Thursday, February 24, 2011

Super Easy Pearsauce for Baby (and the whole family)

This is an alternative to applesauce which is just as easy to prepare, has just as many uses and can be served to the whole family. This can be served as a firt food for your baby or can simply be converted into a delicious side dish for the whole family.

 

1. Peel pears and cut into slices/chunks

2. Place slices/chunks into a pan with a little bit of water not completely covering the pears (this can be prepared on the stove or in the oven)

3. Put a lid to cover the pan and let the pears steam until tender (the consistency that you cook to will be determined by your baby's stage of eating.

 

It doesn't get much easier than that!!!! I love this recipe for a couple of reasons (1) there is no prep work except for peeling a few pears and (2) you can throw it in the oven with whatever you have cooking.

 

What to do once the pears are cooked:

For baby:

1.) Put the steamed pears into your blender, food processor, etc...

2.) Add some cooking liquid (or water), if needed for desired consistency

 

*Serve this to baby as plain pearsauce or mix with other fruit purees, veggie purees (pureed pears go great with squash or sweet potato's and I can even get my 5 year old who won't touch a veggie to eat it) or meat purees (chicken with pears). Pearsauce with cheeries is a favorite in our house.

 

For older baby - who likes some consistency:

1.) Use your blender, food processor, etc... to break down the pears to smaller more manageable pieces or at this stage you should be able to mash them fairly easily too

2.) or just let them cool and dice them

3.) Once they are 8-10 month old (talk to you pediatrician first) you can add spices too, try a little bit of cinnamon or a cinnamon and nutmeg mixture

 

*Serve to you older baby as plain pearsauce, mixed with meat or veggies, as finger food (pear dices). If you plan to serve as finger foods you will want to barely cook them so that they still have enough consistency for you little one to pick up.

**If they are too slippery for your little one to pick up, throw some cheerios in the food processor and grind them down into a powder, roll the pear dices in the cheerio powder to make them less slippery (I can't take credit for this idea, I borrowed it from wholesomebabyfood.com)

 

For you toddler:

1.) You can mash up / dice and serve as an pearsauce

2.) Or serve the way it is (just cutting into smaller pieces as necessary) in place as an alternative to baked apples/pears

3.) For you toddler you can begin to make fun modifications: add spices (as noted above), sprinkle a little brown sugar on top, add raisins or dried cranberries (or other dried fruits)

 

*Once your toddler is at the age where consistency is no longer a problem you can do just about anything with these pears. You can mix pears with just about any fruit for yummy variations to this pearsauce. Instead of steaming, cook down some cranberries on the stove add pears and have a cranberry pearsauce which is a great compliment for chicken and turkey, or use this to replace those yucky jar cranberries for baby's first Thanksgiving. You may need to add some sugar if the cranberries are too tart - instead of sugar, many times I add fruit juice (the 100% juice kind)...it will sweeten your cranberries with less added sugar.

 

For the whole family:

There are a couple of options when it comes to making this pearsauce to be enjoyed by everyone in your family. I usually steam them, and then portion out some that will blended for the baby and the rest that will be eaten as is (nothing fancy - just pears) by the rest of the family. I also really like making two pans of it...one for baby (or anyone in your family who may prefer the plain version) and one for the rest of the family. The one for baby will be just plain pears. The one for the rest of the family will have fun additions as noted above. I love this one because you add no additional time to your cooking by just having two pot's on the stove at the same time.

 

*You can simply add some raisins / dried cranberries when it is cooking for a nice side dish to chicken, pork, turkey,etc...or you can mix it into your oatmeal in the morning.

 

Mommy Tip: When adding dried cranberries (or other dried fruit) for your older baby / young children be sure to read the labels. You will want to make sure that there is no added sugar, etc...and that the product you are purchasing is essentially a dried piece of fruit and nothing more.

Stage 1: Pear Puree

This is wonderful puree that can be served to your baby as a first food and can also be a great addition to combo meals as your baby progresses. The best part is that pear puree goes well with just about anything that you will feed your little one (add it to applesauce, add it to a bitter fruit or veggie puree - in my experience squash, parsnip and apricots can become a bit tart or as your baby starts adding meats to their diet pear goes great with chicken). There are two ways that I would prepare pear puree for my little guy. The first is my basic pear puree (below) and the second is my pearsauce (a great alternative to applesauce).

 

What you need:

1.)  Pears (peeled and cut into chuncks)

2.)  Water (for the steamer and as needed for pureeing)

 

*In general pears a watery enough to puree without additional water, so I wouldn't add water to your pureeing devise until you are sure you need it.*

 

What to do:

1.)  Place the pear chuncks in the steamer (or bake in the over) until tender enough to mash.

2.)  You don't want to take them too far so keep and eye on them. The time it will take to cook these will depend on how soft (or hard) the pear you are using is.

3.)  Place in your pureeing devise of choose and puree to the desired consistency Add water, as needed for pureeing.

 

Alternatives:

As I noted above you can use your pear puree for just about anything. Here are a few of our favorites:

 

Fruit and Oatmeal: Add the pear puree to baby oatmeal (or rice cereal) for a yummy breakfast chioce

 

Fruit and Veggies: Combine with just about any veggie puree (we love pear with squash, sweet potato or parsnips)

 

Pear and Banana: When consistency of a fork mashed banana is still too much for your little one, try adding a thin pear puree to make it easier for your little one to eat.

 

Pear and chicken: As you start adding meats to your baby's diet the pear puree goes great with chicken and pork

Stage 1: Apricot Puree

Generally I would suggest that you use any fruit or vegetable in it's most fresh stage when making baby food, however, this is one recipe for which it is absolutely fine to use the dried apricots. You will, however, want to be sure to check the label ensuring that it is truly just the dried fruit and no additional sugars, etc... have been added.

 

When making apricot puree you will want to note that it will not freeze solid. In my reseach of various websites it seems that apricot puree is still perfectly safe to freeze (even though it doesnt freeze solid), having said that when I made this for my little guy I generally just made enough for a few days. If you have some leftover and don't want to freeze it use it to make a smoothie for other family members.

 

What you need:

1.)  Dried Apricots

2.)  100% pure fruit juice (we like apple, but use pear or white grape if that is what you have in the house) or replace the juice with water.

 

I don't generally include measurements because your recipe with change greatly if you are making a single meal or making extra to freeze. For this recipe you will want to be at about 1lb of dried apricots to 2 cups of water or juice.

 

What to do:

1.)  Bring liquid and fruit to a boil

2.)  Lower tempreture and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Make sure that you have let them simmer long enough for the dried fruit to soften

3.)  Place in your pureeing devise of choose and puree to the desired consistency

 

If you need additional liquid while pureeing feel free to use reserved cooking liquid or you can add water if you would like.

 

Alternatives:

 Fruit and Oatmeal: Add the apricot puree to baby oatmeal (or rice cereal) for a yummy breakfast chioce

 

Mommy Tip:  Using the juice for the cooking liquid will ensure that there is no bitterness to your baby's apricot puree. If you are uncomfortable with serving store bought juice to your baby (my little guy is now 15 months and we just began giving him watered down juice in the last week or so) try these modifications:

- Fresh squezzed juice

- Use water as the cooking liquid and add juice (or a juice/water combo) when pureeing if the apricot seems too tart

- Make a combo using a sweet fruit puree (like pear for example). Remember, you will only want to go with the combo option if the baby has had at least one of the combo items for 4 days in a row to ensure that they are not allergic

Stage 1: Baby Oatmeal

I will be honest with you in saying that my little guy ate very little baby cereal. He basically jumped right into fruits and veggies and I typically bought baby cereal at the store to keep in the house as a thickener for purees. I did however make baby oatmeal for him, to serve as a breakfast item. You can use it as a starter food (meaning one that you would feed to your little one adding no additional items) or you can feed it to your little one as a combo with fruits or veggies.

Note, If you are looking to make baby rice or barley cereals use the same technique (grind into a powder in the blender or food processor and the follow the "what to do" below. Try Brown Rice for an added boost of nutrition.

 

What you need:

1.) 1/4 cup of oats (do not use instant or quick cook) ground in the blender or food processor

2.) 3/4 cup of water

 

What to do:

1.) Bring the water to a boil

2.) Add the ground oatmeal and stir

3.) Simmer for about 10 minutes, being sure to wisk/mix the oatmeal frequently

4.) Mix in formula or breast milk Serve warm

 

Alternatives:

Fruit and Oatmeal: Mix in a fruit puree at then end.

 

Veggie and Oatmeal: This one may sound strange to you because you probably think of oatmeal as a breakfast item, however, try mixing the oatmeal with sweet potato or carrot purees (once again adding at the end as suggested in the Fruit and Oatmeal alternative above) this is a great option to thicken leftover frozen puree's as your little one begins to want more consistency to their food.

 

Mommy Tip: When making the Fruit and Oatmeal or Veggie and Oamtmeal alternatives above, use a fruit puree out of the refridegerator (or cooled to room tempreture) to instantly cool your baby's oatmeal down for eating.