Jan 21, 2010

Baby Food 101

So now that I've found a few foods Janey likes, I've started making them myself.

A few tips first of all:
  • Keep the water you boiled your foods in for blending. A lot of nutrients are lost in the water when you boil foods, so I figure by reusing some of the water, you may get back some of those nutrients.
  • Don't worry about over-cooking foods. The point is to make it mushy, so it's basically already cooked to death regardless.
  • I use organic fruits and veggies - personally, I don't eat organic but for whatever reason it makes me feel better that Jane does! :p
  • I use ice cube trays to freeze my baby food. Then, once it's frozen, I pop them out and put them in ziploc bags labelled with what it is and the date is was made.

Here are two of Jane's favourites, Prunes and Apples:

Apples:
4 Organic Red Delicious Apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup water

Over medium heat, simmer apples in a few cups of water (to cover), stirring occasionally for about 20 mins or so. Until they are mushy.
Strain apples keeping a cup or so of your boiling water.
Transfer to blender/food processor and add about 1/2 cup of your boiling water, blend. Add more water if you want it more watery.
Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. This recipe made one ice-cube tray for me.

Prunes:
One bag Sunsweet Pitted Prunes (about 2.5-3 cups)
1 cup water

Over medium heat, bring prunes and water (to cover) to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until prunes are soft and tender.
Strain prunes, keeping a few cups of your boiling water.
Transfer to blender/food processor and add at least 1 cup of your boiling water. I found I had to add quite a bit of water to get them as runny as I wanted. So keep 2 cups of your water just in case.
Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. This recipe made two trays for me.

Notes:
When I say "your boiling water" I mean the water you used to cook the food in... not really hot water.
Be careful! These foods are super hot so be REALLY careful when cooking, blending, etc. Keep babes away! If you prefer, cool before blending.
Jane is scared to death of the blender so be forewarned... blending/processing may make babies cry! :(

More recipes to come...

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6 comments:

Ange said...

Hey Jen,

Have you heard of Baby Cubes? I just bought some and love them for storing in the freezer and then I can just take them out when I need them...they're like an icecube tray but have lids on them and are BPA free!

Sam's Minions (aka parents- Angie and Brian) said...

Thanks for the ti[. I also get a lot of stuff from http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com. I make everything that goes in my son's mouth, except for rice cereal and oatmeal.

Mandi Miller said...

Maddy doesn't eat baby food any more but I will have to keep that ice cube tray idea in mind if/when we have #2! That was a great idea! I never would have come up with that on my own!

Jen said...

Thanks Angie - that site is fab, I think a few others have passed it along as well. I'll be sure to post about it in my next recipe post!

Jen :)

Karen said...

My babies always ate more organic than I do. I miss making babyfood.

Kat @ www.TodaysCliche.com said...

Your blog is so informative and clever. Can't wait to try most of your recent posts. I intend to stop by again!
Our blogs are semi-similar; I'd love your feedback about mine, if you have a sec!
www.TodaysCliche.com. Thanks!!