We didn’t start giving Madeline sweets until her first birthday. (My reservation had less to do with dietary habits and more with fear of taxing her pancreas. No science, just irrational mommy fear.) She’s generally game for a variety of foods although she does have her picky days. She has never turned down these, though. Baked or fried, Madeline loves her vegetable fritters.

fried vegetable fritters with sweet potato and zucchini

Vegetable fritters, adapted from Maggie Meade’s The Wholesome Baby Food Guide

Ingredients:

• 

  zucchini and eggplant fritters

  1 medium sweet potato, chopped into thin 1-inch strips (or substitute a vegetable you like; M.M.’s original recipe uses carrots, and eggplant also works well)

• 1 medium zucchini, chopped into thin 1-inch strips (or substitute a vegetable you like)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup flour, divided in 2
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk (or ricotta cheese)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• butter and/or olive oil for frying, or butter for greasing baking sheet if baking

Directions:

1. If baking, grease baking sheet and preheat oven to 350 deg F.
2. Combine the eggplant, zucchini, onion, and garlic. Stir in the first half-cup of flour and mix well.
3. Add the eggs and milk, and stir well. Add the remaining flour and stir until the batter is smooth (aside from the vegetables).
4. Season with onion powder, garlic salt and black pepper to your liking; mix well.
5. Proceed to (A.) to bake or (B.) to fry.
   1. The batter consistency varies with the type and quantity of vegetable, so you might want to add another 1/4 cup of flour if your batter seems too runny to stay put on the cookie sheet. Spoon out the batter onto the baking sheet in strips about 1 inch wide. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the strips are golden and the batter is set. When cool, cut the strips into short segments so baby can pick them up and munch.
      

      fritters on the baking sheet, ready for the oven

   2. Heat your frying fat over medium high (I like to use olive oil with a tbsp of butter for flavor). Spoon out the batter into the oil in fritters 2-3 inches long. Fry them about 5 minutes or until golden brown, and then flip to fry the other side. When both sides are golden, place fried fritters on a paper towel to drain excess fat.

Yes, she actually eats these. Mommy is ever in a quest for baby-friendly nutritious finger foods.

quinoa vegetable nuggets for baby

Ingredients:

• About 4 cups cooked quinoa (the yield from 2 cups uncooked quinoa), cooled. Prepare the quinoa with broth or water, as you like. I cook it in a rice cooker.
• 1 lb frozen mixed vegetables
• 3 medium-large bananas
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. On a cookie sheet, bake the bananas until the skins turn black and they are soft. Meanwhile, grease another cookie sheet. When the bananas are done, take them out of the oven to cool. Reduce the oven to 350 F.
2. Cook/steam the frozen vegetables. I do this in the microwave using a steamer basket.
3. Peel the bananas (carefully!) and dump them into a large mixing bowl. Add the quinoa and vegetables, alternating in small quantities, to combine and distribute evenly. Stir in the lemon juice.
4. Roll nuggets in baby-friendly size (about 1-inch diameter) and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes or however long it takes for the nuggets to hold their shape. Don’t bake for too long or they will be dry.

These freeze and thaw reasonably well; I pack them in an ice cube tray so that they don’t freeze together.

Lentils, chicken and kale. Time previously spent nursing is now spent cooking baby-friendly food. Here’s hoping she eats it.

lentil stew

Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 8 oz dried lentils
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth plus 2 cups water (or however you’d like to apportion broth and water for 4 cups total)
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (I buy frozen chicken breasts and keep them on hand for soups and stews such as this)
• 1 lb fresh or frozen kale
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 oz chopped ham (optional)
• 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
• 1 tsp tarragon (optional)

Directions:

1. In a 4-qt Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Brown the onions (about 15 mins). If you have fresh chicken breasts, you can cube them into 1/2-inch pieces while the onions are cooking. Alternatively, you can leave them and proceed as below.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic and stir 1-2 mins. Add ham (optional) and continue stirring, letting the ham brown a bit. Add the lentils and continue stirring, allowing the lentils to toast a bit.
3. Add the broth and/or water. I like to heat them up in the microwave before adding, so that I finish cooking sooner.
4. Increase the heat to bring to a boil. Add the chicken breasts and stir. Reduce heat to simmer and cover.
5. While the stew is cooking, prepare the kale if it’s raw. I like the bags of washed kale at Trader Joe’s, because I hate washing vegetables. To cook it, I heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high in a large (12″) saucepan or skillet. Add the kale in batches, always stirring to distribute them evenly as they turn dark green. Once all the kale is dark green, add 1/2 cup of water, stir, reduce heat, and cover to let it steam for 5-10 mins.
6. As the lentils cook, they’ll absorb the broth/water and the stew will thicken. When the lentils are to your liking, remove the chicken breasts and dice them into baby-friendly (about 1/2-inch) pieces. Return chicken to the stew and add in the kale as well.
7. Season with lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper to your liking.

I revised the previous incarnation of this dish and much prefer this version, as it is healthier, baby-compatible and still easy to make. It is also a good candidate for a weekend mass food production routine: I actually prepared about 10 chicken breasts in the slow cooker, saved a small part (about 1/10) to make baby food, and then divided the remainder for this dish and for another (chicken tetrazzini).

crockpot creamy chicken and noodles

Crockpot Creamy Chicken and Noodles a la Butz

Ingredients:

• 4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs), cut in 1- to 2-inch cubes
• 12 oz egg noodles
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream (Trader Joe’s has cream in a shelf-stable 1-cup package — this might be the most amazing culinary find all year!)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bunch celery, sliced (or substitute 1 package (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables)
• adobo seasoning
• tarragon

Directions:

1. Place the chicken in the crockpot and season with adobo seasoning and tarragon. Stir in chopped onion and minced garlic. Cook in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low temperature setting.
2. Meanwhile, cook the egg noodles for about 2/3 the time recommended (approximately 4 minutes) and drain. They will continue cooking in the crockpot.
3. When the chicken is finished, it should fall apart easily when mashed with a fork. Shred the chicken by stirring with a large fork until it is broken into small pieces.
4. Stir in the cream and chicken broth until well-blended. Stir in the noodles. Cook on low heat for about 4 hours, or until the sauce has thickened.
5. Stir in the celery (or frozen vegetables) and cook for another hour or until the vegetables are heated.