Gourmet Baby Food: Recipe for Turkey with Chestnuts and Apples

I am so excited about finally being able to make something from the Gourmet Bebe cook book. I wanted to make this for Parker a week ago but it took 3 days and 4 grocery stores for me to track down the chestnuts needed for the recipe. Why are pre cooked chestnuts so hard to find? After scouring Sprouts, Vons. Trader Joes and Albertsons, I finally finally found chestnuts at Ranch 99. I was so mad that I couldn't find them and then I remembered that Chinese people love snacking on chestnuts (thanks to my travels in Macau for that tidbit!). Not only did they have cooked chestnuts, they have multiple varieties of ORGANIC chestnuts. Needless to say, I was really effin' happy when I found them. Anyhow, the final product was a delicious puree that Parker scarfs down like nobody's business. I also made Tuan and my SIL try it before I pureed it and they both gave it a thumbs up. See? Pureed meat doesn't have to take bad! Go buy this book. You baby will thank you from saving him from the land of boring, bland baby food.

Turkey with Chestnuts and Apples

Original recipe from Gourmet Bebe by Jenny Carenco

Ingredients

4 apples, washed, peeled and chopped

1 turkey breast, cubed

2 teaspoons of finely chopped shallots

1 teaspoon of sunflower oil

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon of cloves

1 cup of precooked chestnuts

[The ingredients minus the chestnuts because I forgot to include them. Mom fail.]

[Step 1. Wash and peel the apples. Remove the cores and chop the fruit into pieces.]

[Step 2. Brown your chopped up turkey in a saucepan over medium heat with the shallots and sunflower oil.]

[Step 3. Check on your sous chef. Parker is in his new Phil and Ted's Poppy Highchair!]

[Step 4. Add the spices, stirring with the turkey for 1 minute until evenly distributed. Then add chestnuts and apples. Fill pan halfway with water, bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.]

[Step 5. Remove from heat and blend until you have a smooth puree.]

[I fed a bit to Parker for dinner and froze the rest. There was enough for 2 1/2 of these trays. The puree tastes great when reheated. Yum! There could not be a more delectable way to incorporate fall flavors into Parker's baby food.]

Check out this comprehensive list from Baby Got Stuff for more nutritious food ideas for your baby!

A Book Review of Bebe Gourmet

According to our pediatrician, it's time to start adding meat to Parker's diet because breastmilk and veggies alone do not provide him with as much iron as he needs. When I received this news, I immediately began scouring the internet for baby food recipes that include meat. Unsatisfied with anything I found online, I began looking for baby cook books and found **drum roll please** Bebe Gourmet: 100 French-Inspired Baby Food Recipes for Raising an Adventurous Eater by Jenny Carenco. I received the book yesterday (yay for Amazon prime!) and, after a quick flip through, am so excited to prepare some of the meals for Parker. I know it seems silly to need recipes for purees but Jenny's recipes sound so amazing they make ME want to eat baby food. In fact, this smart little book also offers advice on how to translate the baby food recipes into meals for the whole family to save on prep and cook time. There are also bits of info from Dr. Jean Lalau Keraly, a Pediatric Nutritionist and Endocrinologist.

If you have been following the blog, you know that Tuan and I love to eat out and try new food. I hope that this book will awaken Parker's inner foodie.

[Thank you for deciding that what your baby eats is important. Thank you for believing that taste is one of the most important senses that we have.]

[Turkey with Chestnuts and Apples]

[Baby Beef Bourguignon. Yum!]

[Paella for baby]

Bebe Gourmet: 100 French Inspired Baby Food Recipes for Raising the Adventurous Eater

Jenny Carenco with contributions from Dr. Jean Lalau Keraly

Available on Amazon