Monday, January 7, 2008

Baby Food DIY Guide, Day 1

I am often asked by friends and friends-of-friends about making homemade baby food. Homemade baby food is easy to make, cost effective (especially if you are using organics), and allows you to introduce your baby to a much more varied diet at an early age.

Over the next few days, I am sharing with you my “baby food-making” primer. I do so though with a major disclaimer:

***If cooking is not your “thing,” and/or you do not like spending time in the kitchen, you will become more stressed than empowered by the baby food-making process. The last thing moms and caregivers need is more guilt. So please, PLEASE do not take this baby food making guide as anything more than a simple 1-2-3-4-5 of DIYing the baby food process.***

Still reading? Ok, so here are the Sweet Peas and Pumpkins 5 Ps to homemade baby food:

  1. Prepare the food, usually by peeling and/or steaming or baking
  2. Process the food in a food processor, adding formula, breast milk or boiled water to the puree until a “baby food” consistency is reached
  3. Pour the food puree into ice cube trays to freeze, reserving some of the puree for your sweet pea’s next meal.
  4. Pop the food cubes into freezer bags to store…be sure to label each bag, as you will be amazed at how similar many of the food cubes will appear (ie, hard to distinguish carrots from sweet potatoes from peaches)
  5. Pick the cubes you need when you are ready for mealtime, and thaw them in the microwave or refrigerator.

Easy Peasy.

Ready to get started? Grab your--

Food Steamer (You can also use the microwave to steam, or other steaming method)
Food Processor (Blenders work okay, but I strongly prefer a processor—if you don’t have one, borrow a friend’s, neighbor’s or family member’s)
Ice Cube Trays (A standard ice cube is about 2 tablespoons, which equals one ounce)
Gallon Sized Freezer Ziplocs

And now all you need is some food…

2 comments:

Deep in the Heart said...

Just left the in-laws for the O-H-I-O party. Did I tell you Melissa painted Tess a shirt with O-H on the front and I-O on the back. She spins in a circle while they chant. She loves it. Just wondering what you were up to tonight.

Of course by the time we put the kids down, it was halftime and the score wasn't looking as good as when we left. I hope they rally.

Sweet Pea Chef said...

Ugh, what an ugly game last night. It was so sad that they lost two years in a row! I stayed up until the last five minutes and then realized I needed my sleep more than watching that horrible game. :(