I’m extremely excited and honored to be co-hosting Pregnancy Awareness Month in May with Ricki Lake and Josie Maran. Through PAM, co-founders Anna Getty and & Alisa Donner aim to empower pregnant women and new parents with information, “how to” ideas and inspiration to incorporate PAM’s four key initiatives – education, exercise, nutrition & wellness and nurture– into their life routines and to show how easy it can be to make healthy changes in their lives, for themselves, and their children.

I often see Anna at our local farmer’s market and I know how much she loves cooking for her family. Because we both happen to be in the baby food making stage with our second children, Anna sent me this recipe and told me that her entire family enjoys eating it. I knew Chloe would be delighted with it, but I was curious to see how my 3 year-old Kenya would react. I put some in his school lunch the other day and was psyched when the container I put it in came home completely empty. My husband finished off what little remained in the fridge, so this puree delivers as promised!

Apple Fennel Puree (Make 6 Baby Servings)

1 Fennel Bulb, fronds removed and fennel bulb (the white part) chopped
2 Apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I like to use Gala, Pink Lady or Fuji apples)

1. Place the fennel in a steamer pot over boiling water and cook for 4 minutes.
2. Add the apples to the pot and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until fennel and apples are fork tender.
3. Place the mixture in a food processor and puree.
4. Serve.

Recently, I made Baked Maple Bananas for Kenya. Everyone who tried them couldn’t get over how delicious they turned out. They’re intensely sweet, creamy and have a delicious caramel note to them. I felt like there were more recipes to be mined from that one. Pears are in season and abundance at our farmer’s market, so I thought I would try roasting them together with bananas to make baby food for Chloe. There’s nothing wrong with pureeing ripe pears and bananas together, but when you roast them it just intensifies the flavors and texture even more.

Pears and bananas are a good source of fiber, so they’ll also help to get things moving when your little one gets stopped up (TMI?)

How did it come out? Amazing! I have no other words. In fact, if you don’t believe me, check out this quick video I posted here on Twitter of Chloe taking her first bites of it. Now the hard part is trying to keep this puree away from everyone else in the family! It’s so yummy, you’ll want to serve it on top of yogurt or even to spread on a bagel with almond butter. It’s funny how these days everyone in my family wants to eat Chloe’s baby food!

Roast Pear & Banana Puree (Makes 6 Servings)

2 Bananas, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Pears, peeled and cut into wedges (I used Bartlett pears)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the bananas and pears on a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet.
3. Roast for 25 minutes.
4. Puree until smooth.
5. Cool and serve.

Chloe’s had an exciting introduction to solids, trying just about every fruit and vegetable available at the farmer’s market over the past 2 months. It’s been so exciting for us to watch her very first reactions to all these new flavors. While she has obviously enjoyed a lot of what I’ve made her, it is clear that persimmons are by far her favorite. When I first pureed some for her, I wasn’t sure how she would react. Persimmon isn’t a typical first food for a baby. It would be unlikely to find a jar of it in the baby food section at any grocery and fresh persimmons are not always easy to find, depending on what part of the country you live in. But here in California, where basically all U.S. persimmons are grown, they are everywhere you turn this time of year. I was totally surprised when Chloe ate the entire first batch I made for her — in one sitting! It was the most I had ever seen her eat.

Persimmon puree is really thick and smooth, has a beautiful bright orange hue, is sweet and is perfect for one of baby’s first foods. There are 2 varieties of persimmons: Fuyus and Hachiyas. The tastes are similar though there are some big differences to note. Fuyus are rounder and can be eaten firm. They have an apple-like texture, where as Hachiyas are heart shaped and need to ripen until REALLY soft before you try eating them. I usually buy ripe Fuyus, and peel and chop them for this recipe (there is no cooking involved). You could also use Hachiyas for this, just make sure they are super soft before eating them yourself or using them for this puree.

Persimmons are a great source of vitamin A, C, beta-carotene and soluble fiber — which is very important for baby . Whenever you feel like your wee one is a bit constipated, just give her a “p” fruit (peaches, pears, plums, papaya and especially persimmons), because the “p” also stands for poop! Seriously, it works every time!

Persimmon Puree (Makes 4 Serving)

2 Persimmons

1. Peel the skin off the persimmons and cut into cubes.
2. Place the cut persimmon into a food processor and puree until smooth.
3. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

There are THE most beautiful Santa Rosa plums at our local Farmer’s Market right now. I have to say that of all the fruits I love, when stone fruit is in season I could not be more excited. The dark purple hue of the plums is so beautiful and the meat is sweet and when pureed, perfect for a baby. I like adding banana to this recipe because it thickens the puree, adds extra nutrients such as potassium and makes a sweet food that babies adore.

You could easily peel the skin off of ripe plums and skip the step of pushing it through a sieve, but just in case your plums aren’t super soft, my directions call for simply cutting up the fruit, tossing it in the food processor and whizzing it up.

No matter how you make it, I guarantee your baby will love it!

Plum & Banana Puree (Makes 6 Baby Servings)

2 Plums, chopped and pitted
1 Banana

1. Place the ingredients in a food processor and puree.
2. Place the puree in a sieve over a bowl and using a spoon or ladle, push it through so the puree is in the bowl and plum skins remains in the sieve.
3. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

Mothers teach us SO many things — some would argue everything. For me, childhood trips to the grocery and learning about the general nutritional and health benefits of fruits, vegetables and other foods definitely came from my mother — so did my ability to always find the best bargains (see Mom, everything). I remember the first time my mother held up this brown, fuzzy piece of fruit to me and told me how special it was. That was probably 30 years ago, when kiwis were harder to find, and today I truly realize how lucky we are to have gorgeous, reasonably priced kiwis readily at our disposal.

We came up with this recipe for a contest we’ve entered with Zespri Kiwifruit. Kenya and I are HUGE kiwi fans not only because of their bright green color and yummy taste, but because they’re also packed with vitamin C and E, potassium and folic acid. So when we heard about this contest, we knew we had to do something!

So today, in honor of my mother’s birthday and her favorite fruit, we’re making up a huge batch of these refreshing kiwi smoothies. Cheers!

Kiwi Smoothie (Makes 2 Servings)

2 Kiwis, peeled
1 Banana
1/2 Cup Vanilla Rice Milk (you can also use almond, soy or cow’s milk)

1. Place the ingredients in a blender and puree.
2. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

There’s nothing as delicious to me as the smell of rich beef stew cooking on the range. We were testing this dish last week in the weelicious kitchen, and every time anyone wandered in, the first thing all of them would say is, “what’s that smell?!” There’s just something so comforting and homey to almost everyone about beef stew. And it’s the perfect choice for babies just starting solids because it’s packed with iron from the beef and tons of flavor from the veggies.

That being said, while I came up with this recipe for babies, it’s appeal seems to have even more wide-reaching appeal. Kenya is almost 2 1/2 and he ate this puree for dinner 2 nights in a row! And when a friend of mine saw it in the fridge, she asked if she could bring some home to serve to her family spread on crackers like a pate. I do realize the picture above desn’t necessarily look like something you’d dream of serving to your baby (or yourself for that matter), but it is serious good eating!

Baby Beef Stew Mash (Makes 10 Baby Servings)

1/2 Lb. Beef Chuck Boneless Roast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tsp Olive Oil
1/4 Small Onion, chopped
1 Carrot or 10 Baby Carrots, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 Medium Yukon Gold Potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Cup Water

1. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pot over medium/high heat.
2. Add the beef chunks and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side until brown.
3. Add the onions, carrots, potatoes and water.
4. Stir the ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the beef and vegetables are tender.
5. Puree in a food processor until smooth or desired texture for your baby.
6. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

I was kind of shocked when I discovered that in Brazil and other South American countries, avocados are used primarily in sweet dishes like ice cream and dessert mousses. In America, I feel like we’re much more accustomed to them popping up in savory dishes like guacamole or sliced on a sandwich. Hmm. What could I make that’s sweet using avocados? How about a shake?!

I never have to twist Kenya’s arm when it comes to eating avocados or making smoothies. He’s always game, so he was the perfect guinea pig (well, he always is!). I let him peel and break up the banana and pour the milk into the blender (with my help), while I scooped out the ripe avocado and dropped the ice into the blender. I added a little agave to sweeten it up, but honestly, if you have ripe bananas, you don’t need it. It turned out delicious and it felt like as soon as I filled up Kenya’s cup, mere seconds would pass before he was clamoring, “more”!

This mean, green, vitamin-packed drink is the perfect sweet snack for any time of the day!

Avocado Shake (Serves 2)

1 Ripe Avocado, peeled and pitted
1 Cup Milk (I used unsweetened vanilla rice milk)
1 Large Ripe Banana
1 Large Hand full of Ice

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and puree
2. Serve.
*This recipe is for a thick shake. Add more milk if you want it thinner.

I realized I haven’t done a new puree recipe for a while so I’ve been experimenting lately with a few new ideas. When Kenya was a baby, I used to love giving him all kinds of different purees like mango, kiwi and papaya. He was always game for all of them, so I find it funny that I never thought about blending them together. What a mistake! I don’t know if you could find a baby food packed with more nutrition than this tropical fruit puree. It’s great to mix with plain yogurt, oatmeal or just eat on its own.

Mangoes are considered a “super fruit” because they’re packed with vitamin C, dietary fiber and more. Kiwis are also a rich source of vitamin C, potassium (by weight, they have almost as much as bananas), vitamin A and E. Papayas, in addition to being rich in vitamins, promote good digestive health which can be incredibly important for babies little tummies.

I like to buy these fruits and cut them up for the puree when they’re soft and ripe. The day I made this puree my husband and Kenya wanted dessert after dinner, so I pulled it out. My husband looked at me like I was crazy for offering him “baby food” for dessert. That didn’t last long. He and Kenya devoured every last bite of it as if it were a bowl of ice cream.

Tropical Fruit Baby Puree (8 Baby Servings)

1 Mango, chopped
2 Kiwi, peeled and chopped
1 Cup Papaya, peeled and chopped

1. Place the ingredients into a food processor and puree.
2. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

Juicing is one of those activities for kids that’s just plain old fun. There’s nothing better then going to the farmer’s market, buying tons of organic carrots, beets, oranges and so on, and then going home with your little one(s) and coming up with all kinds of unique juice creations. Sometimes I’m a little perplexed by Kenya’s choice of ingredients when he points to the ones he wants in his, but he always seems to love the end product. It only goes to prove my theory that when kids are involved in making what they eat and drink, they have pride of ownership and are more likely to try new things. Kenya enjoys the juices so much that he tends to sucks them down faster than we can make them.

I’m not opposed to canned and bottled juices, but most of the ones you’ll find in the supermarket are packed with unnecessary sugars and preservatives that your kids don’t need. There are so many other choices like herbal teas, blender smoothies and of course these juice recipes. They’re actually not even recipes. It’s really up to you and your kids what vitamin rich, nutritious creations you want to drink.

Juicing

We love to make the 3 listed below, but you can be the chef and pick any fruits or veggies you crave.

Carrot, Beet and Ginger
Apple, Celery, Kale and Beet Greens
Beets, Blood Orange and Ginger

*You do need a juice machine for this recipe

1. Turn juicer on.
2. Place a mix of fruits and vegetables in juicer shoot creating the desired amount of juice you want.

*Make sure to wash the produce well. If using carrots make sure to peel them to remove bitter flavor. Remove the outer peel from oranges and grapefruits, but retain the white pith. With most other fruits and vegetables you can leave the skins on and just put them through the juicer.
3. Once all the juice is in the container, stir to combine.
4. Drink and enjoy.

We’re big fans of soup in this house — and I mean all of us. I love anything with vegetables, Kenya thinks drinking soup out of a cup is a blast and my husband is into anything that’s healthy and keeps his waistline in check. Therefore, this recipe for broccoli soup fits the bill for all of us. You can even serve it to a 10-12 month old if you leave out the lemon juice.

Broccoli should be a regular food in everyone’s diet because it’s a super veggie. It’s packed with vitamins A and C, calcium and soluble fiber plus it’s available year round. Even for kids that turn their noses up at vegetables, broccoli is one you can usually get them to eat because of it’s mild flavor. I usually make a big batch of this soup because I like to freeze a few servings to have for another day. The only trouble is that it’s usually gone before it ever makes it to the freezer!

Broccoli Soup (6-8 Servings)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, chopped
1 Tsp Salt
1 Large Potato, peeled and chopped into a small dice
1 Pound Broccoli (about 2 cups), use florets and stems (stems peeled
and chopped)
4 Cups (1 32 Oz Box) Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Yogurt, Creme Fraiche or Sour Cream for garnish.

1. In a large stock heat the olive oil and saute the onion and salt for 5-7 minutes over low to medium heat.
2. Add the potatoes, broccoli and stock and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
3. Cook covered for 12-15 minutes or until broccoli and potatoes are fork tender.
4. Pour the ingredients along with the lemon juice into a blender and puree.
5. Serve garnished with yogurt, creme fraiche or sour cream.