Someone asked me yesterday, “How long does it really take to make baby 
food?” Honestly, it’s really fast and easy. This recipe took me 
4 minutes and Kenya was in the kitchen with me playing while I cooked.
I washed 3 sweet potatoes (2 to make puree and one to make fries). I turned on the oven, cut up one to make fries and put the other 2 in the 
oven. In less then an hour I had 14 baby servings of puree, enough fries for Kenya to snack on for 2 days and the remainder for my 
husband and me for dinner. Really, it’s that simple. And when it comes down to it, who doesn’t love French fries? Yes, they’re delicious when they’re fried up in oil, but not exactly healthy. When baked, they’re soft and perfect for babies with a few teeth (or even a bunch of teeth) to snack on. I’ve even made them in chip form for dinner parties and my guests loved them.

Sweet Potato “Fries”

1 Large Sweet Potato
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut sweet potato into 2 Inch batons which resemble french fries. You can
also cut them in long wedges so they resemble steak fries.
3. Place them on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss until
the sweet potatoes are coated with oil.
4. Place cookie sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for 15 minutes (Keep an eye on these little suckers. They go from golden to burnt quick!).
5. With a spatula, flip the potatoes, and continue to bake another 15
minutes or until they have a golden color.
6. Cool and serve.

I feel like “eat your greens” rings through my ears when I’m cooking. Didn’t everyone have a parent who said that to you as a child at the dinner table?! Well, here I am now, the parent, trying to get my son to eat his greens. He’s actually amazing about it. I don’t think he knows yet that it’s a right of passage as a kid to deny them whenever possible.
The mix of vegetables in this puree is colorful and bursting with vitamins and minerals. I added the carrots and sweet potatoes to give it a little more body and sweetness. Even a baby who turns his or her nose up at greens will love this mix.

“Eat Your Greens” Puree

1/2 Cup Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 Cup Baby Carrots, chopped
1/2 Cup Green Beans, ends removed
1/2 Cup Broccoli Florets
1/2 Cup Peas, fresh or frozen

1. Put sweet potatoes and carrots in a steamer over boiling water, cover and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients and steam for another 3 minutes or until fork tender.
3. Put in a food processor and puree.
4. Cool and Serve.

I was at my best friend Jillian’s store, Maxwell Dog, when I came up with this idea. Instead of giving out dog biscuits to visiting “customers,” they give them dehydrated sweet potatoes to gnaw on. She gave one to Kenya and he spent a good hour teething on it. He loved it and I knew somehow it comforted him.
I do realize that most people don’t have dehydrators, so if you don’t you can try this on the lowest setting of your oven, but it won’t be exactly the same.
I put every fruit and vegetable I could find in it over night. It was like a science project. Let me tell you, though, avocados are down right nasty dehydrated. On the other hand kiwis and cucumbers were delicious. Below is a list of my favorite, but feel free to try different produce to see what your little angel will love.
I cut everything lengthwise so baby had a big piece to gnaw on for a long time.

Fruit Teether

Bananas
Kiwis
Strawberries
Watermelon
Sweet Potatoes
Cucumbers

1. Set dehydrator to 135 degrees.
2. Slice fruit and vegetables into slices about 1/8 inch thick or smaller, lengthwise.
3. Place on trays and put into dehydrator (cooking time will vary, so check the dehydrator every few hours).
4. Serve.

Kenya could eat a whole sweet potato if I handed it to him. Being that his tiny little hand couldn’t hold the whole thing up, mashed sweet potatoes seem like a better choice. In my quest to find new ingredients that will tempt his taste buds I realized that he hadn’t tried coconut milk. Sweet and creamy, it adds body and depth to the puree. Add a touch of cinnamon, yummy delicious.

My Sweet Potato, Yes, Ma’am (serves 14 2 Tbsp Servings)

2 Medium Yams, washed
1/3 cup Coconut Milk (full fat or light)
1 tsp Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Poke several holes in the yam with a fork.
3. Bake for an hour. (I put them on a piece of tin foil so they don’t drip all over the oven).
4. When yams are cool to the touch peel off the skin and scoop insides into a food processor with remaining ingredients.
5. Puree until smooth.
6. Cool and serve.

*I always use yams. I don’t know when the confusion started and why we cook with yams, but call them sweet potatoes, but yams are much sweeter. Pick ones with deep orange skins. That’s the best way to tell the difference.