Table Of ContentCopyright © 2015 by Jenna Helwig
Photography © 2015 by Lauren Volo Design by Alissa Faden All rights
reserved.
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write
to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park
Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.
www.hmhco.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Helwig, Jenna.
Real baby food : easy, all-natural recipes for your baby and toddler / by Jenna
Helwig ; with Natalia Stasenko, MS, RD
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-544-46495-7 (paperback) —
ISBN 978-0-544-46496-4 (ebook)
1. Infants—Nutrition—Popular works. 2. Toddlers—Nutrition—Popular works.
3. Cooking (Natural foods)—Popular works. I. Title.
RJ216.H3575 2015
641.5'6222—dc23
2015005794
v1.0414
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Sharon Bowers, my delightful agent who happens to be a terrific
writer herself. Receiving every one of your emails is a pleasure, and I am
indebted to you for your guidance throughout each step of this process.
I am so grateful to Adam Kowit. I couldn’t have asked for a more thoughtful or
considerate editor. It has been a pleasure crafting this book together. And a big
thank you to the rest of the excellent team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,
including Rebecca Liss, Claire Holzman, Michelle Bonanno, Brad Parsons,
Jessica Gilo, Molly Aronica, Helen Seachrist, Melissa Lotfy, and Alissa Faden
for the gorgeous design of Real Baby Food.
Lauren Volo, your photos are exactly what I hoped for. Thank you for your
generous eye, calm presence, and the warm vibe you created on set.
Sharon Bowers once said that food stylists are “magic.” I couldn’t agree more,
especially when it comes to the lovely and talented Mariana Velasquez. Prop
stylists belong in the magic category, too, especially Alix Winsby who got the
book’s look and feel just right. Thank you both.
I couldn’t ask for a better collaborator than Natalia Stasenko. Your deep
knowledge about feeding and nutrition makes this book better in every way. And
the fact that you worked so hard on this project amidst the birth of your third
child and a trans-Atlantic move continues to amaze me.
Thank you to Suzy Scherr for sharing your creative, toddler-pleasing recipes,
and thank you to Nicole Page for your friendship and sage advice.
I am grateful for the support of my colleagues at Parents, especially Dana Points
and Chandra Turner. Thank you also to my longtime friend and colleague Steve
Engel and his incomparable wife Heidi Reavis, plus all of my Rosaberry chefs
and clients.
With love and gratitude to my dear friends Danielle Wilkie, Allison Graham, and
Felicity Rowe.
Of course, thank you to Linda and Andy Helwig (for everything, really). Their
unflagging enthusiasm for this book manifested itself in last-minute grocery
runs, movie dates with Rosa, and the taste testing of many, many recipes.
Thanks also to David and China Helwig, especially for hosting me in your
Seattle home and giving me the opportunity to observe the adorable Cole and
Tasha’s eating habits at close range.
And finally, thank you to Dave and Rosa. You sacrificed your summer weekends
to this project, cheered me on, and gamely tried dish after dish. Without you at
the table it wouldn’t matter what was served. I love you.
Contents
Introduction
BUILDING BLOCKS
FIRST TASTES
(6–8 months)
NEW FLAVORS
(8–12 months)
FINGER FOODS
(8 months and up)
WAKE-UP TIME
(12 months and up)
THE LUNCH BUNCH
(12 months and up)
SUPER SNACKS
(12 months and up)
FAMILY DINNER
(12 months and up)
Metric Conversion Guide
Index
Introduction
When my daughter started eating solid food, I knew one thing: offering Rosa a
grayish purée of green beans or an odorous mash of processed chicken and rice
was out of the question. I wouldn’t touch that stuff. (I could barely stomach
opening the jar!) So why should she? Plus, I wanted my daughter to be
omnivorous. Bland, jarred baby food seemed like a step in the wrong direction.
Instead, I started making large batches of my own purées and freezing most of it,
so I had baby food on hand whenever we needed it. I cooked and mashed apples
from the farmers’ market and broccoli from the grocery store. I puréed cooked
from the farmers’ market and broccoli from the grocery store. I puréed cooked
ground chicken and mashed up roasted cod. I kept a few jars of packaged baby
food on hand for emergencies, and used store-bought, iron-fortified baby cereal,
but for the most part it wasn’t hard to make sure my daughter was able to eat
homemade food on a daily basis.
I came to believe in homemade baby and toddler food so much that I
launched a business helping parents learn how to make their own. I worked with
moms and dads who were eager to get their little one off to a good culinary start,
but unsure of where to begin. A few years later I became Food Editor at Parents
magazine, and I was convinced all over again. There is a hunger (truly!) for
knowledge about DIY baby food and a growing understanding of how important
the first months of eating are in a child’s development. Parents want to perform
this simple, natural task for their children, and thankfully, with just a little bit of
kitchen savvy, it’s completely achievable.
That’s where this book comes in. Real Baby Food will give you the know-
how and the inspiration to make your own fresh, healthy, tempting meals for
your child from the moment she takes her first bite of solid food to the time she
is happily ensconced in a booster seat at the family dinner table. The recipes
come from my own experience cooking for Rosa, as well as years of teaching
classes and feeding clients’ kids. From Broccoli-Apple Swirl, to Rosemary
Roasted Pears, to Saucy Meatball Sliders, baby and toddler food doesn’t have to
be boring. In fact, it can and should be delicious, a tasty primer for a child’s
developing palate.
Making your own baby food is also easy. I’ll show you a simple method to
ensure you always have healthy food on hand, with little to no cooking on a
daily basis. Preparing homemade baby food truly can fit into anyone’s schedule.
Why Should you Make Your Own Baby Food?
I believe in the power of homemade food at every stage of life. It is healthier,
cheaper, fresher, and often better tasting than anything that comes from a box,
can, bag, or delivery container. But we’re all busy people, especially new
parents. Why should moms and dads make their own baby food when there are
so many options—organic even!—available at the supermarket? Here’s why:
your best shot at raising a child who loves to eat nourishing, real food is to cook
it yourself and eat together from the very earliest days. And there’s more!
Homemade food is fresher, meaning fewer nutrients will be lost as the
ingredients travel from farm to table.
Homemade food is less processed. Should beef stew really be shelf-stable?
Homemade food can be less expensive: You will save money by making
food in batches.
The ingredients are under your control. Does your baby love peas? Add them
to chicken stew. Do you want organic or non-GMO foods? Your call.
The food contains no preservatives, and there is no added sugar, salt, or oil
beyond what you choose to include.
The food tastes better. Feeding toddlers, especially, can be a challenge. It’s a
no-brainer that they’re more likely to eat a meal that doesn’t taste like it
came from a can or box.
By feeding your baby fresh, flavorful meals you are training his taste buds,
helping him become accustomed to the variety of flavors that await him.
