whyohwhyohwhy did i wait so long to make baby food? THIS STUFF IS AWESOME. for her, i mean. but maybe also for me? could be, her applesauce is DAMN good.
i guess i was just lazy, that is the only conceivable reason i can see why people would actually buy baby food instead of making their own. since it isn't really that difficult and it is more inconvenient to go to the supermarket every time the baby needs food and Lord knows it is insanely cheaper to make it. i did want those little plastic lidded containers that the gerber baby foods come in and all things considered i'm glad i have them.
i made carrots and applesauce yesterday, butternut squash (hannah's favorite!) and turkey today. i'm planning on doing some broccoli and green beans later today, but all the ice cube trays are full right now. carrots i steamed into oblivion on the stove - i usually do mine to crsip-tender, about 8 minutes, but hers i did for 25 so they would be soft enough to puree up nicely. apples i peeled, cored, and sliced (just like for apple crisp), covered with plastic wrap and stuck in the microwave for 2 minutes per apple with about a teaspoon of water per apple. butternut squash i also did in the microwave for about 12 minutes under plastic wrap. the turkey was leftover from dinner the other night. then i just stuck them in the food processor until they were nicely pureed. the applesauce i did add about a teaspoon of lemon juice (for 3 apples) to keep them from discoloring, and the turkey needed a good bit of breastmilk to make a decent puree because it gets so dry in the refrigerator. then i just spooned the puree into ice cube trays, froze them, and then popped them out into little bags. i figure one cube is about what she eats for breakfast and about half of what she eats at night.
there's no extra crap in them, not even the water that gerber adds to thin out their puree. just plain old goodness. how awesome is that? i figure too, that if for some reason we don't get through the food i make for her - if she's decides she's allergic to something or refuses to eat something and i can't trick her into opening her mouth - it's just fruit and vegetable puree. i can add it to meatloaf, soup, smoothies, pasta sauce.
i am so wicked excited by this. it's kind of eyebrow-raising to see me. i'm on a bit of a tear. maybe because we will be making another big milk donation in the next day or so and i'm feeling like my freezer won't be full enough?
a friend told me that you're not supposed to freeze baby food in uncovered ice cube trays because the nutrients escape. it would be just my luck if this were true, especially since i don't believe it. how do they escape? do the vitamins evaporate? do they grow legs and walk away?
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we were married in august 2004 and found out we are pregnant in september 2008. our beautiful baby hannah was born on may 11, 2009!
save a baby!
since july 1, 2009, we have donated approximately:
825 oz.
last donation: december 22, 2009.
to find out more about milk donation, click here.
825 oz.
last donation: december 22, 2009.
to find out more about milk donation, click here.
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About Me
- eireann
- i'm happiest when i have a project or two or twelve. i'm addicted to my daughter and madly in love with my husband, not in the least because he tolerates my obsessions.
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3 comments:
did you read up on how to do it? I only ask because carrots are for some reason (can't remember why) not recommended for home babyfood making. Something in them turns weird with home cooking. Fine for adults not so for baby. Or so I read. Just wanted to make sure you knew. Check it out, I am sure google can find it. I am so doing that with this one. If he ever leaves the nest! :)
yes. carrots (and some other leafy and root vegetables, like spinach and broccoli) have high levels of nitrates and can poison a young baby. so, the aap does not recommend those veggies for babies younger than 3 months. after 4-6 months old, their tummies are sufficiently developed that nitrate poisoning is no longer a risk. the risk is about 0.01% anyway, so i am not hugely concerned. maybe that's irresponsible of me, but i don't sterilize every little thing that goes in her mouth either, so. also, nitrates are naturally occurring and apparently cannot be removed, so they can show up in commercial baby food and even in organic commercial baby food. nitrates are also why broccoli and spinach are not recommended for babies under 8 months. i did not end up doing the broccoli last night and hannah can't have it anyway, but i probably will very soon because we have a ton of it right now and i'd rather let it sit in the freezer for a month until she can eat it than let it go to waste.
and, we don't really eat organic because i'm not willing to shell out the money for it, unless the price is the same or less (on sale). i'm on the fence about it with hannah. maybe i ought to do a post about it and get some input. :)
the book super baby food by ruth yaron is what i read and "use" for guidelines and help with recipes (i.e. i was kind of clueless about making applesauce). some of it is a little out there imho, but overall a pretty good book. hmmm. maybe it will come in the hotdog box for you. ;)
also, so you don't think i'm completely irresponsible, i did pick our pedi's brain about foods at hannah's 6-mo appointment. she said there was no reason why we should restrict her diet on pretty much anything except honey, citrus, and egg whites. neither brian nor i have any family history of food allergies so she okayed us even trying nuts and shellfish before a year, though i personally want to wait. i wanted to get her okay before we gave her anything "crazy" like carrots or broccoli, and she said we shouldn't need to worry about pretty much anything.
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