So I think I know why baking has become so “meh.” I found something else I love to do in the kitchen: making food for Giacomo. I stocked up and made over 30 pouches of baby food. I still buy baby food, especially when it’s on sale, but I like knowing I have my homemade options too.
I made:
Beets, spinach, and blueberries
Tropical fruits: Banana, pineapple, peaches, apricots, and mango
Sweet potatoes, apples, cinnamon, and blueberries
Butternut squash, peaches, pears, and apricots with ginger
Mixed veggies with garlic.
Sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, and cinnamon
Carrots and Peas
Not pictured here is peas and carrots. I forgot I reheated those in the microwave.
Making baby food is super easy. There is little to no cooking required. I used my baby bullet. Do you need a baby bullet? No. A regular blender or food processor will do. I even use an immersion blender for bigger batches because I know it won’t all fit in the bullet. The baby bullet is what my husband would call a UKG. Unnecessary Kitchen Gadget. It’s unnecessary because a regular blender or a hand blender will do just fine.
But let me ask you this: does a regular blender have an adorable smiley face? Does it come with tiny food containers who also smile at you?
No. It doesn’t. So I relish in my UKG!
Another kitchen gadget I use (which even Matt agrees is totally necessary) is the Infantino squeeze station. I love this thing. It’s so much fun squeezing the food into the pouches. I label and freeze the baby food and Jack’s set for a while. The only foods I haven’t made yet are meats, and that’s because I have my own meat aversions.
Plus, Jack has a tooth! He’s eating soft rice, cereal bites, and pastas now, and it won’t be long until he’s done with purees. I’ll still make him fruit purees and pouches though for a while. They’re a great snack. I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of the Infantino either. My friend Maureen had a great idea for another use of them: Adult fruit pouches spiked with the alcohol of your choice! I’ll definitely try those one day, but probably not until I’m sure I won’t, in a crazy mom rush, accidentally give Jack a boozy fruit pouch!
Recipes:
For all recipes that require cooking, cover food with water just enough to cover food. Cook until soft enough to blend.
Cook food before pureeing and cool before packing.
To save time, I used the pre peeled and cubed sweet potatoes and butternut squash. I also used some canned food to save time, but you can definitely use fresh. You just need to peed and cube everything before cooking if you use fresh. Generally, I’ve noticed about 3-4 fruits = 1 can. Rinse any canned fruit that is packed in syrup or juice. Don’t use fruit sweetened with artificial sweetener. If you prefer fresh fruit, simply prepare as directed above.
Beets, spinach, and blueberries
1 can sliced beets, drained & rinsed
1/2 a bag of steam-in-bag spinach
1 cup blueberries
Steam spinach in microwave (use the other half of the bag for another recipe).
Blend together fruits and vegetables until desired consistency. Add water by the tablespoonful if needed.
Tropical Fruits
1 1/2 banana
1 mango
1/2 can of peaches, drained & rinsed
1/4 can of apricots, drained & rinsed
1/2 can of pineapple, drained & rinsed
1/2 can of pears, drained & rinsed
Blend fruits together until desired consistency. This should be soft enough, but add water if needed.
Sweet potatoes, apples, cinnamon, and blueberries
1 cup sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 large apple, peeled, cored, and cubed
1 cup blueberries
dash of cinnamon
Cook apples and sweet potatoes. Add blueberries and cinnamon and blend to desired consistency.
Butternut squash, peaches, pears, and apricots with Ginger
1 1/2 cups of butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 can of pears, drained & rinsed
1/2 can of peaches, drained & rinsed
1/4 can of apricots, drained & rinsed
Dash of ginger
Cook squash. Add fruits, ginger, and blend to desired consistency.
Mixed veggies with garlic.
1/2 bag of spinach
1 1/2 cups butternut squash
1 cup sweet potatoes
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup peas frozen
1 medium or 2 small cloves of garlic
Cook all the veggies and blend to desired consistency
Sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, and cinnamon
1 cup sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 large apple, peeled, cored, and cubed
1 1/2 bananas
dash of cinnamon
Cook apples and sweet potatoes. Add bananas and cinnamon and blend to desired consistency.
Peas and Carrots
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup frozen peas
Cook and blend to desired consistency.
For those of you who know me well, you know one of my favorite foods is beets. I have been known to force them on people, and now I am starting the brainwashing process for my son. I don’t seem to have to try to hard though. He loves beets already!
