Adventures in Homemade Baby Food: Sweet Potatoes (Yams)

The harvest season brings about one of my favorite Thanksgiving foods, the sweet potato AKA yams. Yams are a great food for babies because of the rich flavor and they are packed full of vitamins and nutrients. They are also SUPER easy to turn into baby food.

After scrubbing the outside of my yams, I wrapped them in foil, and baked them at 375 degrees for about an hour. When I took them out, they were perfect, the skins were peeling off.
I scooped out the insides with a fork and gently mashed them up in a bowl. I added a little ginger and a bit of breast milk to make them a bit more creamy for my lil guy. Adding breast milk is not necessary, if you bake them, they will be the correct consistency.
I stirred it all together and I had the perfect yummy lunch! My yams seemed a little stringy, but I just stirred and mashed a little more and my baby had no problem. I put the rest into jars in the fridge, and we are good with a weeks worth of food.
My next adventure is to make some green foods. The only green food I have given him so far in mashed avocado, I have yet to do beans or peas. If you have a good green baby food recipe, please share!

Adventures in Home Made Baby Food: Carrots

The other night I was making dinner and got out my rice cooker which also has a steamer attachment. As I was putting in the rice I thought this would be a great opportunity to steam some veggies for baby food. Since I already had some baby carrots in the fridge, I decided to do those. I made sure to rinse them well before putting them in the steamer.
I added a sprinkle of one of my husband's favorite spices, Cumin.
The softer the carrots, the easier it is to puree them. Steaming and baking are the best ways to prepare your fruits and veggies for baby food, because it keeps in more of the nutrients. If you do choose to boil your fruits and veggies, just use some of the reserve water in your puree, to add back some of the nutrients that have been lost in the water. Since I steamed my carrots, I used a little nursery water to help get the puree nice and smooth.
I only made enough for the week, I am out of room in my freezer, and this was easy since I was already making dinner. It really only took an additional 10 minutes on top of what I was already making. I just used some of my empty spice jars and put them in the fridge.
Enjoy!

Adventures In Homemade Baby Food: Peaches.

I love food. I love cooking, trying new recipes, and going to new restaurants. A year ago, while I was at the gym, the Today Show was on and they were featuring Matthew Amster-Burton author of a cute book called, Hungry Monkey . Matthew and his daughter Iris are adventurous eaters, so I picked up the book and loved reading about the different eating adventures they had. Then a few months later I was at Barnes and Noble browsing the bargain section when I came across a book called Wholesome Food for Babies and Toddlers which has tons of fun recipes, I picked it up and I was set on making my own baby food. My determination was even more set in stone when we played “guess what your eating?” at my baby shower, the store bought baby food was processed, bland, and gross!

Last week a friend of my husband gave us some freshly picked peaches. I was excited to can them, but when we brought them home, they were too ripe. I thought about making jam, but my baby had just started on rice cereal and I thought peaches would be a fun food for him to try! So my adventures in home made baby food began! First, I cut the peaches in half and removed the pits. I placed them pit side down into an old cake pan with the bottom of the pan covered in a thin layer of water.

I baked them at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes, until they were just soft. The skin peeled off perfectly and I threw them into a bowl with a spout. (The spout makes this process even easier.)

Baby food doesn’t need any additional salt or sugar, babies digestive systems aren’t ready for that yet. I did read somewhere to help babies have a wider pallet add a small amount of spice to their meal. I added a dash of cinnamon and then used my immersion blender to get a fine puree. If you are planning on making your own baby food I highly suggest an immersion blender, quick use and clean up.

I poured my puree into ice cube trays, covered them with foil, and froze them. I can just pop out a square and warm it up when I need them and it is the perfect portion.

I also picked up a few of these containers at Babies R Us for when I need to take some food on the go.

The whole process from start to finish took around 45 minutes and I have enough baby food for a month! It was free, quick, and tasty! My baby loves the peaches and I think they are quite tasty as well. So far adventures in home made baby food is a success!