Making Baby Food Purees
by Rachel Paxton
I’ve been having fun with my KidCo Electric Food Mill
By the time your baby is 6 months old, depending on the advice of your pediatrician, you will be feeding your baby a variety of pureed foods. Up until now you probably have been trying new foods one by one, to see what foods, if any, your baby is sensitive to. At 6 months old, you can also start adding a little yogurt and cottage cheese to your baby’s daily diet.
Once your baby has the opportunity to taste a variety of foods, he or she will definitely develop tastes for certain foods. This is where baby food purees come in handy. You can start mixing in less desirable foods in with ones your baby enjoys. There are many baby food combinations you can come up with. I will share with you some of my 7-month-old son’s favorites.
For breakfast my baby eats rice or oatmeal cereal. I’ve tried one of the mixed varieties, but he’s not crazy about the strong wheat taste of the mixed ones yet. There are a lot of things you can add to baby cereal. You can make the cereal with water or also with juice. I’ve made the cereal with V8 Fusion, and my son loves it. That way he’s getting his cereal, fruit, and vegetables all in one. I also sometimes stir a little yogurt, bananas, or applesauce into his cereal and he loves it.
Speaking of applesauce, applesauce is a great addition to other fruits. I have used my food mill to blend up and freeze fresh peaches, pears, plums, apricots, and bananas. You have to be careful of giving your baby too much fruit or it could lead to a tummy ache or even diaper rash. I add one frozen cube of one of these fruits to a small bowl of applesauce, and we haven’t had any problems with diaper rash at all. The benefit of the fruit is it definitely helps keep your baby from getting constipated.
You can also mix cubes of fresh fruit with cottage cheese. Go slow with the cottage cheese to make sure it doesn’t bother your baby. Yogurt is easier to digest.
I get the most creative with baby food purees at lunch and dinnertime. I have made and frozen many meals for my baby from meals our family has enjoyed for dinner. Here are some ideas:
- Chicken and rice soup
- Split pea and ham soup
- Cream of broccoli soup
- Beef stroganoff
- Spaghetti
- Chicken gravy and mashed potatoes
- Corned beef hash or corned beef and noodles
When you prepare these meals, make sure you prepare them with as natural of ingredients as possible and don’t add extra seasonings, onions, or garlic. If possible remove your baby’s portion from the meal before you add these ingredients.
I also have bought seasonal squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. They freeze very well and are great to mix with chicken or beef.
Don’t be afraid to try new combinations. I have combined beef, sweet potatoes, and peaches together and it tastes great. Don’t be afraid to try your baby’s dinner first. I figure if I don’t like it I shouldn’t feed it to my baby!
If you have any more great ideas for baby food purees, feel free to leave your ideas below. I’d love to hear from you.
