Sneaky Pinky Oat Bars (With Daikon Radish & Beets)

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats , uncooked

1 cup flour (we use whole wheat) 

1 cup orange juice

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup peeled grated mild daikon radish

1 beet (finely julienned, grated, or pureed)

Butter, oil, or cooking spray for greasing pan

(Optional, honey or agave to trickle over bars)

*For the newer eater, you may want to finely grate or puree ingredients.

*Keep in mind that the beet juice can stain!

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2 Generously grease a 9 x 13 inch pan, or two 8 inch by 8 inch pans. I like to use butter.

3 Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well.

4 The mixture should be moist enough to form a ball, without extra liquid. If too dry add a bit of water or orange juice

5 Put mixture in prepared pans and spread evenly.

       (Optional - drizzle with honey or agave for extra sweetness)

6 Bake for 30 minutes.

7 Remove from oven and cut into squares while still hot.

8 Wait until the bars cool before trying to remove them from the pan.

*Try these slightly warmed with almond or peanut butter, yuuuum!

Steamed Daikon Radish & Sweet Potato

First, taste test your daikon radish to test for peppery flavor. The long-thin ones are often very mild tasting with no peppery zing familiar to radishes.

First prepare the radishes, by gently washing and peeling. Trim off both ends of the radish. Cut into small bite-size chunks. Steam until very tender (in my Baby Brezza, this takes about 15 mins). Test a piece by seeing if it will mash easily with a fork. While these are good all by themselves, I like to serve them along with sweet potato or apple.

Carrots as a first finger food

Our 10 month old wants to be a big boy and eat on his own! So, just when I've got my baby food making down, now it's time to experiment with finger foods and new textures. See guidelines for finger foods here: http://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/finger-foods/.

I've started with carrots from our produce box and our little guy loves them. He is very excited to feed himself!


Finger food carrots for older infant

Ingredients:
-2 carrots

Directions:
1) Wash, peel, carrot
2) Slice into approximately 1/4 inch slices
3) Cut each slice into quarters or sixths (small chunks pea-sized or smaller)
4) Steam in steamer basket until easily pierced with a fork (approximately 15 mins) I steam on med-low heat, in a medium-sized pot with approximately 1/3-1/2 cup water, with pot covered.5) Test mushiness but taking out a few chunks and mashing them with a fork. The chunks should mash with little effort. This is important, you want your baby to be able to easily mash the carrots with their gums, otherwise, there is a choking risk.
6) Cool and serve (or store)