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Friday, August 23, 2013

Homemade Baby Food

As a culinary student I have an appreciation for real food and more importantly local and organic foods. That's not to say I eat a strict diet but when making food choices I try to maintain my morals especially when it concerns my son.

I love Whole Foods Market. Yes I understand it's expensive and not available everywhere but the produce is vibrant, fragrant and they always have (within the seasonal bounds) what I am looking for, including the exotics.

When my son reached 5 months he was no longer sustained by breast milk. I then started adding baby Gerber oatmeal which he despised and Gerber rice cereal which he would only take when masqueraded by milk. After a week or so of that struggle I ordered the Beaba Babycook that I had been coveting on Pinterest since my second month of pregnancy. One Hundred and Fifty dollars later I have a food processor, steamer, rice cooker, baby food maker all in a convenient lightweight machine that fits on my counter top, and makes over 4 cups of food at the touch of a button in under fifteen minutes. Bonus, the steam basket and blender bowl are BPA free and top rack dishwasher safe. 

Below are some of my favorite homemade baby food recipes from the past five months.
• Make sure you know what foods are non allergens and safe for your child's food stage and health. I specified the type of fruit or vegetable because they were chosen methodically based on thickness of skin, texture when cooked, amount of moisture, bitterness after cooking, sweetness and acidity. 
• I prefer to use organic ingredients for my son and I always consider the rules of new food introduction. 
•As long as I can scrub the skins down and they aren't too thick I leave them on because they contain so many nutrients, plus I'm paying for the weight of them. 
• With most of my purées I add equal parts 2% Plain Greek Yogurt for protein and it has less sugar than regular yogurt because the amount of lactose is low, which also helps if your child has a hard time with dairy products. Greek Yogurt should be mixed in before serving or possible spoilage may occure.  
• I add fresh citrus fruit juice to my baby foods as a preservative so they can be stored up to three days in the fridge and 2 weeks in a freezer in a foodsafe, air tight container.
• When using foods that have to be cooked I steam them because hey retain more vitamins and nutrients, the steam water contains vits&nutr rendered so if you need to add water to blend use the steam water.


Beaba Babycook
L: 2 Carrots & 1 Sweet Potato puree (both washed and cooked with skins)
R: 1/2cup Blueberry & 1 Gala Apple puree (both raw, peeled apple)


•2 Freestone Peaches (because the fruit easily separates from the pit and are high in moisture which is needed for this application)
•1 Zucchini washed with skins intact, steamed
•3 Rainbow Carrots (different pigments provide different nutrients) with skins washed and intact steamed. 
•Purée ingredients together.

•1 Russet Potato peeled and steamed
•1 Banana ripened
•1 Clingstone Peach with skin
•Purée ingredients together. 

•1 Courgette (a young zucchini therefore it's skin is thinner so it doesn't require steaming for this application)
•1 Banana ripened
•1/4cup 2% Plain Greek Yogurt.
•Purée ingredients together.

Root Vegetable Medley: warning this smells like dirt because these are from the ground, however it tastes great.
• 1 med Garnet Yam washed with skin intact
• 1/2 cup peeled Daikon (Japanese Radish high in vitamin C)
•1 Parsnip (similar to carrot and high in potassium) washed with skin intact.  
•Steam and purée all ingredients. 

•1 Banana ripened
• 1/4 cup Blueberries
•1/4 cup 2% Plain Greek Yogurt
•Purée ingredients together

•2 Beets peeled (high in folic acid).
•2 Red Potaoes cleaned with skin intact.
•Steam Beets and Red Potato
•1 Banana ripened
•Purée ingredients together


Puréed beets can be gritty, will stain everything and can turn contents of diaper red, don't be alarmed its not blood, it's beet pigment. 

•1 Mango peeled (the oblong pit is fiberous, slice both large sides off discarding the center)
• 2 Red Plums with washed skin intact
•1 Bartlett Pear ripened, washed with skin intact
•Purée ingredients together.

•1/2 English Cucumber with seeds and core removed (this variety has thin skin and more flavor) washed with skin intact
•1/2 Golden Delicious Apple peeled
• 1 Black Plum washed with skin intact
•Purée ingredients together.


•1 American Summer Squash washed with skin intact and steamed
•1 Hass Avocado pitted and skinned
•1 Roma Tomato washed with skin intact with seeds and core removed.
•Purée ingredients together.
•Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to avoid oxidation of avocado.


•1 Pink Grapefruit peeled, cored and seeded
• 1 Banana ripe 
•1/4 Canteloupe peeled 
•Purée ingredients together.
Control the amount of liquid from grapefruit and melon otherwise this will be a smoothie. 2% Plain Greek Yogurt can thicken this one. Grapefruit is very acidic and may upset a new stomach or cause diaper rash. 

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