A while back I posted a series of blogs on how to make delicious, affordable organic baby foods. The recipes consisted of soft mashed items and gooey purees, however as Penelope has gotten older her tastes have matured. She now has FIVE teeth (!!!) is a walking machine (needing heftier meals to fuel her escapades) and has a pincer grasp that rivals that of a crab. I realized it was time to switch to a heartier form of meals. That’s where this new series comes in! Through several posts I will offer up step by step, picture filled tutorials showing how to make delicious meals and treats for your “advanced” eater. From macaroni and cheese to meatballs and cookies, your little one will be sure to love every morsel- I know mine does!
Penelope, 11 months old
BananaCado Oat Omega Bars
As your baby grows, it is important for them to get the proper nutrition. One area that may be a tough sell is omega 3s. Your little one only has a handful of teeth and is not yet able to enjoy omega filled nuts like almonds, she may not have a taste for fish and if she is anything like Penelope, she will fight you tooth and nail when you try to ease a glob of avacado into her little mouth. In comes the BananaCado Oat bar. It is a soft, chewy treat that tastes like bananas with the Omega benefits of an avacado. It takes 30 minutes or less to make and freezes well for long term use. Sure, you could just mix some banana mush and avacado slop together and feed it to your little one, but remember…this series is for the babies that are rebelling against purees and want something they can sink their teeth into!
The Recipe
You will need:
- two ripe bananas
- one ripe avacado
- 4 handfuls of oats (quick oats work just as well as traditional)
Instructions:
- Mash up the ripe bananas and avacado until it is mixed together well. (preheat your oven to 350 degrees)
- put your oats into a blender or food processor and blend until pieces are very small, almost powder-like (this step can be skipped if you are making these for an older eater such as a young child or yourself)
- a handful at a time, mix the oats into the “bananacado” mixture.
- Keep mixing the oats into the fruit until you end up with a sticky cookie dough type consistency. (you may not use all the oats you blended, you dont want the mixture to become too dry where it flakes apart)
- cover a cookie sheet pan with parchment paper or use a non stick pan. press dough out onto the pan and into a large rectangle shape about 1/4-1/2 ” thick.
- Cook in your 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut your large rectangle into several granola bar shaped pieces.
- Store some in the fridge for use up to three days and freeze the rest for up to three months. Simply pull the portion of desired frozen bars out of the freezer and let thaw for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.
Bars cut up into pea sized pieces and served as breakfast along with pears.
***IMPORTANT*** always watch your child when giving them solid foods to eat, no matter how many times they have eaten it before. It can only take one second for a baby to choke on a bit of food. I started feeding these to Penelope cut up into small pea sized bits until she is a bit more savvy and won’t try to shove the entire bar into her mouth. ;)
NEXT POST… Cinnamon banana cookies! a fun, sweet variation of the recipe above.