Baby Food Diary 10.

This is kabocha, the most popular baby food in Japan and it is sold in any supermarket there.  But here in the U.S., it is very hard to find...well, that's what I thought, but I was wrong.  I found it in the supermarket near me, and it was also being sold at the farmers market the other day.  Although kabocha here in the U.S. look a little different from those in Japan, I bought it to see if it tastes any different, and I found out it tasted the same.

So what is kabocha?  Sometimes it's translated as "squash" and sometimes it's translated as "pumpkin."  It is sweet, and very nutritious.
It is rich in beta carotene just like carrots, also it is known for a good source of Vitamin C, iron, and potassium.

Preparation is very easy, too.  I cut in half, then took out all the seeds.  Then, cut into smaller pieces, and boiled them for about 30 min.  When cooking kabocha, it's very important not to cut into too a small piece (I cut into 8 pieces this time.) and not to add too much water as it gets too soggy.

After about 30 min, its tough green skin amazingly becomes so soft and easily falls off by itself.  Then, I mash kabocha with a spoon and that is all.

My baby's reaction:  He loved it.

The first couple of scoops, I gave him just kabocha to see his reaction, and then, I mixed it with oatmeal and spinach.  The reason I mixed it with oatmeal was that kabocha is very fluffy so I figured if I just gave kabocha, it would not hold in his stomach too long.  (These days, my baby's appetite has been skyrocketing.)  Also the reason I mixed with spinach was simply because there happened to be spinach available and it is such a healthy food.

So far I introduced 10 things to my baby.  Woo hoo!  The more foods I introduce to my baby, the more interesting making baby food is becoming.  And this is only the beginning!!