Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Baby Soup Method: Turkey Parsnip Soup

It's winter time and it's perfect for root vegetables like parsnip and squash for baby. My method for making baby soups is generally the same - I pick a carb, several veg and a protein and some of our homemade chicken broth. I combine them all together and cook until very tender. In most cases I blend it - even though Leena can handle picking up chunks of food and putting them in her mouth. Usually her lunch is a soup that I feed her and breakfast and dinner she gets foods that she can feed herself with.
You can also vary the consistency - more, or less broth, depending on what your baby needs.

I love doing this because it gives them good bone broth which is good for their skin, bones and body with all the minerals and collagen. It also makes an entirely balanced meal with the carb-veg-protein mix.

Basic Method:
Boil broth (or water)
Dump in 1/4 lb meat
1 cup squash or root veg (or you can do 1/2 cup of a grain like quinoa, rice or amaranth)
3/4 cup zucchini
1 cup green like spinach or chard
Sometimes, 1/2 cup of fruit like apple or pear

I usually start with ground meat (free range, grass fed, organic - don't go cheap on this). You can do whole, and then chop, but ground skips a chopping step. The one thing I do differently with beef and lamb is I boil it first in just water, and then skim any foam that comes to the top. Once that boils for about 5 minutes, I add the rest.
Cook until all the veg is really tender. Let cool. Blend and puree!

This usually makes enough for half to be eaten within 3 days, and then the other half to be frozen. I freeze in ice cube trays for a day, then defrost and put in a labeled ziploc bag. This is great because then you have lunches/dinners ready any time baby needs to eat.


Turkey Parsnip Soup
1/4lb ground turkey
1 small parsnip, peeled and diced
1 small fennel bulb, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 cups broth
1/2 pear, diced (you can keep peel on)

Follow baby soup method above.

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