April 9th, 2010
By now, at 19 months, Paloma chews very well and loves to munch away at the original Bowl of Goodness. Still, this baby version remains among her favourite breakfasts.
Ever since becoming interested in raw food, I’ve been experimenting with making my daughter’s ration rich with a variety of different food groups and flavours. Besides the obvious green smoothies, soups, and fruit purees, the amount of raw options for babies and toddlers who cannot chew very well, is quite limited. I haven’t been able to find many recipes of the sort, so to turn the situation around, I started coming up with my own.
Most of our breakfasts include grain sprouts, and my intention was to create a similar dish, but one that requires little chewing on Paloma’s part. The first logical step was to simply puree freshly sprouted grains together with some fruits. Surprisingly, that doesn’t taste too good. When fresh sprouts are broken down completely, their flavour intensifies and becomes quite grassy and unpleasant.
For my next try, I gently dried the sprouts in a dehydrator, and then ground them in a coffee-grinder into a sort of flour.
To specify, I usually mix oat groats, buckwheat, and sunflower seed sprouts, reserved from making chocolate granola. I also thought about incorporating other valuable ingredients, such as chia and flax seeds, hemp hearts, goji berries, and raw pistachios*. These were also ground until flour-like. The ground blends hold up well when refrigerated, which is quite convenient for, say, taking with you on the road, or just having handy at all times.
For the base of this raw cereal, I used a dried apricot and prune puree. You can utilize any kind of fruits to make a base for this cereal, but I especially like the combination of those two (unsulfured) – they become creamy in consistency, not to mention their health benefits.
To prepare, soak the dried fruits in purified water for about an hour. Drain, and blend in a food processor, adding some water to create a smooth and creamy preserve. When Paloma was younger, I froze it in small portions, but now, since she eats more, I keep it all refrigerated in a glass jar.
Next, add some of the flour blend into the puree.
For the final touch, mix in homemade kefir, raw goat milk/yogurt, or nut milk for a vegan version.
A typical baby breakfast still-life at our house:
*If you worry about giving nuts to your child, just exclude pistachios from the list. I like them particularly because they are the only nuts that contain a significant amount of lutein and zeaxanthin – antioxidants that are great for eyesight.
Bon Appétit to your little ones!
Post by: A
Tags: a, baby, food, food for tots, paloma, raw food, recipe
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Zhenya says:
O my God!!! You make me hungry Anya!!! Yammy!!!!!!!!!!!
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BLIN,
I READ IT 3 TIMES TODAY TRYING TO REMEMBER EVERYTHING.
IT ALL SOUNDS GOOD I JUST WANT TO AVOID ANYTHING SWEET AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.
THE GREEN SHAKES WILL BE OUR FIRST INTRODUCTION TO SWEETNESS ( IN FORM OF BANANAS)
ANOTHER QUESTION?
ANY RECOMMENDATION FOR AS HOW TO PROCESS GOODS( FOR BUDGET ORIENTED CUSTOMERS:)))I KNOW BABY COOKER WILL NOT DO THAT SORT OF JOB, YOUR AND ZHENYAS BLENDER ARE WAY TO MUCH MONEY TO SPEND. -
Anya,,,,,,,,
You most definitely need your own T.V. cooking show!!!!!!! Even tho I was NEVER, EVER, this professional in my cooking (didn’t even come close); I have become a little lazy these past few years, with all of my other added responsibilities, but I love seeing all that you create in your kitchen. It’s just fabulous!! -
Zhenya: When are you coming over to be our baby? :)
Natali: For this recipe, you need a simple coffee grinder to grind the sprouts, etc into flour. And a regular food processor for the preserve.
Sue: Awh, thank you, it means so so much!
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This looks fantastic! I am going to be a new mother soon and I love how nutritious this breakfast is in comparison to all the silly rice cereals out there in the market. I’m planning to make my own baby food, so this will be a great start. And as a side comment, I love the recipes and photography on your site. So happy to have discovered it. You’re now part of my reading subscription!
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Hi Anya, This is my 1st time on your blog. It’s lovely. Question: A friend just had a baby (4 mos old).He is no longer on breast milk but is now on formula. She wants to take dairy out of his diet. What can she substitute? Almond milk? Any suggestions, websites, etc are helpful! Thank you, Patti
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Hi Patti,
That’s a tricky question. Before a child is 1 year old, it’s extremely important to have a balanced vitamin intake such as in breastmilk or formula. Although, when my first daughter was little, I gave her home-cultured milk such as kefir instead of formula. Although it’s made from cow’s milk, it’s not exactly the same as dairy. As a result of fermentation, it becomes very enzyme-rich and even those with lactose intolerance usually have no problem with it. Kefir grains are very easy to buy online.
I wouldn’t give nut milk to such a young child. Another option, although also dairy, is raw goat’s milk, many people consider it to be a much better alternative. I know many people who have raised their kids on goat’s milk. But you also have to remember that it’s lacking in folic acid, which is important. Sorry to be of little help, but it’s hard to find nutritious dairy substitutes for little ones! -
Interesting blog!!! Congrats!!!
When did you start to feed your children’s from the bowl of goodness?
I have a 7 months baby (still breastfeeded) and I am wondering when I can make him also a bowl of goodness.Thanks!!!!
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Great ideas, thank you. I’d like to start making healthier breakfasts. I’m a male adult and was thinking of the following; sprouting 1/2 oats and 1/2 buckwheat. Once sprouted heating them on a sauce pan in coconut oil (on low heat, believe it’s to be below 104 deg F or 40 deg C). Also adding in some honey or some fruit, have not tried it yet. Just not sure how to ensure the food is not heated above 40 deg C.
