Baby Food:Roasted Butternut Mash

Weaning is a totally new experience for any new parent. I have found myself wondering if I am feeding my little one the right things. Thankfully I am surrounded by new parents and that has made this journey a lot easier. As I mentioned in my previous post on baby food, my daughter generally eats what we are having. Occasionally I do prepare something separate for her.

Aside from porridge and baby rice, I found butternut worked well for her. It was among the first foods I introduced her to. I opted to bake the butternut as opposed to boiling it. As I said previously, baby food needs not be bland. I love sprinkling some cinnamon on the butternut.

Another plus for baking is you avoid peeling the butternut, granted you can boil with the skin on.

Start by washing the butternut, then halving. Scoop out the seeds.

Using a fork, pierce the flesh of the butternut.

Brush with some oil and sprinkle over some spice. I was out of cinnamon so I used nutmeg. In case you are not comfortable with spices,you can totally omit them.

Rub in the nutmeg and put the butternut face down on a baking dish and pop it in the oven. Yep, that easy.

Depending on the size of the butternut, this should take between 35 – 40 minutes to cook through. You’ll it’s ready when you pierce it with a fork and the fork goes through easily.

Doesn’t that look so good?

Perfectly baked.

Let it cool down a bit before scooping out all the orange goodness.

I am still perfecting the art of plating baby food so no plated photo. Just mash the butternut with a fork and voila. I served it with some chicken (recipe coming soon) and greens.