Winter Harvest Meals for babies and beyond

Make the most of those fresh, local ingredients that you can find at your Farmers Market…YES you can still find Farmers Market’s open like the Bryn Mawr Market that is open until December 18th.

Butternut Squash is one of my favorite fall veggies. It is packed with beta carotene & vitamin A. I also love how versatile it is, I can roast a butternut squash and use some of it for baby food and other parts of it for smoothies, mixing into pancakes, french toast, oatmeal or just on it’s own with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Did you know that apricots have more potassium than a banana and are packed with vitamin A too? Apricots are one of my favorite dried fruits. Yes, I know you can buy them fresh but with a little hydration the dried are just as fresh. Not only can you make baby food with apricots but also use them when making granola, or your own trail mix.

Winter Harvest Meal with Butternut Squash & Apricots

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the insides. Roast the squash in the oven at 400 until soft (about 1 hour). In the meantime rehydrate the apricots in a sauce pan with a little water until soft. When both are done put them in a food processor and blend until they are the consistency that you want. Add water and the apricot water if need be. 

If you don’t plan on using all the mixture in one day, freeze it in ice cube trays. After it’s frozen take out and place in a labeled baggie so you can use what you need in the future. Remember each cube is 1oz so it’s easy to measure out for each use.

Ways to use the Winter Harvest Meal

* For babies you can add grains for a complete meal

* For older children try mixing this with yogurt, oatmeal or in muffins and bread for more nutritional value.

This post was given to us by Trina O’Boyle founder of O’Boy! Organic. O’Boy! Organic offers services and classes for parents and children. For more information, tips and recipes from Trina please visit her at www.oboyorganic.com