Baby Food - Vegetable Purees

Let’s face it, baby food is expensive! It is so much easier, cheaper and healthier just to make your own. All you need to get started is a blender/food processor, a steamer (or you can boil the vegetables in a saucepan on the stove), and an ice-cube tray or mini-muffin tin. I have purchased 2 silicon mini-muffin tins to freeze my baby food portions. I feel that the ice cube trays do not hold enough puree. I like the silicon because it is easy to un-mold the food. I will usually spend an afternoon making a few different purees so we have enough for a couple of weeks.

Sweet Potatoes
Wash a sweet potato and pierce a few times with a knife. Wrap in foil and bake in 350 oven for about an hour. Mash without peel. Add a little formula or breast milk to reach desired consistency.

Butternut/Acorn Squash
Pierce squash a few times with a sharp knife. Place on cookie sheet and bake in 350 oven for about an hour and a half. Scoop out flesh with spoon and mash with some formula or breast milk to reach desired consistency.

Peas/Broccoli/Green Beans
Steam frozen vegetables until tender. Blend/puree with added formula or breast milk until vegetables reach desired consistency.
*Note* Frozen fruits/vegetables CAN be refrozen once they are in puree form.

Tomatoes
Dice tomatoes and sauté in olive oil and a little diced onion and garlic (for flavor) until tender. Mash with fork. Tomatoes are not too great on their own because of their strong flavor, but they can be added to squash or green beans.

Avocadoes
Mash ripe avocados with a fork. Very tasty when mixed with mashed bananas. CANNOT be frozen.