Making Baby Food Couldn't Be Easier!

Today, I whipped up a few batches of bananas and avocados for Ty.  So, I figured that I'd save someone the trouble of researching the process with this quick tutorial.  Making your own baby food couldn't get any easier.  You don't need fancy puree machines, nor do you need any expensive freezer storage systems!  


1.  Buy a ripe avocado if you're planning on making the food soon.  I will just ask the supermarket produce person to show me which are riper (they're usually darker in color and a bit softer).  Cut the avocado in half, moving your knife around the entire piece (and around the large pit in the center).  Twist the knife slightly to separate each side.  Use the knife tip to remove the pit.

                      

2.  Peel the avocado or use a spoon to spoon it out of the skin.

                                            

3.  Chop the avocado into small cubes.  This just helps it blend a little better.  Add the cubes to your chopper or blender.  Notice I'm just using a cheap Black and Decker "Chopper".  It makes smaller amounts, so if you'd like to make larger, go with a blender.

                                         

4.  In this step, you need to add Mommy Milk, Formula, or water.  I prefer Mommy Milk or Formula (at least that way I'm adding even more vitamins & goodies).  Generally, I start small.  I'll only add a half ounce or so, blend well, check consistency, and add more liquid, if necessary.  I've noticed that avocado takes more liquid than bananas (or other more smooth fruits/veggies).  They're generally more chunky and take longer to puree.  

                   

5.  Ty is not a huge fan of texture, just yet.  So, I tend to blend until I get a fairly smooth consistency.  Using about 1 to 1.5 ounces of MM in the chopper.  This takes about a minute or two.  I'll stop the chopper, use the spoon to push down any runaway pieces and resume.

                       

6.  Next, I'll spoon the puree into a ziplock bag.  This will be used as a piping bag, which just makes filling the ice cube trays MUCH easier and there's not a whole lot of waste!  

  

7.  The easiest (and cheapest, by far) way to freeze the baby food is by using ice cube trays.  First of all, each cube will be 2 ounces.  This makes measuring food a breeze.  Secondly, they stack pretty conveniently into your freezer and are easy to fill using the piping method.

8.  Pipe your food into the tray, filling them to the top.  It's ok if you don't fill up every cube!  I also tap the tray on the counter a couple of times, to be sure there aren't any large air pockets.  Using plastic wrap (which I didn't have, so I used plastic baggies), cover the tray and place in the freezer.

                      

 9.  Once the cubes are frozen, I take out the tray, twist it to break the cubes free, dump them onto a paper towel, and divide them up into breast milk storage or freezer bags.  They can either go back into the freezer or begin thawing for the day/week.  Hope this has helped show you just how easy making your own baby food can be.  It's not difficult and I truly enjoy doing it, when I have the time.  Hope you will too!  Enjoy!