Baby Food 101

Jack started eating solid foods at 5 months old, and so far it has gone very well.  As far as I can tell he has liked everything I have given him (some things more than others) and every few days I introduce him to something new.  After 5 straight months of nothing but breast milk, adding a little variety to mealtime has been exciting for both of us.  While the fun part for Jack is actually eating the food, the fun part for me has been preparing it.  So far he has had the following yummy baby foods:

1. Bananas 
2. Prunes
3. Pears
4. Peas
5. Apples
6. Avocado
7. Squash
8. Sweet Potatoes
9. Carrots
10. Zucchini

Every week after music class we stop by Central Market (it happens to be one block away from The Motherhood Center where we take music class) and I pick out new fruits and veggies for Jack to try.  For now, Jack is a vegetarian, he is only eating the organic fruits and veggies that I prepare for him.  I really enjoy making his food and knowing he is getting a wholesome diet, hopefully this will get him started for a lifetime of healthy eating.  I have documented my baby food making for any other mothers interested in doing the same...

For pears, apples and bananas I just peel them, slice them and puree them.  I have a Baby Bullet and it works great.  

Yummy pears!

Not always pretty, but sometimes necessary - Prunes!  It can be hard to find plain, pitted prunes (with nothing else added) however I found organic dried prunes at Whole Foods and Central Market.  Central Market actually has them in the self serve section so you can get as little or as many prunes as you need.   Doesn't this bowl of steaming prunes look delicious?

To prepare the prunes I soak them hot (boiling) water for about 30 minutes.  This will soften them up and make it easy to puree.   I usually add about 1/2 cup of the prune water to the Baby Bullet to get the puree to the right consistency.     

Pureed Prunes - they look just as gross going in as they do coming out...

For the peas, I used frozen peas and just cooked them in water on the stove top.  Again, sometimes a little pea juice in the Baby Bullet is necessary to achieve the right consistency.  

To prepare the squash, I baked it.  First, I cut it in half lengthwise and then into smaller sections.  I scooped out the seeds (most of them) and placed the squash face down in a glass baking dish with about 1" of water.  I baked them for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.   

Once the squash is done baking it should be very soft and the "meat" of the squash scoops right out and goes into the baby bullet for pureeing!

Yummy Peas and Squash

Sweet Potatoes bake on a cookie sheet for an hour at 400 degrees.  Once they are done baking the skins come off and potato scoops right out.

For the carrots I bought organic baby carrots.  I steamed them for about 30 minutes on the stove top to get them soft and then they were ready for the Baby Bullet.  Again, I added some water to achieve the perfect, creamy baby food texture.

Sweet Potatoes and Carrots, kinda hard to tell which is which!

Zucchini!

For the zucchini, I peeled it and steamed it on the stove top.  I bought this Faber ware steamer set on Amazon.com for $30.  It works great and I think I will start steaming all of my vegetables now!

Gone are the days of margarita mixes, skinny cows and hot pockets.   My freezer today= breast milk and baby food.  All made with love by Mommy!