Baby Food!

We started Cooper on cereal a little over a week ago and he is LOVING it now! He will finish 3 tablespoons of cereal mixed with about 3 teaspoons of pears or apples. YUMMY! Of course I must include a picture of his little punkin face! :)

Today I made a batch of Butternut Squash. I forgot how much I love this part of solids-making my own food! I used 2 squash, and made approximately 28 BABY FOOD JARS worth of food! Seriously, do you know how much money that saves?! I am going to figure out the math on that this week.



Making baby food is SO easy, takes hardly anytime to make, it is so much cheaper than buying it, and it tastes SOOO much better than the nasty overcooked, processed stuff from the store. I think that is why Ella is such a good veggie eater now.

So, I thought I would include some recipes on my blog for those interested in making baby food. I get all of my information on making baby food from www.wholesomebabyfood.com. It is an awesome resource and has TONS of information on it. They are also really good about answering e-mails if you happen to have a question about something.

Anyway-here is how to prepare the BUTTERNUT SQUASH:

1. Cut a butternut squash in 1/2.
2. Scoop out the seeds. I wait until it is baked to scoop out the pulp (The stringy stuff) just because it is easier then.
3. Turn them upside down in a baking dish filled with 1 inch of water.
4. Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes, depending on the thickness of the squash.
5. You know it is done when you can poke the thickest part of the squash with a fork with no problem.
6. After it has cooled quite a bit, scoop out "The meat"
7. Place in a blender or food processor (I prefer a blender because it seems to puree it better). Add about 1/4 c. of water to start. Blend. Keep adding water until you get the consistency you want.

To store it, this is what I do:

I use ice cube trays! Take a tablespoon measure and put in 1 heaping tablespoon in each ice cube slot. This is approximately 1 oz. About 2 cubes is equal to 1 stage 1 jar of baby food. Cover with plastic wrap (not foil!) and freeze. When it is totally frozen, pop the food cubes out and put them in a giant zip lock, then stick back in the freezer. VOILA! You have perfect little portions ready to go. To defrost, let it sit in the fridge overnight, or nuke for a few seconds. SO EASY and SO HEALTHY!!

You can freeze the food for up to 3 months I believe. Also, when it has been frozen, sometimes it gets a little watery. Just mix with a little baby cereal to thicken it back up. Whenever I make a batch of food, I always set aside a few portions not to freeze that I will use over the next couple of days. It is always best before it is frozen for some reason!