Baby Food Breakdown

This is for all you Mamas of little ones!  When Tessa as a baby I did not make my own baby food for her and wish I had.  She turned out just fine, but I really wanted to give it another try with my Dempsey bear.  I have two cookbooks that I have referred to to get started:

Cooking for Baby


and Tyler Florence's Start Fresh Cookbook (this is actually a Christmas present for a good friend, but I couldn't resist a sneak peek!)


What I have learned from these two books is just how easy it is to make your own baby food at home!  All you need is a pot with a steamer basket, blender, food processor, rimmed roasting pan (rimmed cooking sheet), ice cube trays, and freezer bags! 

Our doctor recommended introducing foods to Dempsey by doing a fruit, vegetable, fruit, vegetable, and so on.  He said this would prevent the child from developing only a likeness for sweet fruits.  He also suggested waiting three days after introducing a new food to see how the child reacts to the new food.  Tyler Florence recommends using a blender to mix first foods because it creates a smoother consistency and then usign a food processor once the baby is used to eating these first foods becuase a food processor tends to give foods a thicker consistency.

Once I make the pureed baby food, I let it cool and then spoon it into ice cube trays.  Once it is frozen I pop it out and into freezer bags.  I then label the bag with the food and the date which I make it.  Depending on who you talk to, baby foods can last up to three months in the freezer and three days in the fridge. 

To feed Dempsey, I take two of the ice cube foods and place them in one cup glass bowls that I purchased and they come with lids.  Then I put the bowl in the fridge in the morning and it is thawed by the time I need to feed it to the Little Bear.  Since I store it in a glass bowl, I feel comfortable heating up the food in the microwave.  I stir it to even out the hot spots and wait a few minutes to make sure it's not too hot.

So far, Demps has tried apples and sweet potatoes with success!  I plan on then moving onto pears, peas, carrots, and maybe bananas!  Neither cookbook has a recipe for just bananas.  I'm thinking this is because bananas don't freeze well.

Here are some recipes for homemade baby food! 

Apple Puree (makes 2 cups) This would also make a good base for applesauce!
6 Golden or Red Delicious apples, quartered and cored just before cooking

Bring 1 inch water to a boil in a pot.  Put apples in a steamer basket, set in pot, cover tightly, and steam until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 10-12 minutes.

Let cool, reserving cookign liquid.  Scrape flesh from skins and puree in a food processor until smooth.  Add reserved cooking liquid to thin the puree, if desired.

Refrigerate cooled apple puree in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or fill ice-cube trays or other containers to freeze for up to 3 months.  There will be some slight discoloration during storing.

Pear Puree (makes 2 cups)
4 ripe pears, quartered and cored just before cooking

Bring 1 inch water to a boil in a pot.  Put pears in a steamer basked, set in pot, cover tightly, and steam until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 7-10 minutes, depending on ripeness.

Let cool and scrape flesh from skins.  Puree pears in a food processor until smooth.  As baby gets older, add baby's cereal to thicken this liquidy puree, if desired.
Refrigerate cooled pear puree in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or fill ice-cube trays or other containers to freeze for up to 3 months.  There will be some slight discoloration during storing.

Sweet Potato Puree (makes 2 cups)
2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Prick sweet potatoes with a small knife and place on a baking sheet.

Roast until wrinkled and tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45-60 minutes.  Let cool.

Halve sweet potatoes, scoop out flesh from skins, and puree flesh in a food processor until smooth.  Add water, breast milk, or formula to think sweet potatoes to a consistency your baby can handle.  As baby gets older and can eat thicker purees, mash some or all of the sweet potato with a fork.

This can also be used for baking potatoes as well.

Refrigerate cooled sweet potato puree in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or fill ice-cube trays or other containers to freeze for up to 3 months.  There will be some slight discoloration during storing.

Sweet Pea Puree (makes 1 1/2 cups)
Peas, fresh or frozen, 2 cups (10 oz.)

Bring 1 inch water to a boil in a pot.  Put peas in a steamer basket, set in pot, cover tightly, and steam until bright green and tender enouch to mash easily with a fork, 5-7 minutes for fresh or hard frozen peas and 3 minutes for thawed frozen.  Remove basket from pot, reserving cooking liquid.  Rinse peas under running cold water to stop the cooking.

Puree peas until smooth.  Add cooking liquid, breast milk, or formula to thin pea puree to a consistency your baby can handle.

Refrigerate cooled pea puree in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or fill ice-cube trays or other containers to freeze for up to 3 months.  There will be some slight discoloration during storing.

Carrot Puree
1 bunch carrots

Cut the greens off if needed.  Peel the carrots and then slice the carrots evenly into circles and set aside.

Bring about 1 cup of water to boil in a large pot over high heat.  Place carrot slices in steamer basket and place over boiling water.  Cover with lid and steam until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. 

Transfer to a blender or food processor while hot and puree.  Add some of the cooking water to thin out the puree.


Tyler Florence's book even has recipes for the following foods to feed baby:  summer squash or zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, turnips, cauliflower, and parsnips.  There really is no limit to what you can do to introduce your baby to new foods!