I have been making all of Lyric's baby food since day one of him starting solids. I find it really fun, and I'm able to know exactly what is going into it. Plus, its cheaper! Ocassionaly when we are on the go and I forget to defrost some baby food cubes I'll give him a plum organics pouch -- but other than that its all fresh food!
The first food he had was peas, I steamed them, pureed them with a little bit of water and served them to him warm. It was love at first bite for this boy, and peas are still his most favored food out of all that he has tried.
My process for making food is really really simple. I have a gigantic stockpile in my freezer of about 10-11 different things right now. (2 that we haven't introduced yet) and I put them on rotation through out the week. I do a lot of different combinations of all the different foods, since he has all ready had them with no reactions by themselves, this way he doesn't get bored with one particular food. His favorite combination to date is peas and zucchini!
- The tools I use to make Lyric's baby food are simple every day kitchen tools, so for me this was an ideal thing to do.. and as I said before I LOVE doing it. A lot of things I just steam on the stove. Some I bake -- sweet potatoes & squash. Some don't even need to be cooked, pineapple & banana.
- Next, I puree the food. I use a magic bullet that was a wedding gift. However I have used the regular old target brand blender and for bigger batches and it works just as great.
--- to puree I pour the cooked veggies/fruit into the bullet with a little bit of water. Some I don't even add water at all since they absorbed some while cooking. (zucchini, green beans, broccoli) Once it gets to a consistency I like its done! I like to keep mine a little on the thicker side and thin it out if needed before serving, but that is purely preference. You can also use breastmilk or formula to thin out the puree but I prefer to use purified water. But keep in mind that formula should not be frozen.
- The next step is the freezing/storing process. I like to use regular target brand ice cube trays to freeze in. This is easy for me since each cube is a one ounce portion. I let the food freeze for overnight. In the morning I pop them out and store in labeled zip lock bags. I fold the baggies in half and stack them in my freezer for easy grabbing.
To serve the food I usually leave it to thaw out in the fridge over night. But in a pinch I've also de-thawed in hot water or the microwave in a glass bowl for a few seconds. Since he has had all the basics all ready I like to make combinations of the foods. So I will leave them to thaw together in the same container - I then microwave for about 6 seconds, stir well and serve it to him. We have a lot of fun making & he has a lot of fun eating his food.. I honestly wouldn't do it any other way.
I also give him a "snack" every day. Usually while I am cooking dinner or cleaning up the kitchen in the mid-morning time. He likes to snack on apple slices, celery, carrot sticks, and more recently mum-mums.
So far he has had //
Carrots, apples, pears, prunes, banana, avocado, sweet potato, peas, green beans, squash, zucchini, broccoli, pineapple, peaches & cauliflower.
I made a batch of spinach & another of white potato but we haven't introduced them yet.
We've also tried yogurt with him, about 4 separate times. Each of which he has thrown up every 30 minutes for 2 hours afterwards.. so we are staying away from that for a while now.
Some things I don't make, some are easier to buy since they aren't in season and some are just cheaper to buy all ready made. Plum sells a "just prunes" package which I buy occasionally when he is having tummy issues. I also buy the plum "just peaches" for a new flavor sometimes, since we can't get peaches right now. I buy regular store brand natural unsweetened apple sauce in the jar -- this is cheaper and easier than having to peel all the apples, plus its only apples and water. (we use this to sweeten some things, like carrots) And oatmeal, I use this to thicken some of the runnier foods.. and as a breakfast item. I tried making my own oatmeal - but it was way too time consuming to prepare when it was meal time.
The only thing he hasn't likes so far, has been carrots. I gave them to him 3 different times plain and he still hated them. He now eats them with apples, or sweet potato.
Right now he is eating mostly 1 time a day, sometimes 2.
If he is having breakfast that day he gets -- 2 tablespoons of oatmeal (1 ounce) mixed with 2 tablespoons of fruit (1 ounce)
For dinner it is always 3 cubes (three ounces) I usually do 2 same veggie cubes and 1 fruit cube mixed together. But sometimes I will do 2 cubes of the same veggie and 1 fruit cube mixed with 1 tablespoon of oatmeal. I also sometimes do 2 cubes of one veggie mixed with 1 cube of another veggie. But very rarely does he get fruit by itself.
So far it has been a great experience, and now that he is getting used to eating its so much fun to feed him and see him enjoying his food!
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