Baby Food! (because babies eat too!)

I've been making a lot of my own baby food lately. There are several reasons (healthier, fresher, easier to store, fun to make...) but I'm doing it mainly because...well, I'm cheap. I got the idea one day when I was cleaning out the freezer. We were almost out of peas, E's favorite, so I decided to try my hand with my new blender.

I did a few quick online searches and basically they said to steam your veggies, mash them up and freeze them in ice cube trays. So, that's basically what I do!

So far, we've tried Peas, Mixed Veggies, Sweet Potatoes (I bake those, then peel them and mash them up), and lately been venturing into different combos.

Over the weekend, I made Cauliflower and Carrots, these were a little thicker, so I added some breast-milk into them, like I do with the sweet potatoes. I've read you can also use formula, and sometimes I add extra of the water I steamed them in, depending on the veggie--sometimes though, the steamed water can make it bitter, or so I've read.

In addition to the cauliflower-carrots, I made a couple fruit combos. Before this weekend, the only fruit I'd done was peaches (I would literally buy the frozen non-sweetened ones, thaw them out, mix them up and re-freeze them) so I was curious to see what he'd like. The first combo was an idea I had gotten from Chanda, a fellow baby-food maker. She said that her daughter loves fruit and yogurt so I thought, might as well! I took out my bag of mixed berries, added a banana and some yogurt, just like a smoothie, put in some breast-milk and blended away. I let E try it as I was filling the trays and ended up saving a bowl for him, he LOVED it.

I then decided I would try apples, So I cored one, skinned it, chopped it and steamed it in the microwave. I have a giant glad-ware container that works great for steaming since I don't have a steamer and well...probably wouldn't use if even if I did. While they were steaming I chunked up a kiwi and a banana, and grabbed a few of the berries he loved so much. After the apples were mostly soft, I dumped them and the tiny bit of juice/water that was in the container, mixed in the other fruit and blended it. I thought this one was a little bitter, but E loved it. (I think the problem was there wasn't the yogurt or any sugar that I'm used to, so it just wasn't as sweet.)

Overall, I'm pretty happy I decided to go on my baby-food making adventures, and will probably continue to do it, at least until he decides that he doesn't have to gag with texture...This weekend, I'm going to try chicken and pasta. I bought some Pastini, the itty bitty stars to try.


Tips:
I use my blender, usually on puree.
I blend the fruits/veggies both cold and hot, not really a difference as long as they are cooked.
When it's time to eat them, I usually set them out as I start cooking dinner, so they are softened by the time he's ready to eat. I have microwaved them for 30 sec at a time or so though when needed, stirring lots and usually letting it sit on the counter to come back to room temp.
If you're not sure how to cook something, look it up! I've used here a few times and here. I'm sure there are plenty of other great resources. If you know of one, please let me know!

Any combos you think I should try?