Making baby food

ElRuby

I was hoping we could have a thread dedicated to sharing ways we are making our own baby food.... After scouring the baby food aisle I am thinking it may be easier and cheaper to make my own... I want to think of meals for my whole family that easily purée into baby foods so I am not constantly buying regular meals and baby food separately. Thanks!

7425cait

I made chicken pot pie the other day with frozen peas and carrots. I used half for the pot pie, then boiled the rest in a little bit of water. Hit with an immersion blender and froze it in an ice cube tray. Same with sweet potato. One for my husband and I, and then boiled the other one and puréed it for LO. I take the cubes ones they're frozen, and put them into quart size Ziploc bags, and throw all the bags into a gallon sized one so they're all in one place. When she's ready to eat it, I either defrost it on the counter, or stick it in the microwave for 15 seconds.

47923ang

I baked 2 acorn squash, dh and I ate one, and I pureed and froze the other.

YouAreMySunshine15

I do the ice cube tray/ziploc as well. But I peel, chop, and then steam my veggies before pureeing. I haven't made my own fruit purees yet. I'll probably do the same thing, or bake them.

47923ang

In my freezer right now, cubes in ziplock...

Acorn squash--baked, scooped out of peel, pureed and froze
Sweet potato--peeled and baked 3, mashed and froze
Carrots--1 bag of organic baby carrots, boiled, drained and rinsed, pureed and froze
Green beans--from frozen, boiled, pureed and froze--weird texture. Babies don't like the texture. I'll throw them into smoothies.
Peas--from frozen, boiled, pureed and froze--weird texture, babies don't like them.
Bananas--mashed and froze
Apples--organic, boiled, pureed and froze (peel on)
Pears--organic, pureed and froze

I'll buy from the store--peas, green beans, prunes

7425cait

^ yeah, the pea texture was way too much for LO. Will save that for when she can handle chunkier foods.

ElRuby

How about with meat, beans, or grains?

47923ang

I bought rice cereal and oatmeal cereal from the store for now. We haven't gotten to meats yet. I'll probably try to purée some chicken and beef to see what it's like. If it's weird I might just buy it.

7425cait

I was thinking about possibly waiting for those until she is able to eat finger foods. As for grains, she's eating beechnut oatmeal

ElRuby

DS loved lentils ... Earths best had a good mixed with lentils... But then again an entire bag of dry lentils I can make into something are only 99 cents... So looking into making something there lol

mishmardhiono

@ElRuby we have a sweet green lentils recipe if you'd like to try it with LO. It's super yum and so cheap too

ElRuby

@mishmardhiono thanks! Can you post it in here?

mishmardhiono

Yep, it's 250g of green peas or mung beans, 750ml water and boil until soft, drain that water and then add 250ml of coconut milk (we used formula), 3 bananas and 2 dates for sweetness to a blender and make it into a smoothie once it's all combined add to the mung beans, add back on the heat until it's thick again. It's really yummy with the coconut milk for us but LO loves it with formula milk.

henrytviii

@ElRuby You can literally puree anything as long as its not too salty or worries you allergen wise. An immersion blender lets you do small batches. We often just do a little of what we are eating. Meat, rice, beans, veggies. Really anything that's not too salty, sweet or processed.

beckyk9109

I'm pretty much in love with my Baeba 4in1 steam cooker and blender. Previously I was baking veggies (which my sweet potatoes would take forever!) then pureeing them. But with my Baeba, a sweet potato is steamed and ready to be puréed in 15mins. Sure I can't make as big of a batch at one time, but the cut down on steam time vs bake time makes up for it! I would highly recommend it!

Mommaswizz

Not sure if anyone else owns a vitamix but I plan on using this as a guide to make LO's food.. ya know when i stop being lazy.

https://www.vitamix.com/Recipes/Baby-Food-Purees/C-Series/Variable-Speed/Classic-64-Ounce

klirwin82

I have a Beaba and a Vitamix. Stared at them last night for awhile then broke out the Earth's Best carrots and a spoon. I swear if LO would go back to just one MOTN session I would have the energy to do this.

47923ang

When I purée a veggie in my food processor, I make myself a smoothie afterward. Get myself some veggie nutrients that I wouldn't normally add to the smoothie.

ElRuby

I puréed bananas mixed with a little formula in the nutribullet and added a little oatmeal cereal... Nice variation for lunch although far from creative lol.

Emilywooddesign

I've been having a good time making baby food, I enjoy cooking a lot. So far I've made,

I find roasting most stuff makes it more flavorful.

Roasted peaches and cherries

Roasted pear and banana.

Roasted zucchini with mint

Steamed broccoli with some formula

Sweet potatoes with coconut milk

A few different kinds of squash roasted

Spinach and blueberries.

I add organic ghee to the veggie purées to make them taste a bit better and add some fat.

I'm grossed out to purée meat though.

7425cait

@Emilywooddesign I am so nervous when it comes to allergies. I shouldn't be (DH and I aren't allergic to anything). How did your pedi feel about pitted fruit and coconut milk?

Emilywooddesign

cait7425 said:

@Emilywooddesign I am so nervous when it comes to allergies. I shouldn't be (DH and I aren't allergic to anything). How did your pedi feel about pitted fruit and coconut milk?

meh, I never asked. The babies love it though and they haven't had any bad reactions or anything.

Emilywooddesign

Meh I never asked. The babies love it and haven't had any bad reactions to them.

7425cait

That's awesome. I would love to try some of your combos. What temp, and how long do you roast your stuff?

YouAreMySunshine15

And do you use oil or anything? Or just roast as is?

Emilywooddesign

I'm sorry guys I honestly can't remember how to tag people. Typically I roast stuff at 400, it depends on what it is and if it's cut into small pieces. I don't use any oil but I do use parchment paper ( I'm sure tin foil is fine too) just roast until it's soft and then blend it with my hand held blender. Squash and sweet potatoes take about an hour, Stuff in smaller pieces usually 30 mins-45 mins, just check them and when they look like they are done take them out, it's ok if they are a little bit undercooked because it keeps more nutrients and you're blending anyway. I always add a bit of boiled water if it needs thinning out.

7425cait

Thanks so much!

slr1229

I wish I had time do cook her food. Props to y'all!

beemaya83

I purchased the Baby Bullet from Target. It comes with a booklet with a list of great starter foods and what is recommended as low allergy foods (peas, squash, zuchinni, apples, banana, etc), it also guides you on what foods to introduce each month. So far I've made frozen Peas,fresh zuchinni, and fresh squash all organic. I leave the skin on and steam. Super easy and LO loves the veggies. I haven't introduced fruits yet afraid he might prefer the sweet stuff. But I plan to start him on banana mixed in with his rice cereal.

ETA: when in doubt, YOUTUBE has tons of videos on how to cook baby food. Seriously, it takes less than ten minutes to steam and blend veggies.

Emilywooddesign

I came across the website babyfoode.com. Tons of really good ideas for homemade baby food.

alcrimmins

How well do bananas and avocados freeze? Do they turn brown? These are the only things I haven't made in advance yet.

caitlincunn

Freeze the banana in slices not mashed. Stays much better. I thought about avocado but online said it won't stay good.

alcrimmins

Thanks @caitlincunn ! I guess I'll just have to eat the leftover avocado! #thestruggleisreal

47923ang

I froze avocado and it's ok. My babies don't like it, though, so I'm using it like guacamole when I eat tacos.

caitlincunn

Yeah avocados are hard..such a waste if you don't eat the whole thing! We haven't given lo any since her puking incident which probably wasn't related to the avocado since she had it before then. We always have them in the house so maybe next time we use one for tacos or burgers I'll give her some.

ElRuby

caitlincunn said:

Yeah avocados are hard..such a waste if you don't eat the whole thing! We haven't given lo any since her puking incident which probably wasn't related to the avocado since she had it before then. We always have them in the house so maybe next time we use one for tacos or burgers I'll give her some.

You can freeze the purees ... They may discolor but are perfectly fine.

ElRuby

^ sorry just saw that that didn't work too good for you!

dancegurl1118

LO hated avocados. And i agree @caitlincunn it was such a waste because of the small amount you use. But at least I got my fill of avocado those days

caitlincunn

Interesting. I didn't actually purée it, just mashed it up. Maybe actually blending it up with breastmilk would make a difference.

7425cait

^ I freeze guacamole allllll the time. The lime juice helps with oxidation. Not the same as fresh, but works when it's taco Tuesday.

ElRuby

I pureed it with banana and LO loved it... It made like a pudding texture.