Baby Food Mania

Let me start out by saying that I have gone totally overboard.  There is no way I needed this much pureed food for P.  C'est la vie!  Now I know!  And I can pass it on to you, my loves :-)

Though we are not starting P on solids for another 5 weeks or so, I decided to get the making of said food out of the way so as to have it ready to go.  What happens when you used to cook in bulk for a couple hundred people?  You are incapable of small amounts.

I have an organic baby food cookbook.  But much of it is for a meal or two.  You know, real recipes, LOL.  I wanted the equivalent of prepared food.  Helloooo, Google!  I found my new bible, momtastic, which has food charts based on age and all kinds of fun stuff.  *Please keep in mind these are guidelines only!!!*

So, armed with ideas, I went shopping.  I would love to say that I bought only organic.  Or only at the Farmer's Market.  But, I am only human...it's kinda a mix of stuff.  So, here goes!

I had carrots in the fridge, so I started with those.

I peeled a fistful of carrots (umm, yeah, go me with the measuring), chopped them, and put them in a small saucepan with some water (not covered, enough to keep things moist), and simmered them until soft.  About halfway through I threw in a bit of olive oil and ground cinnamon, just enough to give off a bit of odor.

I did not drain because to puree, you need some liquid.  So, once they were good and soft, I put it all in the blender, and, because my blender is stubborn, started at a lower setting and worked my way up to puree.  *NOTE: Ideally, wait until things have cooled a bit before blending, as the heat causes more pressure in there!*

I found it was easier to use a liquid measuring cup to pour into my Freezer Tray from Green Sprouts, popped it in the freezer, and 24 hours later, I had carrot cubes!  Regular ice cube trays work as well (which I have put into service at this point.

I got really excited...this was easy!  Like making a pureed soup with way fewer steps!  And, I'm not going to lie, I think this is what caused the current overload of food.  I got cocky...

There are currently 5 trays in the freezer, and about 4 more waiting to be filled (already cooked and pureed).  I haven't touched the bananas and avocados yet, LOL.

What do we have for the Peanut to eat?

• apples with nutmeg
• pears with ginger
• peas with a touch of mint
• yams with clove
• acorn squash with curry powder
• carrots with cinnamon

The bananas will be pureed with some breast milk.  The avocados I am still thinking about.  Anything I would normally put with them is too acidic or gas producing for P.  Though there will have to be some lemon juice to prevent browning.  Maybe that will be enough. 

I also used the grate function on the blender to grind up rolled oats and brown rice.  We are not planning on doing that whole cereal focus thing, but it will be good to go with the fruits and veggies.  

Now, one cube = approximately 1 oz of food (1 serving).  I have over 100 oz, maybe closer to 150 once I do the bananas and avocados.  This is where my inability to make small batches comes in.  1 yam would have done it, not 3.  Half of an acorn squash.  3 gala apples.  2 bartlett pears.  Not quite a whole bag of frozen peas...a SMALL bag. Those would have come to 1 tray each.  But no...I have way more than that, LOL.  What you see here is only apples, pears, and peas.  Not kidding.  I have about 67 oz currently, before the yams and squash. Oops.  

Now, here is the other thing...This is a SAMPLE of all that he could theoretically eat.  So, I can add more.  And mix stuff.  But he won't need pureed for long, so these will be good bases for food, and when I add new stuff, I simply won't puree it, merely mash it or use the food mill I have.  I will check with his doc at his 6 month appointment about protein and yogurt and whatnot.  

So, ummm, anyone need some baby food???