Japanese Yam, Brown Rice and Coconut Milk

So the other day I was shopping at Whole Foods looking for sweet potatoes.  I didn't find them but I did see some Japanese Yams.  They looked just like regular Yams to me so I bought them.  Little did I know that when you peel them, the inside is white!

This frightened me at first because I have never cooked these before and I worried that my little one would not like them.  I steamed them anyway and did a quick google search on the Japanese Yam.  

Simultaneously I steamed some organic brown Basmati rice in coconut milk, I use the unsweetened kind for my cooking.

When they were all done I tasted the yam and to my surprise it was sweeter than a the sweet potato I was used to.  I mixed the rice and yams together in the food processor and added more coconut milk to make a nice thick puree for my baby.  She loves it, and I like it too.

My work flow for home made babyfood

Although my little one is a year now and most times she eats what we as a family eat, I still prepare separate food for her for several reasons.  One, unfortunately we still eat on the run a lot and I don't want to give my precious baby fast food at such a young age.  Also sometimes I cook with a lot of spices and/or I'm frying something is too much grease.  I posted earlier how when I started making babyfood, I used a specific babyfood maker.  Well once that had to be returned I used a different work flow and I wanted to share it here.

First I steam 3 foods at a time using a double decker steamer.

I usually put rice in the nice little grain basket I had from the Baby Brezza accessories.

The rice and some vegetable can sit on one level and I usually do yams on the bottom level.   After they steam for about 30 minutes I put the yams and veggies receptively in the food processor for blending.  I sometimes add a little water if it's too thick.

Then I add it to her little food containers and freeze!  I can usually make about a months worth of food or more at a time so it's not too much work at all.  I use a few different food containers, like the ones from Babies R Us.

I also use this time to make little popsicles for my little one.  She loves pears, apples and I even use yams to make little frozen treats.  These are great for teething, self feeding and just a nice fruit treat.  No added sugar or preservatives!

Quiona

So this week I finally introduced grains into my little one's diet.  Well actually a seeds, but some still put it in the grain category.  I made a cereal from Quiona flakes, and it was pretty easy to make.  Just boil water, then add flakes and boom, in about a minute it was done.  I fed it to her plain and she ate it but made a face like, um mommy what is this ish?  So then I mixed it with mashed bananas and it was all good.  

I like Quiona because it is naturally high in iron, no fortification necessary, plus it's got protein and a lot of other naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.  I tried some with butter and sugar added for my own taste and it's not that bad.  I think I may be able to get used to it.  I have used regular Quinoa in beef soup and I loved it!  But for now it's a great food for baby.