Simple ham hock soup, safe for windy babies

Fool Proof Ham Hock Soup

This is an almost fool-proof ham hock soup! To us adults it might seem a little bland, because it's missing things such as onion and garlic, but my kids are onto their second bowl of it and my toddler licking the edges!

Best part about it (and why I was inspired to share it), is that it took me all of about 10 minutes of chopping and 30 seconds of blending to prepare it.

I do advise you make this recipe on a day you'll be home all day. Unless you prefer it to be done in the slow cooker. I opted to make mine on the stove in a big pot so once it was on we were inside the rest of the day!

Soups are generally easy to make, and such a nice comfort food for winter. I'm loving introducing solids to my baby over winter! With my son it was over summer and the food choices were completely different. With that in mind, I'll be adding another set of "First Fifteen Weeks of Food Introduction" for you when you purchase (so you'll be getting 2 for the price of 1!) because I've done things differently this time around. Not for any other reason than I'm following the seasons, and cooking with the seasons. Nobody wants soup in summer!

This soup is tried and tested on windy babies.

My darling girl has a sensitive digestive system - she either has reflux, or wind, or both! So I've been careful to ensure I avoid windy foods while I'm breastfeeding her. On top of that, I thought the ham hock broth might trigger some wind in her so I've removed any other 'windy' foods from the ingredients list. And I can confidently say it's a winner! She guzzled two bowls worth of soup, and there was no wind or reflux!

Wait til you see how simple it is to make. Even I was surprised it tasted as good as it did!

 

Simple Ham Hock Soup for babies

Ingredients: 

1 ham hock

2 carrots

4 celery sticks

2L filtered water

1 cup apple cider vinegar

(We opted for organic vegetables - when you have products without a thick skin to remove, like pumpkin for instance, it's best to buy organic where you can - as they're more likely to have spray residue - check out the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for more info)

Method: 

Bring the water to boil in a large pot on the stove

Once boiling, bring to a simmer

Add in the ham hock and apple cider vinegar

Simmer for 6-7 hours, checking the water level occasionally

Roughly chop the carrot and celery

Place into the pot and simmer for an hour

Take the pot off the stove, let it cool and remove the hock

Pull all the meat off the hock (it should fall off easily) and place back into the soup

Either eat with chunky meat and veg OR blend into the consistency of your choice

Serve with paleo bread!

Didn't I tell you - SO SIMPLE! You cannot get it wrong, it's perfect to set and almost-forget.

If your children are fine with windy foods, add in some onion, leek and garlic too for some extra flavour.