I tried looking all over online about preparing lentils for a baby. Basically all I could find said the same thing: "prepare according to package directions" and then puree/moosh/smash to consistency for your baby. So I simmered the lentils for 20 minutes on the stovetop. I noticed during the cooking that some of the shells were floating in the water, and by the end of the 20 minutes I had a pile of cooked beans whose skins had slipped off. It was all one big messy heap. What was I to do? Did I need to weed through this pile and get all of the skins? Could Brooke eat them? SHOULD she eat them?More investigation really provided nothing. I did read that much of the nutritional value was in the skin ... so I decided to make an attempt at pureeing the whole mess and trying to feed it to her. The first few bites she was definitely having a hard time with it and choked on the skins. Hmm. So I added pureed cauliflower, which made it better ... but still some choking. Finally I added some water and diluted the whole concoction. She ate all of it and despite the choking hazzard I can say that she does like lentils. Its her Mommy thats having a bit of a hard time with them. I'll continue to do some more searching to try to figure out how to best prepare them for her, for now I'm a bit clueless!
Update: It looks like I "overcooked" my lentils and thus they burst out of their skin. I think with a baby you might have to overcook them ... the mushy consistency is a desirable trait. But, I found an interesting article with a tip for cooking lentils that I might try with my next batch.
