help me with making my own baby food :)

Starfish113

i feel like a huge slacker. so far i've made and pureed: butternut squash, sweet potato, apples, and bananas. that's it. i pureed some peas but they just seemed way too thick and a weird texture so i didn't feed them to dd (any tricks to that??).

what are some other good foods to puree? how do you store them? i got these great containers from babies r us, but i was thinking about trying the cube idea that i've read about on here. if you make cubes, do you just put the food into an ice cube tray? do you give them one cube per feeding? any help would be appreciated!

Pocky873

For the peas, after I steam them, I reserve the cooking liquid and puree the peas along with it to thin it out.  Note that you're not supposed to do this with carrots - too many nitrates in the cooking liquid.  I've used boiled water to thin out the carrot puree.

Other good foods to puree other than the ones you've already tried: avocados (these don't need to be cooked, but freeze right away, or they'll turn brown), green beans, carrots, bartlett pears.  I'm planning to try zucchini this weekend. 

The ice cube tray is a good idea - just make sure you know how many ounces they are per cube.  I use the Beaba silicone ice trays and those are 2 oz. per cube.  Annika's been eating only 1 oz. of solids per meal, so I defrost one cube, divide it in half, and then feed it to her. 

Starfish113

Pocky873:

For the peas, after I steam them, I reserve the cooking liquid and puree the peas along with it to thin it out.  Note that you're not supposed to do this with carrots - too many nitrates in the cooking liquid.  I've used boiled water to thin out the carrot puree.

Other good foods to puree other than the ones you've already tried: avocados (these don't need to be cooked, but freeze right away, or they'll turn brown), green beans, carrots, bartlett pears.  I'm planning to try zucchini this weekend. 

The ice cube tray is a good idea - just make sure you know how many ounces they are per cube.  I use the Beaba silicone ice trays and those are 2 oz. per cube.  Annika's been eating only 1 oz. of solids per meal, so I defrost one cube, divide it in half, and then feed it to her. 

oh crap, i've been giving daycare 2oz portions... do you think that's too much? they said the past two days she ate it all...

how about green beans? how are they to puree? i would think it would be hard because they get kind of stringy. and thanks for the tip about the carrots, i actually bought a bag of organic carrots to cook this weekend.

kate930

Starfish113:

oh crap, i've been giving daycare 2oz portions... do you think that's too much? they said the past two days she ate it all...

how about green beans? how are they to puree? i would think it would be hard because they get kind of stringy. and thanks for the tip about the carrots, i actually bought a bag of organic carrots to cook this weekend.

The amount depends on the baby. Mae eats 4 oz.

As for the peas and green beans, I put them through a food mill after pureeing. It really helps with the texture.

Here is a list of everything I have pureed: butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, apples, pears, mango, asparagus, spinach, mango, banana, avocado, blueberries, peaches, pumpkin, beets, grapes. I'm sure there is more, but that is all I can think of right now.  

Pocky873

Starfish113:

Pocky873:

For the peas, after I steam them, I reserve the cooking liquid and puree the peas along with it to thin it out.  Note that you're not supposed to do this with carrots - too many nitrates in the cooking liquid.  I've used boiled water to thin out the carrot puree.

Other good foods to puree other than the ones you've already tried: avocados (these don't need to be cooked, but freeze right away, or they'll turn brown), green beans, carrots, bartlett pears.  I'm planning to try zucchini this weekend. 

The ice cube tray is a good idea - just make sure you know how many ounces they are per cube.  I use the Beaba silicone ice trays and those are 2 oz. per cube.  Annika's been eating only 1 oz. of solids per meal, so I defrost one cube, divide it in half, and then feed it to her. 

oh crap, i've been giving daycare 2oz portions... do you think that's too much? they said the past two days she ate it all...

how about green beans? how are they to puree? i would think it would be hard because they get kind of stringy. and thanks for the tip about the carrots, i actually bought a bag of organic carrots to cook this weekend.

If Riley eats it all, there shouldn't be any problem giving her 2 oz. at a time.  I've tried giving Annika more than 1 oz., but she turns her head away and starts yelling to get out of the chair, so that's why she only gets 1 oz. 

Green beans were a little stringy, so I just blitzed them for a long time in the blender.  I've heard around here that you can also run them through mesh or sieve to get rid of the stringy parts.  You can do the same with the peas if there's a lot of particles after blending.

Starfish113

kate930:

Starfish113:

oh crap, i've been giving daycare 2oz portions... do you think that's too much? they said the past two days she ate it all...

how about green beans? how are they to puree? i would think it would be hard because they get kind of stringy. and thanks for the tip about the carrots, i actually bought a bag of organic carrots to cook this weekend.

The amount depends on the baby. Mae eats 4 oz.

As for the peas and green beans, I put them through a food mill after pureeing. It really helps with the texture.

Here is a list of everything I have pureed: butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, apples, pears, mango, asparagus, spinach, mango, banana, avocado, blueberries, peaches, pumpkin, beets, grapes. I'm sure there is more, but that is all I can think of right now.  

you make me look bad :P

pears and mangoes sound good! i was kind of eyeing them in the store yesterday wondering about them. do you bake them and then puree them too? i also like the idea of spinach.

i have no idea what a food mill is, but i'm off to google!

how's your little high needs girly doing at daycare lately, btw?

kate930

Also - I freeze them in normal ice cube trays, which I measured as 1 oz. I used to do the 2 oz containers, but now I like having them in 1 oz portions. I pop them out and freeze them in labeled zip-locs. 

When it comes time for dinner I pick 2 cubes (either the same or two different), defrost, and mix them together. I like doing the 1 oz cubes because it allows for lots of different mixtures.

I add about 1-2 oz of oatmeal to her lunch meal. 

kate930

Starfish113:

you make me look bad :P

pears and mangoes sound good! i was kind of eyeing them in the store yesterday wondering about them. do you bake them and then puree them too? i also like the idea of spinach.

i have no idea what a food mill is, but i'm off to google!

how's your little high needs girly doing at daycare lately, btw?

She is doing great! Thanks for asking! I'm glad I was patient, because she is now thriving. Her teachers are wonderful.

The pears I bake just like apples. I actually baked them with apples and cinnamon. It is M's absolute favorite meal. She has a sweet tooth. Mango I just put in the blender without baking. (She also loves mango.) The spinach doesn't sit well with M, so I have only done that once and couldn't get it quite pureed enough.

And, I am going to change what I said earlier. Pocky is right. I stopped using a food mill with the peas and green beans and instead pressed them through a sieve (much smoother!). I make huge batches, so it's been a while since I did it, and I am forgetful. 

Have you tried yogurt yet?  

Starfish113

kate930:

Also - I freeze them in normal ice cube trays, which I measured as 1 oz. I used to do the 2 oz containers, but now I like having them in 1 oz portions. I pop them out and freeze them in labeled zip-locs. 

When it comes time for dinner I pick 2 cubes (either the same or two different), defrost, and mix them together. I like doing the 1 oz cubes because it allows for lots of different mixtures.

I add about 1-2 oz of oatmeal to her lunch meal. 

that's awesome! i'm going to buy an ice cube tray or two on my way home from work! yeah i know, i should have some, but our fridge makes them automatically. thanks for your help!

KRMac

Hmmm, I've made:  sweet potatoes, acorn squash, butternut squash, summer squash, zucchini, green beans, peas, carrots, peaches, plums, pears, applesauce ...and avocado and bananas, but we just mash those with a fork.  We just haven't introduced the plums or zucchini yet.  

For peas and green beans, I added a little water (from our Britta) to help puree them.  We also introduced those more recently when DS was used to eating chunkier foods.  

We freeze in ice cube trays, I started with giving him 2 oz at a time (per our pedi) and bumped it up maybe a month ago to 3 or 4 oz at a time.   

Starfish113

Pocky873:

Starfish113:

Pocky873:

For the peas, after I steam them, I reserve the cooking liquid and puree the peas along with it to thin it out.  Note that you're not supposed to do this with carrots - too many nitrates in the cooking liquid.  I've used boiled water to thin out the carrot puree.

Other good foods to puree other than the ones you've already tried: avocados (these don't need to be cooked, but freeze right away, or they'll turn brown), green beans, carrots, bartlett pears.  I'm planning to try zucchini this weekend. 

The ice cube tray is a good idea - just make sure you know how many ounces they are per cube.  I use the Beaba silicone ice trays and those are 2 oz. per cube.  Annika's been eating only 1 oz. of solids per meal, so I defrost one cube, divide it in half, and then feed it to her. 

oh crap, i've been giving daycare 2oz portions... do you think that's too much? they said the past two days she ate it all...

how about green beans? how are they to puree? i would think it would be hard because they get kind of stringy. and thanks for the tip about the carrots, i actually bought a bag of organic carrots to cook this weekend.

If Riley eats it all, there shouldn't be any problem giving her 2 oz. at a time.  I've tried giving Annika more than 1 oz., but she turns her head away and starts yelling to get out of the chair, so that's why she only gets 1 oz. 

Green beans were a little stringy, so I just blitzed them for a long time in the blender.  I've heard around here that you can also run them through mesh or sieve to get rid of the stringy parts.  You can do the same with the peas if there's a lot of particles after blending.

awesome. maybe i'll try the mesh idea. thanks michelle

Starfish113

kate930:

Starfish113:

you make me look bad :P

pears and mangoes sound good! i was kind of eyeing them in the store yesterday wondering about them. do you bake them and then puree them too? i also like the idea of spinach.

i have no idea what a food mill is, but i'm off to google!

how's your little high needs girly doing at daycare lately, btw?

She is doing great! Thanks for asking! I'm glad I was patient, because she is now thriving. Her teachers are wonderful.

The pears I bake just like apples. I actually baked them with apples and cinnamon. It is M's absolute favorite meal. She has a sweet tooth. Mango I just put in the blender without baking. (She also loves mango.) The spinach doesn't sit well with M, so I have only done that once and couldn't get it quite pureed enough.

And, I am going to change what I said earlier. Pocky is right. I stopped using a food mill with the peas and green beans and instead pressed them through a sieve (much smoother!). I make huge batches, so it's been a while since I did it, and I am forgetful. 

Have you tried yogurt yet?  

riley is really thriving at daycare too! she's becoming less high-needs as she can move around more too, which is nice.

i love the idea of pears and apples! i am definitely buying pears and ice cube trays on my way home and looking into a sieve. thank you!!!!

Stephanie2167

I have a KidCo Food Mill I ordered from Target. It was like $15 and I used it for the first time on peas yesterday. It worked pretty well...although DD hated peas.

kate930

Starfish113:

riley is really thriving at daycare too! she's becoming less high-needs as she can move around more too, which is nice.

i love the idea of pears and apples! i am definitely buying pears and ice cube trays on my way home and looking into a sieve. thank you!!!!

Oh good! I'm glad she is doing so well. I think the movement has really been key for Mae. Now that she can get somewhere on her own and doesn't have to wait for the teachers, she is much happier. I always laugh about where I find her when I come to pick her up. Lately, she has enjoyed hanging out underneath the cribs.

Do you have any cookbooks? I have a Cooking Light baby cookbook and 100 Top Baby Purees. Both are very helpful and give lots of ideas. (That's where I saw the apples, pears and cinnamon.) M loves to eat, so it's very rewarding.  

Aimeelb1

So far I have made peas, sweet potato, green beans, pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, pears, avocado, apples, banana, prunes, peaches, and nectarines. I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

I bake/boil/steam the food, then use my blender to puree it. Then I pour it into 1 oz ice cube trays I got from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They have lids to cover them. I usually give Sophia 2-3 cubes per meal. She would eat more if I let her! She loves her solids.

I don't know if you've been to wholesomebabyfood.com but that is where I get a lot of my info and recipes from. Especially now that she can eat more/different foods. Good luck!