Make Your Own Frozen Baby Food
By Rachel Paxton
With our twin boys getting ready to start solid food, I have
been reading about making and freezing my own baby food. It is
very easy! You can make up large quantities of baby meals and
freeze them for later use.
The basic method
Green beans were in season and on sale at the grocery store,
so I bought several pounds to prepare and freeze. I steamed
them in an electric steamer for about 20 minutes and then blended
them in the blender with some water until they were pureed.
I then poured the puree into ice cube trays.
After the cubes were frozen, I transferred them to a recloseable
freezer bag and labeled the bag with the name of the vegetable
and the date. These cubes can be stored in the freezer for one
to two months.
Convenience, convenience, convenience!
One cube is approximately one ounce of food and can be thawed
out in the refrigerator or microwaved for a quick meal. You
can also mix cubes together (e.g. one meat, one vegetable)
for a combination meal.
The cubes travel well. Just place a frozen cube in a sealed
container until ready to eat. It will be all thawed out and ready
to go.
Endless possbilities
Many types of foods can be prepared ahead of time and frozen.
Try freezing cereals, pureed meats, vegetables and fruits.
Fruits (except bananas) need to be cooked before they are pureed
and served to baby. Cubes of the same type (vegetables, fruits,
meats) can be stored in the freezer together.
The possibilities are endless. When you have leftovers from
a family meal, puree it and freeze it for baby. I also pureed
some leftover chicken I had on hand for a later meal. Just make
sure that baby's portion hasn't had any seasoning of any kind
added to it.
There are many resources that can help you get started. Here
is a link to suggested meal plans for babies of different ages.
It also includes information about storing and preparing food:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babymenu.htm
Here are many easy recipes for making your own baby food, including
teething biscuits:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/baby/baby.html
Making and freezing your own baby food is very easy and I look
forward to exploring all the possibilities. It is healthier for
your baby and a lot easier on your grocery budget.
And it's a good thing the green beans will keep
in the freezer for awhile — because when I gave a bite
of them to my 4-month-olds, they looked at me as if I had just
fed them the most disgusting
thing they'd ever tasted. Guess we'll have to try something else
first!
© Rachel Paxton
Rachel Paxton
is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's
for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more
than 250 quick, easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing
tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints and more, visit
Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
