This may look like a complicated recipe – but do not get discouraged! Most ingredients go into a slow cooker – so you put it all together in the morning and by the time you are ready to serve dinner you will only have couple more little steps to finish it!

Spiced Braised Beef with Sweet Potatoes:

1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into chunks

2 sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons

1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

1 large red onion, cut into wedges

1/2 cup dried apricots

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 10-ounce box couscous (1 1/2 cups)

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

2 cups baby spinach (1 1/2 ounces)

1/4 cup roasted almonds, chopped

In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beef, potatoes, tomatoes (and their juices), onion, apricots, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup water.

Cook, covered, until the meat is tender, on high for 4 to 5 hours, or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Ten minutes before serving, prepare the couscous according to the package directions.

Add the chickpeas to the slow cooker and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach. Serve with the couscous and sprinkle with the almonds.

To get a complete set of Five Easy Dinners recipes, please go to:

http://www.mama-knows.com/recipes/five-easy-dinners.html

Broccoli and Cauliflower:

Place about 1/2 lb. of broccoli or cauliflower florets into a steamer and cook for about 10 minutes – until tender. You can use either one of these vegetables or mix them half and half. When tender, drain,cool slightly and puree. You can use little of the water from pot below your steamer if you need to make the puree thinner. This also works well with potatoes, carrots ot sweet potatoes.

Corn on the Cob:

Remove the outer husk and silk from the corn on the cob and rinse the cob well. Cover with boiling water and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Strain and then remove the kernels of corn using a sharp knife. Puree in your blender. You can also cook 1 cup of frozen corn and then puree. You can combine corn with carrot, leek, potato and little bit of cooked chicken meat to create a complete dinner meal for your baby.

Zucchini:

Place 2-3 small trimmed and sliced zucchini in a steamer and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender. Alternatively, put into a pan with enough water to cover, bring to a boil and simmer for about 6 minutes. Drain and blend to puree. Zucchini makes a great combination meal with sweet potato or leek, potato and peas.

Peas:

You can easily use frozen peas as it is as nutritious as the fresh variety. Cover 1-1/2 cups of peas with water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 4 minutes or until tender. If you are using fresh peas, you will need to cook them for about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving some liquid, then puree. Use your saved liquid to make your puree the consistency you want. You can also make this puree in a combination with potato, carrot or sweet potato.

Spinach:

Carefully wash 1 cup of baby spinach leaves, removing tough stems. Either steam the spinach (that is preferable) or put in a saucepan and sprinkle with little water. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until leaves are wilted. Gently press out any excess water, then puree in a blender. You can combine spinach with potato, sweet potato ot butternut squash.

Tomato:

Peel, seed and roughly chop 2 med8um tomatoes. Melt a pat of unsalted butter in a saucepan and saute until mushy. Puree in a blender and try combining it with potato, cauliflower or zucchini. You can also add a little grated cheese, melted into the cooked tomatoes.

For more Homemade Baby Food Recipes, please check out:

http://www.mama-knows.com/parenting-tips/homemade-baby-food.html

You can get quite creative with making fruit purees for your baby. It is a great way to include vitamins into the baby’s diet and generally, your baby will like the taste. I would recommend tasting your fruits first – ones such as apricots can be little sour so mix them with fruit that is naturally sweet – like a mango. If you choose rips fruit, you will not have to worry about sweetness.

Try these variations:

Apricot Puree: Peel 2 large apricots same way you would peel a peach or nectarine and place into blender to puree. If you like to sweeten this, you can add half a banana. Apricots are rich in beta-carotene and are a great source of iron and potassium.

Mango Puree: Peel your fruit and slice down each side of the pit, Cut the flesh of half mango into cubes and puree in your blender. This puree also combines well with banana, strawberry or yogurt.

Melon Puree: remove all seeds form a small wedge of melon and cut flesh away from skin, discarding the greener flesh near the skin. Mash or blend to puree to desired consistency. This puree can be nicely combines with a banana or a few strawberries. Cantaloupes are the most nutritious of all melons – they are rich in vitamin C and also provide beta-carotene and potassium.

Peach or Nectarine Puree: Peel a small, ripe peach or nectarines and chop the flesh, then puree in a blender or mash with a fork. This puree also works well combines with strawberries, bananas or blueberries.

Plum Puree: Peel a large plum the same way you would peach or a nectarine and chop the flesh. Plums can be easily pureed uncooked if the are sufficiently ripe and juicy – or you could steam them for a few minutes until tender, This puree combines well with baby rice, banana or yogurt.

For more Homemade Baby Food recipes and ideas, please check out:

http://www.mama-knows.com/parenting-tips/homemade-baby-food.html

Broccoli is a great source of nutrition for your baby. It is best steamed or microwaved – boiling will remove about half of the vitamin C content. To make this great staple taste better for your baby, mix it with a sweet tasting vegetable like sweet potatoes, rutabaga, butternut squash or pumpkin. You can also try variations such as sweet potato and peas or sweet potato and spinach.

Sweet Potato and Broccoli puree:

1 medium sweet potato (peeled and chopped)

3/4 cup of broccoli florets

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

1 to 2 tablespoon of baby’s usual milk

Steam the sweet potato and broccoli until tender (sweet potato will take about 12 minutes, broccoli about 6 minutes) or Place the sweet potato in a saucepan, cover with water and boil for 8-10 minutes. Add steamed or microwaved softened broccoli. Cool slightly, put into a blender, add butter and milk and puree until smooth.

This puree can also be frozen if you want to make some ahead of time.

For more recipe for Homemade Baby Food, please go to:

http://www.mama-knows.com/parenting-tips/homemade-baby-food.html

Homemade Fruit Puree for your Baby:

1 medium apple and  1 medium pear, peeled, cored and chopped

2 tablespoons of water or unsweetened apple juice

Directions:

Put the chopped fruit into a saucepan, add water or apple juice (if the pear you are using is ripe, you will not need the water or juice). Cover and cook over medium heat for about 6 minutes. Blend the fruit to a puree and serve to your baby lukewarm.

For more Homemade Baby Food recipes, check out:

http://www.mama-knows.com/parenting-tips/homemade-baby-food.html

Homemade Carrot Puree for your Baby:

Use 4-6 medium carrots – peeled and chopped

Directions:

Put your carrots into a steamer over boiling water (don’t put the directly into the boiling water as you will loose nutrients if you do) Steam for 15 – 20 minutes or until your carrots are tender. Remove from steamer, cool just a bit and place into a blender. Add little of the water from the pot you used to put your steamer on and puree until very smooth. How much liquid you add will depend on on how thick or thin your baby likes the puree – add enough to make it easy for your baby to swallow. You can serve to your baby lukewarm and store any unused portion in your refrigerator.

Note: Carrots are actually more nutritious if you make the puree them with a little fat – use a small pat of unsalted butter that you add to your blender.

To make this alternative version of carrot puree, try:

Creamy Carrot  Puree:

1 tablespoon of baby rice cereal

3 tablespoons of baby’s usual milk

1/4 cup of carrot puree

Mix the baby rice cereal and milk together and stir into your homemade carrot puree

For more Homemade Baby food recipes, check out:

http://www.mama-knows.com/parenting-tips/homemade-baby-food.html

Don’t get me wrong – there are times when you will want to give your baby commercially prepared food for the sake of convenience – but I urge you to consider the healthier and definitely more tasteful option as much as you can!

When is your baby ready to start eating solid foods?

Babies grow the fastest in their first year then at any other time in their life. You don’t have to be in a hurry to feed your baby solids. For the frst sic months, breast milk or formula will provide all the nutrients you baby will need. At around the six month mark, your baby will get to a stage where solid foods are a needed addition. There is no “right” age at which to start your baby on solid foods – each baby is different. It is not a good idea to start much sooner than the 6 months – baby’s digestive system needs to develop properly first.

Here are some signs that you baby is ready for solid foods:

• Still hungry after a full feeding
• Demanding to feed more frequently
• Wakes up at night for a feeding previously slept through

What babies need in their diet:

• More fat and concentrated sources of calories and nutrients
• Full-fat variety of dairy products (such as milk and yogurt) – not the low-fat versions
• Not too much fiber (tends to be too bulky and can flush out valuable minerals or cause diarrhea)
• Variety of fruits and vegetables – preferably the ones that are higher in calories (i.e. fruits mixed with yogurt, vegetables with cheese sauce)
• Iron rich meats – red meats and poultry
• Citrus fruits – rich in Vitamin C that will also help to boost iron absorption

I will be adding detailed instructions for individual recipes here as I add them to this topic – please click on the link below to see the recipes you want:

http://www.mama-knows.com/parenting-tips/homemade-carrot-puree-for-your-baby.html

http://www.mama-knows.com/parenting-tips/homemade-fruit-puree-for-your-baby.html