When I had Charlotte people would mention making my own baby food and I would almost convulse at the thought of it. So Charlotte ate 100% store bought baby food and while I did try to buy organic most of the times, often they didn't have as good a variety of combinations in the organic section so I would get non-organic.
But for some reason I had an itch to make my own baby food for James. I'm not sure why since I have four times less time as I did when I had Charlotte but, regardless, I decided to try it. A well meaning family friend gave me
The Baby and Toddler Cookbook when James was born and I finally put it to good use once James turned six months old.
On my first baby food outing I made sweet pea's and carrots. Then, over the weekend I made sweet potatoes. Not the most fun baby food but they have to start with the basics. I did make a run to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get some needed items -- namely a steamer basket and ice cube trays -- but other than that I already had everything that I needed.
I think the cookbook will come in more handy when I'm trying to think of new things to feed James but since this was pretty basic I just needed to know how long I needed to steam this stuff since I had never steamed anything before.
I was very happy with the end product (even though James still isn't a fan of the pea's) and especially with how easy it was. It took me less than an hour to make both of these batches and I got 24 cubes of baby food out of it. I'm sure that it will take less time when I'm more confident with what I'm doing and don't want to do one step, slowly, at a time to make sure I'm doing everything right!
And as far as storage goes, the cookbook that I have says that homemade food can be kept in the fridge for 3 days in an airtight container and in the freezer for 3 months. If you are defrosting frozen food defrost in the fridge and not on the counter.
I am going to try and share recipes as I come across them but I also started a
Pinterest board for it too in case you're interested and want to check it out. Before you start cooking I'd check out the
"Dirty Dozen" list to make sure you buy organic produce that's listed on the dirty dozen.
Baby Food: Sweet Pea's
1 package frozen pea's
1. Fill pan with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil.
2. Place steamer into boiling water and pour pea's into steamer.
3. Let pea's steam for about 5 minutes, or until they are bright green and easily smash-able with a fork.
4. Run pea's under cold water to stop them cooking. Reserve cooking liquid.
5. Pour pea's into a food processor (or blender). Puree until they are the desired consistency, adding cooking liquid/milk to help thin out the mixture.
6. Pour into ice cube trays and cool until they are room temperature. Cover with saran wrap to seal them. After they are frozen you can transfer the cubes into a plastic bag.
Baby Food: Carrots
1 bushel organic carrots
1. Fill pan with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil.
2. Place steamer into boiling water and pour carrot's into steamer.
3. Let steam for 6-8 minutes or until they are tender.
4. Remove carrots and run under cold water. DO NOT reserve cooking liquid.
5. Pour carrots into a food processor. Puree until they are the desired consistency, adding fresh water/milk to help thin out the mixture.
6. Pour into ice cube trays and cool until they are room temperature. Cover with saran wrap to seal them. After they are frozen you can transfer the cubes into a plastic bag.
Baby Food: Sweet Potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
1. Scrub the sweet potatoes clean.
2. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 - 60 minutes or until they are soft when you prick with a fork.
3. Scrape the insides into a food processor or blender.
4. Blend until you reach your desired consistency, adding water/milk as needed to help thin out the potatoes.
5. Pour into ice cube trays and cool until they are room temperature. Cover with saran wrap to seal them. After they are frozen you can transfer the cubes into a plastic bag.
(Step 5)
Even though James wasn't the biggest fan the first time he tried them, he ate the peas better than cereal!
