Homemade Baby Puffs: Protein + Probiotic-Packed Finger Foods Filled With Quinoa, Brown Rice and Kale

I adore the whole concept behind baby puffs and currently, baby “R” thinks sitting in her highchair watching me blend things is outrageously entertaining. Huzzah.

Thus, I’ve been gifted with plenty of time to pull out my blender and practice my puff-making. It’s also really nice that I know exactly what’s gone into these little self-feeding snacks. No hidden-sugars, lecithin or sodium.

Instead, these are whole-grain hearty, protein-filled and probiotic packed.

This foundation for this recipe was originally inspired by the oh-so-amazing Barbara from BuonaPappa. I stumbled across her blog about four years ago. I’ve always just loved her wide range of baby-friendly food. If you have a chance, check out her zucchini baby birthday cake or her persimmon pear beet baby purree.

Anyways, hope you (and your babe) enjoy these puffs, they taste a bit nutty with a touch of sweet. Here’s to a mama-baby meal-time filled with plenty of pincer grips, all while eating something greenish.

I just borrowed my mum-in-law’s old NutriMill to grind my own quinoa + brown rice flour. Although, I’ve heard that you can use a coffee grinder, spice grinder or food processor to grind your own grains as well. The first time attempted this recipe I tried grinding the grains in my not-so-fancy blender.

The blender-made flour made sup-par puffs (the flour wasn’t nearly fine-enough).

Here’s a close-up look at the smaller-than-dime-sized dots on the parchment paper. Blush, I totally ran out of un-bleached parchment paper while I was making these. So, don’t mind the not-so-good-for-you-and-mother-earth bleached parchment.

Oh, well. Next time!

I love how well these puffs keep their color even after being baked. Aren’t they lush! On the second batch I burned the edges a bit, so you might want to make sure to keep an eye on the puffs so that you don’t get browning going on.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Organic coconut oil

• 2 egg yolks (vegan option: 2 tbsp chia seed mixed with 5 tbsp water - let sit for 5 minutes)

• 1 cup organic kale

• ½ cup organic apple sauce

• ½ cup organic mangos

• ½ cup organic brown rice

• ½ cup organic quinoa

• 2 tsp Aluminum-free baking powder

• ¼ tsp baby-friendly probiotic powder (vegan option: Nova Dairy-Free Probiotics)

Instructions

1. Make your own ultra-fine rice and quinoa flour by pouring both grains into a grain meal grinder and grinding.

2. In a blender add your liquid ingredients. Then add your 1 cup of your freshly-ground rice+quinoa blended flour and probiotic powder. Add your kale last.

3. Blend for about 6 minutes or so. I usually stop when the mixture looks like your typical puree.

4. Pour your blended creation into a pastry chef pastry bag. Squeeze out dime-sized dots (or smaller) on some parchment paper.

5. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes. Then reduce your oven temperature to 250ºF and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Each puff should still feel soft, not dried out.

6. Let puffs cool. Eat a few puffs to make sure the consistency is safe for your babe’s eating abilities/age range.

7. Store in an airtight container. I keep mine in the fridge.

XOXO,

Lemon

How did your own puffs turn out? I’d love to hear! Comment below with any tips/tricks of your own.