Homemade Baby Food How-To: Boil and Steam

$1.00 on sale for 2 containers of baby food...yeah right.   $1.00, at least, for 1 container of organic baby mush. I don't think so.  I can make your wallet happy, help fulfill your farm girl fantasies, and delight your culinary senses. Promise.  So ladies and gents, put your aprons on, or not if you want to spice things up, and let's do this. 

The Loin Fruit enjoying homemade golden delicious apple sauce

Making your own baby food is no longer for the ultra-earthy or shockingly sheltered.  You don't have to have 19 kids and counting to make it work for you. Having a food processor or Magic Bullet helps but even those aren't completely necessary.  All you really need are a few utensils, ice cube trays, and a sense of adventure.

Things you must have:

1. Peeler
2. Knife
3. Ice Trays
4. Water
5. Something to mash with

Things that make it easier:

1.  Food processor or blender thingy

First things first, do your research and talk to your pediatrician.   I am not here to give you advice on what and what not to feed your child (refer to my previous baby food post for my statement absolving me from responsibility for your mistakes).  I just thought it would be helpful to have a list of how to do it.  And, I just downloaded Instagram for Android and I have tons of fun pictures now.

Wholesome Baby food from Momtastic.com 

Homemade Baby Food 

 

There are various methods you can use to make your baby food.  You can boil, steam, bake, and with some foods like bananas you can just mush them up the way they are.  I've only boiled and steamed at this point.  Today I am going to bake my sweet potatoes rather than peel, chop, and boil them just to see how they turn out.  Peeling sweet potatoes isn't fun.

Stream of Conscious thought for the day:

Have you ever said steam over and over?  Having just typed that word several times, it doesn't make sense to me anymore.  I just found myself wondering if that's the correct word.

Step 1:  Choose your vegetable or fruit

 

Golden Delicious Apples and Sweet Potatoes

Step 2:  Peel said fruit or vegetable (if it needs peeling)

 Step 3:  Chop em up (I use an apple corer for my apples but a knife works just fine)

Step 4:  Cover with water, bring to boil, let cook for about 10 minutes or until desired tenderness is reached

Step 5:  Remove from stove and place fruit/vegetable chunks in your food processor (or magic bullet or blender).  If you don't have any of these things don't freak.  You can use a mash potato masher thingy just as well.  The important thing is to create an optimal consistency.  You do this by adding some of the water reserve from your cooked fruit or vegetable.  If you process, blend, or mash and it isn't liquidy enough then add more water.  Conversely, don't add so much if you want a thicker consistency.  You can't remove the liquid once it is blended it so I find it easier to go with a less is more approach and then modify if necessary.

* the Loin Fruit now has 4 teeth so and has been eating solids for about 2 months.  Per my pediatrician's advice, I make his food a little chunkier. 

Step 6:  Put in a container and let the puree cool (I don't know that this step is necessary but I have burnt my fingers enough trying to get tablespoon sized amounts into my ice trays.  I decided it would be in my best interest to dump my mash into something and let it cool beforehand).

 

Cooling Apple Sauce

**Take a spoon, an adult spoon, and taste it.  Just do it.  Pretty tasty

Step 7:  Take a tablespoon sized dollop and put it into each ice tray space

Apple Sauce and Cauliflower

Step 8:  Freeze the trays.  Each cube is roughly 1 oz of food so that should give you some idea of how much you are feeding baby.  Store the cubes in a freezer safe bag and defrost as needed.  Each batch is good for about 3 months but you probably won't even need to know that fact.  

 

Step 9:  Feed the loin fruit

All Gone

  Step 10:  Watch your delightful loin fruit try and feed the cat his goodness