02/16

Baby Approved Recipes With CAER + Baby Ratatouille

As a mom, making sure my little ones are getting the proper nutrition is a top priority. As soon as they can start eating solids, I’ve always made my own baby food. Believe it or not—it’s actually easier than going to the store and buying some. All you need is a blender and voilá!

Not down to DIY? There’s actually a trusted company that does it for you. Caer, a California-based company, delivers fresh right to your doorstep. Babies, especially my Scarlett, love their culinary creations.

Caer’s mission is to move the needle on child nutrition by creating better products for the market and also by helping parents easily access information about child nutrition.

Caer was inspired by CEO and co-founder, Angela Sutherland’s first year of motherhood. During her pregnancy with daughter Elodie Caer Sutherland, Angela began diving deep into research about maternal and child nutrition. She was shocked to learn how important nutrition was— not only in the womb and the first six months of life— but for the first 1,000 days of life, a period of time now recognized by the medical community as critical for brain development.

Just like your baby, the meals aren’t one size fits all. With every baby, there’s a different plan, which grows with them stage by stage.

With the help of nutritionists and pediatricians, meals are designed to give children the right mix of nutrients for proper development. Every ingredient has a purpose. The baby foods are all organic, vegan, low-in-sugar, soy-free and gluten-free. Caer avoids the major allergens, such as nuts, to let parents decide how and when they want to introduce such allergens. The head chef, who is also a holistic nutritionist, helps further balance flavors to create foods nutrient dense enough for your baby — but delicious enough for adults.

As of now, Caer is only delivering in the Los Angeles area. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t get inspired to make your own. Later this year, Caer will unveil a media site that will share recipes, nutrition guides and honest stories from the often messy— and yet inspiring— trenches of parenthood.

Here’s a yummy recipe for their baby tested and approved Ratatouille:

Caer Ratatouille

Ingredients:

• 2 Summer Zucchinis (one green and one yellow crookneck)
• 1 bunch of Tuscan Kale (remove spines)
• 2 Roma Tomatoes
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1/2 Cup of Dry White Beans (soaked overnight)

Directions:

• Boil the zucchinis for 20 minutes or until soft. Mash and strain to eliminate excess water.
• Separately, in another pot, boil the kale for about 10 minutes. Drain and run the kale through the blender or food processor to the desired texture.
• Combine the kale with zucchini.
• Boil the tomatoes and red bell pepper. Allow ample time to cook down and for the red bell pepper to soften. This will take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hr. When soft, run the batch through the blender /food processor.
• Drain the white beans, which have soaked in water overnight,  and boil until soft. Approximately 30 minutes. Mash to your child’s texture preference.
• Layer the three layers to your liking. We typically layer the white beans on the bottom, followed by the zucchini and kale mixture, and finally topped by the tomato and red bell paper layer.  Buon appetito!

*For younger babies, it’s recommended to process the food to a very smooth puree, older toddlers can usually handle chunkier textures.

For more information about Caer and to order your own, visit their site.