Friday, July 13, 2012

{home made baby food: carrots}

I have always known that i wanted to make my own baby food
Reasons? Its easy, its fresh, & i know exactly what is in it, always!

When we first started G on solids, it was a nightmare! 
She did not want to eat from a spoon at all
So we ended up buying organic baby food here and there, just to see what she would eat!
She is getting a bit better now, at least 1/4-1/2 of the food offered actually ends up in her mouth now {instead of on her hands, her body, the floor, me..}
So i knew it was time to start making my own, to have it on hand at all times.
I have made a few others, but today i'll show you how to make carrots 
Carrots are a good "First food", especially when trying to introduce veggies, because they are naturally sweet. 
G Loves them :) 

You will need:
Carrots 
a peeler
water
cuisinart or blender
ice cube trays
a spatula 
ziploc bags
Peel your carrots
Boil them for 15-20 minutes or until they are soft when poked with a fork
Once boiled, break into pieces & place in your cuisinart or blender
Pulse until you reach the desired consistency, adding small bits of water if necessary.
{I added a little less than 1/4 cup of water to my 10 carrots}
G does not like her food purees to be completely smooth. She likes it a little clumpy 
spread your carrot puree into your ice cube tray of choice.
I prefer the silicone because it is VERY easy to just pop the frozen food cubes out because the tray is so flexible
Place your carrot puree in the freezer over night 
The next day, pop out the puree cubes onto a clean surface 
Place your cubes neatly in a labeled freezer bag. 
Place your carrots back in the freezer next to the rest of your homemade baby food cubes :)
The frozen cubes will keep for about 3 months in the freezer

To serve, i usually do 1-2 cubes a a time, depending on how hungry G seems
place cubes in a microwave safe container & put in the microwave.
I microwave in 30 second increments, just making sure i don't make it too hot.
I like to serve it in one of my Le creuset measuring cups, or a small tea cup, they are the perfect size :)
Feed your fresh yummy food to your sweetie! 
& feel proud of yourself for preparing it 

happy friday 

5 comments:

  1. Love this! Can't wait to come back to this post in a few months (maybe more like 6 or 7) ;)

    Have a great weekend!
    xoxo,
    Brooke

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  2. I'm curious your thoughts on boiling vs. steaming?! I plan on making my sweet boy his food and freezing it as well. I was under the impression that steaming food keeps more of the nutrients in the food, whereas boiling leaches some out into the water. My second question is on the storage containers...I use the same green silicone ones (LOVE THEM!!), however, I'm always concerned about it not being covered while in the freezer. Is this a crazy mom thought on my part...lol!? I usually cover it somehow and haven't liked any of my ideas. Your thoughts?!
    Thanks...love your blog!
    Kate

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    Replies
    1. Hello Kate!
      I havent tried steaming, mainly because i dont have a steamer & dont have the insert that would go over the pot to make my own steamer. I need ot get one!
      I have heard the same thing about boiling leeching out some of the nutrients.
      But with G, She is strictly breastfed through out the day & i dont give her solids until right before bed. & she only eats a couple bites, So right now, with as young as she is, im not so worried about nutrient intake with solids {since she gets plenty from breastmilk}, just trying to get her used to different things being in her mouth, if that makes sense :) Once she begins eating more solids, & less breastmilk, then it will definitely become a factor.

      As for freezing, I never leave the cubes in the freezing container for longer than 24 hours
      as soon as i get a chance & they are thouroughly frozen i put them in a freezer storage bag.
      Ive heard of people simply wrapping it in seran wrap?? but i dont.
      But if you are really concerned about it going uncovered, Maybe you could fill the ice cube tray, then slide the whole tray into a freezer storage ziploc & seal it. Then have it freeze per usual :)

      Hope that was helpful!!
      Ashley

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  3. Thanks so much for the post! Cash will be trying oatmeal next week for the first time & then in a short time we will start the veggies! I plan on making our own baby food too! What other first foods do you suggest? Love your blog! Hope the rain cleared! Send it WI's way, please! :)

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    Replies
    1. Hello Amy :)
      G's very first food was Sweet potatoes
      She LOVED them
      Then got bored with them real fast haha
      So far we've tried sweet potatoes, Brown rice cereal, pears, bananas, apples, & carrots.
      We have tried to give her a wide variety of flavors & textures. She seems to enjoy them all, just in very small quantities.
      We have had a hard time trying to get G to eat baby food. So we had to get creative at times. She likes baby mum mums quite a bit. she also likes frozen bananas a lot. We literally cut a banana into thirds & freeze them, then give her the frozen piece to munch on. We just watch her VERY closely. She wants to do everything herself!
      so we are just going with it.
      Ive noticed though, that since we stopped trying to force feed her baby food purees with a spoon, & let her feed herself, {The bananas, the mum mums} she doesnt mind as much when we do offer to feed her with a spoon! Every baby is different i guess :) Ours is just very independant, crazy girl!

      Hope that helps :) Good luck!
      ashley

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