Making Baby Food

Well I'm not Martha Stewart or anything...but I did try and venture out to make some of Briggs' baby food. I'm not one of those really organic moms who is going to make everything that goes in his mouth. But...my neighbor has a garden and has given me some fresh veggies. Or if I have left over veggies from what we are eating, I might mix them up and freeze them for my little buddy.

In case any of you are interested in how to do that...thought I would share. Warning: lots of pics, but I thought that would be more fun than trying to type out how to do it.

First thing..if your gonna make your own baby food...gotta have one of these puppies...a Magic Bullet. I use this blender to make myself smoothies all the time and it also does a great job making baby food. I have seen and heard about the "Baby Bullet" but since I already had this one, I just used it. Works great for me so why go out and buy another contraption....just saying (this works for our family). And...from comparing the two...I think you get more bang for your buck by getting the Magic Bullet b/c it is more functional for more things than just making baby food.


Start by steaming whatever it is you're making. Below you can see chopped up apples. I peeled them first, cored and chopped into bite size pieces. I also went the cheaper route with the steamer...it's just a metal insert that fits into your pot. Fill the bottom of your pot with water, place the steamer insert into your pot, the chopped apples and steam for about 5-7 minutes (until tender).


Below you can see spinach leaves that I'm steaming (from my neighbor's garden).


Once your food is steamed, put into the magic bullet and blend until smooth. Some things require more water than others to make them smooth. I used the water from the bottom of the pot that I just steamed in.

When everything is blended good...pour into an ice cube tray and pop into the freezer overnight. Once all your cubes are frozen, transfer the cubes into a freezer bag (so they don't get freezer burn)...which is illustrated later.



Sweet potatoes are a little different. They just need to be cooked in the oven until very tender. I think I did read you can boil them as well...I just popped them in the oven while I was working on the other food.

Note: Be very careful when handling the veggies and transferring to the blender...THEY WILL BURN YOU!...ask me how I learned that tip.


Once the sweet potatoes are cooked tender, blend in the Magic Bullet until they are a smooth puree consistency. These required a good bit of water, but I added in small increments so the consistency didn't become too runny.


When the potatoes are blended to your desired consistency, transfer to the ice cube trays (the green cubes are green beans I had made...I didn't document doing those b/c they are the same process as apples and spinach with steaming, blending and freezing).



Last but not least...transfer your frozen cubes of baby food into a freezer bag. You have to use a little muscle to pop them out of the tray. Now they are in good serving sizes for your little one. I take a cube or two out of the freezer about 1 hour before Briggs eats. I might have to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to knock the chill off.


Hope this little process helped somebody. Like I said...I don't make all his food, just when I have free veggies from my neighbor or leftover food from what we are eating. It's kind of fun if you have a little time on your hands.