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.

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

I always find it funny how parents, including myself, get so hung up on only giving babies “breakfast” foods for breakfast. I’m sure that if you gave your little one Baby Beef Stew for breakfast, you wouldn’t hear any complaints from them, but there’s something about starting the day with traditional breakfast foods like oatmeal that seem to make more sense to most parents.

Bananas, oatmeal and molasses are all incredibly nutritious, and when mixed together, a great treat for kids. Bananas are filled with potassium, molasses are packed with calcium and iron and oatmeal is a true super food, rich in nutrients like B Vitamins, iron and fiber.

No matter what time of day I made this dish for Chloe when she was 9 to 12 months old, Kenya would beg me for some also (it’s funny how sibling rivalry reveals itself at such a young age). Whether you make this for your baby, toddler or even your spouse for breakfast — or really any time of day — it’s a creamy, sweet and delicious meal.

Banana, Molasses Oatmeal Mash (Makes 1 Baby Serving)

1/2 Banana
3 Tbsp Oatmeal Cereal
1/2 Tsp Molasses
2 Tbsp Water

1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mash with a fork to
combine.
2. Serve.

Yes. That’s it. Just avocado. And no, I’m not being lazy with today’s recipe! Let me explain:

Every week at our local farmer’s market, without fail our favorite avocado farmers split an avocado, drizzle each half with lime juice, add a pinch of salt and give them to Kenya and Chloe to eat in their stroller. Five minutes later, all that’s left are the paper plates and the avocado shells. This ritual has been going on for over two years and I think it’s the most satisfying and complete meal either of my kids have all week. It’s always the simple pleasures in life that make us the happiest, and since weelicious is all about fast, fresh and easy, what could be a better recipe to post today than just….avocado.

I’m not exactly sure how many avocados my family goes through each week, but suffice to say it’s a lot. We use them in tons of recipes like guacamole, (yes, shakes!), sandwiches, dips, quesadillas, sushi, salads and more. Avocados are a superfood that should be an essential addition to your kid’s diet as they provide nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-Vitamins and folic acid. They’re also one of the best sources of monounsaturated fats of any food. And don’t forget, avocado is actually a fruit and its creamy, smooth texture and mild taste not only make it a perfect ingredient for both sweet and savory dishes but are also food qualities kids tend to love.

No matter how you decide to eat your avocado, one thing I can assure you of is that you’ll be happy!

Avocado (Serves 2)

1 Avocado
1 Small Lemon or Lime
1/4 Tsp Salt

1. Using a sharp knife, cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed.
2. Hold the knife in one hand and the avocado half in the other and gently tap the knife into the pit with just enough force that the blade of the knife goes into the avocado pit.
3. Gently twist the knife until the pit comes out.
* At this point I like to cut through the avocado into a checkerboard pattern like the picture above, but you can also leave it as is.
4. Squeeze a bit of the lemon juice onto the avocado halves and sprinkle with a bit of salt.
5. Serve with a spoon.

Avocado Tip: If you want to know how to pick and when serve avocados, check out these two links that feature great tips:
How to pick a ripe avocado
How to pick ripe avocados

I’m extremely excited and honored to be co-hosting Pregnancy Awareness Month in May with Ricki Lake and Josie Maran. Through PAM, co-founders Anna Getty and & Alisa Donner aim to empower pregnant women and new parents with information, “how to” ideas and inspiration to incorporate PAM’s four key initiatives – education, exercise, nutrition & wellness and nurture– into their life routines and to show how easy it can be to make healthy changes in their lives, for themselves, and their children.

I often see Anna at our local farmer’s market and I know how much she loves cooking for her family. Because we both happen to be in the baby food making stage with our second children, Anna sent me this recipe and told me that her entire family enjoys eating it. I knew Chloe would be delighted with it, but I was curious to see how my 3 year-old Kenya would react. I put some in his school lunch the other day and was psyched when the container I put it in came home completely empty. My husband finished off what little remained in the fridge, so this puree delivers as promised!

Apple Fennel Puree (Make 6 Baby Servings)

1 Fennel Bulb, fronds removed and fennel bulb (the white part) chopped
2 Apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I like to use Gala, Pink Lady or Fuji apples)

1. Place the fennel in a steamer pot over boiling water and cook for 4 minutes.
2. Add the apples to the pot and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until fennel and apples are fork tender.
3. Place the mixture 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.

Chloe’s had an exciting introduction to solids, trying just about every fruit and vegetable available at the farmer’s market over the past 2 months. It’s been so exciting for us to watch her very first reactions to all these new flavors. While she has obviously enjoyed a lot of what I’ve made her, it is clear that persimmons are by far her favorite. When I first pureed some for her, I wasn’t sure how she would react. Persimmon isn’t a typical first food for a baby. It would be unlikely to find a jar of it in the baby food section at any grocery and fresh persimmons are not always easy to find, depending on what part of the country you live in. But here in California, where basically all U.S. persimmons are grown, they are everywhere you turn this time of year. I was totally surprised when Chloe ate the entire first batch I made for her — in one sitting! It was the most I had ever seen her eat.

Persimmon puree is really thick and smooth, has a beautiful bright orange hue, is sweet and is perfect for one of baby’s first foods. There are 2 varieties of persimmons: Fuyus and Hachiyas. The tastes are similar though there are some big differences to note. Fuyus are rounder and can be eaten firm. They have an apple-like texture, where as Hachiyas are heart shaped and need to ripen until REALLY soft before you try eating them. I usually buy ripe Fuyus, and peel and chop them for this recipe (there is no cooking involved). You could also use Hachiyas for this, just make sure they are super soft before eating them yourself or using them for this puree.

Persimmons are a great source of vitamin A, C, beta-carotene and soluble fiber — which is very important for baby . Whenever you feel like your wee one is a bit constipated, just give her a “p” fruit (peaches, pears, plums, papaya and especially persimmons), because the “p” also stands for poop! Seriously, it works every time!

Persimmon Puree (Makes 4 Serving)

2 Persimmons

1. Peel the skin off the persimmons and cut into cubes.
2. Place the cut persimmon into a food processor and puree until smooth.
3. Serve.

*Place in Baby Cubes and freeze.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

Chloe’s just over 5 months old now and we’re gearing up for an exciting end of summer and fall full of baby food purees. I’ve just started freezing purees using peaches, nectarines and mangoes and we’re gearing up for butternut squash, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and so many other delicious fall fruits and veggies. I made one of Kenya’s favorites, Plum & Banana Puree, so I could freeze a batch for Chloe and put a few spoonfuls on yogurt for my little guy.

This is Chloe’s weelicious debut! I hope you like the recipe.