Commercial Baby Food Scares.
When Astrid turned six months old, I started making baby food for her. The rice cereal was more work than it was worth. All I had to do on my end was turn the rice into more of a flour consistency, but No. 1 then had to boil while whisking the flour and it turned out pretty gummy anyway. Commercial baby cereals are dehydrated, so no boiling is necessary. You can buy whole grain, organic baby cereal. Astrid is currently on a mix of Wheat, Spelt, and Barley with no ill effects. Just squirt breast milk in with a Tablespoon of cereal in a little bowl and stir.
Banana and avocado couldn't be frozen, but were simply mashed or mashed with a little distilled water added. The first vegetable I made for freezing was sweet potatoes from my garden last year mixed with sugarless apple sauce. My sweet potatoes never grew to be very sweet. Her second dish was organic baby carrots mixed with sugarless apple sauce. Then, pears and plums from the grocery store. Then, a bag of frozen peas. This week, I got small sweet potatoes, huge peaches, and zucchini from the local Farmer's Market.
Boiling sweet potatoes from Farmer's Market after peeling and slicing:
Puree.
Once food is pureed, put in ice-cube tray. One cube = 1 tablespoon (or a little more if you want). I used trays with lids so could only make the cubes as high as the lid would hit.
If cooking more than one food at a time, you may want to label them. Peaches look a lot like sweet potatoes once pureed. Correct spelling is not important. 
I let them freeze a day or two and then empty them into freezer containers to give to No. 1. [I used freezer bags] Make sure you get as much air out of the container as possible or they'll get freezer burn. At mealtimes, she can simply nuke a cube (or a cube of each she has in mind for the meal). Heat another way if you're opposed to microwaving.
If you make baby food, how do YOU do it?
4 comments:
No. 1 She loves the food you make! Thanks.
Hmmm. I found this very interesting and informative, but have never made baby food, so don't really have anything to add.
I have seen some sort of kitchen contraptions that are for making baby food. Maybe like a vegetable steamer?
No. 1 I think she liked the sweet potatoes better with the apple sauce. She hates the peas and the plums but loves the zucchini and pears. The zucchini was super watery, but I think that is just what it is made up of. She really loves the carrots although they stain EVERYTHING orange. The jury is still out on the peaches. Love you guys.
When I was nannying, I use to love having a contraption like this for baby food making - http://amzn.to/eFK2t2 - I didn't make extra food to freeze. Basically, this thing lets you just take a little bit of whatever you're eating, add a little breastmilk/other milk/water, and turn it into a baby food mush. Veggies usually have to be cooked first, most fruits can go right in, you can do meats and grains, too.
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