This post has been a long time in the making. The boys are now 14.5 months old and we have been long done with pureed foods but I thought it was important to go back and revisit this topic.
So here's our story....in the beginning we (as in my DH and me) made the decision to breastfeed our sons. That's right - I breastfed (and still do) our twin boys. I am working on a blog post on breastfeeding the boys from birth into toddler-hood....check back soon on that post. That being said we also decided to follow the recommendation of the World Health Organization and The American Academy of Pediatrics and delay solids until AT LEAST 6 months. We started off slowly at about 6.5 months and really got into the full swing around 7 months.
DH's aunt gave me a GREAT gift for Christmas before the boys were born. It was a baby bullet. I will say it served its purpose, but didn't last long - we soon upgraded to a 10 cup food processor.
The first thing I made was your basic rice cereal and oatmeal cereal. The baby bullet has two blades - one for pureeing solids and one for the grains. Making your own oatmeal and rice takes a bit more effort - once the grains are processed down to a fine meal you can store extras in the refrigerator. You can then use 1/4 cup of the powder to 1 cup of boiling water. You will then need to stir constantly for about 10 minutes. I found that the boys really liked bananas or peaches mixed in with their oatmeal/rice.
The picture above is by far the boys LEAST favorite - they are great eaters, but peas have never been a crowd pleaser. When making peas it is very important to try and blend down as smooth as possible. I found the trays above at Fresh Baby - they are 1 oz servings. I would freeze the tray then transfer the cube to a quart size Ziplock and label with the type/date.
Butternut Squash - the best kept secret. Butternut Squash is super easy to grow and taste amazing! The easiest way for cooking - cut in half, place upside down in cake pain, add 1-2 inches of water and bake at 375 for approximately 30-45 mins (until skin starts to pucker up). After it is cooked, drain water, turn over, scoop out yummy orange squash goodness, place in food processor and hit start! Typically does not require any extra water since squash is primarily water.
The baby bullet came with 6 2 oz serving containers. I also purchased an additional 6 OXO 2 oz baby food containers. I would keep at least 6-12 of these servings in the fridge for 2-3 days as my go to before hitting the freezer stash.
Another view of the butternut squash.....
Peaches - another super easy food. Cut peaches in half, remove pit, place peaches with pit side down into baking dish, score "X" on top of peach (helps to facilitate skin coming off), fill with 1 inch water, bake at 400 until the skin puckers. After baking, remove skin, place in food processor, blend and store in container or freeze.
Some of my favorite resources:
2. Top 100 Baby Food Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby
3. The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet
4. Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6-18 Months
Other foods that the boys really enjoyed that require ZERO prep, storage, etc.
1. Avocados
2. Bananas
This year we have done a lot of planning and prep in regards to our garden and making sure we have many options for the boys.
Less waste, less cost, better taste, & more nutritious!
Did you make your own baby food? Any tips?
I used only the Baby Bullet to make food for our boys, but I wish I would have gone with a bigger food processor as I'd do a ton of different things all at once so I was constantly cleaning the thing! Even just doing a double batch of something was a pain.We never really did peas, but my boys loved butternut squash too. Even though they're 2, I sometimes make purees when they're sick and don't want to eat.
ReplyDeleteWe used the Baby Bullet for about 2 months then totally made the switch to baby lead weaning. He much preferred finger foods but I agree it is so much better and easier to make your own.
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