There’s nothing more soothing and medicinal then chicken noodle soup.
But how do you get your baby to slurp up a bowl of Jewish penicillin? I made this for Kenya when he had a cold and poor little guy actually seemed to take a turn for the better.
Chicken is high in iron, which supports a healthy immune system. It also contains the antioxidant zinc, which protects babies against infection.
Studies have shown that chicken soup has properties that slow mucus production during illness. Whether this is true or not, I know tons of parents that want to believe anything in order to help their little one feel well. By no means does your baby have to be sick to enjoy chicken soup with stars. It’s super tasty and freezes beautifully.

Chicken and Stars (Makes 15 Baby Servings, freeze 1/2)

1 Chicken Breast
10 Baby Carrots
1/4 Cup Celery (1 stalk), chopped
1/2 Leek or Onion, chopped
1 Tsp Parsley, chopped
1 Cup Pasta Stars, cooked

1. Place the chicken in a steamer pot over boiling water for 3 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, celery and leek and continue to cook for another 5
minutes or until everything is fork tender and throughly cooked..
3. Place all the ingredients except the pasta in a food processor and
puree. Add water from the pot if needed.
4. Combine with pureed mixture with the pasta.
5. Cool and serve.

So here’s one of those posts I feel a bit guilty about writing since I’m all about the farmers market and eating what’s fresh and in season. I started preparing this recipe and had bought the most gorgeous, already pre-shelled peas at the market. I was so excited to steam them and pop them in my mouth like candy. I bit into one waiting for a sweet explosion and instead got a bland mealy taste. Luckily I had a bag of frozen sweet peas in the freezer that were the perfect substitute.
I like fresh vegetables as much as anyone, but when you need something easy and full of flavor, frozen peas are a godsend.
This puree is a vegetarians dream. Packed with protein from the garbanzo beans and tahini, there are so many flavors for baby to explore. This is the first time I’ve given Kenya parsley which also seemed to be a hit.
The best part was watching Kenya trying to grab at the spoon as I fed him. I always give him his own wooden spoon to hold while he eats (so that he’s part of the process) and this time I put some of the hummus on his. Since it’s a little sticky, it held on to his spoon as we waved it around and he was able to get several bites in his mouth.
This was a big step for the little guy.

Fresh Pea Hummus (15 Baby Food Servings)

1 Cup Peas, fresh or frozen
1 Cup Garbanzo Beans
1 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
1/4 Cup Whole Milk Yogurt
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Tahini

1. Put peas in a steamer over boiling water for 2 minutes if frozen,
4-5 if fresh.
2. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
3. Serve.