Making Baby Food

I got a few comments from ya'll about how to make homemade baby food. I am certainly not an expert, and often wonder how anyone ever parented without google. Either way, here is what I do to make delicious baby food for Baby Leo (and it is delicious, I have tried them all).

So far I have made, apples, plums, bananas, pears, avocado, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes and today I will be making green beans. Here are the steps I take . . .

1. Buy produce/supplies. You will need the fresh produce of your choice. Some items like peas or beans can be frozen. This will save you the nasty step of extracting the vegetables. Pay attention to price. Sometimes with out of season fruit, it may actually be cheaper to purchase a few cans of baby food, especially if it isn't your baby's favorite. You will also need freezer safe ziploc bags and several ice cube trays. You also need a masher/food processor/blender/mill of some sort. I have the kitchen food processor/blender-one of my favorite kitchen items.

2. Prepare your produce. Peel, slice, whatever the food requires. And then cook the food. Some produce (i.e. bananas, avocado, plums, peaches) do not require cooking. You can steam/microwave/boil. With boiling or microwaving, be sure the water just barely covers the fruit/veggies you are cooking. I do something different with each, and if I am making a bunch at the same time, this becomes a time saver. You can be microwaving sweet potatoes or frozen peas, steaming carrots, boiling pears and processing bananas all at the same time.
3. After the food has been peeled and cooked- it is time to process it. Add it to your food processor with water-if you used water to prep or cook the food, use that water in your processor. Just add a little water at first and add more to get to desired consistency. If you will be adding rice cereal, you may want to make it more runny. But you can also add water when you serve it later. Also, don't be afraid to add spices. If your baby has been breastfed, they are already experiencing spices anyway. I added cumin and cinnamon to the sweet potatoes, cinnamon to the pears, onion powder and a pinch of salt to the peas and avocado. Use your imagination, but don't overdo it.

4. Next pour the processed food into ice cub trays and freeze it. You can mix if you want, but I prefer to keep them separate and then mix when I serve it to Baby Leo. Make sure it freezes all the way before trying to take them out, but try not to let them go over night because they will get a little freezer burned.

5. Once frozen, take them out of the trays and place them in a freezer safe plastic bag. Write what is on the bag and the date. Most of the websites I checked said that the food would be safe for four months in the freezer. The best part about using ice cube trays is you get a smaller portion. This is perfect for your babe who is just learning how to eat food. Also perfect for the baby that is a little bit picky. Say your baby's favorite food is bananas (like Leo), you can add a little banana to one of their least favorite (like peas for example).

6. When it is time to feed baby, take out the desired amount and microwave it. I microwave 3 cubes for about 45 seconds. Some foods heat up differently, so be careful of that. Always check the temperature and stir it well so there are no hot spots. Add more water if it needs to be thinner, or rice cereal or whatever. Place a bib on that baby and let them go to town!

I think that is all. Hopefully you give it a try. It will save you a ton of money (It cost me 78 cents to make 25 servings of organic carrots for Leo) and is even a fun project to get your older kids involved in. If you do it, let me know how it goes!

Also a Baby Leo update:

Leo is almost six months old. He can roll from his back to his tummy, but is generally content to just roll side to side. He loves toys and is learning how to blow bubbles. He is constantly making sounds, baba, mamama, and clicking. Sooooooooooooo cute. He is on his last day of antibiotics for his last ear infection. I took him into his well check and he had an ear infection-I didn't even know he is such a good boy. He has a mild allergy to pennicillin-so he has to take a different antibiotic that cost 3 times as much. Awesome. He weighs 13 lbs, 2 oz which puts him in the 5th percentile, so he is a tiny tike but is the 80th percentile for height. Since taking his meds though, his appetite has tripled so I am thinking he will start chunking up now. He takes two long naps during the day and one short one before bed. He sleeps from 7:30 pm to 7:00 am. He loves to get his diaper changed and look at himself in the mirror. His favorite food is bananas and plums. We just love our little guy and are so blessed to have him in our family. He is such a calm and content baby, he makes me want another one, dangit!