Homemade baby food can be a wonderfully affordable and healthy mealtime option for your baby, especially when packed with wholesome ingredients like kale and quinoa! Here are four tasty combinations we came up with using the healthy grain quinoa.
Who says quinoa has to be tasteless or, as I once read in a magazine, “taste like dust”? I combined some sweet flavors with a scoop of this rich superfood and my 9-month-old has been gobbling it up all week. I found the best combinations included a smooth starch (squash, sweet potato) and a tart flavor (peach, mango) to balance out the roughish texture of the cooked quinoa. I haven’t been able to pin down if early exposure to healthy foods helps create a healthy appetite later in life, since all two-year-olds seem to become pretty picky eaters, but it doesn’t hurt to try! Try out these yummy combinations for your own baby!
Tips To Get Started
- Easily cook the quinoa in a rice cooker, adding about 1.5 cups of water for every cup of quinoa. Fluff it with a fork once it’s fully cooked.
- Peel the squash or sweet potatoes, scooping out the seeds. Slice into 1-inch slices, place the slices in an oven safe pan in about 1 inch of water, and bake at 350° for about 40-60 minutes in the oven. It’s done when you can easily pierce the squash with a fork.
- Check out our demonstration video!
Peach, Butternut Squash, Quinoa
Make it: Puree together a peeled and sliced peach or nectarine, several slices of cooked butternut squash, and a healthy scoop of cooked quinoa. Add water in small amounts until the consistency is smooth.
Acorn Squash, Peach, Cherry, Quinoa
Make it: Puree together slices of cooked acorn squash, peeled and pitted peach slices, a handful of pitted cherries, and a scoop of quinoa. Add water in small amounts until the consistency is smooth. This combination is tart with an underlying smooth squash flavor.
Carrot, Mango, Quinoa
Make it: Steam peeled carrots in a small pan until soft. Peel and slice the mango and puree equal amounts together with a scoop of cooked quinoa. Add water in small amounts until the consistency is smooth. The carrot can get a little brown in the refrigerator, so enjoy this combination as soon as possible.
Sweet Potato, Mango, Quinoa
Make it: This combination is perhaps the sweetest of them all. Peel and cook slices of sweet potato in an oven safe pan with about 1 inch of water. Puree the cooked sweet potato together with fresh slices of mango and a scoop of quinoa. Add a bit of orange juice for even more flavor and puree until smooth. This combination is perfect to also throw in a bit of kale, since the sweetness will hide it completely.
I hope these baby food combinations with quinoa will make mealtime an exciting experience for your little one! Quinoa is a great source of Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Iron, and rich in protein and fiber. Baby food doesn’t have to be boring. It’s simple to feed a baby the same things over and over, but with a little creativity it’s also easy to introduce your baby to new flavors and help them become a foodie from the very start. Enjoy!
Yummi Pouch Reusable Food Pouches
If you’re making your own baby food or your kids enjoy healthy smoothies, you should definitely check out these awesome reusable food pouches! Yummi Pouches are perfect for taking homemade baby food on the go. They are easy to fill through the top resealable opening. You can throw them in the freezer to make larger batches of homemade baby food or smoothies for quick grab-and-go snacks, and they are easy to wash by hand or in the dishwasher. Learn More »
Hi, I’m Katie! I live with my husband and 3 kids in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I love Jesus, coffee, creative projects, taking photos and traveling. I’ve previously worked as a web designer, journalist and barista. I hope you enjoy our creative projects and family adventures!
Yummy ideas! Quinoa is so healthy too.
Yummy! We love quinoa and it has a lot of health benefits.
Excited to try quinoa. My daughter is just about to turn 6 months so starting to get recipes together for the next stage of baby food making.
Thank you for sharing. We will check this out.
Love this! Who knew there were so many quinoa baby food combinations? All look delish.
This post is awesome, nice written and some very useful ideas.
Hi there, this post is awesome! Keep up the good work