Making Baby Food

So...this might come across as an excellent advertisement for the Baby Bullet, but I just got done making about a month's worth of baby food and felt the need to blog about it.  Really, any high quality blender will do...in retrospect I probably should have just used my blender, it has a puree setting afterall, but that's neither here nor there.

Soon enough all of this will be in my freezer and I will have my tupperware and fridge back!

Now, I am by NO MEANS what some call a "crunchy" mama.  In fact, I think Brian is probably crunchier than me (he's going to kill me for that).  But something about making baby food just makes me feel like such a good mom!  I know exactly what Mikey is getting, there are no "nonfood" products in his meals, and I feel immense pride in seeing him eat and enjoy what I have made for him.  It just makes me feel good to make baby food.  Maybe this is how some feel when they breastfeed...I could have done without that completely.  I loathed it, but I did feel good when I knew that he was getting the best nutrition possible.  I don't really like to think about what's in the formula...maybe that's why I feel so good about making the baby food.  Anyways, another added benefit to making the baby food is the LOW cost.  So now he's getting fresher and healthier food...and its costing us less.  I'll post pictures here shortly, but I just made about a month's worth of baby food for about $10.

I really wanted to write this post for those of you considering making baby food.  I know some people are up in the air and some don't want to take the time, but it actually is easier for me to make baby food than to load Mikey in the car and head to the commissary (grocery store) to pick up what I need.  So, for those of you with babies that have not started solids, that are pregnant, or that are considering making the change to making your own baby food here is what it entails.

I am by no means an expert on babies and food making, but I am happy to share what I know.  If you are considering making baby food, consult with your pediatrician before giving baby anything.  Also, be sure to follow a proper food introduction plan.  It is recommended by most to use AT LEAST a 3 day food introduction schedule.  This means that baby should only eat 1 new for 3 days…they can have old foods as well, but only introduce one new food at a time so that if there is a food allergy you know exactly what caused it.  I made food in bulk here, there is only one new fruit and one new vegetable.  I boiled and pureed those last so that if he does have an allergy to those foods the rest of the batch won’t be contaminated. 

First, I laid out all of the foods that I was going to make, since almost everything had to be boiled.  Not pictured are the bananas, those just go straight into the baby bullet.  I washed and chopped everything into smaller sizes so that it would soften more quickly and fit into the baby bullet a lot more easily.  I started with the zucchini and squash; chopped them up and tossed them into the pot of boiling water.  Since the carrots are heavy and take a bit longer to soften I threw those in as well. 

5 apples, 4 pears, 3 sweet potatoes, 2 white potatoes, 1/2 cup of peas, family size bag of green beans, 6 carrots, a bundle of asparagus, 2 zucchini, and 2 squash

I then pulled the zucchini and squash out and pureed them without adding any water.  I generally add about ¼ a cup of water per vegetable, but the zucchini and squash are so watery as is it is not necessary.  In fact, I found that when I thaw them they are too runny if I add any water.  All of my information about thickness was found through trial and error.  Its not an exact science, I just make adjustments based on what Mikey likes and what his digestive tract likes. 

After I pulled the zucchini and squash out I added the asparagus to the boiling pot.  When the carrots were ready I pulled them out with a pierced spoon and tossed them into the rinsed baby bullet.  I filled it with the carrots, so I added about ¾ cup of water from the boiling pot.  I like to take the water from the put because it is packed with nutrients from the boiling foods.  The greatest part about putting multiple veggies in is that the water will contain a variety of nutrients so I can get more into each meal! 

Zucchini/squash puree-no water added

Zucchini/Squash puree

I repeated this process with the asparagus.  While the asparagus was cooking I peeled the foods that require peeling.  In this case it was the white potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, and peaches.  I’m not really sure why the fruits need to be peeled, but I do it because that’s what the baby bullet tells me to do. 

I then added a second pot to boil (for the fruits) and chopped up the potatoes while it was beginning to boil.  Once they were ready I added them to the veggie pot just after pulling the asparagus out.  While the potatoes were cooking I pureed the asparagus and cored the apples and pears.  I just used an apple slicer to do so.  I went back and made sure there was no core left in any of the pieces before adding the apples to the boiling pot for fruit. 

Asparagus (this its why its important to label your bags AND tupperware...pretty much all puree looks the same)

Carrot puree

Peeled foods: Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, apples, pears (the peaches are a new food so I separated them to avoid contamination)

sliced potatoes

Peeled fruit...peaches still are not touching

slicing and coring the apples

sliced and cored apples and pears

The apples soften quickly and don’t need a lot of water, so I pulled those out next.  I added about 1/3 a cup of water to a full baby bullet since these also become very runny upon thawing.  Same procedure with the pears.

Apple puree

Pear puree...this is when I started running out of tupperware

Peach puree

When the potatoes were soft I pulled those out and pureed them.  I added a full cup of water to a full baby bullet for these.  They stay very thick and tend to make pooping difficult for Mikey, so the more water in these the better.  Same procedure with the sweet potatoes. 

White potato puree

Sweet potato puree

Once the potatoes were done I dumped an entire bag of frozen green beans into the pot, these are going to last FOREVER!  I started a smaller pot for the peas because I didn’t have many left.  When they were done I pureed them with about a cup of water for a full baby bullet as these stay pretty thick and also make pooping more difficult for Mikey.

Green beans

This cute little storage cup also comes with the baby bullet.  Pea puree

Fridge is totally stocked...

Now where does our food go?

They baby bullet comes with 6 one serving sized bullets to put in the fridge or freezer.  I put the foods that he will be fed within the next three days in these.  I have lost one cap and broken another, so I am down to 4 L  It also comes with a freezer tray to freeze 1 serving bullets.  I fill these and freeze them.  When they are done I pop them out and put them in a labeled, freezer friendly bag.  Everything else goes into Tupperware and into the fridge.  As I pop the frozen bullets out I refill the tray with puree from the Tupperware in the fridge.  I repeat the process until everything I want frozen is frozen.  Then when I want to feed Mikey something from the freezer I just put it in a tiny Tupperware or baby bowl and transfer it to the fridge 2 days before he will eat it.  Then all I have to do is heat it, stir it, and its ready to go!  Hope this was helpful information!