As Scarlett's six month birthday approached, I was elated to break out the ice cube trays and food processor. My excitement actually got the best of me and instead of waiting till she turned six months, I started at five and a half months. Brandon assured me that he nothing bad would happen if I started her on baby food two weeks before she was six months. So at five and a half months, Miss Scarlett become a baby food eating monster! She loves eating and I've had so much trying new flavors on her. In the beginning of the process, I was certain she was going to be just like her daddy and be a finicky eater, but as time has passed, she is proving to have a very good palate!
DIY baby food is extremely easy and if I ever have a question or I'm doubting whether something can be frozen or not, I can google it or refer to my pinterest babyfood board. I also have a great baby food cook book I can refer to. There are plenty of foods that you can either mash up or throw in the food processor without cooking such as: bananas, avocados, ripe peaches, mangoes, papaya, melons, and I"m sure there are more but these are the ones I've experimented with so far.
Here are a few pictures of the baby food I've made for my Scarlett:
pureed cantaloupe, one of her faves!scoop it out and throw in food processor, easy peasy!
Pureed Zucchini
peel skin off, slice it, boil it for about five minutes, strain it, and then puree!
Sweet Potato
bake it oven at 375 for about 30 min or soft, scoop out the yummy inside, puree and FREEZE!
Applesauce
skin apples, slice and core them, boil them in a large pot with a cinnamon stick
for about ten minutes or until soft, strain the apples, puree and freeze!
(if too thick you can use some of the water from the pot you cooked them in)
Carrots
slice carrots, cut them up, boil them, drain water, and puree,
if too thick add some of the water you boiled them in and then freeze!
There are two here: blueberry, pear, banana &
cauliflower and tomato au gratin
for the fruit one, add pears and blueberries (I used 2 pears, a handful of blueberries)in a skillet and simmer for about five minutes, throw in processor with one slice banana, puree and freeze!
Cauliflower baby food
I bought frozen cauliflower and threw half the bag into boiling water and cooked it until soft, while that was cooking, I sauteed two sliced and seeded tomatoes in two tablespoons of butter until they were soft and then took skillet off of stove and added 1/4 c. of cheese and stirred it until cheese was completely melted, added that combination with the strained cauliflower into food processor, pureed, and froze!
peel skin off, slice it, boil it for about five minutes, strain it, and then puree!
Sweet Potatobake it oven at 375 for about 30 min or soft, scoop out the yummy inside, puree and FREEZE!
Applesauceskin apples, slice and core them, boil them in a large pot with a cinnamon stick
for about ten minutes or until soft, strain the apples, puree and freeze!
(if too thick you can use some of the water from the pot you cooked them in)
Carrotsslice carrots, cut them up, boil them, drain water, and puree,
if too thick add some of the water you boiled them in and then freeze!
There are two here: blueberry, pear, banana &cauliflower and tomato au gratin
for the fruit one, add pears and blueberries (I used 2 pears, a handful of blueberries)in a skillet and simmer for about five minutes, throw in processor with one slice banana, puree and freeze!
Cauliflower baby food
I bought frozen cauliflower and threw half the bag into boiling water and cooked it until soft, while that was cooking, I sauteed two sliced and seeded tomatoes in two tablespoons of butter until they were soft and then took skillet off of stove and added 1/4 c. of cheese and stirred it until cheese was completely melted, added that combination with the strained cauliflower into food processor, pureed, and froze!
I've also given her avocados, which I recently read on a blog that it can be frozen in the trays if you decide to puree them and add bit of water to create a smoother puree. I've always just mashed mine up and eaten the other half.
More combos I've tried:
mango and banana (freezes)
zucchini, potato, carrot, and a small amount of chicken (freezes)
carrots and zucchini
squash and zucchini
apples and sweet potato
After you've frozen your purees, store them in freezer bags. I always label my bags with the date and flavor. I've read purees last around six months in the freezer, however I never cook enough for it to be stored in the freezer for that long.
I hope I've proven that making your own baby food isn't as intimidating as it sounds. It's really exciting to experiment with different fruits and veggies and watch my Scarlett's reaction to new purees. There are a LOAD of websites and literature that can help make this an easy peasy and pleasurable experience!
Here's to happy pureeing!
More combos I've tried:
mango and banana (freezes)
zucchini, potato, carrot, and a small amount of chicken (freezes)
carrots and zucchini
squash and zucchini
apples and sweet potato
After you've frozen your purees, store them in freezer bags. I always label my bags with the date and flavor. I've read purees last around six months in the freezer, however I never cook enough for it to be stored in the freezer for that long.
I hope I've proven that making your own baby food isn't as intimidating as it sounds. It's really exciting to experiment with different fruits and veggies and watch my Scarlett's reaction to new purees. There are a LOAD of websites and literature that can help make this an easy peasy and pleasurable experience!
Here's to happy pureeing!
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