you to cut back on the normal fatty ingredients without sacrificing texture or flavor. Add slices of grilled chicken to both dishes for a healthy, lean protein.
Over the last several months, many of our friends have become new moms (and several more have little ones on the way)! And as their “mini-me(s)” have grown, many of our friends have developed a keen interest in making their own baby food. So, we thought it would be fun to call upon our friend, fellow dietitian and founder of SuperKids Nutrition Inc., Melissa Halas-Liang to share her tips and tricks for how to make your own baby food.
Without further ado, here's Melissa!
Food for Baby
By Melissa Halas-Liang, MA RDN CDE
Making meals for the
littlest members of your family can be both easy and healthy. Preparing baby
food in advance allows you to buy seasonal foods at their peak and at a cost
savings. Freezing baby food means fast, simple future meals. With the Champion Juicer, you gain complete
control over your baby’s food by making it yourself, which will ensure there
are no additives or preservatives. You can use a food processor or blender to
make baby food, but the Champion Juicer
has dozens of small blades that quickly and efficiently homogenize the food into
a very smooth consistency. Another time saving tip is to use your home made
baby food as a base for family meals, like soups.
Tips, tricks, and time savers when making baby food
Saving time is important to modern families and by using the same ingredients to make meals that work for baby as well as all other family members, you will reduce your time spent picking up groceries as well as in the kitchen.
To save time when making
squash, roast the squash whole. Cutting a large, hard squash in half is
challenging! Skip this step and simply place a whole, washed butternut (or
other winter) squash in a baking dish and roast it in the oven at 425 degrees
F. Just remember to pierce it with a few fork holes, which allows the squash to
vent while cooking. There is no need to preheat the oven. A medium squash that
weighs roughly two pounds will take about 90 minutes to cook.
If you are freezing
leftover pureed foods, freeze them in ice cube trays. This saves time when you want to use them
again because it makes them easily accessible and you will only have to take
out and defrost what you need. You can use these pureed cubes in so many
different dishes for both your baby and the older members of your family,
including in potato latkes, to enhance the flavor and nutritional value of store
bought tomato sauces or salsa, in mashed potatoes, or as the glue for
vegetarian bean burgers.
If you’re making your own
baby food, you don’t always have to think vegetables—fruit is a healthy and
nutritious option for your baby, too! Pureed fruit can be given to a baby and
then mixed with plain yogurt and frozen in ice pop molds or silicone squeezable
molds as a snack for yourself and your older children. Or, if you make a fruit smoothie for
yourself, freeze the leftovers as pureed fruit for your little one.
Using baby food
ingredients to feed the rest of your family
Foods you feed baby do not have to be different from the foods you feed yourself and the rest of the family! For example, when making a chicken and butternut squash meal for baby, think about ways you may like to enjoy these foods as well. Add chicken slices to a delicious chicken Caesar salad, or roast the chicken and butternut squash and serve over whole-wheat pasta or wild rice. Use the mashed butternut squash as a base to make a delicious butternut squash soup or as a creamy base for risotto or macaroni and cheese, which will allow you to cut back on the normal fatty ingredients without sacrificing texture or flavor. Add slices of grilled chicken to both dishes for a healthy, lean protein.
How to use the Champion:
To make baby food with
multiple ingredients, be sure to alternate each ingredient for an even
consistency. Many babies enjoy the mixed texture that results from two or more
foods together. You can also run the finished product through the Champion
Juicer once more for an even smoother texture, perfect for younger babies.
Now enjoy making chicken
and butternut squash puree for baby and butternut squash soup with chicken for
your whole family to enjoy.
Ingredients:
•
1
teaspoon olive oil
•
clove
garlic, minced
•
½ cup
sweet onion, chopped
•
½
cup carrots, chopped
•
½
cup celery, chopped
•
1
teaspoon fresh sage, chopped (or 1 teaspoon ground dry sage)
•
1
teaspoon fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary)
•
½ teaspoon
sea salt
•
1/8
teaspoon ground black pepper
•
3
cups vegetable broth
•
1
15oz can of pumpkin
•
1 ½
lbs butternut squash (peeled, seeded, cubed)
Directions:
1. In a large stockpot, sauté garlic
and onion in olive oil over medium heat, until onion begins to caramelize.
2. Add carrots, celery, butternut
squash and herbs through the Champion juicer for smoothest consistency.
Alternately, use a standing blender or food processor to puree.
3. Then transfer to pot, mix in sea
salt, pepper and vegetable broth.
4. Bring all to a boil and simmer for
20-25. Garnish with additional herbs if desired and enjoy.
Squash and Chicken Baby Food (appropriate for babies 7 months
or older)
1. Fit the blank screen (or use
homogenizing body) onto the juicer body. Peel and de-seed a medium butternut
squash.
2. Cut into chunks and bake at 375° for 40 minutes.
3. When making boneless, skinless
chicken breast for your family put some aside for baby! Cool and cut into
chunks.
4. Alternate chicken chunks and
squash chunks through juicer. For a finicky baby, run mixture through again for
a smoother texture.
Time-saver tip: bake the
butternut squash whole and peel after it’s cooked. Don’t forget to prick with a
fork to allow the steam to escape.
Ingredients:
•
1½
cups of the butternut chicken puree
•
2
cups chicken broth
•
1/8
teaspoon cumin
•
1
teaspoon ground nutmeg
•
¼ teaspoon
black pepper
•
½
teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Stir until thoroughly heated and
serve.
2. Both the baby food and the soup
recipes above work for zucchini, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, roasted red
peppers, sweet potatoes, and peas as well.
Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RDN, CDE
is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator with a Masters in
Nutrition Education who is a nationally recognized childhood nutrition expert.
She is founder of SuperKids Nutrition
Inc. where she is “saving
the world, one healthy food at a time.” Read more about her Super Crew children’s books
and discover how good nutrition can help you live your best health
potential through her on-line
courses blog, Melissa’s Healthy Living.
Ha, yes, I'd totally eat this soup! (Without baby ;) haha)
ReplyDeleteI feel like I would want to eat this too, haha. <3 I'm actually on my pediatrics rotation right now--maybe I can coerce some of the mothers to make their own baby food for their kids! :D!
ReplyDelete