Lisa Barrangou - The Amazing Make-Ahead Baby Food Book: Make 3 Months of Homemade Purees in 3 Hours [A Cookbook]

Copyright 2015 by Lisa Barrangou

Photographs copyright 2015 by Erin Scott

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
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Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

Originally published in slightly different form as RealSmart Baby Food by RealFood Doctor Press in 2013.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Barrangou, Lisa
[Realsmart baby food]
The amazing make-ahead baby food book : make 3 months of homemade purees in 3 hours / Lisa Barrangou, PhD. First ten speed press edition.
pages cm
Previously published under title: Realsmart baby food.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Baby foods. 2. Make-ahead cooking. 3. InfantsNutrition. 4. Cooking (Soft foods) I. Title.
RJ216.B273 2015
641.300832dc23

2014023149

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-714-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-715-4

Design by Margaux Keres

First Ten Speed Press Edition

rh_3.1_c0_r2

As a food professional who has previously worked for three different Fortune 500 food companies as a food scientist, I have seen firsthand what processed food truly is. What it is not is fresh, naturally nutrient-rich, naturally beautiful, flavorful, real food. When I had my first child, I immediately knew that homemade baby foodmade from whole, real foods, with no additives or fillerswould be my babys food source. In 2005, I exited the corporate food world, and my homemade baby foodmaking journey began.

By the time I had my third child, I had developed quite an efficient system for making baby food. Several of my mommy friends were impressed with my ability to provide homemade baby food for so long, never giving up to rely on processed jarred foods. I had many friends who had attempted to make baby food themselves, but the biggest challenge was always figuring out how to provide a diverse assortment of foods. They would invariably give up at some point and resort to processed jarred foods because they just could not figure out how to offer enough variety without spending countless hours in the kitchen making purees. Every once in a while, I would make extra-large batches of purees to share with these mommy friends, and they were always so appreciative of the variety that I brought. Realizing that I was adding real value to the baby food eating experience, I eventually started a homemade baby food business called the Green Baby Chef.

I optimized my efficient system to be able to create three months worth of wholesome, delicious baby food in three hours. I would shop for and bring fresh whole foods into a clients home, create three months worth of baby food in their kitchen, and leave the food compactly stored in their freezer, along with a suggested meal plan. While many parents appreciated my service, many other parents, who were impressed and inspired, wanted to implement my system themselves. I have been asked countless times to share tips and recipes, and the details of my three months in three hours strategy. This book does just that.

I have developed a wonderfully efficient, flexible, comprehensive homemade baby food plan for you to implement at home. This plan includes every detail you need to create a well-balanced, diverse selection of whole food purees and freshly ground grains to feed your baby for up to three months, and to do it within three one-hour blocks of time. Rather than providing you with elaborate recipes, The Amazing Make-Ahead Baby Food Book guides you to prepare whole foods individually, using single-ingredient recipes, and then shows you how to combine your individual creations for an endless number of flavorful, nutritionally balanced meal possibilities. In addition to recipes, this comprehensive plan includes detailed sourcing guidelines, shopping lists, guidelines for how to use each one-hour block of time, a three-month sample menu, in-depth nutritional information, and much more. The plan is flexible enough to take you through the various stages of your babys palate development, and the information prepares you for knowing how to feed your baby wholesome foods for a lifetime.

I hope this book will help you feed your baby only the best that nature provides in an amazingly efficient amount of time. The recipes in this book are for foods that my babies started out eatingthe same foods they eat today. The only difference is I do not have to puree them anymore. I firmly believe that if you start babies off with flavorful whole foods, they will know what real food is, and they will desire it as they grow.

From one parent to another, bon apptit!

Creating a well-balanced, diverse offering of meals that baby will enjoy can be the most challenging part of feeding your baby. This challenge is largely responsible for why so many parents leave it up to food companies to create and supply their babys food for them. While commercially processed jarred baby food does offer convenience, homemade baby food made from fresh whole foods is far superior, both in nutrient and flavor quality.

Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined (or processed and refined as little as possible), and therefore maintain their natural flavor and nutrient integrity. Think of whole foods as those that can typically be found in nature, like whole fruits, vegetables, unrefined grains, and fresh cuts of meat. Processed jarred and pouched baby foods, while made mostly, but not entirely, from whole foods, are subject to very high temperature and pressure treatments, which allow them to remain shelf stable for literally years but result in substantial nutrient and flavor loss. The impact of this high heat can be clearly seen by comparing the color of processed jarred pea puree with homemade pea puree. The dramatic color change that results from excess heat directly indicates nutrient and flavor quality loss. In addition to extensive processing, jarred baby foods often include thickening agents, such as flours, starches, and gums, to increase stability (prevent them from separating during long-term storage), effectively diluting the nutrient density of the product.

Homemade baby food, on the other hand, can be prepared using gentle cooking methods, ensuring the maximum retention of nutrient and flavor integrity. Storing homemade baby food in the freezer is a gentle preservation method that locks in nutrients rather than destroying them, allowing this nutrient and flavor integrity to carry over until consumption. When babies are offered gently processed, flavorful whole food purees, they learn to accept and enjoy the natural, beautiful flavors that nature provides. This early acceptance, if cultivated, becomes a preference, and carries on with babies through life. Conversely, the bland flavors of jarred baby food purees often lead to an underdeveloped palate that is less accepting of the full flavors of healthy foods, and that, too, can be carried on through life.