Making and thawing baby food

MsPurple24

I have several good links on making your own baby food, but I can't seem to find an answer to this question: how do I thaw one cube of food at a time?  Microwave on low power?  Room temperature for as long as it takes?

And are there foods that don't freeze well?  I have a very ripe avocado, and we're going to try that this weekend.  But can I freeze cubes of leftover mashed up avocado, or does that not work very well?  

Final question- if I'm going to mix it with breastmilk for consistency and nutrition, should I mix breastmilk into the avocado and THEN freeze it, or should I mix in fresh breastmilk after I've thawed the avocado and I'm ready to serve? 

Thanks!  I'm sure I'll have more questions....

lunabeam

I would typically take something frozen and let it defrost in the fridge the night before I wanted to use it, and then if it was still too frozen the next morning, I would use the defrost feature on our microwave for a short time. But microwaving on low power would likely be fine too!

I never tried freezing avocado. I would think it would get discolored, but would otherwise be okay. Maybe someone else will chime in who has tried it, though.

And as far as BM goes, I would wait and mix the defrosted food with fresh BM. Have you frozen and defrosted your BM yet?. Some women have issues with high lipase and defrosted milk tasting "off", so that's the only reason I would hesitate. If that doesn't describe you, then I think adding BM before freezing would be fine too.

mcunningham

i always just put a frozen cube in a ziplock bag and put the bag in a warm cup of water. it would thaw out pretty quickly.

i cant imagine that freezing avocados would turn out very well, but i never tried it. paige loved avocados so we would just refrig the leftovers and use them at the next feeding.

i also never used breastmilk to thin out, but i think if you do, i would use it after you have thawed it out, not before. then again, i always froze my milk when i was pumping, so i assume it would work the same way and maybe be fine?

lunabeam

Good point...if you're going to use the microwave at all for defrosting food, it would be best not to have the BM already mixed in. Don't want to kill off all the good antibodies!

SJBride05

I would thaw the cubes on 30% power in the microwave then add BM to get the right consistency.

I've frozen avocado and added a few (seriously like 2-3 drops) of lemon juice to keep it from discoloring, but the cubes still got a little brown on top. My mom just mashes as she feeds since it doesn't need to be cooked.

MsPurple24

Thanks so much!  That answers all of those questions for me!

 

Rynna

Lurker here- I put one cube of food in the microwave for 10 sec, and stir well.  Let sit for about a minute to "stabilize" (the temp really fluctuates for a bit after microwaving).

Avocado puree freezes very well.  It may turn a tiny bit brown on the top while it starts to freeze, and will turn rather brown on top if left in the fridge, but the consistency and flavor will stay the same.

Mix with fresh BM after you thaw. The consistency often changes, and you don't want it to be too watery when you thaw.  Also, it's just better all around. 

MsPurple24

Rynna:

Lurker here- I put one cube of food in the microwave for 10 sec, and stir well.  Let sit for about a minute to "stabilize" (the temp really fluctuates for a bit after microwaving).

Avocado puree freezes very well.  It may turn a tiny bit brown on the top while it starts to freeze, and will turn rather brown on top if left in the fridge, but the consistency and flavor will stay the same.

Mix with fresh BM after you thaw. The consistency often changes, and you don't want it to be too watery when you thaw.  Also, it's just better all around. 

 

Thank you, Rynna!  I appreciate it.

Using fresh breastmilk makes sense for a number of reasons, and I should have known that- but the whole solid foods phase is a bit daunting when you're planning on making your own.  Sometimes I come up with questions that I probably already know the answer to, but I think my brain is in I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing mode. 

Rynna

PS: I live in Santa Clara too.

NCSW

Avocado always froze well for me (aside from the slight discoloration on the top.) There are things that don't freeze well. Melons are one, but I can't think of any others off the top of my head.