I’m all about homemade baby food—it’s easy (especially when you use what you’re already cooking for yourself) and inexpensive, since you’re not buying jars. That’s why every recipe in my cookbook ends with a section called “Make Baby Food.” And why I’m speaking on the topic at a MommyBites luncheon on May 16. But surprise: Even though I prided myself on cooking nearly everything Harry ate in his early days, there were times when convenience trumped control. There were times when I turned to store-bought baby food.

I see that look on your face; you’re shocked. You think I’m some sort of fanatic about this stuff. Silly reader. I’m not a fanatic about anything—except that you should trust yourself to know what’s best for your own family.

If I had an infant today, I’d keep a stash of Plum Organics pouches on hand at all times. The company launched around the time Harry was born, with frozen purees. Since I kept jars on hand for their shelf-stability, I never tried Plum’s products. In 2009, when Harry was way past baby food, Plum introduced their fabulous pouches. My friends with babies swear by them—at the playground after school, I see all these little tots happily squeezing the food into their own mouths. How cool is that? So when Plum offered to hire me to create a family-friendly recipe using one of their purees, I said Yes, please!

My recipe, for slow cooker risotto, uses Plum Organics’ Spinach, Peas & Pear puree. It’s featured today on Plum’s new Little Foodies Cookbox on Facebook. They’ve got recipes from other food writers & bloggers, too—go check it out! I won’t be insulted if you leave me for a little while. As long as you come back. And you’re going to want to come back, because…

Plum Organics was kind enough to give me an assortment of their goodies for a giveaway. Entering to win is almost as easy as my risotto: Click over to Plum’s Little Foodies Cookbox and poke around, then come back and tell me which recipe intrigues you the most. (And no, you won’t get bonus entries if you choose mine!) If you “like” Plum Organics or Parents Need to Eat Too on Facebook, leave a separate comment saying so. And—what the heck—if you subscribe to Parents Need to Eat Too, via email or RSS, leave another comment saying that too. Leave all comment(s) by Friday, May 4, at 8PM Eastern time, when I’ll use random.org to choose a winner.

Slow Cooker Spinach, Peas & Pear Risotto, using Plum Organics baby food. How’s that for easy?

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