Mealtime Magic: Sweet-and-Savory Lamb Stew from The Multi-Cooker Baby Food Cookbook

I recently had a chance to review The Multi-Cooker Baby Food Cookbook: 100 Easy Recipes for Your Slow Cooker, Pressure Cooker, or Multi-Cooker by Jenna Helwig.

Helwig, the author of Real Baby Food and Baby-Led Feeding and the food director of Parents and Health magazines, is an expert when it comes to creating healthy, homemade baby food. She’s demonstrated her delicious recipes and cooking expertise on The TODAY Show, in videos for Parents, and in features for Bon Appétit and Health.

With this recipe book, parents can make home-cooked baby food no matter how busy their schedule is. The book includes sections about making simple purées for early eaters, to finger foods for beginning self-feeders, to options that encourage adventurous eating with kid-friendly tastes but also with a little bit of sophistication.

I made baby food for my kids most of the time - they were less picky with what I made, it was easier just to purée what I was already making than to buy more, and it was way cheaper. While there are lots of crazy complex recipes, it can be quite simple - and this book does a good job of including both super-simple options and options that will make the whole family happy.

The book also includes Jenna’s tips for raising a happy and healthy eater, including the best solid foods to start with, how to introduce potential allergens, nutrition information, and more. 

Enjoy this recipe, excerpted from The Multi-Cooker Baby Food Cookbook: 100 Easy Recipes for Your Slow Cooker, Pressure Cooker, or Multi-Cooker © 2019 by Jenna Helwig. Photography © 2019 by Lauren Volo. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Sweet-and-Savory Lamb Stew

MAKES 2 CUPS

With its chunks of meat, carrots, raisins, and chickpeas, this hearty main is ideal for self-feeding, but it can also be puréed or mashed for spoon-feeding.

½ pound boneless lamb stew meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons golden raisins

½ cup cooked or canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained if canned)

½ cup low-sodium beef broth

1. Combine all the ingredients in the multi-cooker. Lock the lid and set to cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. When cooking is complete, press “Cancel” and carefully quick-release the pressure.
2. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the lamb mixture to a bowl or storage container, reserving the cooking liquid if puréeing. Before serving as a finger food, gently smash the chickpeas, and chop or shred the meat. If puréeing, blend the lamb mixture with the reserved cooking liquid in a standard blender or with an immersion blender.

Slow Cook It: Double the recipe, using 1 cup beef broth and 1 cup water. Place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the lamb is tender.

Nutrition per serving ( ¼ cup): 66 calories; 7g protein; 2g fat (1g sat. fat); 5g carbohydrates; 1g fiber; 2g sugars; 52 mg sodium; 11mg calcium 0.9mg iron; 152mg potassium; 1mg vitamin C; 1,277IU vitamin A