Sam’s Baby Food
Although there are lots of great makers of baby food out there (eg: SMILEAT in Spain and Ella’s kitchen in the UK), I knew that I wanted to make a lot of Sam’s food myself. As with our (Mama and Papa) food, I wanted to make his food from scratch and know where the ingredients were from and maybe more importantly, the fact that my baby pots contain a greater variety of vegetables with a wider variety nutrients and minerals. There are, of course, times when we need to pull out a SMILEAT pot when there just hasn’t been time to make a batch of Daddy’s own. And that’s fine. But, it gives me great joy when I see Sam enjoying a lunch or dinner that I’ve made – and I hope he feels all the love that went into making it.
What follows are some of the recipes I use for Sam’s lunches (with animal protein) and Sam’s dinners (with vegetable proteins). Now Sam is a little older we accompany his pots with little extras; such as: cut-up sausage, boiled egg, noodles cooked in good stock, bread (wholemeal), pan de queso with tomato and queso fresco, etc.
Makes 5-7 servings
Sausage Caserole
a small knob of butter & 1tbsp olive oil
5 good quality sausages; skins removed
1 small white onion; chopped
1 stick celery; chopped
1 medium carrot; chopped
1 small swede; chopped
1 medium parsnip; chopped
1 large potato; chopped
1 apple; chopped
Pumpkin and Courgette
a small knob of butter & 1tbsp olive oil
1 small leek; chopped
½ butternut squash; chopped
1 medium courgette; chopped
2 carrots; chopped
1 large potato; chopped
50g quinoa
½ head of broccoli; just the flowering head, chopped
Instructions for all!
- Heat a wide-bottomed, deep pan, melt the butter with the olive oil over a low heat.
- Add the vegetables (except: potato, broccoli, spinach)and cook gently to soften a little. N.B. we don’t add potato at this stage as it would stick to the bottom, And the reason for leaving out broccoli or spinach is because the longer they cook, the more vitamin C will be destroyed.
- If using sausages, push the veg to one side, add the sausage and cook through before combining with the vegetables.
- Now’s the time to mix in the potato before adding just enough water to cover the mix.
- If using quinoa, sprinkle over the surface and mix in.
- Cover the pan and cook over a medium heat until the vegetables are just cooked.
- Now add the broccoli and cook for a couple of minutes – if using.
- Remove from the heat and add the spinach – if using.
- Transfer the mix to a food processor – retaining some of the cooking liquor.
- Process the mixture to the desired consistency using the retained cooking liquor as necessary.
- Transfer to sterilised individual pots for the fridge or freezer.
JAMx
