I just finished up another baby food frenzy over here, making enough food (pureed and finger foods) to last me at least a month. As Parker, my fast growing baby girl, keeps getting more independent with her own eating I’ll have less and less to actually prepare in advance *sigh*. Isn’t that always the way as parents? Once we start getting the hang of something we have to move on to the next phase?? So, I try to enjoy these moments of mashing, mixing, and blending up food because I know the days of feeding her will soon be over and she’ll want all control over her own spoon!!
I took advantage of 2 afternoon naps to get everything made this time. From prep to cleanup everything took about 1.5 hours each day, which as a mom you know is a bonus because time is precious! So, pour yourself a coffee and get cooking 😉
Day One
- Apple, Raspberry, Cinnamon, and Yogurt (Use a higher fat % yogurt with a low sugar content. I use Organic Plain Yogurt 9% MF)
- Carrots & Corn
- Blueberry, Spinach, Apple
- Curried Sweet Potato and Carrot
These blends were so easy to create!
1. Wash all of your fruits and veggies before cooking.
2. You’ll want to steam your apples, carrots, corn and spinach all separately. The spinach only takes about 1 minute so can be done last.
3. The sweet potato is best when baked so preheat your oven to 400°C, wash and scrub potato then poke holes with a fork, drizzle and coat with olive oil and wrap in foil. Bake for 45-60 minutes.
4. Once everything is cooked you can get creative with your combinations, and feel free to add in some herbs and/or spices at this time too. Just be sure to stay away from adding salt and sugar until your baby is at least one, and even then it is unnecessary as babies will likely get all the sodium they need from other foods and beverages.
5. Blend up your combinations in a blender or bullet, adding enough water* to reach desired consistency.
*Save some of the water from the pot used to steam your veggies to add back into the blender for added nutrients and vitamins.
6. Once food is blended, portion into ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap to go into freezer. Freeze until solid, then remove from trays and transfer to freezer bags. Thaw as needed.
Day Two (Green Day)
After making all the purees the first day, I realized we needed some green in the mix. So I prepared the following:
- Peas, Spinach, Pear
- Lentils, Apple, Pear, cinnamon
- Broccoli, Banana, Quinoa
- Broccoli, Spinach, Apple
As always, wash all fruits and veggies first (unless using frozen). For these recipes, you have to cook your lentils and quinoa in separate saucepans. Then, steam your apples, pears, broccoli, spinach and peas.
Once everything is cooked, again just get creative and blend up the mixtures with enough water until desired consistency is reached. Portion out into ice cube trays, freeze, then transfer to freezer bags until needed.
Tips
- When you’re ready to feed your little one, mix in some infant cereal, pasta stars, yogurt or shredded meat right into your homemade purees.
- If your puree comes out a bit too runny, adding the infant cereal is a great way to thicken it up.
- As baby gets older, start leaving some chunks and increasing the texture of your purees.
Once I finished making these purées, I realized I should have actually made some more finger foods to give Parker the opportunity to self-feed more often. So, I also made up a few recipes that are both baby and toddler friendly that both of my girls can enjoy while also giving Parker some independence while eating. I will be posting these recipes very soon so stay tuned!
Until then, happy blending 🙂
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