This week on our blog we’ll be featuring two homemade baby food recipes using that tasty and easy-to-prepare ingredient that we all know and love… the good old sweet potato!
Sweet potatoes are wonderfully nutritious for baby, rich in vitamins and minerals and a great source of beta carotene, which your baby’s body converts to vitamin A. They are also versatile, working well in both savoury and sweet recipes – and their natural sweetness makes them irresistible to babies everywhere!
Today’s recipe is a very simple one that combines sweet potato with fruit. You can puree the dish completely for babies from 6 months (or earlier if your doctor has recommend introducing solids before 6 months of age), or you can prepare it in the way we describe below as a great way to introduce a little texture into baby’s menu! In fact, this was one of our favourite recipes for getting started with ‘lumps’! The sweet potato provides a smooth and silky base for the little peach pieces, which are soft and manageable themselves, but still provide baby with some textural variety.
To Make Baby’s Sweet Potato and Peach Treat You Will Need…
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 fresh peach, pitted and cubed*
water or unsweetened apple juice
*You may like to leave the skin on the peach, as it contains a great deal of the fruit’s nutrients. However, serving un-peeled fruit isn’t always appropriate, particularly for babies under 6 months of age. Learn more about peeling fruits and veggies here, which will help you decide what’s best for YOUR baby!
You may use canned peaches in place of fresh if necessary, but look for those canned in juice rather than sugary syrup.
Either steam the sweet potato cubes until tender OR place them in a saucepan with a little water or apple juice, bring to the boil, then cover and cook for around 5 mins until tender.
Cool, then transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.
If the peach is very ripe and juicy, you do not need to cook it for babies over 6 months of age. If it is a little firm, or your baby is under 6 months of age, then you may cook it in the same way as the sweet potato, but don’t puree it!
Instead, when the peach is ready, chop it into small, uniform pieces, then stir the pieces into the sweet potato base.
Serve warm, or chill to serve later!
Variations:
Stir in a little ground nutmeg, cinnamon or ginger to give a nicely spicy twist.
Top with wheat germ or ground flax seeds for an added boost of nutrition.
Top with a blob of natural yogurt for a creamy treat.
Store your creation in the fridge for up to two days, or in the freezer for up to one month (BEFORE adding wheat germ, flax seeds or yogurt).
More sweet potato baby food recipes
More peach baby food recipes
More about introducing texture to baby
Victoria
Friday 13th of June 2014
Thanks for this recipe! I'm aware of all the benefits of sweet potatoes (And I love them) but my lo just positively hate them. He is seven months and so far he has devoured everything I have offered him (Including dishes with garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, oregano, Bay leaves, etc) but sweet potatoes were a big no-no the first time I offered them to him, and the second time a week later, and the third time a month later. I haven't try this recipe yet but since he likes peaches and cinnamon, I think this could be a way to disguise the sweet potato. And I also like it can be eaten as a cool dish.