Favorite Homemade Baby Food Purees

Caroline is a garbage disposal these days when it comes to food. If she sees you eating something, she grabs for it. There are very few foods she dislikes and thankfully she's not a picky eater (yet). She's mostly on table food now but we still send a container or two of pureed foods with her to daycare as well.

Anyway, I noticed as her appetite picked up so did our grocery bill. I was spending upwards of $50 a week on organic squeeze packets of food for her until finally I threw in the towel and decided to make it myself. I started with cubes of single fruits and vegetables purees and experimented mixing them into different combinations until I found what she loved the most.

A few of Caroline's favorite purees these days include Sweet Potato, Apple & Corn Puree, Blueberry & Chickpea Puree and Butternut Squash, Apple & Carrot Puree.

Before I jump into recipes, a few items necessary for making baby food include a good blender (I use the Ninja blender found here), ice cube trays (here), freezer bags and tape for labeling.

As for my shopping list, I purchase all my groceries from Harris Teeter (out of convenience) but recommend stocking up on the frozen food from cheaper places if you don't mind making an additional trip. You can also save money by purchasing the butternut squash and sweet potatoes whole and washing/peeling/dicing them yourself...but I've found the extra few bucks is well worth the time saved! Total cost for my ingredients is usually around $20 (or less if items are on sale) and last me a few weeks.

 

Grocery Shopping List
1 Container Butternut Squash {washed, peeled, diced}
1 Container Sweet Potatoes {washed, peeled, diced}
1 Bag Gala Apples {washed, peeled, diced}
1 Bag Frozen Corn
2 10 oz Bags of Frozen Blueberries
3 Ripe Bananas
1 Bag Carrots {washed, peeled, baby cut}
1 29 oz Can Pumpkin
1 16 oz Can Chickpeas

Note: I purchase my fresh vegetables already peeled and diced with the exception of apples. I don't peel my apples to save time and my mini doesn't mind small pieces of skin in her purees.

Sweet Potato, Apple & Corn Puree
Wash, peel and dice sweet potatoes and apples. Boil apples until tender. Steam sweet potatoes until tender. Boil corner until no longer frozen. Mix desired amounts of each item into your blender (I use equal parts) and blend until pureed. You may need to add water (1 tbsp at a time) to reach desired consistency. Pour into labeled ice cube trays, placing a layer of wax paper in between trays and freeze. Run warm water over bottoms of trays to pop out the frozen cubes. Place in freezer bags and transfer labels from trays and add the date. When you're little is ready to eat, heat cubes in the microwave until warm and melted.

Blueberry & Chickpea Puree
Run frozen blueberries under warm water until thawed. Drain chickpeas. Mix desired amounts of each item into your blender and blend until pureed. You may need to add water (1 tbsp at a time) to reach desired consistency. Or, if too thin you can add baby oatmeal (1 tbsp at a time) until you reach desired consistency. Pour into labeled ice cube trays, placing a layer of wax paper in between trays and freeze. Run warm water over bottoms of trays to pop out the frozen cubes. Place in freezer bags and transfer labels from trays and add the date. When you're little is ready to eat, heat cubes in the microwave until warm and melted.

Butternut Squash, Apple & Carrot Puree 

Wash, peel and dice butternut squash, carrots and apples. Boil apples until tender. Steam squash until tender. Boil carrots until tender. Mix desired amounts of each item into your blender (I use equal parts) and blend until pureed. You may need to add water (1 tbsp at a time) to reach desired consistency. Pour into labeled ice cube trays, placing a layer of wax paper in between trays and freeze. Run warm water over bottoms of trays to pop out the frozen cubes. Place in freezer bags and transfer labels from trays and add the date. When you're little is ready to eat, heat cubes in the microwave until warm and melted.

Making Caroline's food takes me several hours on a Sunday afternoon but it is so much fresher and healthier for her. I can't believe it took me so long to kick the packets to the curb and home make her food. Truth be told, I was pretty intimidated by the whole process but once I jumped in I realized I kind of enjoyed it! It makes me a little sad that this will be our last batch of purees as Caroline has been showing less and less interest in them and prefers food she can feed herself now.

What is your mini's favorite puree combination?