Homemade Baby Food Part Three

I have been busy making baby food these past few weeks. It truly has been a joy to make. I am getting so giddy when I walk amongst the Farmer's Market stands or the produce section of the grocery mart! "Oh, I can make that...or this....oh that for sure!" It has been fun. There is so much more variety I can make for my baby than what I can find at my local store in jars.
Here is how I have been making my food.
Most all veggies I steam (zucchini, spinach, squash, beans, etc). Some fruits I will steam (plums, blueberries, etc.) and some I just blend fresh (bananas). All grains are cooked as well (brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal).

I received these delicious plums from a friend of ours from church. They have a backyard plum tree that is bursting with ripe plums ready to eat! I placed about 10 of these plums inside a casserole dish by themselves---no water or any kind of liquid). In the microwave, I covered the dish with lid and "steamed" them for about 1-2 minutes.
The plums were then easy to peel and remove the seed. You can peel with a spoon or just use your fingers (you made need to wait until the plum is not too hot too handle).

I put the pulp of the plum into my Vita-mix.
I blended the plums until very smooth. I may have added a little purified water if needed.

I use the ice-cube tray/freezer bag method. After the plums are pureed smooth, I pour them into ice-cube trays. These ice-cube trays I purchased are BPA free and have covers.

The ice cube tray method offers you many advantages.

• Each cube is approximately 1+ ounces, allowing you to have an idea of the amount of food your baby is consuming.

• There is minimal waste as you use only 1 or 2 cubes at a time and will not have to toss away much food; such as you toss away when using commercial foods.

• Another advantage is that you probably have ice cube trays on hand and will not need to go out and buy them. (wholesome baby food)
  

I transfer the baby food cubes into freezer bags. I can then free up my trays for the next batch of food. I make sure to label the bags with the type of food and also date the bags. I can quickly grab a cube from a bag of veggie and a bag of fruit or bag of grain without having to guess what I have in the bags. The date lets me know how long the food has been in the freezer.

The cookbook shown above is The petit appetit cookbook and it is wonderful. I have been delving into it quite a bit for recipe inspiration!

Here is a chart that will tell you what foods will freeze well and what foods will not.

Happy Cooking!