Slow Cooker Baby Food

Fall is here. Break out the slow cooker! There are lots of recipes for baby’s first foods in the Slow Cooker Baby Food Cookbook! Check out some recipes here:

https://www.wholesomebabyfoodguide.com/slow-cooker-stage-one-baby-food-recipes/

The books have arrived. Giveaways will soon commence!

Good morning! Are you waking up to a delicious warm breakfast you made last night? If not, you must try this!! Recipe below.

📚 And grab your copy of my new Slow Cooker Baby Food Cookbook on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2PflHh2

Overnight Apple Oatmeal

This is a favorite recipe for the winter months. No one likes getting up when it’s dark and cold, but wake up to this warm and delicious oatmeal and everyone will be smiling. Offer your baby his own bowl and let him use his fingers or practice his spoon skills.

Age and Stage: (6)8 months+ | Stage Two | Second Foods and Beyond

Slow Cooker Size: 4 to 6 quarts (3.8 to 5.7 l); oval

Ingredients:
* 5 apples, such as Granny Smith
* 1 1/2 cups (203 g) steel-cut oats
* 7 cups (1.7 l) water, or 4 cups (945 ml) water and 3 cups (710 ml) cider or low-fat milk
* 1 tablespoon (7 g) ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:
1. Wash the apples and then halve, core, and peel them.
2. Wipe the inside of the slow cooker vessel with butter. Add the apples, oats, liquid, cinnamon, vanilla, and ginger. Stir to combine.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or overnight.
Wake up and enjoy!

Preparation and Storage for Baby: Spoon out a portion for baby and allow to cool.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days for babies, up to 5 days for adults.

For the Family:
Making warm cereals in the slow cooker overnight is a great way to get the whole family to show up at the breakfast table. Gather everyone and serve on the weekend or before school.

Many people enjoy the extra creaminess and texture of Greek yogurt compared to regular yogurt. Along with the super creamy texture, Greek yogurt has a nice tang, is less sweet because it contains less natural sugars and, it has more protein than regular yogurt too! Parents are sometimes confused about if babies can eat Greek yogurt or do they have to stick to feeding their babies “regular” yogurt. http://bit.ly/2pLLfnO

When do...

You think your baby may be ready to starting solid foods and you’re so excited, and probably confused and concerned too. Let’s first learn about what various medical organizations recommend as regards introducing babies to solid foods. It is very important that you discuss solid foods with your baby's doctor - all babies are different and require different things.

The AAP recommends the introduction of complementary foods be delayed until a baby is at least 4 months old, but exclusive breast-feeding is preferred until 6 months of age.

The AAP Section on Breastfeeding recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months.

The expert panel from the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology recommends introduction of complementary foods between 4 and 6 months of age in breast-fed or formula-fed infants

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breast-feeding for the first 6 months of life.

The main consensus behind all of these expert recommendations is that that breast milk and/or formula should provide all the nutrition your baby needs during the first 6 months of life but it is acceptable to begin offering solids between 4 and 6 months of age – never any earlier. Starting babies on solid foods prior to four months old is not recommended.

Regardless of whether you start at four, five or six months, or even later, keep in mind that solid foods will not make up a large portion of your baby’s nutrition for quite a few weeks after you start. http://www.wholesomebabyfoodguide.com/baby-get-ready-to-eat-solid-foods/

Cooking apples in the slow cooker is super easy! Wash - peel - chunk or dice - toss into vessel - add a bit of water and spices - set on low for 4 hours or until a sauce in your preferred texture is made. Yep, it's that easy! http://bit.ly/2C7qKsW for full recipe

From the Slow Cooker Baby Food cookbook - First Foods

Simple Pumpkin in the Crock-Pot Slow Cooker Recipe

Whenever you cook pumpkin, or any winter squash for that matter, don’t throw out the seeds. Save them and roast them. The seeds of winter squash are incredibly nutritious, but sadly, not for children under the age of 8. Well, 8 is the age that I first felt comfortable letting my kids eat the seeds.

Simple Pumpkin in the Slow Cooker
Age and Stage: 6 months+ | Stage One | First Foods and Beyond
Slow Cooker Size: 6 quarts (5.7 l); oval

Ingredients:
2 sugar pumpkins (2 to 4 pounds [907 g to 1.8 kg] each)
1 to 2 cups (235 to 475 ml) water

Instructions - Method A
1. Wash the pumpkins and cut off the stems. Cut in half and remove the seeds. Peel the pumpkins.
2. Roughly chop the pumpkin flesh and place in the slow cooker. Add 1 cup water.
3. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 7 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours, or until tender. Mash the pumpkin in the slow cooker or leave lumpy. Remove the pumpkin and set aside to cool.

Prepare and use as desired - pies, baby food puree, puree for breads and muffins and lattes....

🎃 YUM!! Who loves pumpkin? I DO! 🎉 A flurry of recipes is heading your way.

It all starts with Pumpkin! Pureed or diced pumpkin can be eaten and used to create an awesome variety of dishes that the entire family, babies included, will love. 🎃 www.slowcookerbabyfood.com

Check out the new “Forbidden” Foods chart on the The Wholesome Baby Food Guide page.

Happy Friday! We are updating and revamping the website. This is one of the pages we really enjoyed creating. Forbidden Foods 😳 It sounds scary but really, there is nothing to be afraid of. Enjoy!

http://www.wholesomebabyfoodguide.com/forbidden-baby-foods-foods-for-babies-to-avoid-during-the-first-year/

Nom Nom. Easy Peasy

Purple/Pink Applesauce? Who wouldn’t like to eat purple applesauce? Your older baby will absolutely love this combination. Let her dig in with her fingers and watch them turn red. I know, it’s heart stopping to just envision the mess but just let her play one time. Get the Recipe -> http://bit.ly/2NTKebb

Sweet Potato Rice and Apple Meatballs – Finger Foods, Baby Led Weaning, Second & Third Foods and even Appetizers!

These little tasty nuggets of flavor have been a staple meal/snack for many years. They are so good that your kids may want to eat them for breakfast! You can bake them or put them in the slow cooker, either way you choose to cook these works well. Get the recipe here http://bit.ly/2N9HEOq

Butternut Squash Soup

"How many ways can you think up to make us eat butternut squash?” Rest assured my little dears, there are a million and one ways that parents can serve butternut squash to their kids! http://bit.ly/2QsRYiI

I wanted to share this recipe with you. It’s a great one to make for babies and the whole family.

Black Beans and Sweet Potatoes - Slow Cooker Treasures

Recipe link: http://www.slowcookerbabyfood.com/?p=670.

Age and Stage: 6-8 months+ | Stage Two | Second Foods and Beyond | 6 hour cooking in slow cooker
Recipe Ingredients

1 pound (455 g) dried black beans
2 large sweet potatoes
2 apples, such as McIntosh, cored, peeled, and diced (optional)
6 cups (1.4 l) cold water
1⁄4 cup (40 g) minced onion (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
1⁄2 teaspoon ground pepper (optional)
Cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
Recipe Instructions

Place the beans in a bowl, cover with water, and soak for at least 5 hours.
Drain the beans, transfer to a saucepan, cover with water, and boil for 10 minutes. Drain the water. Rinse the beans and pick through them for any debris.
Peel the sweet potatoes and chop into small but relatively uniform chunks.
Transfer the beans and sweet potatoes to the slow cooker. Add the apples (if using), water, and onion, garlic powder, and pepper (if using).
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, checking after 3 hours and adding more water if needed. After 6 hours, check the texture of the sweet potatoes and beans. If the sweet potatoes and beans are both soft cooked, remove the food from the slow cooker and set aside to cool; discard liquid.
Otherwise, cook for an additional 1 to 2 hours (to finish cooking more quickly, set the slow cooker to high). The apples will simmer down nicely, while the sweet potatoes and beans should remain soft but not mushy.
If using, sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese over the mixture and stir to combine.
Preparation and Storage for Baby
When cooled, puree the food in batches. Use a food processor to achieve a smooth texture and add water, formula, or breast milk as you continue to puree. You can also partially puree so that the food has some lumps and bumps to help baby make the transition to table foods. Using a slotted spoon, remove some of the sweet potatoes and beans and then spoon out some of the apples; set aside to offer as a finger food meal.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days for babies and up to 6 months in the freezer
For the Family
Prior to reducing to a texture suitable for your baby, remove some of the sweet potatoes and apples and set aside. Serve this mix—sprinkled with additional shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired—as a delicious side dish.
Bonus - Recipe for Black Bean Sweet Potato Quesadilla.

Fall is fast approaching. It's a great time for a crockpot Apples & Sweet Potatoes and for a Slow Cooker Baby & Family Food recipe book release :) https://amzn.to/2B8RgmZ

It’s almost ready! The website will be launching soon and then, the book will be released!