Making Baby Food

I make most of my baby’s puree. (As long as it doesn’t have to be strained. I hate straining things.) I thought it was going to be a heavily labor intensive process, mostly based off the preconception I got from other mothers’ descriptions. Then I read a basic tutorial on making baby food in the crock pot, and had a “duh” moment – this could be so easy.

It’s really no more labor intensive than making soup. Cook vegetables until mushy, let them cool a little so they don’t explode in the blender, and then puree. I currently have two containers of cooked beets in the fridge that are waiting to be pureed and frozen. (I got partway through and then Max got sick. Really sick. EVERYWHERE. Sorry, too much info, I know.)

And storage is a snap – ice cube trays. Just fill each cube with puree, cover the tray with some plastic wrap, and freeze until hardened. Pop them out into a freezer bag, put it all back into the freezer and you’re set to go. Each cube is approximately one ounce, or two tablespoons.

Note: Getting banana puree out of ice cube trays is hard. If the bananas thaw at all (as in two minutes on the counter) then they form suction to the tray. So make sure to take just one tray of bananas out of the freezer at a time and immediately crack them into the freezer bags. Otherwise you may end up jabbing them repeatedly with a butter knife. Not that I have ever taken my frustrations out on frozen banana puree…



Beets just pulled from the freezer



Acorn squash from last month

We don’t use ice cubes in our house, so it was nice to finally have a good use for those four trays sitting in the cupboard. We used to keep a tray of ice in the freezer, but the few times we took it out for guests the ice had shrunk and turned opaque… So if you’re a guest in our house and you don’t tell us in advance that you’d like ice and your drink is not cold enough out of the fridge or tap then you’re out of luck.

Or you can grab a cube of applesauce and use that to cool your drink instead.

Below is a quick recipe for a concoction that tastes remarkably like pie filling. Max loves it, and hubby and I have been known to sneak a taste as well. If you’re not sure if your baby is old enough to eat the various ingredients check with your pediatrician.

Max’s Holiday Pie

3 cubes winter squash, pumpkin or sweet potato, thawed and warmed

2 Tbsp baby cereal (I use rice or oatmeal)

1 hardboiled egg yolk, crumbled

¼ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of cloves

Apple juice, warmed

Mix all of the ingredients together, using the apple juice to thin to the desired consistency.