Right from the time Kenya first started solids, two of his favorite foods have always been squash and apples. Steamed, baked, pureed, whatever…he loves them. Now that winter ingredients have returned in abundance at the farmer’s markets, I was really excited to try out this soup. You would be shocked at how much kids love soup, especially pureed versions that they can drink from a cup or bowl. It really lets them experience control over their dining experience. Kenya truly slurps this recipe up like it’s a smoothie. Even better, my husband who’s been trying to “lose a few” ate bowl after bowl in an attempt to eat more vegetables. This is a fantastic recipe because it’s super healthy, fast to prepare and cook and so easy to make!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (6-8 Servings)

1 Tbsp Oil, Butter or Margarine
1 Small Onion, chopped
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Butternut Squash, peeled and chopped
2 Apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I like to use a sweet apple like Fuji or gala).
1 Tsp Nutmeg or Curry
32 Oz Vegetable Stock

1. Sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until translucent.
2. Add the butternut squash, apple, and spice and stir to combine.
3. Add stock and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. Puree soup in a blender (make sure not to fill your blender more then 3/4 full at one time).
5. Serve.

Happy New Year! I wanted to start the year with something healthy and heartwarming, perfect for cool weather days.

Last night Kenya ate 4 servings of this recipe for dinner! That’s only 2 days after I made it! I gave it to him for lunch and dinner both days (talk about a culinary groundhog day), but he kept slurping it up so I figured “why not”? I usually don’t give him a lot of meat or pork, but this soup really calls for it to get the perfect flavor. After the ham hock finished stewing in the soup, I simply removed it, let it cool, pulled off all the fat and cut it into a tiny dice. It was luscious! Don’t worry if you want to leave it out. No biggie. It will still taste great.

Split peas are a fantastic source of protein and cook in no time compared to most dried beans. Even better, this recipe very inexpensive. The split peas were less then a dollar, I only used 1/3 of a package of the ham hock so I froze the rest and the other items I already had on hand (and you probably have them in your pantry as well). In 45 minutes I had a creamy pureed soup that everyone in the family could enjoy — even the tiniest member!

Split Pea Soup (Makes 6-8 Toddler Servings)

1 Small Onion, diced
1 Carrot, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Cup Split Peas, rinsed
3 Cups Water
3/4 Lb Ham hock (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over low to medium heat. Saute the onions and carrot until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 45 minutes.
4. Remove the ham hock and let cool.
5. Puree the soup with a handheld blender or in a blender until smooth.
6. Cut the meat off the ham hock, discarding the fat. Cut the meat into tiny pieces.
7. Serve the soup with ham mixed in or sprinkled on top.

I have to say that celery root (also known as celeriac) really is the ugly ducking of vegetables. For years I would pass it at the market, not thinking it looked at all appetizing and not really knowing what to do with it. Sometimes when ingredients look like a ton of work, I shy away. What was I thinking? Inside that ugly duckling is a culinary swan! Celery root is amazing! When cooked it has the consistency of potato, but it has a rich celery taste. I’ve been cooking celery root for years in salads, soups, just plain roasted and in purees. It’s one of my favorite foods and this soup is really healthy, but also naturally creamy and hearty. I recently made this recipe for my friend Staci’s baby shower and served it in little shot glasses, but as I was preparing it, Kenya was pleading with me for a taste. He ended up drinking 3 glasses which he obviously loved. He consumed more soup in one sitting then any of the ladies at the party! Smart man. When your kids try and love this, they’ll have him to thank.

Celery Root Soup (6-8 Servings)

2 Leeks, white & light green part only
2 Celery Root Bulb (about a pound each), peeled
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
32 Oz Chicken Stock (you can use vegetable stock too)

1. Saute the leeks for 3-4 minutes in a stock pot over medium heat..
2. Add the celery root and stock, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 18 minutes or until celery root is tender.
3. Puree soup ingredients in a blender (make sure not to fill your blender more then 3/4 full at one time).
4. Serve.

*Allow to cool, store in appropriate container or ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in fridge for 24 hours or place in pot and bring to heat over low-medium heat.

Good for the heart, good for the soul….good when everyone in our household has been sick for 6 days straight! Poor little Kenya got a bronchial infection at one of the kid play spaces (a.k.a “germ factories”) I take him to and within days everyone in our house was down for the count. Since there’s little you can do medicinally for kids Kenya’s age, out came my homemade ginger-lemon-honey tea and my personal favorite, chicken noodle soup.

Almost nothing seems to taste good when you’re sick, but there’s something about chicken noodle soup that always makes you feel better. For years doctors have deemed it medicinal and I have to agree. I always considered my recipe for chicken soup fast, easy and fresh, but I became a true pro at making it day after day this week to feed my “patients”. Chocked full of carrots, celery and leeks, I got smart this time and made a huge batch for the freezer for the next time we’re all down for the count.

Chicken Noodle Soup (Make 4 Servings)

32 Oz Chicken Stock, preferably low sodium
2 Carrots or 3/4 Cup, chopped
1 Celery Stalk or 1/3 Cup, chopped
1 Leek or 3/4 Cup, halved and sliced thin
1 Large Chicken Breast
2 Tsp. Vegitor other herb free seasoning
3/4 Cup Fine Egg Noodles

1. Heat chicken stock in a large pot over a high heat and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
2. Add the carrots, celery, leeks, chicken breast, Vegit and cook for 12 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken breast, cool and tear or chop into bite size pieces.
4. Add the egg noodles to the broth and cook for 6 minutes or until tender.
5. Add the chicken to the soup.
6. Serve.

I have been waiting since LAST summer to make this 
recipe. Gazpacho is one of my husband’s favorite foods (he begs me to make it even 
in the depth of winter but the thought of making it when tomatoes are not in season goes against everything I stand for!) and it is the quintessential summer soup — totally cool, light and refreshing. I was hoping and praying that 
it would be one of Kenya’s too. Well, I just made some and thank goodness he loves it.
The thing about gazpacho is that you really only want to make it when tomatoes are at their peak — fresh and ripe they taste sweet, beautifully acidic, tangy and juicy. To me, planning to make gazpacho is exactly what makes the farmers’ market so great: vegetables at their peak of perfection at a fraction of the cost of 
grocery store produce. I bought 25 heirloom tomatoes for $5! Yes, they 
were seconds, meaning they were extremely ripe with the occasional 
bruise, but when you’re making gazpacho, who cares!? The taste is as remarkable as you can imagine a tomato right off the vine would be 25 for $5!!!
This soup is a bounty of nutrition. Tomatoes are packed with beta-
carotene, vitamin C and E and lycopene, which research suggests can 
prevent certain types of cancer. With so many vegetables in this 
colorful puree, it’s like eating a big ol’ bowl of health. I filled a little cup for Kenya to hold himself. He sat in his high chair slurping away and in between every bite he looked up at me and smiled.

Gazpacho (10-12 Toddler Servings-freeze 1/2)

4 Tomatoes (make sure they’re ripe)
1 Large Garlic Clove
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1/4 Red or Maui Onion, chopped
1/2 Bell Pepper, red, yellow or orange
1/2 Cup Tomato Juice (I use R.W. Knudsen Organic Juice)
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth (you want tiny pieces of vegetables to remain, but small enough for little ones to swallow).
2. Serve (it’s delicious served chilled too).

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

Growing up my mother made the most heavenly yellow squash dish that was so simple, yet mouthwateringly delicious. I still make it for myself and 
sometimes I add steamed carrots like I did in this recipe. There are only 3 ingredients, but when they’re packed with this much flavor, why 
would you need anything else?

Yellow Squash & Carrots (8 Baby Servings)

1 Cup Baby Carrots
1 Cup Yellow Squash, sliced
1 Tbsp Onion, chopped

1. Place the carrots in a steamer pot over boiling water for 2 minutes.
2. Add the onion and yellow squash and continue to cook for 4 more
minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.
3. Place the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
4. Cool and serve.

*Place in Baby Cubes and freeze.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

In my quest for new and interesting flavors for Kenya, I focus in on one flavor and obsess about how I can introduce it to him in order for him to love it, but not be overwhelmed by it. At the same time, I’m always trying to create a dish the whole family can eat (plus leftovers for a few days). This week, chili powder was my focus.
It’s hot, smokey, a little spicey and delicious. Most people wouldn’t dream of a 10 month old liking something so intense, but I feel like babies palates are ready for anything as long as it’s not over powering.
There are 2 tablespoons of chili powder in the recipe which sounds like a lot, but the recipe also serves 16 people! When I say I like leftovers, I mean it. When the chili is finished, I put 2 cups in a Cuisinart and whiz it up for Kenya to have over the next next few days. It’s packed with all the things he needs in his diet.

Vegetarian Chili (Serves 16)

1 16 Oz Cans Organic Chopped Tomatoes
2 32 oz Boxes Vegetable Broth
6 Cups Raw Mixed Beans (Lentils, Yellow Split Peas, White Beans) (If using large beans, soak the night before)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, minced
5 Cloves Garlic, minced
6 Celery Stalks, chopped
6 Carrots, chopped
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 1/2 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sweet Paprika
1 Large Bunch Dinosaur Kale, chopped

1. Place the first 3 ingredients in the Crock Pot.
2. Heat olive oil over medium flame and saute onions for 5 minutes. Lower heat if they start to brown. Add garlic and continue to saute another 2 minutes. Pour the onion mixture into the crock pot with the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Cook on high for 12 hours.
4. Serve.

**Allow to cool, place in appropriate container or ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in fridge for 24 hours or place in pot and heat through under low-medium heat.