Are you bored yet of hearing how much I love this baby food cook book? I'm sorry. I LOVE IT. It has been so helpful in teaching me what foods to introduce when (I had thought any veggie or fruit was game, whenever), and ways to prepare them for maximum vitamin and nutrient absorption (never boil your veggies!! keep the skins on in most cases, that's where the nutrition is!!, etc). It will definitely be a go-to baby shower gift in the future.
A couple of weeks ago, Lily started on butternut squash. One of my favourites, and now one of hers. Comparing it to a jar of babyfood in the grocery store is just sad... the homemade variety is bright orange-yellow. Almost electric (Same goes for peas. We're talking neon green!), while the grocery store variety is dull orange. And the peas remind me a bit of these throw back memories.
Will I use babyfood from the grocery store from time to time? Of course. I'm not saying it's terrible, or that I'm above it. It just makes sense, that while I have a year off work to stay home, I might as well make my own. And yes, it has more vitamins and nutrients, just comapre the labels and the nutrition info found in the book. But sometimes it's more important to just get through a day, and for you if that includes not making your own babyfood, all the power to you! Being a mom is hard. This is one thing I've been able to do, for this baby, and I love it. But it's not the only way. And that's all I'll say about that.
Butternut Squash:
cut your squash in half, empty out the gunk and seeds, and peel. This is the hardest part because of the weird shape and hard skin. Most other foods are easier because they lack both. But persevere, it doesn't get any harder than peeling and cutting a butternut squash!
Reserve your glorious seeds. I LOVE seeds of all kinds, especially pumpkin seeds, toasted in the oven, which sadly I only eat once a year - usually on October 31st. I forgot there were the same tasting seeds in all squash! Must eat more squash.... if only for the delicious seeds! Toss cleaned seeds in olive oil, cumin, dried coriander, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Fry in a frying pan if you can't wait to eat them/ don't want to wait long. Or bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so.
microwave cut, peeled, pieces of squash for 3-4 minutes or until you can very easily stick a knife or fork into the flesh. Then let cool a tad (or don't, I didn't) and mash or use an immersion blender. It will yield the softest (like butta!) flesh with no additives.
store in the freezer in a safe container for up to 2 months or in the fridge for up to 4 days
(I use Baby Cubes, they're cheap, BPA-free, and can go from the freezer to the microwave)
then enjoy your crunchy tasty flavour-packed seeds. they're your reward for the day :)
Ice cube trays have worked well for me when I am out of space in the freezer.But you probably already know that, you well researched mama! :)
ReplyDeletewould totally have used those, but i got baby cubes for my baby shower (and didn't register for them)so i went with the cubes. like how they have lids too, so i can throw them into her diaper bag and the microwave too.
ReplyDeletebut you're totally right. this summer when were on the road i'll just use ice cube trays since the freezer where we are will probably have them.
Em, it made me smile that you're making homemade baby food because it's more nutritious but then you're microwaving it to cook it, lol! I found steaming veggies a great alternative to microwaving.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the baby food cookbook, I checked it out and it seems really easy to follow and in line with where I'd like to go in terms of starting So and Lo on a healthy eating path.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed it has a recipe for making your own rice cereal which interests me due to So and Lo's lactose intolerance and generally sensitiv-o tummies. Unfortunately I probably won't have the time to make from scratch but I've found some affordable brown rice options to which they don't add dairy (ya, who knew they do that!) so I'll probably start with one of those.
Thanks again, looking forward to dreaming up what yummy things I can serve the kiddos and watch the faces they make. :) Almost as much as I'm looking forward to someday purchasing my last can of over-priced lactose-free formula!
if you want to save yourself from peeling the squash the hard way, just roast the squash with the skin on (halved, cut side down), then when it comes out of the oven, spoon the flesh out and blend away!
ReplyDeletere: rice cereal - gotta make sure the homemade rice cereal is cooked well, or else slightly uncooked rice cereal is even more constipating than normal rice cereal - found out the hard way.
Sar, I totally know you're got your hands full, so making your own cereal may seem daunting, but just a quick note to consider:
ReplyDeleteMaking your own rice cereal is actually the quickest recipe in the ENTIRE book. We're talking 30 seconds. Here's a link to a blog I like that has pics and the like.
http://homemadeginger.blogspot.com/2011/02/homemade-whole-grain-baby-cereal.html
That said, I already bought 3 boxes and I'm just now on box #2 of rice cereal before making my own, so I still don't make my own rice cereal, but I want to... huge bonuses like using brown rice over white.
Deb, thanks for the tip! Would take a bit longer than the microwave, but might be worth it since it would take way less effort. Will try next time :)
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