3 BLW Blender Recipes for Practicing Purees
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3 BLW Blender Recipes for Practicing Purees
Purees are Important
Purees are an important texture for baby to master. But they’re not the only texture babies can eat!
And while some people mistakenly believe that baby-led weaning means totally skipping the spoon-feeding of purees, you CAN honor the self-feeding principles of baby-led weaning AND help babies master purees, if you let BABY lead the way.
When it comes to purees, you can pre-load baby’s spoon, hand the spoon to baby (handle side first) and then guide baby’s hand to mouth (…gently at first). Your baby will get the hang of self-feeding pretty quickly, but the pre-loaded spoon is key.
For baby-led weaning I like the Tiny Spoon from ezpz. It was designed by their feeding expert & has a number of design features that help facilitate self-feeding. You can get 10% off all ezpz products with code KATIE10 & click to check out the ezpz Tiny Spoon.
Purees from an Open Cup
Another way to practice with purees is to have baby start drinking them from an open cup.
Babies can begin learning to drink from an open cup at 6 months of age.
With about 5 minutes practice after each meal, your baby can meet the feeding milestone of being able to drink from an open cup independently (albeit with minimal spillage).
You can start with 1/2-1 oz breastmilk and/or formula in your baby’s open cup. Thicker liquids like breastmilk or formula are familiar to your baby and easier for him or her to swallow than water.
For more information about when to introduce water (hint: that comes a little later!) listen to my podcast “WATER: When to Offer Your Baby Water & How Much”.
The open cup I use for baby-led weaning is called the Tiny Cup and it is also from the company ezpz.
Like their Tiny Spoon, this cup was designed by the ezpz feeding expert and has design features that facilitate independent eating and drinking.
The Tiny Cup is for babies 6-12 months and you can get 10% off the Tiny Cup with code KATIE10 at ezpzfun.com.
Baby Food in the Blender
With baby-led weaning your baby learns to eat a variety of different textured foods early on in the self-feeding process.
Don’t forget about the importance of purees!
I use my Vitamix blender at home to make all sorts of baby food recipes that work great for baby-led weaning.
The motor in the Vitamix is so strong that it can heat the ingredients to actually make hot soup, in the blender!
If you’re in the market for a new Vitamix, they have a factory reconditioned program that offers top quality Vitamix products at lower-than-you-would expect prices. You can check out the factory recon program Vitamix blenders here.
Pineapple Core Banana Nice-Cream
The Vitamix blenders can handle some pretty tough ingredients…like pineapple cores.
This recipe utilizes the core of a pineapple - something you probably throw out - as a delicious addition to this frozen treat that has no added sugar.
I used 2 pineapple cores for what is essentially a double batch in the recipe below, but you could easily cut in half if you don’t prefer as much.
Ingredients
2 pineapple cores
4 bananas, peeled and frozen
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
Instructions
combine all ingredients in the Vitamix blender. Pour & serve!
Parsnip and Carrot Soup
One of the reasons why I originally bought a Vitamix way back in the day was that the friction of its blades can make soup in under 10 minutes, right in the blender container!
Here’s a link to the VITAMIX Certified Reconditioned blender I have and it’s perfect for making soups that the entire family can enjoy.
Ingredients
Parsnips, 2
Carrots, 2
Yellow onion, ½
Garlic, minced, 1 clove
Olive oil, 1 tablespoon
Cumin, ¼ teaspoon
Dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon
Ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon
Low sodium chicken broth, 32 oz (or adjusted for desired consistency)
Heavy cream, ¼ cup
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425˚F
Cup parsnips, carrots, and onions into roughly 2 inch pieces and toss in olive oil, garlic, and seasonings. Place on a baking sheet and roast until softened, about 30 minutes.
Add cooked vegetables into a blender with broth and cream. Blend until smooth or desired consistency.
Tofu Pancakes
Soy is one of the Big 8 allergenic foods (…those are the 8 foods that account for about 90% of food allergy). And tofu is a great way to introduce baby to the potentially allergenic food soy.
You can serve tofu plain directly to your baby, but baby-led weaning pancakes are always a hit too. For this recipe you make the tofu pancake batter in the blender, and you can save the leftovers in the fridge or freezer for future use.
For more information on giving your baby a safe start to solid foods using baby-led weaning (…and knocking out all of those Big 8 allergenic foods too!) - check out my FREE online workshop called “BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS”. Everyone on the workshop gets a copy of my 100 FIRST FOODS list & you can sign up for this week’s workshop times here.
Sweet Version
Ingredients
Silken tofu, ½ block
Banana, ½
Whole milk, 1 cup
Vanilla, ¼ teaspoon
Whole wheat flour, 1 cup
Baking powder, ½ teaspoon
Oil for pan, 1 tablespoon or as needed
Instructions
In a blender, combine tofu, banana, milk, and vanilla. Blend until smooth
In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder and whisk out clumps
Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir to combine
Heat oil in a nonstick pan
Ladle batter into pan. Flip pancakes when bubbles begin to form around the edge and center
Savory Version
Ingredients
Silken tofu, ½ block
Whole milk, 1 cup
Whole what flour, 1 cup
Baking powder, ½ teaspoon
Scallions, ¼ cup
Chinese 5 spice, ¼ teaspoon
Ground pork, ½ pound
Oil, 2 tablespoons divided
Instructions
In a blender, combine tofu and milk. Blend until smooth.
In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder and whisk out clumps
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and cook ground pork with Chinese 5 spice. Drain fat and set aside.
Combine wet ingredients, dry ingredients, cooked pork, and scallions in a bowl and stir to mix evenly.
Heat remaining oil in a pan and ladle in batter. Flip pancakes once bubbles form along the edge and center.
