Babyfood so good, she may never taste it - Butternut Squash and Corn Puree/Soup

As I mentioned in my previous post about my new, second baby, less intense food introduction, I've been introducing new foods with ones that have already been tested.  Whereas last time, I would give lil T only that new food for a week and that didn't go over too too well with some of the greens.  Well, Red Bell Peppers were introduced this week with Zucchini, Carrots and 1 Apple.  It tasted like an awesome Gazpacho.  Yeah, she didn't love it so much.  It's amazing how pungent something I used to think was so mild to non contributing as a Bell Pepper really asserts itself.  So I've frozen it as smaller ice cubes so I can toss it in with other mixes later. 

Here I was rather unprepared for her next food as I usually time it with a lull in the week.  I had to do it in the evening while the kids ate.  She isn't as captivated watching me cook as lil T was.  He would sit happily for hours in his high chair in the kitchen gnawing on a rice cracker but lil R, not so much.  Anyhoo, the one I made tonight as she screamed at me is so YUMMO that I will seriously make this again for myself and D as a soup.  Of course, I'll add alot of my stuff like aromatics like Garlic and Onions, probably but really this puree soup stood on it's own without Salt, Pepper, Spices nor Aromatics.  Amazing what fresh produce tastes like when you don't over cook it.  I steam until just done before pureeing.

Butternut Squash and Corn Puree/Soup

(all ORGANIC)
1 medium Butternut Squash, cubed 1inch (about the sizes of a nerf ball, renders 5-6 cups of cubes)
1 c Carrots, diced 1cm cubes
1/2 c dried Green Peas
2 small Bartlett Pears, cubed large
1 large ear of fresh local Corn

Chop in this order and wait on the Pears 10 minutes into steaming the first two so you don't get ugly browning.

In a large pot, place 2 c of filtered Water and the rinsed Green Peas. 
Place a stainless steel vegetable steamer on top.  Bring to a medium simmer. 
Place the Squash and the Carrots and cover.
After 10 minutes, with the Corn standing up in a bowl, run a sharp knife down the length to 'de-cob' the Corn kernels from the cob then chop the Pears, with peel, and add to the steamer. 
The total steam time should be 25-30 minutes.  Let stand a few minutes with heat off to avoid volcano in the processor.

Spoon the steamed veg into a large food processor.  Then drain the Peas, keeping the water and add to the processor.  Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the steam water.  Pulse the processor to breakdown the bulk a few times.  Then let it run for 30s to 1 min until no big chunks are floating around. If you don't have a large processor, you can use a processing wand. 

If I were making this as a soup, I would use all the water.  I try not to add to much water because I don't like watery babyfood like the store bought stuff. 

Seriously, this was delicious without any added flavours. 

Enjoy!!

Baby and Me - Organic Babyfood

Here I am again spending all my time making baby food.  I was really struck after having my first by the old adage 'you are what you eat'.  That can't be truer for babies.  So for my kids, I try to make sure everything they eat is organic because the thought that even 1% of their growing bodies is contaminated by pesticides or GMO'd food makes my skin crawl.  I eased off the organic fruit a bit with T when he hit 2.  We still only use Organic meats but that's D's domain and buy a lot of organic stuff when at our local market.  For our new little R, she will only have Organic as well.  Now that there's two of them, I might move T back to Organic too.

One thing I will say is that I'm less intense with R now that I now the 'ropes', so to speak.  When testing for allergies, I would only feed T the 'new' food.  Now in incorporate a 'passed' food with a new one. i.e. She hated carrots, so I mixed them with Sweet Potatoes which she loved and it helped them go down.  We started her earlier too.  Things change so quickly, it's really better to have your own opinion on things because the doctors will only spout the latest publications.  So she was allowed to start at 4 months, the new thing.  Fine.  Since she hates the bottle and hadn't been sleeping as well as T who would have a gigantic bottle before bed, I was hoping a full belly would help.  The other 'new' thing was that you can throw out the 'order' of introduction out the window.  Apparently the latest studies show that there isn't any benefit to delaying high risk items like Egg Whites, Soy or Nuts.  That said, I'm sticking to a general order based on ease of cooking :^D.  I will probably wait on Nuts and Egg Whites to be safe, and because I'm thinking about trying to keep her on a Whole Foods Plant Based diet for now anyhow.  That means no Dairy either.

The other thing I've eased off on is the hermetic, sterilized zone I was so crazy about with T.  I sterilized ANYTHING that went into his mouth, I never re served food and made gigantic batches.  Now, if she doesn't finish something, I cover it up and reserve at the next meal.  I make enough for the test cycle and no more and I wash her spoons and only sterilize if I'm going to wash the pump.

I thought I would share some of the mixtures of purees I'm currently serving that keep food tasty and interesting.  I also tend to serve her food with a grain. Either Oatmeal or Brown Rice.  I grind my own with a spice grinder and cook with extra water like Congee.  Have you ever read the ingredients on Rice Cereal in packages.  Gross!  I'm asian.  A meal doesn't seem hearty enough without rice :P.  I will also hand mash stuff that doesn't need processing like Sweet Potato v Broccoli.  I also prefer not to feed her anything I wouldn't eat and hubbo has been too busy to do the meats so so far she's a vegan! :)

Purees so far

1. Apple
2. Pears
3. Apple and Pears
4. Brown Rice and Apples
5. Oatmeal and Pears
6. Bananas and Oatmeal
7. Avocado and Pears
8. Sweet Potatoes
9. Carrots and Rice
10. Sweet Potatoes and Carrots! 
11. Strawberries, Bananas and Brown Rice
12. Peas, Apples and Brown Rice
13. Apricots, Apples and Oatmeal
14. Plums and Rice
15. Broccoli, Pears and Rice
16. Zucchini, Carrots, Pears and Rice
17. Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries (big hit!)
18. Strawberries, Pears and Edamame (huge hit!)

Quick Healthy Wholewheat Baby Pizza aka Pizza for Baby

Organic Wholewheat Baby Marguerita Pizza - slightly over browned :)

I said I would never do it.  I swore up and down.  It was one of the handful of rules that my old room mate told me to install as a parent.  Don't have a lot of rules but have a few that you stick to. Rule #1 for her is you eat at the table and you eat what is being served.  Well, lil T was having some teething pains Friday and Saturday so he's been jettisoning anything that is hard on his gums.  He wouldn't even eat the things he normally loves like Pasta.  Of course, oddly enough, he would eat Oaty-O's and they're darn crunchy.  Suffice it to say, his whole Sunday was messed up.  He work up early and ate a very small breakfast but then seemed okay and played up a storm but then fell asleep later than usual but stirred at lunch.  We sat him in front of his meal and but he was obviously not done napping.  So during what would turn out to be a 3 hour nap through lunch, I caved in and made him a pizza.

Pizza, yes.  I'm not a mom you'll see feeding my baby junky pizza from the foodcourt with all the grease, sugars and who knows what.  We take T out and we are really good about finding the healthiest option. No mystery minced Chicken Nuggets for us.  When I say, I stopped what I was doing in the middle of a lovely Sunday to make T a Pizza so he would eat SOMETHING, I mean I made it all, Crust and Sauce.  And I did it from start to finish within an hour. 

Quick Yeastless Pizza Dough

 Yields 4 10inch thin crust pizzas


1-1 1/4 c Organic Wholewheat flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1 t dried Basil or Oregano
1/2 c Water
1 T olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Start with 1 c of Flour.

Add the Water and Oil and mix with the fork.  Mix vigorously.  You actually want to build gluten so you can't over mix.   The dough will be soft like bread dough but not sticky.  Depending on your humidity level you may need to add a bit more flour.  When it gets too stiff for your fork, you can use a big spoon or your hands.

We are renting a place right now with a kitchen has no counter space.  D makes it work for rolling but I don't like Flour everywhere.  So you can knead this dough right in the bowl.  Use your fingers and knuckles and give it a proper kicking.  It shouldn't stick to your bowl too much or at all.

Let it rest until you're ready..... meanwhile over by the stove.....
 

Organic Baby Mother Red Sauce

1 tin Organic Tomatoes, crushed or whole
1 T Organic Tomato Paste
4-5 Organic Baby Carrots, minced

(so I don't have to repeat myself, let's assume if it's for lil T, it's Organic.  I point it out not as a pretension because we certainly don't eat all Organic but T does whenever possible, he's only little after all and he's growing and I don't want his cells reproducing with Monsatano-chemical-crap)

Handful Fresh Basil from backyard, chiffonade (ribbons)
Handful of Oregano, we have so much it's ridiculous, pull from stock and roughly chop
Sprig of Rosemary, it's growing into a bush!, pull from stem and mince
Garlic, local
1/2 Onion, chopped
1T olive oil

Why Carrots? Well remember why I'm making this Pizza?  T has not been eating well because of whatever fussy reason.  So I want to make sure he gets his veggies and vitamins.  Plus when you're using whole tinned Tomatoes, the acidity level can be a bit high for the palate of a little one or even some adults.  Without the roundness added by ground beef fat, this takes the edge off.  Some people at a pinch of sugar.

In a medium saucepan, heat 1-2 T of Olive Oil on medium high heat.  Add the Onion and Carrot. Stir until soft.  3-5 minutes. Add the Herbs and the Garlic.  Yes I added the Basil now.  I'm on a time limit here.  T could wake up from his nap at any moment.

Cook the Garlic for only a minute.  You do not want it to brown.  You want to make sure it all gets kissed by the oil and the heat.  Normally I am not uber careful about not browning the Garlic partially because I'm multitasking and I like the taste of toasted Garlic but it can be bitter and I'm not giving the baby any reason for spitting this out.

Add the Tomatoes.  What I do is take one Tomato at a time and smush it in my clean hands and add it to the pot.  You can add the liquid from the tin some or all.  I added it all.  I should have held back a bit because I didn't have enough simmer time so that's why I added the Tomato paste.  Let it simmer for as long as you can.  Since I was worried T would wake up, after about 15 minutes, I pulled out my hand blender and quickly pulsed through the sauce to break down the bigger pieces of Tomato. 

Baby Marguerita Pizza

Preheat your Toaster oven to 400F

Take the dough made above and cut into four pieces.  You can refrigerate or freeze the other pieces.

Now remember, I do not want roll out in my tiny rental kitchen or make a floury mess when the baby is about to wake up.  Take a baking sheet and spread a teaspoon of Olive Oil.  Start stretching the Pizza Dough in your hands first.  Try to spread it out as much as you can.  Then place it down on your baking sheet and spread out with the heel of your hand and finger tips.  I made the crust quite thin, 1/4inch and 10" in diameter.

Spread 2-3 T of  Red Sauce out on the Dough.
Top with 1/4-1/2 cut grated Mozzarella.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  I let the oven go a bit long because I was distracted and am not super familiar with how hot the Toaster Oven is.  So it needn't go this brown.

Top with a few fresh Basil Leaves.

Serve cooled down.

I gave T half at lunch and half at dinner.  He loved it.  mmmmm  I ate the crunchier crust bits.


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Healthy Fluffy Wholewheat Pancakes for Baby - Quick Make Ahead

Healthy Fluffy Wholewheat Pancakes for Baby - Make Ahead

You can mix these up just before heading to bed...OR during commercial breaks after the baby has gone to sleep.

Lil T loves his fruit.  He wakes up asking for a Banana.  He used to love Wholewheat Bread but he's been off it for a month or so.  Randomly one day, he asked for it and didn't eat it.  After than he stopped asking for it.  So what can I do to make sure he gets some fibre and grain in the morning?  Well, obviously, as most parents do, he gets a handful of Oaty O's (the organic less sugary version of Cheerios. they're also a bit crunchier so I'm hoping it will help him cut his teeth).  But really that doesn't seem like a tasty meal to me even though he loves them.

He likes Pancakes but we have thus far reserved them for weekends.  Even then it's been a bit of a hassel for D who wakes up on weekends with him.  Getting the flour out and cooking them and cooling them off.  Yeah, T doesn't have that kind of patience but he likes watching D cook so it stretches him out a bit as he eats some Blueberries.  So I thought if I could at least cut out the trouble mixing then, it would be a tad easier.  I'm not sure about Pancakes mixed ahead because I worry that the Baking Powder will have fizzled out while sitting and they'll be tough and chewy.  Luckily most Baking Powders are double acting nowadays, one hit for Salt Water and another with Heat.  I made a few adjustments on my favourity Fluffiest Wholewheat Pancakes to make sure that the overnight sit in the refridgerator in batter form would still yield tender and fluffy Pancakes.

Heat them up for 10 s in the microwave the next day or in the toaster oven.  They freeze well.

Healthy Fluffy Wholewheat Pancakes - Make Ahead

DRY
3/4 c Wholewheat Flour (organic if you have it)
1/4 c Cake Flour (less gluten)
3/4 t Salt
3/4 t  Baking Powder + pinch (aka 1/8 t)
1/4 t Baking Soda + pinch
1/4 t Cinnamon (optional)

WET
1 c Milk
1 large Egg
1 T Canola/Vegetable Oil
1 T Water

COOKING
Butter or Canola Oil
1 c Fruit of choice

(The instructions are in order but in tasks as I did them during commercial breaks of evening TV.)

Take out all the ingredients except the Milk and put them on the counter.

In a large bowl or Tupperware bowl with lid, mix the DRY together with a fork.  Get the lumps of the Cake Flour out.  You could sift if you want but remember this is for busy TIRED parents just before bedtime. Put all your DRY stuff away.

In a large measuring cup (2 cupper) mix the WET.  With the same fork or small whisk.  (note, I added the Salt to the DRY instead of the WET, this time.  I am trying to delay BP activation) Beat throughly so Egg is broken down.

Pour the WET into the DRY.  Temper your enthusiasm here.  Barely mix the batter.  It will sit over night so they lumps will get absorbed then and during cooking.  I've helped out by using Cake flour but with all the soaking, you do not want to over work the Flour.  If it helps. Stir it 10-13 times MAX.   What that means is scooping from the middle down to the side and swooping, 10-13 times.  GENTLY.  THEN put the fork down! It should just be mixed so there are not large mountaint of flour.  Cover and refridgerate.

The next morning heat a non stick pan on Medium heat.  Melt some butter or a touch of Canola oil.  Scoop 1/4 c - 1/4 c of Batter into the pan.  Sprinkle some Blueberries in or sliced Banana. We made them the size of teacup saucers for T.  When the top looks 'matte' and not glossy wet and is covered in bubbles, flip.  It'll be a few minutes per side.

Yielded 10 small pancakes.  T ate two with more fruit!


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Baby's Banana Bread - No Eggs No Oil No Sugar

Baby Banana Bread - No Egg, No Oil, No Sugar - All Moistness and Flavour!

I've wanted to make lil T his own baked goods where I didn't have to worry about the ingredients.  He's had baked goods outside the house.  His daycare offers him homemade baked goods and in a pinch, outside he may get a slice of Banana Bread or Croissant.  If I had it my way, he would only eat baked goods I could be sure what went into it.  I can't obviously but I can try to insure that the bulk of what he eats meets that aspiration.

I do not have an issue with Eggs but I forgot to buy them when I went shopping so I thought I'd give it a go.  It was a tad dense but with the Bananas, it was still very moist and lil T loved it.  He ate his slice for breakfast and went after D's and when I woke up an hour later (weekends, I sleep in) he grabbed a chunk of mine.  It was very tastey even for grown ups.

Baby's Banana Bread

3 very very ripe Bananas, approximately 2 c mashed
1 T Unsweetened Coconut flakes
1 t Salt
1 1/4 c Organic Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 c Organic Instant Oatmeal (I may up the Oatmeal next time)
1 T Honey (optional)
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t fresh Nutmeg
1/2 t Baking Powder
1 t Baking Soda
1/4-1/2 c Water

Preheat the Oven to 325

Lightly Oil a regular loaf pan but if you're confident on your non-stick, you may not need it at all.  We have quite nice Cafalon and they still stick.

In a large bowl, mash the Bananas.  Add the Salt, Coconut, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Honey.  Mix thoroughly.  In a small bowl, mix the Flour, Baking Powder and Oatmeal with a fork.  In a small prep bowl, add 1/4 c Water and the Baking Soda, stir. 

Add the Dry to the Wets and mix with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula a handful of turns.   This will be a very stiff batter, softer than Bread dough but stiffer than Muffin batter.  If it is too dry add a couple of T of Water.  Do not over mix though because you don't want a  tough bread and since there are no Eggs or Oil, you risk that.

Place the dough into the pan and press out to the corners.  Bake for 40-45 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Baby Carrot Cake and Zucchini Bread is next.



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Baby's First Kalbi - Korean Baby Food

Baby's First Kalbi

Lil T will eat just about everything.  Oddly enough though, I've definitely noticed a pattern in his disinterest in 'leftovers'.  I work so I tend to prepare his food for a few days.  I steam a bunch of Broccoli or other veg for a few meals ahead of time.  The day of, he will eat his green veg like it's candy.  By day 3, he's throwing it at me saying what I believe is 'bat' or bad.  Sigh.  I don't have the same issue with fruit though.  He'll eat anything sweet with gusto.  Proteins? Well, it's similar to the Veg situation.  He doesn't really like it on day 3.  Man! Who's kid is he anyway?  I love leftovers.  Since vegetarian food can be a bit labour intensive, I used to make big batches and eat it for a few days; soups, salads, stews, sauces.  D on the other hand regards leftovers differently.  He doesn't like to eat something two days in a row but he'll keep leftovers longer than I would.  So what's up with lil T and his aversion to the refridgerated treasure trove.  I reckon he picked it up while we were living with my folks for a few weeks when we moved to #Toronto.  Mom is a zealot about fresh food.  My dad has never had a leftover in his married life.  Lil T better get over it tout suite!

I've been easing the lil dude into 'real' food though.  What I mean is that I'll give him steamed veg or grilled meats or Tofu but I've been very careful about Asian sauces since they tend to have alot of additives.  He's had our Tomato sauce which he adores but Asian food is difficult.  He can't have anything too spicy nor too Salty.  I searched for a while for Organic Soy Sauce with no success.  D said I should use mom's soy sauce.  She makes it from scratch.  I said, well, while I know she's not adding any preservatives, I think she used too much Salt and since she buys her soybeans at the market in bulk, I'm fairly certain they're not Organic or nonGMO.

I have since conceded on the organic bit and at least insisted he get Low Sodium Soy.  I started by sprinkling a bit on his Organic Brown Rice and he just shovelled it in with both hands.  I then asked mom to make some Kalbi for him with Low Sodium Soy.  She also went the extra mile and reduced the amount of sugar.  She's been using Raw or Brown Sugar instead of White for a while but she started to cut that back and replace it with Apple or Pear purée.  That made me particularly happy.  I cooked one bone's worth in the toaster oven on a sheet pan at 375 for 11 minutes.  It's fairly thin so it cooks quickly. 

Success!  Lil dude devoured it with two hands full at all times.  I cut it up into tiny bits.  He only has two teeth for the moment.  You can feel his molars just under the surface so he's never had an issue with chewing.  D reckons he liked the sweetness of the Kalbi marinade.  In anycase, after having him throw some grilled simple Organic Flank Steak at my face last week, I was thrilled. 

 Now I know the food in the photo looks like alot but I cooked extra vegetables in case he didn't like the Kalbi.  I needn't have worried.  He was double fisting while still chewing.  He didn't touch the Sweet Potato.

Side note.  I'm having mom and dad talk to him in Korean but they've both been here for so long that they speak a brutal Korglish.  I have to keep reminding them to say Guk-soo instead of Noodle or Bego-pa-yeo? instead of Hungry-ya-yeo? The one thing I've had to ask my mom to avoid in Korean is Baby Talk for food.  Food in Korean is 'Bap' which also means Rice, probably because we have Rice at every meal.  I still feel funny if I don't get a starch.  Anyhoo, Baby Talk for Food is not 'Bap' which is easy for lil T to say since he only says B words right now, it's 'Mamah'.  My mom insists up and down that Mamah and Mama are different.  Brutal.  But it's confusing for me and T when my mom asks him if he wants 'Mamah'. 

Next up will be some #Korean BBQ Chicken... (similar to Teriyaki).