Copyright © 2015 by Jenna Helwig Photography © 2015 by Lauren Volo Design by Alissa Faden All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003. www.hmhco.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Helwig, Jenna. Real baby food : easy, all-natural recipes for your baby and toddler / by Jenna Helwig ; with Natalia Stasenko, MS, RD pages cm ISBN 978-0-544-46495-7 (paperback) — ISBN 978-0-544-46496-4 (ebook) 1. Infants—Nutrition—Popular works. 2. Toddlers—Nutrition—Popular works. 3. Cooking (Natural foods)—Popular works. I. Title. RJ216.H3575 2015 641.5'6222—dc23 2015005794 v1.0414 Acknowledgments Thank you to Sharon Bowers, my delightful agent who happens to be a terrific writer herself. Receiving every one of your emails is a pleasure, and I am indebted to you for your guidance throughout each step of this process. I am so grateful to Adam Kowit. I couldn’t have asked for a more thoughtful or considerate editor. It has been a pleasure crafting this book together. And a big thank you to the rest of the excellent team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, including Rebecca Liss, Claire Holzman, Michelle Bonanno, Brad Parsons, Jessica Gilo, Molly Aronica, Helen Seachrist, Melissa Lotfy, and Alissa Faden for the gorgeous design of Real Baby Food. Lauren Volo, your photos are exactly what I hoped for. Thank you for your generous eye, calm presence, and the warm vibe you created on set. Sharon Bowers once said that food stylists are “magic.” I couldn’t agree more, especially when it comes to the lovely and talented Mariana Velasquez. Prop stylists belong in the magic category, too, especially Alix Winsby who got the book’s look and feel just right. Thank you both. I couldn’t ask for a better collaborator than Natalia Stasenko. Your deep knowledge about feeding and nutrition makes this book better in every way. And the fact that you worked so hard on this project amidst the birth of your third child and a trans-Atlantic move continues to amaze me. Thank you to Suzy Scherr for sharing your creative, toddler-pleasing recipes, and thank you to Nicole Page for your friendship and sage advice. I am grateful for the support of my colleagues at Parents, especially Dana Points and Chandra Turner. Thank you also to my longtime friend and colleague Steve Engel and his incomparable wife Heidi Reavis, plus all of my Rosaberry chefs and clients. With love and gratitude to my dear friends Danielle Wilkie, Allison Graham, and Felicity Rowe. Of course, thank you to Linda and Andy Helwig (for everything, really). Their unflagging enthusiasm for this book manifested itself in last-minute grocery runs, movie dates with Rosa, and the taste testing of many, many recipes. Thanks also to David and China Helwig, especially for hosting me in your Seattle home and giving me the opportunity to observe the adorable Cole and Tasha’s eating habits at close range. And finally, thank you to Dave and Rosa. You sacrificed your summer weekends to this project, cheered me on, and gamely tried dish after dish. Without you at the table it wouldn’t matter what was served. I love you. Contents Introduction BUILDING BLOCKS FIRST TASTES (6–8 months) NEW FLAVORS (8–12 months) FINGER FOODS (8 months and up) WAKE-UP TIME (12 months and up) THE LUNCH BUNCH (12 months and up) SUPER SNACKS (12 months and up) FAMILY DINNER (12 months and up) Metric Conversion Guide Index Introduction When my daughter started eating solid food, I knew one thing: offering Rosa a grayish purée of green beans or an odorous mash of processed chicken and rice was out of the question. I wouldn’t touch that stuff. (I could barely stomach opening the jar!) So why should she? Plus, I wanted my daughter to be omnivorous. Bland, jarred baby food seemed like a step in the wrong direction. Instead, I started making large batches of my own purées and freezing most of it, so I had baby food on hand whenever we needed it. I cooked and mashed apples from the farmers’ market and broccoli from the grocery store. I puréed cooked from the farmers’ market and broccoli from the grocery store. I puréed cooked ground chicken and mashed up roasted cod. I kept a few jars of packaged baby food on hand for emergencies, and used store-bought, iron-fortified baby cereal, but for the most part it wasn’t hard to make sure my daughter was able to eat homemade food on a daily basis. I came to believe in homemade baby and toddler food so much that I launched a business helping parents learn how to make their own. I worked with moms and dads who were eager to get their little one off to a good culinary start, but unsure of where to begin. A few years later I became Food Editor at Parents magazine, and I was convinced all over again. There is a hunger (truly!) for knowledge about DIY baby food and a growing understanding of how important the first months of eating are in a child’s development. Parents want to perform this simple, natural task for their children, and thankfully, with just a little bit of kitchen savvy, it’s completely achievable. That’s where this book comes in. Real Baby Food will give you the know- how and the inspiration to make your own fresh, healthy, tempting meals for your child from the moment she takes her first bite of solid food to the time she is happily ensconced in a booster seat at the family dinner table. The recipes come from my own experience cooking for Rosa, as well as years of teaching classes and feeding clients’ kids. From Broccoli-Apple Swirl, to Rosemary Roasted Pears, to Saucy Meatball Sliders, baby and toddler food doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, it can and should be delicious, a tasty primer for a child’s developing palate. Making your own baby food is also easy. I’ll show you a simple method to ensure you always have healthy food on hand, with little to no cooking on a daily basis. Preparing homemade baby food truly can fit into anyone’s schedule. Why Should you Make Your Own Baby Food? I believe in the power of homemade food at every stage of life. It is healthier, cheaper, fresher, and often better tasting than anything that comes from a box, can, bag, or delivery container. But we’re all busy people, especially new parents. Why should moms and dads make their own baby food when there are so many options—organic even!—available at the supermarket? Here’s why: your best shot at raising a child who loves to eat nourishing, real food is to cook it yourself and eat together from the very earliest days. And there’s more! Homemade food is fresher, meaning fewer nutrients will be lost as the ingredients travel from farm to table. Homemade food is less processed. Should beef stew really be shelf-stable? Homemade food can be less expensive: You will save money by making food in batches. The ingredients are under your control. Does your baby love peas? Add them to chicken stew. Do you want organic or non-GMO foods? Your call. The food contains no preservatives, and there is no added sugar, salt, or oil beyond what you choose to include. The food tastes better. Feeding toddlers, especially, can be a challenge. It’s a no-brainer that they’re more likely to eat a meal that doesn’t taste like it came from a can or box. By feeding your baby fresh, flavorful meals you are training his taste buds, helping him become accustomed to the variety of flavors that await him.