Homemade Baby Food

I decided early on that once Parker started into the solid foods I wanted to make my own. For some reason, I didn’t quite trust the baby food that had been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long. Plus, why is it that the baby food never smells like the food it is supposed to be. Seriously, carrots should smell like carrots. So, after looking at a few sites, I decided that I was ready to try. In the first try I made sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, squash, pears, and applesauce. Quite the endeavor, I know. That being said, I had so much fun! Who know that steaming vegetables and pureeing them would be that fun. For those that would like to make their own all I did was-

1.Buy the vegetables, or fruit.

2. Prepare the food, peel the food, take out the seeds if needed and then cut them into smaller pieces.

3. I steamed the food to make them softer. (you can also bake them) I steamed the food separately and once soft, moved them to the blender.

4. Start off with about 1/3 cup of water and add that and from there add the water as needed. You will want the food to be somewhat thicker in consistency, but not too thick.

5. Once the food is to the desired consistency you can either put the food into ice cube trays, or buy some smaller disposable freezer containers. I used Glad. You can use them again as they are dishwasher safe. I found those easier to use as Parker eats more at a sitting than the ice cube sizes. If you do decide to put them in the ice cube trays, once the food is frozen you need to transfer them to another container like a freezer safe bag. You can then freeze the food for up to 6 months. When you are about ready to use them, you can just pull them out of the freezer and stick them in the fridge to thaw. I really enjoyed making the food, glad that Parker enjoys them, and feel better about what I am feeding him.


Original Post April 2nd, 2008