Day 224 | Homemade Baby Food

'Tis the season for over eating, right? The perfect time of year to share my eight tips for making homemade baby food for your wee one.

1.  Boil baby, boil: Boiling is the easiest way to turn raw or frozen veggies into pureed magic for your little one.Bring a large pot of water to boil and then add the veggies for just a few minutes until tender.
2. Economies of scale: Make several batches one right after the other. Use one big pot and keep the water boiling, use a strainer to fish out the food, and only wash the blender once (rinse out in between foods and wash at the end). Just remember to do any new food as the last batch in case the baby has a reaction (you don't want to taint the other batches).
3. Ice cube trays: The easiest way to portion-ize, freeze, and store your labor of love.
4. Keep food separate: As tempting as it might be to make peas+pears or mango+sweet potatoes, freeze the foods separate and mix them when you serve them. You'll have so many more options for combinations this way.
5. Multitask: It's definitely preferred to do several batches at once (see #2) but don't hesitate to throw on a pot of boiling water while you're preparing dinner or doing dishes to knock out one batch of green beans.
6. Make smart choices: Sometimes making the food is more trouble than its worth. Prunes, in my opinion, is one of those foods. Rehydrating before blending is not my idea of a time saver so I will continue to buy this yummy fruit. When you buy, though, keep an eye on the ingredient list. There are some good options on the shelves today without a lot of additives but there are some nasty ones, too (think tuna oil...yuck!), just be vigilant. Another good buy? Applesauce. Although making applesauce is super easy, you can buy organic, unsweetened, no additive applesauce for so cheap that it's not worth the energy (in my opinion) to make it. If it's too thick for your little one at the beginning (it was for mine), throw it in your blender to smooth it out a bit more. I didn't even need to add water.
7. Invest in good equipment: Chris and I rarely splurge on anything so when we do, it's been well-researched and vetted. One of our best splurges (and definitely the best when it comes to making baby food) has been the Vitamix. Expensive, but worth it. This thing can blend up anything: frozen fruit, raw oatmeal (you don't have to buy the boxed variety), and thick starches (think: sweet potatoes). Other good buys? These ice cube trays (they have covers) and a strainer like this.
8. The wonder of frozen fruit: Frozen fruit is the most economical, easiest way to make baby food. It's already cut, peeled, pitted, etc. Again, check the ingredient list, though. Sometimes there's added sugar (which never makes sense to me!). I just defrost the fruit on the counter for a few hours, throw it in the blender, and pour into ice cube trays. Ta da! Done.