Food for Baby!

I had never ever thought about making baby food for my kids until we were visiting friends in Oklahoma a couple of months after we found out we were pregnant.  Andy and Jess are friends from the army. Actually, the story with them is quite funny!

Jonathan and Andy met at AIT in the Army. Then Andy went off to Germany and Jonathan went off to Ft Riley.  Fast forward a couple of years, Jonathan gets back from Iraq to find Andy in his platoon.  He had come to Ft Riley while Jonathan was still deployed. Then they get all moved in to the barracks and they live just down the hall from each other.  So then, after Jonathan and I got married there was a Battalion Ball (I think it was Battalion…) and we got to meet Andy’s girlfriend, Jessica.  Well, come to find out, Jess graduated from OU (ew!) in Music ed, was a saxophone player AND was a member of the music fraternity for women, SAI.  Need I tell you that all of the above pertained to me as well? Well, obviously not the OU part, just switch that to KSU and we’re good.  So, once Jonathan and Andy were both out of the Army, we all kept in touch.  A year ago we went to celebrate Andy’s graduation from college with them and I was preggo and Jess started telling me about how she made most of Alex’s baby food (all but the meats. I plan to tackle meats!).  So, that, my friends, is what set the ball rolling!

If you want, you can make your own rice cereal and oatmeal for baby. I have just bought the Gerber cereals. That way, Riley definitely gets the iron he needs.  People have different views on whether baby really needs the extra fortified iron cereal or not, but our doc said it’s good to have.

After Riley started with baby cereal and downed it really well a few times, I decided it was time to try some other food. The first thing I made was carrots, after avocado that is. Avocado is easy though. Cut in half, scoop out green stuff, mash with a fork!

First off though, things you will need to make baby food: pot, steamer basket, pan, blender or food processor (I use a Magic Bullet) and ice cube trays.

The first batch of carrots I made I actually used a ziplock steamer bag. If you’re in a rush, those are a GREAT thing to use!  Then I put the carrots (I used bagged baby carrots) in my Magic Bullet, added some water and pureed away. Depending on how runny or thick you want your puree to be depends on how much water you add. I’ve found I need to add a wee bit of water to help with pureeing on most items. Once your puree is done, pour or spoon it into ice cube trays, wrap and freeze. Then you can pop them out into labeled ziplocks and store them in the freezer.

The second time I made carrots I steamed them on the stove. The third time I made them I boiled them. If you boil carrots, don’t reuse the water you boiled them in because of the nitrates.

He loves his food!

Anyhow, Riley loved his carrots and gobbled them right up! If they’re too runny, add rice cereal or oatmeal or whatever cereal you choose.  I’ve found Riley prefers his food a little thicker.

Other things I have made:
Sweet potatoes
Pears
Apples
Peas
Green beans
Acorn squash
Butternut squash
Zucchini
Banana (peel and mash!)
Blueberries

I’m thinking of trying broccoli soon and I have some frozen mango I need to prepare soon.  All of this stuff is so easy to make. I roasted the sweet potatoes, pears, apples, and squash. That’s easy to do. Chop in half, clean out any seeds/cores and put on a pan and in the oven for 45 minutes or so, usually at 400.  If you want, you can peel the apples and pears.  Once everything is done, put it in your blender, add some water and puree!  The squash and sweet potatoes you just scoop out and the apples and pears are ready to pop in. I have to cut mine to fit in the Magic Bullet, but that’s no biggie.

One of these days I’ll try meat out. I’m not sure when I will introduce that to Riley, sometime after 8 months definitely.

If you have any questions, ask away. I may or may not have an answer.  A good website for baby food is http://wholesomebabyfood.com/. I’ve gone there if I’ve had questions about what baby can eat at what age and if I’ve ever needed to know how to cook something.  A good book reference is Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron (http://www.amazon.com/Super-Baby-Food-Ruth-Yaron/dp/0965260313).

When we take our trip to NY, I will probably end up buying jarred food as I don’t know if I’ll have the resources or time to make food.  I want to enjoy time with family and not worry about Riley having solids to eat.  While we’re on that subject, I really need to figure out the whole nursing in public thing before we take off!