Whenever I take pictures of my food for my recipe collection, it takes me a while... This time, a while is an understatement!
You and I both know that making baby food puree look good is well, nearly impossible. So apart from the fact that this colour green is just divine, please excuse that it isn't a fancy photo that it doesn't exactly make you want to don your apron and get cooking.
I have six month old twins... well seven months in a few days, and I also have a 3 year old. I remember from when my eldest was an only child and we were introducing solids, the amount of conflicting information there is out there. I was left so confused and worried if I was doing the right thing!
There were so many do's and don'ts and not this till this age and don't have this till that age.... JESUS! No wonder intolerance is on the rise! Apart from Honey ( for the botulism factor ) I thought -Fuck it! (excuse my language) but I'm just going to feed them what the damn hell I like and I'll deal with the consequences. If it makes them sick, windy, itchy, sad - then I just won't make that again. So this is the mantra I lived by when I was feeding my first born and introducing him to solids. I have to tell you - I am one of the only mummas I know that doesn't have a picky eater. My boy would eat the arse out of a horse if I let him, and is happy at dinner to sit down to a plate of salad with olive oil dressing, munch on radish and carrots during the day for a snack, and will happily hoe into a raw sweet potato like an apple. In short, he LOVES his food! So I am doing it again. I am not following all the 'rules' and I'm feeding my kids in short - Wholesome, healthy foods, the way god intended... mostly raw.
I was told not to do Chia seeds before 8 months and not raw veg. Sorry. But no! Not for me. My babies live on 80% raw foods and 20% cooked. They have no dairy ( myself and my son are allergic and the twins have had similar signs of the allergy - but get ready to hate me all you 'dairy is the best source of calcium people' because even if there were no issues, I wouldn't feed it to them any way... my children are human, not bovine). I am coeliac, as well as my first born... and I HATE Gluten because of the way it is now produced and that it literally comes with no fibre and therefore sets in the digestive tract like glue (don't get me started on that) so they only have Barley, Rye and Spelt when it comes to Gluten and I only do it because I don't want to create unnecessary intolerance if it can be avoided.
So what do we eat I keep being asked by the MCHN ( Maternal Child Health Nurse ). We eat whole foods. 80% Plant Based and 20% Meat and Raw whenever possible. That's Fish, Meat, Nuts, Seeds, Eggs, Vegetables and Fruit. And we NEVER go without! Our meals are always so full of flavour that I don't understand how some people can live on the shit that is in the supermarket these days.
So this is what I figured I would live by with my kids. At the end of the day, I know what health looks like when it comes to food, so I will feed them what I see fit, instead of following rules and stressing myself about things that may not even happen. I have to tell you. My twins now with this mantra are LOVING their food most of which is raw and they're just little perfect pictures of health.
That's when I thought I'd share my recipes for baby foods. To help the mums that are over all the conflicting information. To help the mums that are concerned about what's healthy and what's not. To help the mums that don't have much time and can't sit and cook and puree every. little. fruit. and. vegetable. This is for you. I am time poor, Three children, two adults, 3 loads of washing a day, Constant dishes, playing, learning, running a business. Let me tell you and take a load off your shoulders, not only is Raw food easy - It is SO healthy!
When you cook food, it loses the nutrient content. It also breaks down the fibres in the fruit and vegetables that are fantastic for feeding the micro biome in our gut because a lot of those fibres and starches that are raw are resistant and reach the lower intestinal tract. Our gut bacteria need this to survive, flourish and multiple and create different species to ward off diseases and bugs.
The most important thing I believe when it comes to your children and feeding them raw, is buy organic if you eat the skin, and just wash it well. We don't need to be taxing their poor little livers by flooding their helpless bodies with pesticides and all the chemicals that are on fruit and veggies these days.
Of course I'm not a doctor and if you decide to try these recipes it is completely on your own accord, but I feed this to my children every day and they are blossoming, bright and just beautiful.
I was told not to give chia seeds until 8 months, which is so frustrating! They're such a good source of fats which is so good for developing brains, amazing source of fibre AND they are really awesome at helping make that transition from completely puree'd food, to food with small lumps. It can be sweet, savoury you name it. This is why I love Chia and decided against listening to our severely over weight MCHN and began feeding it to my babes at 6 months.
The key is the ratio. They say 8 months because it can bind them up. So, I just quarter the ratio and it's perfect. It has even helped to regulate my little boy's bowels (the eldest of the twins).
So I hope you like this recipe. I know your babies will. You can rest well knowing that you have fed them something nutritious and good for them while knowing that other mums feed their kids raw foods, and it's ok! and it's even better, because it takes 5 minutes.
Rest Well Mumma, Rest Well.
Recipe
Serves - 4-6 depending on age -
Time - 10 Minutes -
What you need:
1 Organic Ripe Pear
1/4 Cup Organic Peas ( Frozen works too )
1/4 Cup Filtered Water
1 Teaspoon Chia Seeds.
What to do:
Place Pear, Peas and Filtered water into a blender ( I use a Nutri Ninja ) and blend depending on the age of your child. For my six month old twins I pulse until the peas are blended, but still have some small chunks.
Take the lid off and add in your teaspoon of Chia Seeds. Put the lid back on and shake to mix the seeds throughout. Place into the fridge for 4 Hours for the Chia to absorb some of the water.
Portion, and place in the fridge (if you will use it all the day you make it, or the following day) otherwise freeze in baby freezer pots.
Easy. Tasty. Healthy.
Here are my darlings enjoying their Pea, Pear and Chia
