The Joys of Making Your Own Baby Food!!! (Not for my sister's viewing)

So this post is totally going to annoy my sister, but I get quite a few facebook emails about making my own baby food. So yesterday I made an enormous batch, I mean three hours in the kitchen kind of batch. Although, I was so focused on getting things done while the hubby was home, I didn't get any during the cooking process photos.

I made Butternut Sqaush, Acorn Squash, Sweet Potato, Zuchini/Yellow Squash Blend, Cherries, Blueberries, Mango, Apple, Sweet Peas, and Green Beans. I also have avocados on the counter ripening (is that even a word) for later.

 Here we have Mango, Green Beans, Blueberry, Cherry, and Sweet Peas. I will admit first off that the bluberries and cherries are not worth the mess, but I had them so I went ahead and made them knowing it would be a pain in the rear.

Green Beans, Sweet Peas, Mango (purchased in frozen section...natural, organic, no sugar added):

Use cooking instructions on the package. Then place cooked fruits and veggies in a blender or food processor and puree until desired consistency is reached. My lil'guy has been eating solids for quite a while but you may add formula, breast milk, or infant water to get a thinner consistency and allow for easier digestion.

Blueberry, Cherry (frozen):

Again you follow cooking directions on package. You then blend in food processor or blender. For the first time you want to put this puree through a sieve. You simply add puree to sieve and push through to get juice, then discard the skins that will remain in sieve.

This in my opinion is not worth the pain, so I put these items in a mesh bag baby food eater. Lil'man literally sucks this thing dry and the skins remain in the bag!!!  This is also great for teething...just take it directly out of the freezer and put into the mesh feeder.

 Acorn & Butternut Squash



 Wash outside of squash with vegetable cleaner. Cut in half directly down center. Remove seeds and guts with spoon. In a casserole dish place squash meat side down. Add water so that it fills half of the pan or comes up to cover a 1/4 of the squash. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until meat is tender and can be scooped out with spoon. Be very careful when you open the oven, because the water creates steam & the steam all releases at the same time. Yes I burned my face...so don't stick your nose in immediately...allow steam to exit & then get pans out. Scoop out meat into a blender or food processor and blend to desired consistency.

Sweet Potato

Wash outside of potato with vegetable cleaner and brush. Wrap in foil. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes. Cut potato in half and scoop out meat either blend with mixer or puree with blender or food processor until desired consistency, adding formula, breast milk, or water if needed.

Finger foods...once your lil'one can manage finger foods, I use the frozen sweet potato fries and bake them according to package. Lil'man loves these!!!

Zucchini, Summer Squash: 

Wash outside with vegetable cleaner. Cut ends off. Place in steamer for 20-30 minutes until you can easily pierce with a fork. Place in food processor or blender. This will be a bit watery as the vegetable itself has alot of water content. So you shouldn't need to add anything.

You can also cut these in french fry strips and steam for finger foods.

Apple

Wash outside of apple with vegetable cleaner, Peel, and core. Place apple pieces in steamer for 20-30 minutes until easily pierced with a fork. Food process or blend to desired consistency. 

Pear, Banana, Avocado

These are the easiest because you don't have to cook them. Avocado & Banana you simply peel and mash up. Pear you Wash, peel, and core & then puree in blender or food processor. Pear and Avocado are really good for digestion. 

Then you freeze the puree in ice cube trays or I use these from Amazon.  After they have frozen, usually over night Remove and place in labeled (item & date) freezer safe ziplock bags. Apparently they are good for three months, but I use mine up well before the three month expiration date.

Take out what you want as needed. I feed him the same food four days in a row to make sure he doesn't have a reaction & never introduce two new foods at the same time. You can read more about this as Wholesome Baby Food. I usually take out all the meals for the day at breakfast. I place the breakfast food in the microwave on the defrost setting for a few minutes. I leave the lunch and dinner portions on the counter until defrosted and place in fridge until I need them, warming them on defrost for 20 seconds. You can add baby cereal, cheerios, pasta, or meats to any of these as the stage requires.

Hopefully this helps and gives some of you an idea of how easy it is to prepare and freeze your own baby food & the advantage is that you know exactly what is going into your baby. Not that purchased baby food is bad, but this is what I choose to do & since I am able to stay at home it works for us! 

The finished product makes for a happy  chunky little monkey like the one below!!!