A Millie Favorite

A Millie Favorite

Monday, November 29, 2010

It's winter! What fruits and veggies are we talking about here?

Winter is upon us. Thanksgiving has now come and gone and as we prepare for the festive holiday season, I can only think about how this is one of the most exciting food seasons. 

A lot of misconception out there is this... it's winter! What fruits and veggies are in season now? Well as it turns out, some of the "first foods" that we give our babies ARE winter fruits and veggies. Here is a list of winter fruits and veggies, followed by the first recipe. I hope you enjoy and as always, please feel free to share your own recipes here. Cheers! 

Apples
Pears
Butternut squash
Pumpkin
Sweet potatoes
Carrot
Brussels sprouts
Eggplant
Parsnips 
Turnips


Baby food: Butternut squash and apple puree  (6months +)
Yields 12 units
One small butter nut squash
Six small apples (please feel free to use the type of apple you like) When you mix and match different apples, you are exposing your child to different tastes and textures at a very young age. This is such a great way to start exercising the pallet. 

Remove skin from butternut squash, wrap in tinfoil  and put into over at 350F for 45 minutes. This makes it soft and easy to cut into. Caution, a butternut squash is a tough squash to cut raw. 

Remove skin from apples and chop into cubes, while removing the core. 

When you have taken the butternut squash out of the oven, cut it into same size cubes as the apples, while removing the seeds, place all cubes into a large pot for steaming or to boil. At this point, that is a personal choice. Steaming maintains vitamins and nutrients, but boiling makes it easier to puree. Like I said, your choice. 

After 15 minutes, remove and mash or process in kitchen processor. 

This will save in your refrigerator for up to a week and in your freezer for up to a year. This is also really good in adult oatmeal or a base for butternut squash soup. 

When you baby is older than 9 months, you can start to add spices to this same puree, like cinnamon, curry or cloves. 

If you have an older baby or toddler, you can just mash this cooked cubes for a chunkier texture. 

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