My kitchen is in baby mode these days! My little 6 month old Adiel just loves her food! She pretty much likes about anything I'll give her--except carrots! So I just thought I'd share with you what I do for baby food. If I can help it, I don't buy baby food locally--first off, its expensive--$1 a jar for the cheapest stuff. Secondly, there are very few plain, decent options. Even the first foods are often mixed fruit and mixed veggies (you're supposed to introduce them individually first!). The next stage of foods has WEIRD things in it--like funky fish flavors. And, back with my first, there weren't any baby foods available so I made my own whether I wanted to or not! So I've just continued to do that. It saves us money, and I know what my baby is getting. That said, I did just buy jars of baby food for a trip to the mountains this week! For the above reasons, it was a bit stressful for me!
My go-to site when I'm ready to start introducing solids is Wholesome Baby Food. I've been using it since my first baby. They have some really useful information about when to introduce which foods. They also have tons of nutritional information and recommendations on how to cook different fruits and veggies. I also found their information on nitrates helpful. So spend some time looking at their site! It is a wealth of information that I am not going to reiterate here! In general, they recommend baking things as that retains more of the nutritional value of the food. However, sometimes you just do what you need to! Boiling is often quicker (like in making applesauce).
After you have baked, boiled or steamed your food, puree it in a blender or food processor (adding water if necessary). I then take clean ice trays and pour or spoon the puree into them. Freeze them, then dump up the cubes into ziplock bags to keep frozen. I take out a couple cubes at a time and thaw in the microwave when my baby is ready to eat. If you don't have a microwave, just remember to set the cubes out to thaw a couple hours before you need them. Just so you know, most foods get more watery after freezing, so try to keep them on the thick side when pureeing. Zucchini is the worst about this! So I keep plenty of rice cereal on hand to thicken it up with when ready to eat!
I have several recipes I want to share that use fruit purees here before too long! So this might be helpful to more than just those with a baby!
After you have baked, boiled or steamed your food, puree it in a blender or food processor (adding water if necessary). I then take clean ice trays and pour or spoon the puree into them. Freeze them, then dump up the cubes into ziplock bags to keep frozen. I take out a couple cubes at a time and thaw in the microwave when my baby is ready to eat. If you don't have a microwave, just remember to set the cubes out to thaw a couple hours before you need them. Just so you know, most foods get more watery after freezing, so try to keep them on the thick side when pureeing. Zucchini is the worst about this! So I keep plenty of rice cereal on hand to thicken it up with when ready to eat!
I have several recipes I want to share that use fruit purees here before too long! So this might be helpful to more than just those with a baby!
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