My daughter still loves the homemade baby food that I lovingly prepare for her. I love the convenience of cooking and freezing large batches. When my daughter needs food, I simply thaw a few cubes of the homemade food in the refrigerator. The convenience is awesome. I also love that I can ensure that my daughter eats a well-balanced diet full of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein. The latest batch of baby food that I prepared for my daughter was pinto beans with some garlic.
Pinto beans are very low in saturated fat and cholesterol; a good source of protein, phosphorus, and manganese; and a very good source of dietary fiber and folate. Garlic is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. The seasoning is also a good source of calcium, phosphorus, and selenium and a very good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, and manganese.
To make the pinto bean baby food, I started by buying a bag of dried pinto beans from my local grocery store. I bought enough to fill one of my big cooking pots. Of course, I forgot to take into consideration that beans expand when added to water, so I ended up making twice as much as I had planned. Good thing my daughter likes beans!
After rinsing and sorting the beans, I soaked the dried beans in water overnight. Soaking first helps the beans absorb water and thus cook faster. I then cooked the beans with some more water on my stove. Make sure to stir occasionally to prevent the beans from sticking or burning to the bottom of the pan.
After the beans were cooked and soft and then cooled slightly, I spooned the beans with some of the water from cooking into my blender. To make pinto bean baby food for younger babies, simply add more water. Because my daughter is a toddler, I made the beans pretty thick and even left some whole beans in the mixture to help her practice with chewing. I made some plain pinto bean baby food and then added some minced garlic to the other half to add a different flavoring. My daughter likes both plain and garlic beans.
Once mashed, I spooned the pinto beans into ice cube trays for easier freezing. Once frozen, I popped the bean cubes out into freezer bags for easier storage. Whenever my daughter needs beans for a meal, I simply thaw a few cubes in the refrigerator. She especially likes the pinto beans mixed with other bold flavors likes beets and tomatoes.
Does your kiddo like pinto beans?
Image Credits
Soaked Dried Pinto Beans © 2013 Heather Johnson
Exploded Pinto Beans © 2013 Heather Johnson
Pinto Beans Soaked Overnight in Water © 2013 Heather Johnson
Cooking the Pinto Beans © 2013 Heather Johnson
Cooked Pinto Beans © 2013 Heather Johnson
Mashing the Pinto Beans © 2013 Heather Johnson
Adding Garlic to the Pinto Beans © 2013 Heather Johnson
Pinto Bean Baby Food Cubes © 2013 Heather Johnson
