Baby Led Family Meal Ideas

I really dislike the phrase "baby food."  Food is food and when we decide that only certain foods (or certain preparations of foods) are appropriate for a baby, we miss a big opportunity for helping a baby learn to chew, to swallow safely, to clear their mouth. We also miss the chance to help our babies learn how to be in control of their own hunger and interest and learn to love all foods and flavors that are important to a family.  It's also a slippery slope.  We are willing to cook and prepare special foods just for baby but at some point we hope/expect toddlers will eat the same foods as the family.  If we don't show them how to do this from the get go and set that expectation early, we run the risk of them refusing when they get to toddlerhood (hello, feisty toddlers and picky eating!)  

Why spend a bunch of extra time making homemade "baby food" for a 6-12 month old, when you can just make delicious meals for your whole family so everyone can enjoy and eat together.  Your baby gets the benefit of watching you model eating what they are eating, as well as smelling the delicious food you have cooked, while they eat the same foods.  You get the benefits of not cooking two separate meals.  Win-win!

Here are a few ideas of meals that my family loves.  Family meals but baby led in that I knew my 6 month old could at least attempt to eat these foods.  We all ate them together.  I served each of these meals when my daughter was 6-12 months old and she still loves and eats them now that she is 21 months. At 6 months, she was mostly squishing these foods, mouthing them and spitting them out- very little swallowing of the food but lots of tasting. At 21 months, she eats them.  Some days, she devours them.   

1st small picture down & large picture on right:  Sautéed kale, onion, bell pepper, and chicken sausage in puff pastry pockets.  

I didn't follow a recipe, I just chopped up the veggies I had on hand and one sausage, sautéed it all with a  little olive oil, salt and pepper.  I laid out one sheet of puff pastry, put the sautéed stuff in half then folded the pastry in half enclosing the sautéed veggies and sausage inside.  I poked some holes with a fork then baked according to the package instructions on the puff pastry.  I served this with some beautiful fresh seasonal fruit.  

2nd small picture down: mini quiche with broccoli and zucchini, & cherry tomatoes.  I love this quiche recipe.  It is incredible easy to make and to add in whatever you have on hand. 

3rd small picture down: Baked sea bass with roasted peppers and balsamic reduction over arugula (Suzanne Goin recipe from Sunday Suppers at Luques).  No recipe, sorry but let the picture and description inspire you, because it was DELICIOUS.   Suzanne Goin's cookbook is full of phenomenal, though somewhat labor intensive recipes.  However, if you are saving time not pureeing up a bunch "baby"foods, you'll have a bunch of extra time to cook amazing meals for your whole family to enjoy, including your baby!

Homemade No-Bake Granola Bars (Gluten & dairy free. Delicious)

I had three inspirations for this post:

First was my friend Lisa, who is a nurse and nutritionist specializing in "intuative eating." She has a post on her site/blog about her homemmade ganola bars http://lisakutzing.com/thinking-outside-the-box-simple-and-delicious-homemade-granola-bars/. She got me thinking again about granola bars...mmmm!

The second is my husband, who recently cleaned up his diet and cut out gluten and dairy in an attempt to deal with some persistent allergy symptoms. He is crazy busy and often eats on the run but wanted some healthy options to take with him. The price tag on store bought granola bars that are vegan and gluten free and still delicious while not filled with sketchy filler ingredients is too rich for my blood. So my husband got me thinking about less expensive, delicious, vegan (or nearly vegan), and gluten free granola bar options. 

Third came the heat. It is crazy hot here right now and we do not have air conditioning. Turning on the oven in this weather is not only irresponsible from an energy consumption standpoint, it's also a totally sadistic move since it makes our house unbearably hot. So the heat got me thinking about no-bake granola bar options. 

Put those all together and you end up with what I've got sitting in my kitchen right now:

They came out perfectly! My husband and my 20-month old daughter LOVE them. Thankfully they are super easy to make because they both eat them up within a few days. 

I used a ton of differenct nuts and dried fruits just because I had them on hand and I wanted them to be chalked full of goodness. You could easily decrease the variety by cutting out a few of the nuts and dried fruit options and increasing the volume of whichever nuts/fruit you have on hand. Also, the ingredients are pretty forgiving- I am not at all diligent about my measuents. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup cashew pieces (roughly chopped)

1/2 cup walnut pieces (roughly chopped)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1-2 Tbsp chia seeds

1-2 Tbsp sesame seeds

1-2 Tbsp flax seeds

1/4 cup dried coconut flakes

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1 tsp. sea salt (I like Maldons) 

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2 Tbsp black strap molasses

1/2 cup raw honey

1/3 cup coconut oil 

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1/2 cup cashews

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

1 cup apricots

1 cup dried figs

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup pitted dried dates

Put the first set of ingredients (nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, & dried blue berries, salt) in a large mixing bowl. Combine the second set (molasses, honey, coconut oil) in a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until it is all melted and combined together. Turn the heat all the way down or even off for a few minutes. 

Combine the last set of ingredients (another round of nuts and dried fruit) into a food processor. Pulse several times until very finely chopped and it becomes tacky (if you squeezed it between your fingers it should stick together). 

Pour that into the first set of (dry) ingredients that have been waiting in the large mixing bowl. Stir to combine them and add in the melted ingredients from the saucepan. Give it all a few more good stirs to combine. Layer two pieces of parchment paper in "t" shape in a 9"x13" baking dish (the ends should hang out of the baking dish to help you pull the bars out later without breaking). Pour the whole sticky mess into the baking dish and press it down firmly with a spoon until it's flat. Then use the bottom of a glass measuring cup or anything kind of heavy to pat it all down as compact as you can get it. 

Pop the whole thing in the freezer and let it set for about 30 minutes to an hour. Remove from the freezer and use the edges of the parchment paper to pull the granola bars out of baking pan. Cut them into 2" x 4" bars using a sharp knife. Store in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container. 

* Because these are no-bake and they have no butter or flour in them, they will fall apart at room temperature. I suggest leaving them in a cold spot until you're ready to eat them.

Enjoy!