To follow-up with the “Cooking Chicken” post, I experimented with purees.  This is just a very basic combination of cooked chicken, butternut squash, oil and coconut flour.  It holds together just well enough to make each bite a correct ratio.  If allowed to sit, the fat will begin to separate, but just give it a stir and it will be ready to go.  The purpose of the coconut flour is to “hold” some of the fat and act as an emulsifier.  I did run this ingredient by Beth Zupec-Kania (who verified with an allergist) regarding feeding infants coconut flour.  Unless there is a sibling or parent who has an existing severe food allergy, there is no reason to avoid coconut products in young children. Please click the link to download a great PDF file on how to read food labels for allergies.

How To Read Label

The recipe below makes a 400 calorie portion.  You can easily divide it after mixing into 100 calorie portions.  When I made this, I actually made 4 batches of the 400 calorie servings at one time, totaling a 1600 calorie batch (or 16, 100 calories servings).  I did this because at that quantity, it is enough to use a regular size food processor to mix it all together.  If you happen to have a smaller food processor, a smaller portion would be fine. I would consider the texture of this to be similar to a “2nd stage” food.  If someone ever tries this a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, let me know how the puree turns out!

402 calories

4.02:1 ratio

7.76g protein

2.25g carbohydrates

Ingredients

23g cooked and pureed chicken breast

16g cooked butternut squash, diced

3g coconut flour

39g oil

seasonings

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor.  Run the processor until it is smooth.  Divide into portions and store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Notes

Don’t shy away from seasoning purees, they do not have to be bland! Avoid over salting (of course) but consider different herbs and spices to change the flavor of a basic puree.  Simple dried italian herbs, curry powder or Chinese 5 spice blend would make the same ingredients taste like an entirely different meal.

To help the puree hold together even better, use part coconut oil or butter.  When the fat hardens at cool temperatures, it will thicken and hold all of the ingredients together.