The snow is melted, the birds are singing and spring is definitely here (at least here in Colorado). As the weather heats up, I thought I would share a couple of my favorite spring/summer recipes for your grandchild and for you.
I don’t know about you, Grandmas, but when I was raising my three beautiful kids, I didn’t have the time, resources or knew the importance of making homemade healthy baby foods. I would just go to the grocery store and get jars of Gerber baby food. So, when my grandchildren arrived, I wanted to be able to make healthy, organic baby food - my gift of love to them and to their busy parents.
Since making my grandbabies' first food in 2017, I have learned that wholesome food = healthy brains and bodies. I love giving them a leg up with food that is rich in vitamins and minerals!
Berry Cherry Puree
This recipe is straightforward to make, doesn’t require a lot of time. It is loaded with vitamin C and there are many benefits of vitamin C. It aids in gum health, strengthens blood vessels and aids in healing. It also helps the body absorb iron from food sources.
1 cup (4oz/125 g) fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup (4oz/125 g) fresh or frozen pitted sweet cherries
Directions: Combine the blueberries and cherries in a food processor or blender and process to a smooth purée. If desired, to remove the skins, strain the purée through a fine-mesh sieve set over a sauce pan, pushing on the solids with a rubber spatula to extract as much flesh and juice as possible. Discard the skins.
Place the puree over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until heated through and thickened, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before serving.
If you would like to freeze for future use, just place the servings either in an ice cube tray or a BPA free baby food storage tray. Once the recipe is frozen, pop them all out, put them in a freezer bag, label them with the food and date (you can keep most foods three months in a freezer) and then I can reuse this storage tray to make another yummy meal.
*My preference is to use organic fruits, when possible. If you're not familiar with the dirty dozen and clean 15 list, just click on the words highlighted above. It is a list of fruits and vegetables that helps you reduce exposure to toxic pesticides, which is a massive plus to me personally as well as those grandkids I just adore!
This recipe was taken from my favorite cookbook for the grandbabies: The Baby and Toddler Cookbook - Fresh, homemade foods for a healthy start by: Karen Ansel, MS, RD and Charity Ferreira
Some of the items, I find helpful when making not only this recipes but many is:
An immersion blender , which is easy to use, easy to clean up and great for purée ingredients. I not only use it for making baby food, but soups, salad dressings, etc. It's very handy to have in the kitchen.
A BPA freezer tray is perfect for storage and when meal time comes, a portion is easy to pop out to feed your grandbaby.
Now that you've made a healthy summer puree for your grandbaby, here's a great summer smoothie recipe that I love. Actually, I enjoy this recipe throughout the year, not only summertime!
Makes 1 1/2 cups
1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp flax seeds
3/4 cup frozen fruit (your preference)
1 Tbsp agave negtar or honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
Blend with the immersion blender or a regular blender and enjoy! There are many nutritional values to chia seeds as well as flax seeds. I don't know about you but keeping up with our grandchildren, I definitely need all the nutrients I can get.
I hope you enjoy these and if you have a favorite smoothie recipe, please share it!
Bon Appetit!
Gigi Susie
xoxoxoxoxo
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