At this time of year the picking for seasonal fruits to feed your baby can be slim. However, when the kids and I went to our local farmer’s market this past weekend, a myriad apples in tons of varieties were abundant: Pink Ladies, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji and more — all sweet, crispy and delicious. Apples are one of those fruits that make the most delicious homemade baby food because when pureed, their texture is smooth and sweet — perfect for brand new eaters.

I came up with this Apple Walnut Puree recipe for Parents Magazine as a part of an article on nuts for kids of any age. In the last few years there has been quite a bit of controversy about giving kids nuts before the age of 1, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recently changed their stance on the issue, suggesting that it is safe for babies to be consuming nuts as a part of their diets.* As long as nuts are in the form of a smooth nut butter or pureed very fine (whole or pieces of nuts still present a choking hazard to children under the age of 4), they are an excellent source of protein and important for babies growing bodies. Walnuts in particular are rich in Omega 3′s.

This puree is so delicious that my kids, even though they are past the puree stage, eagerly devoured it. I don’t know why I was surprised. When you think about how much most kids love apple sauce, it makes total sense why this puree should be an easy sell to any little one from 8 months or older since it’s just like a nutty applesauce. And given that I caught my husband finishing the last batch I made the kids, I’d wager you may even win over some older fans as well.

*If your family has a history of food allergies or if you have any concerns, I highly recommend speaking to your pediatrician before offering nuts to babies or kids.

Apple Walnut Baby Puree (Makes 6 Serving)

2 Apples, cored & peeled (Pink Lady, Fuji or Gala are all good choices)
1/4 Cup Walnuts, shelled & halved
1/8 Tsp Cinnamon

1. Place apples and walnuts in a steamer pot over boiling water.
2. Cook for 7 minutes or until apples are fork tender.
3. Place apples, walnuts, cinnamon and 3 tbsp of the water from the steamer pot in a food processor and puree for 3 minutes or until smooth.
4. Cool and serve.

Like a lot of moms, I started feeding my kids brown rice cereal when they were 6 months old. I never even thought about making it homemade. The baby food companies perform some of their most impressive marketing when it comes to this tried and true first food, because while I bought it by the boxful, it never occurred to me just how easy it would be to make it on my own. I don’t know why I never thought of it before because all you need is a blender and brown rice. It truly is THE easiest thing you can make your baby.

Packed with iron, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals, brown rice cereal makes a perfect first food. No more nutritionally stripped white rice cereal or spending way too much money on pretty packaging and advertising. Make it on your own and you’ll have a simple food that your baby will love!

Brown Rice Cereal (4-6 servings)

1/2 Cup Short Grain Brown Rice (I like to use organic brown rice)

1. Place the brown rice in a spice grinder or blender for 45 seconds-1 minute or until finely ground.

* At this point you can store the rice powder in a sealed container in the refrigerator or in a cool dark place.

To make 1 serving for a 4-6 month old baby, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil and sprinkle in 2 tbsp of the ground brown rice. Whisk continuously for 30 seconds and then occasionally for 4-5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and creamy to prevent any lumps from forming. Serve as is or with one of the additions below.

Additions:

Breast Milk
Formula
Molasses
Banana, mashed
Rice or Almond Milk
Apple Sauce
Baby Food Puree

Is your baby getting ready to start solid food? Want to save money and offer your little one homemade brown rice cereal that tastes better and costs a lot less than anything you could buy in a box? Packed with fiber and
tons of nutrients, this homemade brown rice cereal will be a treat for your baby’s developing taste buds!

I love February 14th — what girl doesn’t — so I start experimenting early with new Valentine’s Day recipes. For the occasion, I stocked up at the Farmer’s Market on baskets of fresh, juicy red raspberries. I was mashing some with banana as the base for a Valentine’s dessert idea I had when Chloe looked at the contents of the bowl and started shrieking “I want some!!!” My girl went on to eat every last drop when suddenly, it hit me: what baby wouldn’t love this bright, pink homemade puree that’s packed with potassium and Vitamin C?

Luckily I had pints more of raspberries on hand, so I quickly mixed up a new batch to taste for myself. What can I say, my daughter has good taste. It was delicious. Even though this recipe is perfect for babies given it’s smooth texture and simple composition, there’s no reason adults won’t love it too. Swirled into plain Greek yogurt or even served on top of ice cream, it’s a treat that you can serve your special someone this Valentine’s Day or any day you want to offer a them something naturally sweet.

Raspberry Banana Puree

1 Banana, peeled
1/2 Cup Raspberries, rinsed

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree, or place in a bowl and mash with a fork until smooth.
2. Serve.

This is one of my tried and true recipes that I’ve been making for years but for some reason never thought to put on weelicious. Long before I was married or had kids, when my best friend and I were living together, this soup was in my weekly recipe rotation. Like many kids who shun their veggies, my friend was hard to cook for, but she absolutely loved this naturally sweet soup.

Preparation takes minimal effort and once Kenya saw me take out the hand blender, I don’t think he cared how it tasted as long as he got to help me make it. Once the ingredients were cooked and nice and tender, I let Kenya use the hand blender to mix it up, making the soup super creamy (without using any dairy, mind you). Boys sure do love their toys! I think he pureed it for what felt like 20 minutes until he finally deemed it
“just right mommy”.

Nutritious, delicious and heart warming, hopefully this Carrot Ginger Soup will be in your weekly rotation all winter long!

Carrot Ginger Soup (serves 4)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Yellow Onion, diced
1 16 Oz Bag Baby Carrots
2 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, peeled and chopped
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 32 Oz Box Low Sodium Vegetable Stock (you could also use low sodium chicken stock)
Accompaniments: plain yogurt, sour cream or crème fraiche

1. Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat and sauté the onion for 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
2. Add the stock, ginger, carrots and salt, bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until carrots are fork tender.
3. Puree the soup using a hand blender or in a blender until creamy and smooth.
4. Serve topped with a dollop or yogurt, sour cream or crème fraiche.

When you’ve got one soft, ripe mango, one banana and one hungry baby, that’s a perfect combination! Smooth and creamy, this Mango Banana Puree is an ideal first food for any little one. Your baby will be getting more than her fair share of Vitamins A, C and B6, dietary fiber, Potassium and more. With all these exciting facts, you don’t need to be on the National Mango Board to know this puree will be a real winner!

Mango Banana Puree (Makes 8 Baby Food Servings)

1 Mango, cut into chunks
1 Banana

1. Place the mango and banana chunks in to a food processor.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Serve.

We used this to freeze this recipe:

Baby Cubes

When I was a kid, I loved being my mother’s “kitchen assistant” when she entertained for friends. I was always in charge of passing out appetizers such as toasts spread with Boursin, an herby, spreadable cheese. Recently I was at a friend’s party and became nostalgic watching all of the kids run around eating toast with cheese spread on top. And then, it was like a lightbulb went off — Kenya and Chloe will eat pretty much anything that consists of bread and cheese, so why I never before thought to try this healthful spin on an old family recipe had me kicking myself!

I love artichokes for both their flavor and health benefits. They’re a fantastic source of fiber, vitamin C, and potassium, and are loaded with antioxidants. Goat cheese has a nice tartness and more protein than cow’s milk cheese, so this simple spread that literally takes a couple of minutes to prepare also packs a lot of taste and nutritional value. Not only did I spread it on some delicious toasted whole grain bread for my kids’ dinner, but the next day I mixed some of it with pasta for Chloe and made a sandwich with it for Kenya’s school lunch. From the looks of Chloe’s bowl and Kenya’s empty lunch box when he got home, it was clear they weren’t tiring of it.

Now, if I can only get the two of them to work my next dinner party….

Artichoke Cheese Spread (Makes 1 1/2 Cups)

1 12 Oz Jar Marinated Artichoke Hearts (in oil), drained, reserving 2 tbsp of the juice
1/4 Cup Goat Cheese (you can also substitute cream cheese)
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Accompaniment: Crackers, Bread, Toast

1. Place the drained marinated artichoke hearts, goat cheese, 2 tbsp reserved juice and lemon juice in a food processor.
2. Puree.
3. Serve on crackers, bread or even mixed into pasta.

Once you move beyond vegetables and fruit purees and into baby’s first foods, the real fun starts to happen. This is the time when introducing new flavors and textures can be exciting not only for you, but also for your baby.

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wa) is a food that you might not automatically think about serving to your little one, but not only is it incredibly nutritious, it’s also delicious. Quinoa has the most protein of any grain, has a soft texture (which is great on little gums), possesses a delicious nutty flavor, and I find that kids love to eat it. Mixing it with the banana (a flavor that your baby is likely already very familiar with), makes it very likely that your little one will really take to this recipe. And since it only takes 15 minutes to cook quinoa and it stays well in the refrigerator, it’s a great food to keep around for you or your baby to snack on morning, noon or night!

Quinoa Banana Mash (Makes 2 Servings)

1/2 Banana
Pinch Cinnamon
3 Tbsp Cooked Quinoa
1 Tbsp Whole Milk Yogurt

1. Place all the banana in a bowl and mash.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Serve.

When I’m trying to come up with new baby food purees, I have several unspoken criteria that I always try and meet: I want to make something that tastes smooth and creamy, but also provides as much visual interest and nutritional value as possible. There are certain foods, like broccoli, that meet almost all of my standards: it’s loaded with essential vitamins and minerals, has beautiful color and is delicious when steamed on its own. But pureed alone into baby food and the results are watery and bland. Still, broccoli is so nutritionally ideal for babies, I refuse to disqualify it just for being blender-averse. Instead, I simply combine it with a couple of other select ingredients and, voila, it’s perfect.

By adding potato and cheese to this recipe, the broccoli incorporates beautifully and the resulting puree has a smooth texture that’s perfect for babies. In addition, the cheese provides a healthy dose of dairy, making this dish a superstar. Both of my kids ate this regularly when they were starting solids and never seemed to get enough of it!

Broccoli, Potato & Cheese Puree (Makes 6 Baby Servings)

1 Large Potato, peeled and cubed
1 Cup Broccoli, chopped
2 Tbsp Cheddar Cheese (I used white cheddar cheese)

1. Place the potato cubes in a steamer pot over boiling water and cook for 6 minutes.
2. Add the broccoli and steam for an additional 4 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.
3. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree.
4. Serve.

Recently, I made Baked Maple Bananas for Kenya. Everyone who tried them couldn’t get over how delicious they turned out. They’re intensely sweet, creamy and have a delicious caramel note to them. I felt like there were more recipes to be mined from that one. Pears are in season and abundance at our farmer’s market, so I thought I would try roasting them together with bananas to make baby food for Chloe. There’s nothing wrong with pureeing ripe pears and bananas together, but when you roast them it just intensifies the flavors and texture even more.

Pears and bananas are a good source of fiber, so they’ll also help to get things moving when your little one gets stopped up (TMI?)

How did it come out? Amazing! I have no other words. In fact, if you don’t believe me, check out this quick video I posted here on Twitter of Chloe taking her first bites of it. Now the hard part is trying to keep this puree away from everyone else in the family! It’s so yummy, you’ll want to serve it on top of yogurt or even to spread on a bagel with almond butter. It’s funny how these days everyone in my family wants to eat Chloe’s baby food!

Roast Pear & Banana Puree (Makes 6 Servings)

2 Bananas, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Pears, peeled and cut into wedges (I used Bartlett pears)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the bananas and pears on a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet.
3. Roast for 25 minutes.
4. Puree until smooth.
5. Cool and serve.