Give your baby their very own turkey dinner any time of year with this delicious homemade baby food recipe. Your baby will love the rich, comfort-food flavors (mine does!) of creamy mashed potatoes, green beans and roasted turkey. Even though it tastes yummy, you won’t find anything but healthy ingredients in this turkey dinner. Full of fresh green beans, potatoes, lean turkey and creamy yogurt, it tastes just as good as an adult version without the added salt and fats. It freezes well too, so you can make a big batch to freeze for later.
This recipe is appropriate for babies 7 months old and up, who are eating yogurt. Make it a smooth puree for youngsters and chunkier for bigger babies. Either way, this is sure to be a big hit!
Baby food recipe |Turkey Dinner
Ingredients
Method
In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the green beans, potato, turkey, broth and herbs. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Allow to cool.
To puree, add the cooled mixture and yogurt to a food processor and blend until smooth, adding more broth if necessary. Puree until you reach the desired consistency.
This type of creamy soup recipe is perfect when it’s getting cold outside, but for us in Miami, that doesn’t happen very often. Here it is October and you would think it was the middle of summer. No changing leaves, no boots, no harvest festivals. We are still in flip flops and having swim parties. Still, food moves with the seasons and I’m in the mood for Fall. Warm and comforting, this creamy potato and fennel soup is simple to make, and delicious.
Cream of (insert vegetable here) recipes remind me of childhood, when I would pour over my mother’s 1960’s Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. The thing was well worn, with binder pages hanging out the side. Inside, you could make a creamy soup out of any vegetable if you had a blender, some chicken stock and cream.
My version is a little less fattening than most, using just a touch of cream and olive oil. The potatoes thicken the soup, so there is no need for flour or corn starch. Try to use a low starch red or yellow potato for this recipe.
Why does this matter? Waxy potatoes like these are creamier when you cook them, with a nutty, buttery flavor that will enhance the soup. Starchy white potatoes have a milder flavor and grainier texture that is better served mashed.
Some other creamy Fall veggie soups you may want to try:
Creamy potato and fennel soup
Ingredients
Method
In a large pot, sauté onions in olive oil or butter over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, celery and fennel. Cook for 2 minutes more. Add potatoes and chicken stock. Cover and cook over low heat until everything is very tender, about 30 minutes.
Stir in cream, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Using an immersion blender, pulse soup until completely smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular blender, working in batches until the soup in smooth. Taste for seasoning and serve hot garnished with fennel fronds.
I’ve found the key to getting my little one to eat is flavor, flavor, flavor — and a lot of variety. I taste all of his food before it goes into his mouth and have found that if I don’t like it, he won’t like it. It could be the taste or it could be the texture, so if he doesn’t like a food the first time, I’ll give it to him prepared a different way. For instance, he doesn’t like to eat fresh peaches, but if I bake them, he loves them. If I give him sliced banana on his tray, he just smears them around, but if I let him gum off a bite from a whole banana (while I eat it too), he begs for more. Keep mixing it up to keep their interest because babies love to explore new things. The baby food available at the supermarket has vastly improved, but nothing compares to the taste of fresh, homemade meal. This turkey, carrot and potato baby food recipe is easy to make and will help develop good eating habits — eating what you make, not store-bought prepared meals.
Because my little guy IS such an adventurous eater, I don’t give him the same foods for days on end. I make mini batches of baby food in a small saucepan a few times a week from what I have available. I leave everything to simmer to tenderness, adding bits along the way. This one is always a hit with my little guy. It has the delicious, homemade flavor of your favorite stew, and is healthy for your little one. You can puree this, or leave it chunky if your baby is eating finger foods. Just make sure you cut everything into small enough pieces.
Try to find organic vegetables and meat if possible, especially when it comes to potatoes, celery and apples. These made the “Dirty Dozen List” for fruits and vegetables containing the most pesticides for 2013. Others include cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, hot peppers, nectarines, peaches, spinach, strawberries and sweet bell peppers. I also make my own chicken stock from the leftover bones from roasting a chicken. Homemade chicken stock is rich in calcium, magnesium and other minerals, plus gelatin, which aids the body in producing cartilage. In addition to the health benefits, the taste is delicious.
Turkey, carrot and potato baby food
Homemade baby food | Turkey, carrot and potato recipe
Ingredients
Method
In a saucepan, brown the turkey in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the herbs, garlic and stir for just a minute. Add the carrots, potato, sweet potato and chicken stock. Lower heat and cook covered for 15 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The stock should reduce down about half.
For younger babies, mash or puree this mixture in a food processor until smooth, adding the pan juices until you reach the desired consistency. For older babies who are capable of feeding themselves, you can serve as-is.
http://loveandduckfat.com/homemade-baby-food-turkey-carrot-and-potato-puree/
This delicious recipe pairs an elegant boneless pork loin roast with a creamy shallot and tarragon sauce. It tastes even better than it sounds and isn’t very hard to do. Boneless pork loin is not the tenderloin. This is basically a big pork chop roast. It’s an impressive cut, with a nice bit of fat on the top and lean, juicy inside.
For the past three months, I’ve been buying all of my meat and most of my eggs and dairy from Sea Breeze Organic Farm in Fort Pierce, Florida. It takes a little more effort and planning than running to the grocery store, but it’s worth it. We place our twice-monthly order by email. You can choose from nearly one hundred items; including farm fresh eggs, sour cream, milk, any cut of grass-fed beef, buffalo, lamb and goat, free-range chicken and even rabbit. They have fermented products like kombucha tea, sauerkraut and kimchee. Organic baked goods and seasonal fresh produce are also on the list. To pick up our goodies, we meet the delivery truck in a church parking lot late in the afternoon. My husband is usually the one to go on this errand because it involves waiting in line with an empty cooler to swap it out for a very heavy, full one. This isn’t the usual way to go grocery shopping in the heart of Miami, but it works for us.
What has me going back for more is the freshness and quality. Finding the best ingredients drives my desire to cook. My recipes taste better and I’m feeding my family foods raised with care and without pesticides. It’s good to know our hard-earned money is going into the pocket of small farmers instead of industrial food producers.
Back to the recipe! I paired the roast with my go-to roasted potatoes and broccoli rabe sautéed in garlic and olive oil. It was an extravagant change from our usual weekend roast chicken. By the way, keep extra sauce at the table. It was so good, my husband wanted to drink it right from the saucepan!
Roasted Pork Loin with Shallot and Tarragon Cream
Ingredients
Method
Combine garlic, tarragon and olive oil in a small bowl and stir to combine. With your hands, rub the olive oil mixture all over the roast. Place in a plastic bag and marinate 4 hours to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow to the roast to come to room temperature. Remove most of the marinade and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the roast to the pan and brown on all sides. Place the roast fat side up in the oven and cook about 30-40 minutes, until a thermometer shows the internal temperature is 135 degrees. Remove from the oven and transfer the roast to a carving board to rest for 15 minutes. Slice thinly before serving.
Using the same pan the pork was cooked in; drain any excess fat so there is about 1 tablespoon remaining. Saute the shallots on medium heat until they are soft. Stir in the garlic. Add wine, stock and any juices that released from the pork while it was resting. Allow the sauce to simmer uncovered until it is reduced by half. Reduce the heat and add cream. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over pork slices and serve at the table.
http://loveandduckfat.com/roasted-pork-loin-with-shallot-and-tarragon-cream/
I make this easy roasted potato recipe a few times a month and they always come out perfect. The recipe is REALLY easy to make and comes out with a crusty-salty outside and soft, sweet interior. I recommend using the best potatoes because you will really notice the sweet, creamy taste of a Yukon Gold, or heritage Fingerling. For this recipe, I used a baby organic red potato. If you can leave the skins on, it makes preparing this dish even easier.
My secret weapon is something you probably already have in your pantry. It’s McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasoning. It’s one of the few premixed seasonings I use on a regular basis. It has the perfect blend of chunky black pepper and salt, with onion, garlic and other stuff they won’t name. It’s great on steak, but I use it more often on potatoes.
The steak seasoning and olive oil is the only thing you need to make this dish, but every now and then, I add fresh chopped rosemary to the mix. Another great addition is smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and cumin. One teaspoon of each and you’ll have the most amazing potatoes ever. Get in there and mix everything up with your hands to make sure every bit of potato is coated. To test the seasoning, taste the tip of your finger after you’ve done your mixing. It should be perfectly salted-but not too much.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut the potatoes into chunks roughly 1 1/2” square. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle potatoes with seasoning and drizzle with olive oil. Using your hands, toss the potatoes until coated. Roast for 25 minutes, turning twice with a spatula, until they are golden brown and soft in the center. Leave the potatoes in the oven and turn off the heat. Let them sit in the warm oven another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
My 8 month old has started pushing away any sweet-tasting baby food in favor of more savory recipes that adults enjoy. I started mixing him up some comfort food classics like baby food lasagna and creamy chicken pot pie. He loves these recipes, banging his hands for more when I don’t move the spoon into his mouth fast enough. For a delicious, healthy homemade baby food recipe your little one will love; try this one with chicken, carrots, green beans and potatoes.
This recipe is a classic: roasted chicken, carrots and green beans with creamy mashed potatoes. You can make it easily from leftovers from your own dinner, or cook it on one pot if you are short on time (who isn’t?). I use all organic ingredients, sourcing my chicken from a local farm coop. If you can’t find organic chicken in your area, look for chicken raised without growth hormones. The addition of Greek yogurt adds a delicious creaminess while giving your baby probiotics and vitamins like potassium, calcium, B12 and D.
At this age, I also spice it up a bit. Garlic adds delicious flavor while acting as a powerful antioxidant. Ginger is renowned for its anti-inflammatory and intestinal benefits and healthy fats like olive oil boost the immune system. I also cook my veggies in homemade chicken stock. This is important, not only to add flavor, but for health. Studies have shown that chicken stock boosts the immune system while adding bone-building calcium. If you purchase store-bought stock, make sure to buy organic “stock”, not broth. Broth does not contain the nutrition benefits of stock since it is made from the meat instead of the bones.
Comfort food goodness packed with nutrition.
Ingredients
Method
In a small pan, sauté onion in olive oil until soft. Add carrot, green beans, potato, garlic and ginger. Pour enough chicken stock to cover and bring to a boil uncovered. Reduce heat to low and simmer until carrots are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Place all ingredients into a food processor with yogurt and blend until smooth; using the cooking liquid to thin the puree until you get the right consistency.
http://loveandduckfat.com/homemade-baby-food-recipe-chicken-carrots-green-beans-and-potatoes/
