I’m not sure about you, but I can’t rationalize buying premade baby food for every meal. It’s so expensive for what exactly? Pureed squash? Don’t get me wrong I do like to have a few on hand in the diaper bag. Homemade baby food isn’t exactly shelf stable nor does it travel well in glass jars.
I pressure can a lot of my own vegetables and meats. Home grown, farm raised goodness! The beauty of pressure canning is how soft it makes the food. Perfect for purees and mashing.
Due to food sensitivities my Little Steward follows the Paleo diet. Making my own foods for him also ensures he is consuming foods that will agree with his little body. Which is very important to me.
Ingredients for deliciousness
Proteins: chicken, turkey, pork, fish
Vegetables: squash, carrots, parsnips, green beans
Fruits: peaches, pears, applesauce, blueberries
Whole meals: spaghetti with ground beef and sauce, chicken soup, broccoli soup, pork stew, stir fry,
—–These are only what I have done in the last 3 months, use your imagination! The list is endless and only limited by what is available to you—–
Tools I like to use: baby food grinder, food processor, blender, ball ice cube tray with lid, half cup and one cup mason jars.
I like to pureed a whole pint of food with some bone broth to get the right consistency. I aim to get it thick enough to stay on the spoon but not so thick it sticks to the roof of my Little Stewards mouth. Then I’ll freeze some in an ice cube tray and some in half cup or one cup jars mixed with a vegetable. I label the jars, and the frozen cubes are stashed in a resealable bag marked either protein, whole meal, fruit or vegetable.
The half cup and one cup jars are great to thaw overnight in the fridge. I love the frozen cubes because they thaw soo quickly in the microwave. YES, I am aware that it is not recommended to microwave baby food. I have a very low powered microwave so straight from frozen I do 30 seconds, then 15 and 10 to get it to the right temperature. I always ALWAYS check the temperature of any foods I am giving my Little Steward. He doesn’t want anything to do with it cold, and I can’t blame him. Cold turkey with green beans? Eww.
Typical meals in a day
My Little Steward looooves his Grandma’s canned peaches, those have been breakfast in some form for the last two months. They were one of the first foods I fed him. They mash up well in the blender or with a fork, mix in a little yogurt for protein. Now that he has moved on to soft foods he loves feeding himself the soft slices.
If what I am eating for lunch or dinner won’t be A) done on time for my hungry Little Steward or B) Little Steward friendly then I like to pull out some of my premade foods. If what I am eating is prefect for him then I’ll just send some through the baby food grinder and serve it up!
Lunch might be a cube of turkey mixed with one or two cubes of squash.
Dinner might be a cube of pork mixed with one or two cubes of greens beans.
Dessert…My Little Steward looooves his Grandma’s homemade applesauce!! It did take about 5 tries before he did, so keep trying things! My pediatrician said it may take 15 times before he likes something. I like to mix the applesauce with some frozen stewed prunes/prune juice otherwise he gets a little stopped up and uncomfortable.
The transition from milk to real food
I am a first time Mother, as such I had and still have fears about my Little Steward choking. We went to visit my parents after the Dr gave us the all clear to do solids. I am lovingly going to call it food camp weekend. We spent the weekend feeding him lots of new foods and getting me comfortable with feeding him and him not choking. I learned the difference between gagging and choking. Gagging is actually a good thing, it is the bodies natural reflex to protect against choking. I asked my mom “What if he chokes?” and she responded with “Well, what if he does? What do you do?” Obviously you save your baby! Click for the red cross guidelines on how to save a choking baby. I pray you never need to save a choking Little Steward but EVERYONE should know how! There is comfort in having confidence that you know what to do. My mom shared that when I was little and we were out at a restaurant I started choking on a cracker and she had me out of the high chair and in her lap saving me before she had completely registered the fact I was choking.