I’m not sure who liked this recipe more, Chloe or the rest of the family. This Roast Pear & Banana Puree is naturally sweet and concentrated with fruit flavor. If you decide to prepare this for your baby, make sure to double the recipe because it’s addictive no matter how old you are!
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.
The inspiration for this recipe came from some gorgeous, uber-ripe Bartlett pears I found last week at the farmer’s market. At first thought I would make Kenya some pear puree or just slice them for a snack, but then I remembered I had some canned organic pumpkin at home and wondered if that combination would work.
I’ve never seen pumpkin-pear bread, but it sounded like something yummy to eat in the autumn. The pears were so ripe, all I did was peel and mash them before adding to the recipe.
QUICK TIP: if you don’t have ripe pears you could place them next to bananas in a fruit bowl and they will ripen faster.
I’m usually not a fan of any type of canned fruit or veggie, but canned pumpkin really is a life saver. It’s really a pain to make pumpkin puree, even when you roast it, the flavors never quite become as rich and sweet as the canned variety. So, this is one of those times that I give into convenience.
When Kenya woke up from his nap, the smell of fresh bread was all through the house. After it cooled we sat and tried it with all kinds of yummy spreads like pumpkin butter, apple butter, honey and just plain butter.
Mmmm… fall really is here!
Pumpkin-Pear Bread (makes 1 9×5 inch loaf or 6 small loaves)
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar
1/4 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree, preferably organic
1 Ripe Pear, peeled and mashed (it’s ok if there are small chunks) or a little over 1/2 cup pear puree
2 Large Eggs
2 Cups Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the butter and agave with a standing or handheld mixer.
3. Add the pumpkin and pear purees.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
5. In a separate bowl sift the flour and remaining ingredients.
6. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture a little at a time until combined. Do not overly mix or beat the mixture.
7. Place in a 6 individual greased loaf pans or in one 9×5 inch greased loaf pan.
8. Bake for 20 minutes for small loaf pans or 1 hour for single loaf.
9. Cool for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the loaf pan to help release on to a cooling rack.
10. Cool and serve.
*A regular weelicious Mommy made muffins instead of the bread which cooked for 15-20 minutes and replaced maple syrup for the agave. She said they were delicious!
One of my favorite things about baby food is that it’s just pure, wholesome and delicious. When these fruits are at their ripest, it’s so heavenly tasting, you don’t need to add anything.
Whenever I look at baby food jars in the grocery with artificial colors, preservatives and additives I think “do you really want your baby eating that crap”. I wouldn’t want it in my body, so why would I knowingly feed it to Kenya?
There’s nothing sweeter then a fresh banana, pear or peach. Even at this time of year, when peaches are out of season, I defrost frozen organic fruit and in an instant I can make this puree. This is the best dessert or breakfast food a baby would want.
Banana, Pear and Peach Puree (12 Baby Food Servings, freeze 1/2)
1 Banana
1 Pear
1 Peach (or 1 Cup Frozen Organic Peach Slices, defrosted)
1. Put all ingredients in a food processor.
2. Puree until smooth.
3. Serve.
We used these to make this recipe:
