Baby Food Grind

Work has given me a fun new challenge lately that I haven't done in years.  What is this challenge, you ask?  Making baby food.  My little munchkin at work is starting solids and Mom (and Dad) wants the most natural choice possible so she has been purchasing organic food for me to make baby food with.  I have been on a bit of a bender with it and I honestly love doing it.  I love knowing that I'm contributing something huge to such a great family and knowing that nearly every morsel of solid food put into her mouth, I helped create.  It's a pretty awesome privilege.

Here are some tips if you've never done it.  I'll cover some veggies first.....

Peas: Boss lady and I agree that buying organic peas in the frozen section is the easiest option.  I steamed the peas until they were tender (not mushy) and then threw them into the blender with a little liquid (I used boss lady's breastmilk since she's a breastfed baby).  Watch closely and check often until it gets to the consistency you want.

Butternut squash: Cut in half and put in about 1/4 inch water in a baking dish.  Bake about 45 minutes (or more) until tender enough to scoop.  Scoop out pulp and throw into blender with liquid.  Again, watch closely and check often until it gets to the consistency you want.

Sweet Potatoes:  You can boil but I choose to poke holes in them and bake them at 425 for about an hour until they're tender enough to scoop.  Scoop out pulp and throw into blender with liquid.  Watch closely and check often until it gets to the consistency you want.

Other tips...

Stage One (so to speak) foods are VERY thinned out.  It's to help babies transition from breastmilk or formula alone to a solid food.

I don't use juice until they are at least 6 months to thin anything out.  That's just my personal preference. 

Homemade food can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 ish days and in the freezer for several months.

If you put your homemade food into a large bowl to refrigerate, instead of breaking it down into smaller ones, please put it into a serving size bowl when you feed it to the baby.  Don't feed them from the bowl and put it back...it's kind of icky. LOL