First Veggies: 5 Simple Steps
Why buy jarred baby food when the real stuff is so much healthier, better tasting, and better for your child? We base our little man’s diet off Super Baby Foods, but it doesn’t take a recipe to steam, puree, and freeze veggies. What you do need that Super Baby Foods provides is a very thorough guide to selecting and preparing every imaginable fruit, vegetable, and herb for babies & toddlers (especially if you’re like me and a bit veggie-illiterate). It also includes lots of toddler recipes that are healthy and natural. I still refer to it even though I’ve been reading it for over a year! I even tabbed the prep section for quick reference. We don’t recommend (nor does the APA) starting solids like veggies before 6 months of age.
1) Purchase & prep.
Head to the local coop, Farmers’ Market, or natural foods store. Start with a simple digestible veggie like sweet potato or one of the winter squashes. Or a very mild uncooked fruit (though I did a roasted pear once that J loved). Pick a few nice medium-sized sweet potatoes, let’s say, and head for the cashier.
Scrub it up well with your clean veggie brush, peel it (I didn’t peel it in the above photo as J is old enough to handle the skin), and chop it into equal sized hunks. You’re going to blend it later so it doesn’t matter how large or small, just ensure they’re equal in size for steaming’s sake.
2) Steam away.
I almost always steam or roast my veggies. You can microwave them, though. I’m not well-versed enough to give you details on that process.
I have a big pot with a steamer basket. That’s my go-to steamer. I steam them covered until they are bordering on mushy, and beyond the softness that an adult would expect. This makes them easier to blend.
3) Blend it up.
My parents got us a Vitamix a few years back. Love love love it. It’s a pricey kitchen item, but combining all the other blenders I have together, they are all probably equal in cost and inferior in quality. You can use a simple blender stick or even do it by hand with a food mill or potato masher if you like. Depends on what kind of upper body workout you need that day.
Dump the steamed veggies into your mixer. Add a few tablespoons of the steam water at a time. When you’re first starting your child on “solids” you want it very watery. Later, you want it less so. Puree until very smooth.
4) Freeze it in ice cube trays.
Or the fancy baby food trays, or clump it on a wax paper covered cookie sheet (hard when very smooth and watery for baby’s first “solids”). Do cover with tin foil or the appropriate cover as freezer burn isn’t great. Then freeze it, crack it out, store in a freezer container (ziploc or big tupperware), and label it with food name and date. I can’t tell you how many times my mother has complained that she has no clue which is what without labeling.
5) Defrost & serve.
Now you can defrost it either by setting it up in the fridge several hours before serving, or the night before, or you can be a little less organized like me and microwave your cubes for 25-35 seconds just before serving. Check with your doctor or Super Baby Foods book about what your serving sizes should be.
After ensuring no allergic reaction (remember the 4 day wait rule), blend with your grains and any supplements like vitamin D drops, flax seed, etc. When your child hits 9 months, she can add legumes to the dish and truly be living the Super Baby Foods life!
So simple! Do large quantities of various veggies (and fruits) and you’ll be set for a least 4 -5 weeks. There’s nothing like homemade baby food.
love this post. helpful as always, mama.
Those first time veggies can be tricky! J has been an ardent veggie fan and never a picky eater so I’m convinced homemade baby food is the secret!
You do make it very inviting and worthwhile.
I did this with my third child, because there was more spacing between the children at that point; and my oldest was in school. He didn’t eat anything but homemade. And he ate everything I made him. He was the only one that got this special treatment. And now he won’t eat anything! (Not blaming it on the natural food — just mentioning it for irony’s sake.)
That has to be the worst of all ironies!!! Sounds like your special treatment has spoiled him for the real world of food 🙂
[…] Posts on first food here, and first veggies here. […]
Thanks so much for the great pictures and instruction. I know it seems like it should be simple to prepare homemade baby food, but it is still a bit daunting to most of us. Your demonstration helps a bunch.
It was intimidating to me too at first, but it’s actually so simple! You can do it. Email me with any questions you have along the way!
[…] posted about Super Baby Foods here, here, and here. It’s been a great food plan for J and he is certainly the beacon of health with never a sick […]
LOVE how this is linked to from Ruth Yaron’s blog to your site 🙂 That’s awesome, way to go super momma!
You’re so sweet! I’m such a Super Baby Foods fan!
[…] the book on making your own yogurt. Ruth knows her stuff! I’ve blogged about first baby food, simple veggies, and I really should do a post on dairy in J’s […]
Please shed some light on picky eaters? What do you do when your child refuses vegetables? And would basically prefer to live on applesauce….
First off, don’t despair. Applesauce is very healthy. Secondly, if you’re really concerned she’s not getting her nutrients, pick up a few Happy Baby Food (http://www.happybabyfood.com) at Target or Whole Foods and see what she’ll suck down. Thirdly, remember it can take up to 15 times of introducing (not forcing) a food for the child to accept it. We frequently put new veggies into yogurt and tahini. That seemed to mask any squeamish distrust of the broccoli or potato. And keep consistency as mashy mushy as possible if she’s liking apple sauce because that may be her way of saying things are too solid? Does this help?
[…] it. I did write about baby food here {Super Baby Foods}, here {First Food for Your Baby}, and here {First Veggies: 5 Simple Steps}. There’s a whole section on it, and toddler/small person […]
[…] Posts on first food here, and first veggies here. […]