Thursday, July 10, 2014

Baby Food Recipes: Basic Veggie Blends


If you haven't read my first baby food post, Baby Food 101, then you'll want to read that first. It discusses some of my favorite ways to store my homemade baby food and my favorite machine to use to make it!
For this post,  I'll be sharing a few of my favorite veggie baby foods and veggie blends. I started my little one with carrots, peas, squash, green beans and sweet potato and I make them pretty much the same way.

First off, we'll talk about making Squash, Carrots and/or Sweet Potato Baby Food.  You can either bake them or boil them to soften them up, it's up to you.  Baking the sweet potato makes it a little bit sweeter & can be easier too, but either way is fine. If you'd like, you can also use frozen veggies. That is the easiest and fastest way. Frozen veggies are just as healthy as fresh ones and some believe they're even better for you because they are frozen at their peak.  

Squash, Carrots & Sweet Potato
1.  Place the squash, carrots and/or sweet potato on a cookie sheet.  Bake until soft (approx. 20 min).
--Or you can boil them in a pot of water completely submerged until soft.  

2. Once softened, peeled (carrots don't need to be peeled) and dice up. Place the squash, carrots and/or sweet potato in the blender, add some water and/or breastmilk and blend to the consistency of your choice. 

3.  Once blended,  pour into the containers you've chosen to store the food and either feed to baby within 3 days or freeze.  I always make plenty at a time so I freeze a portion and save a 3 day supply on the refrigerator as well.

Next, we'll do the peas & green beans. I like to buy the frozen peas and green beans since their are all seat to boil and prep.  The canned versions have way too much sodium not only for a baby but for an adult as well. If you opted for frozen carrots, spinach, squash or any other frozen vegetable combination, you can follow the directions below as well.  

Peas & Green Beans 
1.  Steam or boil them in a pot of water completely submerged until soft.
2. Once softened, place them in the blender, add some water and/or breastmilk and blend to the consistency of your choice. 
3.  Once blended,  pour into the containers you've chosen to store the food and either feed to baby within 3 days or freeze.  I always make plenty at a time so I freeze a portion and save a 3 day supply on the refrigerator as well.

And that's how easy it is.  If you are just starting off with solids, make each veggie individually and serve it to baby a few times before combining it with others.  I've combined all of these veggies for my little one (squash, carrots, sweet potato, green beans and peas) in various combinations and all together and he loved them all.  I also add oatmeal cereal to thicken it up a bit, especially after defrosting it.  







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