Baby girl had her first puree about a week short of 6 months. It was a puree of leftover avocado and lime zest. Ever since that first taste of food, our lives have never been the same. Like her mom, she loves food! Not only does she love food, but she loves “good” food. I think I’ve turned my child into a baby foodie.
I am very mindful of the food that I put into my own body; I limit the processed food I eat, cook at home as much as possible, eat natural and organic foods when I can, and do my best to have a well balanced diet. I’m doing my best to do the same for the baby. I’ve found the best way to control what’s going into her body is by making her own food.
When she started solids I made homemade purees. We moved to finger foods pretty quickly by adapting some of the ideas from Baby Led Weaning.
I want to start sharing some baby recipes with you as I experiment with my little one. This first recipe is for Turkey Meatballs. I will share the recipe exactly as I make it but it also includes alternative ingredients for children with allergies.
These meatballs are packed full of flavor but don’t contain any added sugar, salt, or gluten. 3/4 cup of grated sweet potato are mixed into the ground turkey to add additional nutrients.
The first step in the recipe is pureeing a whole egg with red onion. I found that this puree is a nice binder and it assures that there are no chunks of onion in the meatballs.
I use oat flour in this recipe. Oat four is literally just old fashoned oats pureed to a powder. Don’t buy oat flour, just make your own or substitue with breadcrumbs.
I found that these bake best on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. If you don’t have parchment paper you can use a sheet pan that’s been sprayed with nonstick spray… but parchment is best. 
If you have a toddler you can serve the meatballs just as they are. With my nine month old I choose to cut the meatballs into bite size pieces before serving.
Tiny Turkey Meatballs: Infant and Toddler Recipe
These meatballs can be eaten on their own or mixed with other infant foods. They should be eaten within a few days or can be frozen for up to 6 months. These are best fed to infants eating stage 3 foods or to toddlers and kids.
The raw meatballs are very sticky before going into the oven so be mindful of this when shaping them into balls. It might be helpful to rub your hands and fingers with oil before forming the balls.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup diced red onion (about 1/2 of a small red onion)
- 1 egg (if your child has an egg allergy you can omit this or replace with 1 tbl of mashed avocado)
- 1.2 lb ground turkey
- 3/4 cup raw sweet potato, finely grated
- 1/4 cup oat flour (if you don’t have oat flour you can use standard breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper (if you don’t have parchment paper spray the sheet pan with nonstick spray).
- In a blender combine the red onion and egg and blend until pureed.
- In a large bowl combine onion and egg mixture with the remaining ingredients. If the mixture is too loose add a little more oat flour until the consistency is firmer.
- Using a melon scoop, portion the turkey mixture into 1 inch meatballs and place evently spaced on the parchment lined sheetpan.
- Bake meatballs for 20 – 22 minutes.
- Let cool and serve!
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What makes a carbonara a carbonara? Pasta, egg, pork, and cheese. With these simple ingredients you can come up with a vaiety of carbonara combinations such as bacon and parmesean, or sausage and pecorino… The opportunities are endless.
