This post is going to be strictly on how
I make Olivia's baby food. It may not be how you do it or how you would have done it but it is simply
my way! :) I am just learning as I go and that in itself is a task. If it is not a romance novel then usually I am not interested in reading it....
Just kidding!
So it's pretty simple and really doesn't take much time to make 1st foods (
I have no clue about 2nd foods FYI). You just have to take a little extra time to actually buy, peel, cook, blend, freeze, bag, and then date!
First things first!
Step # 1
Go to your local farmers market (
besides it being organic it's a great way to support local farmers!) and buy the goodies!! Best first foods are usually apples, avocados, bananas, squash, sweet potatoes, pears, green beans, peas, peaches, prunes etc.
I started with things I thought would be tastiest... Apples, bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, and then squash. So far Olivia has tasted all but the squash and I've tasted them too, yes
I have. If you can think past the texture you will taste the difference and
wow! the difference!!! I tasted the apples and since it was puree apples you can't help but let it touch every inch of your mouth and it was like a apple explosion went off!!!
SERIOUSLY!!! Delicious doesn't even describe the flavor although I can't say the same about the texture (
it takes some serious mind control to block out the mushy puree texture). So with that being said I was ready to start cooking baby food seriously.
Step # 2
Wash the vegetable or fruit very well don't hesitate to scrub that sucker! You may not keep the peeling but I just sit and think about all the different hands that touch and squeezed my goodie before I picked it out....
Eeeewwww! So scrub a dub, dub!
Step # 3
Peel away.... I always end up cutting too much fruit or veggie away when I use a knife so I used a hand held peeler and once I got the hang of it I could peel a sweet potato in record time! Don't fret if you didn't get all the peeling off because that is where a lot of the nutrients are (
take note though in first foods taking most of the peeling off isn't a bad thing because it's harder to swallow and those little ones are just learning to do that so too much peeling = bad)
Step # 4
Cut up into cubed pieces or however the shape or size and throw them into a pot! Pour water on them just enough to cover them and then cook them until they are soft. However, be sure you do not cook them too long because if you over cook them more than likely the nutrients will have cooked out.
Step # 5
Throw them into a blender or food processor. Sometimes the water they were cooked in will be enough to puree them. Plus by using the water they were cooked in will replace some of the nutrients that were cooked out.
PRESS BLEND!
Step # 6
Pour into ice cub trays or you can buy the breast milk storage bags and measure out in ounces you want to serve your baby at each feeding and freeze!!! What
I did was pour the sweet potato into ice trays and froze them. I will admit that it was a aggravation once they were frozen because the veggie/fruit doesn't just pop out of the trays like ice... They kind of stick so it was a pain in the bum to get them out. After they were out I bagged them into the breast milk storage bags because they are freezer safe and stored them back in the freezer!
Step # 7
Prepare and serve... I know you're thinking
PREPARE??? But once they are frozen they have to be thawed! So just run the bag of food under hot or warm water or you can just let it thaw in the fridge a few hours before (
I've done both btw) and serve at a warm or room temperature. I will sometimes add infant oatmeal if the fruit or veggie was too juicy; the oatmeal just thickened it up a bit.
Side Note::: Frozen baby food only last about 6 weeks in a freezer so don't go over achiever on yourself or you will end up making too much and having to throw it out at the end of 6 weeks! Good luck and I hope you've found this post.... enlightening some how! :)) Have a great day folks!
