tell me about freezing homemade baby food

JolieMommy

first, what do you cover the ice cube trays with? i got cheapo ice cube trays from walmart but without a cover.

also, how long do you keep your food frozen? do you take out the cubes a day in advance and leave it in ziploc bags to defrost in the fridge or do you take it out the day of and leave outside to defrost?

if something was defrosted and wasn't eaten, do you refreeze it or put in the fridge? how long is it good to stay in the fridge?

 sorry i know , lots of questions.

bim38106

no cover on the ice cube trays. Once frozen I just stick the cubes in freezer zip lock bags.

I think most foods stay good for up to 3 months, frozen. I take them out as needed and stick them in the microwave frozen. 30 seconds is usually good for 1 cube, 45 for 2.

Once defrosted you can't refreeze. I try to use it w/in 24 hours. I'll sometimes push it to 3 days but no more.

Mama Jan

I didn't usually cover them.  Sometimes I'd put plastic wrap over the top but usually nothing.

 

Most food can be frozen for up to 3 months.  I usually defrosted in the microwave (just pop 'em in when you're ready to use 'em... doesn't take long).

 

You can put it in the fridge or even refreeze it if you wanted to.  It should be good for a few days in the fridge.

 

HTH

Mama Jan

bim38106:

Once defrosted you can't refreeze.

 

I thought you just couldn't refreeze if it had breastmilk in it?  I never read anything about not refreezing regular food, especially if it's been cooked first.

bim38106

Mama Jan:

bim38106:

Once defrosted you can't refreeze.

 

I thought you just couldn't refreeze if it had breastmilk in it?  I never read anything about not refreezing regular food, especially if it's been cooked first.

I always assumed it was like any other food.. once frozen then thawed you can't refreeze, unless you froze it uncooked and then cooked it and refroze it. 

HERE's some info on it.. Maybe not the best, but it was the first thing that popped up in Google

also I just read this:

Why shouldn't you re-freeze thawed food?

You can, physically, but repeatedly changing a food from frozen to thawed states is going to worsen the texture. Also, thawed food has a chance to accumulate more bacteria, which will gradually cut down on the product's longevity. 

 

jlb7640

You should cover them since bacteria can get in.  I bought little ice cube trays on Amazon that have little covers.

carrie4g

Check out wholesomebabyfood.com It will give you all the info you need.  I cover the trays with some of that sticky saran wrap. The ziplock bags weren't covering the trays all the way. once frozen, I pop them into freezer bags. I saved a bunch of glass baby food jars. I take out one frozen piece and defrost it. He eats the whole thing so I never have to save. Plus, it is so cheap if you're not comfortable saving until later just toss.

Luckystar2

I cover with cling wrap, its like saran wrap but it sticks so much better.  I wouldn't leave uncovered, but thats just me.

Wholesomebabyfood.com says up to 3 months but they recommend using within a month. We just started so it hasn't even been a month yet.  I doubt we'll be able to use things within a month, but should be able to in 3 months.

I take cube out right before dinner and throw in microwave, just make sure its not too hot.  I forget to take them out ahead of time to thaw in fridge or out on the counter, so its always last minute.

You should not refreeze. You can refreeze something if you cook it.  So you could use frozen peaches for baby food by baking them and then re-freezing them. Its ok to re-freeze cause you baked them. But if you are just thawing out the baby food that's already cooked you shouldn't refreeze.  So far we just do 1 cube for DD.  She eats all of it or most of it. I'm not about to save anything from that.  If she wants more I'll defrost a 2nd cube. But I don't defrost both at once yet because I'm not sure she'll eat that much yet.

food_chick

I cover them with plastic wrap and then store in freezer ziplock baggies.  If I remember I will take the cubes out ahead of time and thaw in fridge, but I've also left them on the counter for a little while to thaw quicker, but usually I'm a space case and forget to take them out ahead of time and thaw them in the microwave; like pp said about 30 seconds for 1 cube.

Wholesomebabyfood.com has great information on freezing homemade baby food.  It is a wonderful resource!