I am a first-time Mom on a budget. My mission: to create healthy, organic meals that appeal to both my baby and husband. My challenge for this post is carrots. Let’s see what happens. My husband already loves carrots. In fact, he eats so many that we joke that he might turn into a carrot one day. But feeding carrots to my baby is a challenge. Why? Well, carrots are sweet, and for whatever reason, my baby has not adapted to their taste when served on their own. Personally, I like to chomp on raw carrots, but cooked carrot dishes have never appealed much to me. Let’s see if I can change my frame of mind and my baby’s too. It’s 9:00pm. My baby just fell asleep and, frankly, I am exhausted! The months of late night feedings are finally taking their toll. But, I made a commitment to the health and well being of my family. I can’t let them down, can I? While my bed looks really comfortable, I tell myself, “Just one more thing. Cook the carrots. You can do it.” Oh, the dilemma of being a Mom who is trying to fit everything into a busy schedule. I walk into the kitchen and remove a large bunch of carrots from the fridge. The carrots are covered in dirt since they were literally pulled from the earth earlier in the day and purchased from a local farm. You can’t get any fresher than that. I wash the carrots, cut off the tips and peel away the remaining dirt.
At six months of age, the experts say to give babies just one fruit or vegetable at a time, just in case your child has an allergy to a particular food. But as your child becomes 7 or 8 months of age, they say you can experiment with mixing foods. Every baby is different, but I have found that my baby prefers the flavors he gets from food mixes. So for today’s dish, I decide to make a carrot ginger soup – a recipe for baby and Daddy, all in one. You can’t beat that! I am all for simple and fresh ingredients, and this is the perfect recipe. 1 bunch of large carrots (between 1 to 1 ½ pounds) ½ cup of coconut milk ¼ cup of water Fresh ginger (about 1/8 of a cup, sliced) 1 handful of fresh cilantro Slice the washed carrots and place them in a pan. Cook them for 5-7 minutes until they are soft. Then, purée the carrots in a food processor or blender. Wow! When you use fresh vegetables, the colors are very bright. Now add the coconut milk, water, ginger and cilantro and blend the mixture until its smooth (about 45 seconds). At this point, you can either heat up the soup and eat it or transfer it into a pot and place it in the refrigerator for the next day (which is what I chose to do).
Now, I can finally rest. As a new Mom, I have found that it’s good to get a few things completed and organized when my baby first goes to sleep. But that’s it! After an hour, I cut myself off and then it’s time for a cup of tea, a good book and bed. The next day, dinner time rolls around and I’m delighted that dinner is already made. Not only that, but it’s a super healthy meal made from sweet, earthy carrots that are packed with health-protective antioxidants. Let’s see how it tastes. I pull out the pot of soup, heat it on the stove for 10 minutes and serve it to my family. Yum! My baby, husband and I all enjoy the taste of the carrot ginger soup. Friends and fellow bloggers have suggested adding mint to carrots or serving babies pureed carrots mixed with peas or spinach. All excellent ideas. I’ll have to give those a whirl! As you can see, there are many ways to make those orange carrots taste delectable.
