Friday's Five: Liam's Buffet

Last week I started feeling like I was feeding Liam the same thing over and over for every meal {I'm sure he doesn't actually mind seeing as he had boob only for the first 6 months of his life}.  So to spice things up...yes I intended that... I set out on Thursday to create a new and exciting food adventure for him.  I spent the better part of the afternoon steaming and blending fresh ingredients for Liam's tummy {side note: this continued on Friday morning and Saturday afternoon too}.  This week's F's 5 is all about Liam's baby buffet, namely 5 of the recipes I made and Liam's reaction to them.
Bon appetit.

Tools of the trade:

Here's what I use, nothing fancy, a rice cooker/steamer and then a mini food processor.  I also use ice cube trays to freeze the baby food, I have tried using a cookie scoop and plopping (scientific term) the baby food on a cookie sheet and placing that in the freezer...doesn't work so well if you have a small freezer, like we do.










Other devices available (can be expensive and really if you have the above...you definitely don't need these, but they are out there if you do)

So here's what I made ~

1.  Pork and Apple Puree

8 cubes stewing pork (couldn't find so I used stir fry pork)
1 cup water
4 apples, washed peeled, cored and sectioned (smaller amount of pork so I only used 2 apples)

~ in saucepan, bring pork and water to boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered, until pork is cooked through, 25-30 minutes.  Set aside and save stewing water.
~ in steamer, steam apples over boiling water for 10 minutes
~ in blender or food processor, puree apples and pork to achieve desired consistency (for younger babies you may need to add leftover stewing water to thin it out.  When adding liquid, start with 1 tbsp. at a time)
~ pour into ice cube trays and freeze.  Yield: 12 cubes

Liam absolutely loves, loves, loves this.  I was surprised because he still doesn't like eating fruit...I'm starting to think it might be because it's sweet.  Hmmmmmmmmm...


2.  Baby Chicken

2 carrots, washed, peeled and sliced
1 parsnip, washed, peeled and sliced
1 Poached Chicken Breast
1/4 cup Salt Free Chicken stock OR left over poaching water

~ in steamer, steam carrots and parsnip until tender, about 10 minutes
~ in blender or food processor, puree chicken and vegetables and stock or leftover poaching water to achieve desired consistency
Tip: For sweeter version try adding unsweetened apples juice instead of stock
~ pour into ice cube trays and freeze.  Yield: 10 to 12 cubes


Again, Liam loved this one too.  He loves his meat and veggies...think I might try the sweet version next time.


3.  Watermelon Cereal

1 cup seedless watermelon, skinned and cubed
1/4 to 1/2 cup iron-fortified rice cereal

~ place watermelon in a bowl and puree with handheld immersion blender (oh yeah I use this too) or regular blender
~ slowly add rice cereal to watermelon juice and mix until desired consistency is reached
~ pour into ice cube trays and freeze.  Yield: 6 to 8 cubes

Surprise, surprise Liam won't eat this.  Of course not...it's fruit and potentially yummy.  Oh well, it's in our freeze until such a time he decides he'll eat it.  No worries.


4.  Tuscan Tomato and Chickpeas

1/2 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchini, washed, trimmed and diced
1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes
1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
pinch cumin (optional)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (optional)

~ in frying pan, heat oil over low heat; saute onion until translucent about 5 minutes.  Add zucchini and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes
~ add tomatoes, chickpeas and cumin (if using) and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.
~ remove from heat, add basil (if using) and stir.  Mash with a fork
~ fill ice cube trays and freeze.  Yield: 16 cubes

This is Liam's new favourite.  I gave him this mixed with chicken and I couldn't feed it to him fast enough, and he wanted seconds.  I got way more then 16 cubes too, I could've easily filled 3 1/2 ice cube trays.


5.  Green Beans and Cauliflower

This recipe is super simple...basically it's what I follow any time I'm going to do veggies.
~ wash, trim, and slice/dice/chop your vegetable of choice
~ place in steamer and steam until tender, depending on the vegetable anywhere from 10-15 minutes. Save remaining steaming water.
~ place vegetables in food processor or blender and puree until desired consistency (Liam likes his green beans chunky).  For younger babies add the steaming water to thin out the puree.
~ pour into ice cube trays and freeze.  Yield:  depends

From left: Baby Chicken (2 trays), Pork and Apple Puree, Green Beans, Cauliflower

I highly, highly, highly recommend The Baby's Table.  This is the second post where I've gone on about it.  It has a ton of great, easy recipes and doesn't throw a bunch of "do's and don'ts" at you.  

♥  have a great weekend!!