Mom, What’s for Lunch?

So, you’ve made the decision that your bundle of joy, who is already eating rice cereal, is ready to start chewing down on something else. Given the fact that breast milk or formula (depending on the kind) has been so far so tasty, sweet and nutritious to your babe’s taste buds, it’s no wonder that when it’s time to cross this stage, many of us parents are left wondering what would be a good follow up?

Well, fear not, there are actually quite a few baby recipes available to complement your baby’s diet. Here’s one especially yummy one we created (and it’s baby approved!):

Peachy Protein

(recommended for babies older than 7 months and with no allergies for either chicken, peach or butternut squash)

Since portions depend on the baby’s size, we will talk in percentages terms.

What you need:

1.  60% peach puree.
2. 20% chicken puree.
3. 20% butternut squash puree.

These percentages will make up the entire portion that you normally feed your baby.

How to make it

1. Wash fresh peaches, place them in a steamer and put a lid on it.  Leave them there until you can insert a fork and the fork goes through the peach. About 15 minutes. Then, pull the peaches out of the steamer and into a plate. Wait for them to cool down and then proceed to skin them, usually the skin comes off easily by pulling them with your own fingers. Ensure you take the seed out and place the fruit in a food processor. Turn it on and puree to the consistency desire. Usually no extra water is needed, but depending on your preference, you can have it a little bit more liquidly by adding a little bit more of water.
2. Cut the chicken into smaller pieces and boil them in water, covered, until the temperature inside the chicken reaches 170 degrees. Usually I let it boil for around 40 minutes. Let the chicken cool down, then place in a food processor to puree. You might want to put as much drinking water is necessary for the chicken to reach a puree consistency. Usually for a pound a chicken, I reach a puree consistency by adding around 1 cup of water.
3. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Pierce butternut squash with a fork a few times on each side and put inside the oven. Wait about 1 hour. Rotate after 30 minutes so that it gets cooked evenly. Then pull out, let it cool down, and peel the skin off with a knife.  Ensure you take all the center seeds out, then place the vegetable into a food processor to puree. You might want to put some water to reach a puree consistency.

What I like to do next is to put the fruit, the chicken and the vegetable in ice cube containers, freeze them up, and when it’s time to feed my baby, I just get the cubes out and it’s easy then to do the percentage math we talked about earlier.

So, for example, you could mix 6 peaches and 2 chicken and 2 butternut squash ice cubes, warm them up in a sauce pan at the very lowest setting while covered and Voila! Once it’s melted and to the temperature that you want it, there you have it, a yummy treat for your babe! Your baby will continue to look forward to this tasty and nutritious lunch treat!

Indira,

Mom to a baby girl and a toddler boy.
Co-founder of Cool Munchkins: Cute, Fun and High Quality Baby Wear and Plush Toys.