Chicken, Acorn Squash, Golden Beet and Ginger Powder

This homemade chicken puree is going to be a great addition in your day to day menu. It has protein and so much flavor thanks to the yummy Ginger. This is the fun part about making homemade baby foods, they just taste so much better than the readymade packs. And trust me, I have tasted them all. You will be amazed how much flavor a little bit of spice adds. Baby food should taste good and I am not talking about adding loads of spices, just a little bit. 

You can never go wrong with chicken. It has vitamins, fat, and protein, everything that our baby needs for their development. And while your baby is eating pureed foods, you can feed them varieties of vegetables. Prisha has totally switched to table foods (she is 21 months old now) and right now my life is full of challenges. She wants something different in every meal so yeah, I am glad that I was able to feed her this puree when I could. I still ensure that she is eating varieties of vegetables so now she eats Chicken Curry with rice, Kumror Torkari and Beet er Torkari. You can try these recipes and serve them with steamed rice or freshly prepared roti.

Now let’s talk about ginger. Ginger is widely used in Indian cuisine and many other South Asian cuisines. In India, it is used as a spice for cooking varieties of dishes. It can be made into a pickle or consumed as ginger tea with honey. Ginger candy is a type of confectionery made by cooking the root in sugar. Ginger has a warm, spicy aroma and a pungent flavor. It is supposed to trigger saliva production that makes the act of swallowing pretty easy. 

While ginger is usually eaten in small amounts, it still contains healthy oils, fibers, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. When buying ginger try to go for fresh ginger root. You can get a big box, cut them in small portions then freeze them in a ziplock bag. The advantage of buying fresh root is, it helps you to avoid the readymade or ready to use ginger pastes (which are available in all grocery shops and often contain salt and preservatives to extend shelf life). You can add fresh ginger in baby food, just make sure to add small quantities and only in grated or paste form.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast – 1/3 cup, cut into cubes
• Acorn Squash – 1 cup, peeled, seeded, cut into cubes
• Golden Beet – ½ cup, peeled, cut into small cubes
• Salt - ¼ teaspoon
• Ginger Powder - ½ teaspoon

Recommended Reading: Handling Raw Meat with Safety

Directions:

• Wash the vegetables and Chicken thoroughly.
• Place the ingredients into the pressure cooker. You can also use a small heavy saucepan. 
• Add about ½ cup of water.
• Cover and cook over medium heat for 3-4 whistles or until the vegetables are tender and the Chicken completely cooks (about 20-25 minutes on low heat for saucepan).
• Let everything cool down completely. 
• If your baby is eating finger foods, you can serve this warm. Remove the vegetables and chicken then reduce the stock by boiling it over medium low heat. Toss everything together and serve.
• To make the puree, use the water in which the vegetables were cooked. Puree using a blender or Nutri bullet. Keep adding 1-2 tablespoons of water till the puree is smooth enough for your baby.
• Serve for lunch or dinner and let them enjoy the goodness. You can keep the puree for up-to 2 days in the fridge.

 

Try these Baby Food purees as well:

• Diary of Finger Foods -1
• Pear Banana Oatmeal
• Carrot Puree/ Carrot Avocado Puree
• Rice Pudding with Apple and Banana
• Apple Mango Kiwi Banana Puree with a dash of Vanilla Extract
• Diary of Finger Foods - 2
• Apple Puree/ Apple Mango Carrot Puree
• Triple Berry (Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry), Banana and Oatmeal Puree
• Green Power: Green Beans Puree/ French Beans and Pear Puree with Yogurt
• 5 Minute Purees – Blueberry Avocado Banana Puree and Cherry Mango Banana Puree
• Breakfast Purees – Pear Oats Plums Blueberries and Pear Oats Apricots Mangoes
• Chicken and Barley Puree with Sweet Potato or Butternut Squash
• Avocado Purees – Avocado Cherry Banana Puree and Avocado Orange Banana Puree
• Butternut Squash, Strawberry and Golden Beet Puree
• Sweet Banana – Banana Avocado Pineapple Puree with Yogurt and Banana Golden Beet Mango Puree
• Khichri (Lentils and Rice with Garden Veggies Puree)
• Cheesy Chicken Pasta with Zucchini Carrot and Cilantro
• Kiwi, Carrot, Butternut Squash and Mango Puree
• Diary of Finger Foods
• Carrot, Apple and Ginger Puree
• Plum Apple Avocado Puree
• Red Lentils Puree with Turnip, Zucchini, Sweet Potatoes and aromatic Cloves
• Cheesy Chicken Pasta with Carrot, Yellow Squash, Apple and Oregano
• Green Beans and Asparagus Puree
• Green Beans, Green Apple and Avocado Puree
• Pear, Turnip, Collard Greens, Purple Carrot with aromatic Star Anise
• Cheesy Chicken Pasta with Carrot, Tomato, Pear and Mint
• Blueberry Strawberry Peas Avocado Puree
• Turnip Pear Broccoli Yellow Squash
• Sweet Potato, Mango and Avocado Puree
• Kiwi, Green Beans, Peas, Strawberry and Blueberry Puree
• Kiwi, Green Apple and Banana Puree
• Butternut Squash and Kiwi Puree
• Apple Blueberry Puree
• Beef, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Puree
• Chole Chawal (Chickpea curry with Rice)
• Sweet Potato, Kidney Beans, Purple Carrots and Green Apple
• Plum Puree
• Mangsho Bhat (Chicken Rice with Potato and Tomato)
• Pot Roast
• Plum, Blackberry Puree with Yogurt
• Plum Cherry Mango Puree
• Garlic Tomato Pasta Puree
• Carrot Peach and Cherry Puree
• Mangoes Cherries Peach Acorn Squash and Mint Puree
• Purple Carrots, Butternut Squash and Dried Apricots
• Carrot, Peach, Butternut Squash puree with Clove
• Beef Beetroot Yellow Squash Puree
• Collard Greens, Pineapple and Apple Puree
• Mango Banana Coconut Cream (with Yogurt) Puree
• Collard Greens, Yellow Squash and Sweet Potato Puree
• Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Butternut Squash and Mango Puree
• Chicken, Yellow Squash, Apple with Nutmeg
• Ginger Beef with Veggies
• Cheesy Chicken Pasta with Golden Beets, Acorn Squash, Peas and fresh Parsley
• Beef Pasta with Spinach, Tomato and Carrot
• Zucchini Pear Mango Purée
• Chicken Broccoli Fried Rice/ Casserole
• Beef Barley Stew for the Babies