Chicken with Apples

Meats. Yet another interesting adventure into world of textures. Due to her sensitive tummy, Little Joy did not sample any meats until 9 months per the advice of our doctor. I would recommend asking your doctor before introducing any meats. Our doctor encouraged us to start with chicken, then move to turkey then beef and any other meats.

We decided to start with the Chicken and Apples recipe on wholesomebabyfood.com (you will have to scroll down a bit to find it) since Little Joy loves apples. There is not much to this recipe so I did not take any photos this time.

Warning: Meats are not only odd tasting, they are texture radically different from anything your baby has probably had. Be prepared for rejection and remember our mantra "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"!

Ingredients

• Cooked chicken (I used 2 chicken breast)
• Applesauce from 2 apples (here is our applesauce recipe) or you can buy natural applesauce

Steps

1. Bake chicken (baking maintains the most nutrients, but if you have to cook another way thats fine)
2. Refrigerate the chicken after it cools and before you cut it (its easier to puree if it is cold)
3. Meanwhile, Make applesauce (here is our applesauce recipe)
4. Cut refrigerated chicken into 1 inch cubes
5. Place chicken and applesauce in food processor; add liquid until you reach your desired consistency and puree until the thickness you want. I did one chicken breast VERY pureed and left the other a bit thicker to see which she liked better
6. Freeze in cubes for up to a month; serve WARM

Timing: 9 Months (ask your doctor though)

Yield: Knowing that chicken may take several introductions I put less in the cubes for freezing than I normally do. This made about 12-16 oz of food. We may have trouble using it all!

Storage: In the fridge about 2-3 days, in the freezer about a month

Epicutie Rating: Sour Puss-see right side of page for rating descriptions. Little Joy would only eat 2-3 bites before she was signing "finished". We have tried it several times since the initial introduction and she eats more each time. I have a theory that she will like chicken better when she can have it has a finger food. She has enough teeth to eat it that way, but I am scared she will not chew it up enough and then it would be hard to digest.

Difficulty: 2 out 5; its easy just takes a while to make it since you *should* wait for the chicken to cool completely