We are quickly approaching the time when we will begin feeding baby “A” some food. I love it! They are so fun to watch as they enjoy the world of fabulous food. Let’s face it…it would be horrible to have to drink milk every day all day. Can you imagine getting your first taste of apples or blueberries. Oh…yum!
My only hesitation with this new phase is the expense. I have known a couple of people who swear by making their own baby food. Not only is it cheaper, but apparently it is a lot healthier.
My older sister who happens to be super mom (she has two little boys under the age of two. They are only 13 months apart! HOLY MOLY!) is one of these people who swear by making her own food. So I stopped by for a quick lesson in Baby Food 101.
She gets most of her ides from this awesome website. It lists recipes for everything from fruits, to veggies, to meats and proteins, to grains, to dairy. For each food, it tells you the benefits of that food, how to choose them in the store, how to store them, and how old your baby should be before you introduce them. It also talks about introducing foods, finger foods, and even adding spices to your baby’s food.
And it is so much easier than you would think. You don’t have to fix it every time your baby is ready to eat. You make up a bunch ahead of time and freeze it.
My sister taught me how she does it and it is an absolute breeze. You just cook it up, puree it, fill ice cube trays with the puree, and freeze it. Pictured below is (from the yellow one on top moving clockwise): acorn squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, and avocado.
To thaw them, you place the portions that you want (each section of the ice cube tray is about 1 oz.) in a small glass dish and then give the whole dish a hot water bath. My sister puts the glass dish in a cereal bowl and then fills the bowl with hot water. You have to change out the water a few times, but in about 15 minutes it is thawed. Then you just throw it in the microwave for 10 seconds to bing it up to room temperature. Give it a good stir to mix in any spots that are too warm or cold, mix in some cereal of your babies preference (if it’s too runny) and serve.
This is avocado. It’s a lovely shade of green. The website says that you may have some browning, and when your baby is older you can give it a spritzing with some citrus to minimize browning before you freeze. We didn’t do anything to this avocado because the nephew is too little, but it turned out beautifully!
So only two more months before baby “A” will get to partake of all this goodness and I can not wait!
