Pumpkin Pie Baby Food Puree

11/1/2019

It is pumpkin pie season again! I am super stoked about it. They are one of my favorite fruits, and a flovor that I look forward to each fall season. Pumpkins are chock-full of vitamins and minerals and consist of 94% water. They are great for your baby's eyes.

They can aid with digestion, relieve constipation, and are rich in antioxidants. Eating pumpkin bolsters the immune system, helps your baby sleep better, and is excellent for baby's growth and development. So, of course, this is the next flavor we will be testing out with Charles.

Pumpkin pie has been an American culinary tradition since it was brought to our shores by the earliest English settlers. It is hard to imagine a Thanksgiving or Christmas in my family without one at the dinner table. Pumpkin pie is the one dessert I make each year that makes me feel a little less far from home.

Here in France, you only see pumpkins sold during October for Halloween as a novelty item for children. Every year I find myself running in and out of random grocery stores, and fruit et légumes stands to look for that years' pumpkin haul. This year will be Charles' first Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I am really looking forward to preparing him baby-appropriate seasonal dishes.

I have tweaked my family's pumpkin pie recipes to be baby food-friendly, and I wanted to share them with you. Remember to check with your pediatrician before introducing new foods to your baby.

Pumpkin pie baby puree recipie

Here is my homemade organic pumpkin pie puree recipe, it is as always Charles tested and Maman approved. I hope you and your little ones enjoy it!

Ingredients

2 cups fresh organic pumpkin puree

*option substitute 1 cup of pumpkin puree for 1 cup of apple puree

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

olive oil

1 basting brush

How to make pumpkin pie puree

If you have never made pumpkin puree before and you are feeling a little intimidated, fear not. Pumpkin puree is a breeze to do. First, go out and purchase some small baking pumpkins, we call them sugar pumpkins if you are in the States. Each pumpkin should yield you roughly 2 cups of pumpkin puree when you are finished.

Preheat oven to 400° degrees

Next, cut the pumpkins in half, scrape out the seeds with a large soup spoon, or what I like to use is one of those scrapers that comes with the pumpkins during the Halloween season. Those things work like a charm.

Once you have scraped out the seeds and the stringy bits from the inside of the pumpkin. Then dip the basting brush in olive oil, and brush both sides of the pumpkin.

Placing each half of the pumpkin with the skin facing upwards in a large baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack.

Let the pumpkin roast for 40-60 minutes. Bake until tender, you should be able to pierce the skin with a fork. Once tender, remove the pumpkin from the oven. Set aside to cool 10-15 minutes. Do not let it get too cold, as the skin tends to adhere to the flesh a bit once cooled completely.

Next, you can either scrape the pumpkin flesh out with a spoon into a bowl or do like me and peel it off the skin in strips once it has cooled down a bit.