Vaguely Moroccan Baby Cous Cous

Note: When I mixed up the first batch of this meal, I went gaga for it. I'd only made enough for E, but will be packing some for lunches for the whole family in the future.

I threw this meal together as a way to introduce baby E to some new textures and flavors. I had (unsulfered) dried apricots in the pantry, as well as raisins, and I thought that those might go well with cous cous and some spices. Sounds vaguely Moroccan, no? I did a little google search and it turns out I was right. I cooked up the apricots and raisins separately, boiling each in water until soft. Pureed each of the fruits and froze them in my freezer trays.


Vaguely Moroccan Baby Cous Cous
- 1/4 cup homemade veggie broth (see recipe here)
- 1/4 cup cous cous
- 1 cube (approx 2-3 Tbsp) pureed cauliflower
- 1-2 tsp each pureed apricot and raisin
- a dash-let cinnamon and cumin

Bring broth to a boil, add cous cous and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. I only used about 3 Tbsp of cous cous for this recipe, but make as much as your baby (and you) want to eat, adding more fruits/veggies if needed. To however much cous cous you want to eat add cauliflower, fruits and spices. Mix until well blended. Feed to baby.

What we're eating now

An updated list of popular fruit and veg combos from E (see previous post for more ideas). To be fair, she doesn't seem to dislike much.

Pear Banana Blueberry

Sweet Potato and Apple with cinnamon

Any combination of: Pureed Soup veggies (onion, carrot, celery and sweet potato with dill and parsley), Sweet Potato, Carrot, Cauliflower and/or Potato

Peas and Potatoes

Avocado and Banana

Pear (or Apple) Mango

Thinking ahead

Even though E is only on simple purees right now, I'm already thinking ahead to when she's eating chunkier foods with more ingredients. Ideally, I'd want her to eat the same things as her dad and me, just smashed or cut up into baby-sized bits. Which means her dad and I are going to have to start eating more wholesome meals more often. But there are a few meals in our repertoire that, with a few tweaks, will be very baby friendly. One such meal is something my husband affectionately calls Israeli Cous Cous Heaven. With a few tweaks (leaving out or cutting down on the tomatoes, lemon & spices) a nice baby portion could be reserved before adding the cous cous. I'd be inclined to give her some cous cous when she's big enough, but ideally she'd have more veggie than pasta in her bowl. I'm also excited to make crust-less potpies and cassoulets - some of my favorite recipes have biscuit toppings, so it would be easy to give her a portion with little to no crust.

Current favorite flavor combinations

I haven't cooked anything of note lately, but I have been trying out different flavor combinations with what we've got in the freezer. E's favorites include:

Peach, Pear & Prune

Mango & Banana

Carrot & Apple

Sweet Potato, Apple, Mango & Prune

Banana & Apple

Banana, Pear & Prune

Samosa Potato casserole and "round two" breakfast

Note the "New Mommy" mug, compliments of my sister-in-law

One of my favorite cookbooks, Veganomicon, has a recipe for Samosa Baked Potatoes, which is basically twice-baked potatoes with samosa-inspired spices (mustard seeds, coriander, garlic, ginger, cumin and turmeric) and veggies (onion, carrot and peas). I've made it a bunch of times before and always love it, but always seem to forget about it. I recently remembered it and decided to make it, but with a twist - instead of going through the hassle of scooping out and restuffing the potato skins, I decided to just coarsely chop the potatoes and cook it in a casserole dish. And to finish the meal off, I went with the book's suggestion and tried the Spinach and Tomatoes, which is simply diced tomatoes and spinach cooked up in some of the same flavors as the potatoes. Served up side-by-side they made a tasty, light meal.

There were plenty of leftovers, so a day or two later I threw some of the leftovers (potatoes and veggies) in a pan and made Indian hash browns. Served over a toasted English muffin it made for a quick hot breakfast for a mom sick of cereal and out of freezer muffins.

Yummy Mummy Meals

(Originally posted on Eat Well and Prosper, June, 2010)

I hope in the name of all that is good in this world that by the time anyone reads this I will have my baby in my arms and no time to cook. In preparation for this trying time in my life, I have prepared what I like to call "Yummy Mummy Meals." Over the past few weeks, my freezer and pantry been filling up with easy-to-reheat and easy-to-cook meals and ingredients.



So far we have:
Two Baked Zitis, cut into individual servings

One batch of Banana Muffins

One batch of Bakery-Style Berry Muffins from Vegan Brunch

One batch of Corn Muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking.


One batch of jam-filled bran muffins (some raspberry, some strawberry), also from The Joy of Vegan Baking.

One batch of Blueberry Pancakes with added flax for added yumminess

One batch of Cinnamon Rolls (although they're kind of sad, because the yeast didn't do it's thing... pretty sure I accidentally killed it)

Ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookie dough (Is it possible I've never blogged about my famous chocolate chip cookies? I'll rectify that soon enough, but suffice it to say, I made a big ol' batch of dough, rolled it into cookie-sized balls and froze said balls. Plan is to pop a few in the oven when I'm in the mood for a cookie.)

Tons of veggie broth (My "recipe": 1-2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks all roughly chopped, 2-4 cloves of garlic, dill and any other spices that seem good at the moment with as much water as my biggest pot can hold. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for at least an hour.)

A variety of cooked beans

Homemade pizza dough (I currently have enough for 4 pizzas)

Lentil Soup

Pita bread, tortillas & bagels (store-bought)

Three pints of my grandma's delicious veggie soup.



And my pantry is filled with pasta, dried beans, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, cous cous, rice, flour and all the usual suspects.