As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with that; quinoa is naturally gluten-free and has 2.5 grams of fibre and 4 grams of protein in a half a cup. This superfood also contains iron, calcium and magnesium, it truly is both nutritious and delicious for adults and children alike..
After a bit of research, I decided that this time around I would introduce the baby boy to Quinoa much earlier in the game. As I mentioned previously, I decided to use the Quinoa 365 method of cooking quinoa for baby since I've loved nearly everything I've made out of the cookbook.
Quinoa 365 provides easy instructions for using quinoa seeds, flakes or flour to make baby food, but I'm using the seeds as they are the least processed and therefore the most nutritious for baby. If you are interested in the other methods, send me an email.
Quinoa baby food is super easy to make and I was impressed with the smooth texture after pureeing. It freezes beautifully, but is a little denser than some of the fruit/vegetable purees and thus takes a little bit longer to defrost and warm up. Since the flavour of quinoa is relatively strong, I recommend mixing it with another food that your little one is already accustomed to. My baby boy has been happily eating his quinoa for breakfast with pureed pears and for dinner with yams and chicken.
Quinoa Baby Food
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1-1/4 cup water
- additional water for blending
- Place quinoa and water in a pot and bring to a boil.
- Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes; do not remove the lid.
- Turn off heat, but leave covered pot on the burner for an additional 25 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Blend with additional water to create a smooth texture.
- Feed to your baby or freeze for future feedings.
