Let’s talk about making baby food…I started making baby food when my daughter Taylin was a baby. I had never thought about it but our pediatrician mentioned it and told me to check out the website wholesomebabyfood.com. I thought I’d give it a try and now I’m hooked! Now I’m making food for my 8 month old son and what he likes is totally different from what his sister liked. He tends to like the veggies more then the fruits (weird right??). Also he doesn’t have as many teeth so I’m still really pureeing things.

Today I made two different kinds of baby food so I’m going to share the step by step process I followed. I used a food processor but you can use a blender, Magic Bullet, or baby food making appliances.

Blueberries, Banana & Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1 large banana
1/3 cup plain yogurtPuree everything until it’s really smooth – Once I think it’s smooth I stir it up and see if there are any chunks left. Puree again, if necessary. Once everything is the texture you want transfer the puree to a Ziplock bag and cut the tip off Fill the ice cube trays with the puree, cover with plastic wrap (to help prevent freezer burn) and put into the freezer.

One thing I want to point out is that this was really runny…more like a smoothie so I plan to mix this in with his baby cereal just to thicken it up. If you want it thicker try adding more blueberries or banana to the puree.

Once frozen, pop the cubes out and transfer to a freezer safe bag

For more detailed information on pureeing and baby food storage check this link out – Baby Food Storage/Puree

Carrots/Applesauce

Ingredients:

8 pealed and cut up carrots
3/4 Cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3-1/2 Cup of leftover water from boiling

Put carrots into a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then simmer on low for about 10 minutes or until tender.

Remove from pan with a slotted spoon – DO NOT DISCARD JUICES – we may need them later to thin out the puree. The juices have a lot of nutrientes so it’s best to use them to thin out the puree. I moved mine to this loaf pan to let them cool a little bit before pureeing them.
I pureed them with about 1/3-1/2 cup of the juices, stirred, then pureed again. Once they were the right consistency (similar to the consistency of apple sauce), I added in the apple sauce and turned it back on to mix it all together.

Put it in my Ziploc back, cut the tip off and filled the ice cube trays! Each cube is roughly 1 ounce. My son started out doing one or two cubes but now eats roughly 4-6 cubes for lunch and 6-8 cubes for dinner (in addition to his normal bottles of formula).

So here is the other thing I wanted to mention. Baby food pouches…they are A-MA-ZING! But can be really expensive. I love them for when we are on the go so I broke down and bought some Little Green Pouches. They are reusable and are $14.99 for a 4 pack. They hold 6 ounces (a lot of the other ones on the market only hold 2-4 ounces). The reviews are great on them and I love that they are dishwasher and freezer safe. They are back ordered right now so I’ll let you guys know how I like them after they arrive in a couple of weeks!

The other awesome thing about these is that my daughter can use them next year for kindergarten in her lunch box. I plan to fill them with applesauce, smoothies and yogurt!

Let me know if you have any questions about baby food making. I’d love to help you get started. I love knowing exactly what my son is eating, and it’s a lot cheaper to make your own food!

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or baby food expert. This is just what I do for my son and it seems to be working well. If you have questions or concerns about introducing food to your baby please talk to your pediatrician.