Question about making own baby food....

Hi. I purchased all of their stage 1 foods by Gerber. Today I gave them bananas and they smelled so gross....didn't even look or smell like bananas. I want to make my own bananas and maybe a couple other things such as green beans. Do I simply put the bananas in a blender? Do I add anything? Water? I know there are books out there but I want to do this today because I have to give them bananas again for breakfast tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

Hi. I purchased all of their stage 1 foods by Gerber. Today I gave them bananas and they smelled so gross....didn't even look or smell like bananas. I want to make my own bananas and maybe a couple other things such as green beans. Do I simply put the bananas in a blender? Do I add anything? Water? I know there are books out there but I want to do this today because I have to give them bananas again for breakfast tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

Bananas are very easy to make. I make a lot of my babyfood and since you don't have to cook them, they are so easy. Just peel the banana, add a little water and puree it using a blender or food processer. I have a Magic Bullet from Linens and Things that I use. If the banana is too think or chunky add more water until it is the right consistency. If you make it too thin you can always add rice cereal to thicken it up. Soon you'll learn the right amount of water to add and can whip up some bananas in no time.

 

Hi! I made all the kids baby food, and it was pretty easy. I never used a book.

I had people give me all their old baby food jars and after I made the food I froze it in the jars. (leave a little room at the top) I would spend about an hour or two a week, usually in the evenings, making their food.. It would last all week, at least.

Bananas, I would just add a drop or two of water and mash it up, you can put it in the blender if you need it really fine. If you freeze it, add a drop of lemon juice so it doesn't get brown.

Most veggies I would buy frozen and cook them in the microwave until they were just cooked. I would then blend them in the blender with the water I used to cook them, since a lof of the nutrients were in that water. You can add more if it is not fine enough. I suggest not using any canned food, since it contains a lot of sodium.

I also cooked fresh sweet potato and squash. Did the same thing, just blended it up and froze the extra. I felt better giving them that instead of the gerber stuff, they actually threw up all the store bought stuff, don't know why. When you make peas you will be shocked at the difference in color and smell!!! The homemade peas look almost neon green and smell much better than the stuff from the store!

Good luck! I was a bit daunted at first, but it really is quite easy!

Oh, I know a lot of women also use ice cube trays to freeze the food and then put it in baggies, they just take out what they need. 1 cube=1 ounce of food. That works great for some people too!

 

WholesomeBabyFood.com is what I use. You're right about baby food, most of it doesn't even smell like what it's supposed to, let alone taste like it!

I mash bannanas with a fork until they're goo, btw. Great stress releiver.

 

quote:
WholesomeBabyFood.com is what I use.


GREAT WEBSITE!! I use it too!

 

I just mashed bananas with a fork until they were pretty smooth.

 

For bananas I mash it up a little with a fork, microwave it for 20 secs, then mash it up really well. Green beans I steam and blend. I have found though that you need a lot of beans to make a decent amount. I've made all my own food so far. It's really not hard and kinda fun.

 

I also have always made my own baby food. I can't feed them what I won't eat. Like said previously, just blend the veggies with water. Same with the fruit. I have also bought the canned fruit and drained and added water.

What I have done when freezing is use an ice cube tray. The squares are about a serving size, then stick them in a freezer bag. It's great when cooking big things like squash and sweet potatoes.

When my kids got older I would blend noodles with the peas (or whatever). It filled them up better and added texture. You can blend to whatever consistency you would like.

 

Do you thaw out the cubes in the microwave?

 

I use my Magic Bullet to pulverize whatever leftover steamed veggies my DH and I have from dinner. I add a little bit of the water from the steamer.

Then I spoon it into my silicone mini muffin pans and pop them into the freezer. The next day, I empty the frozen veggies into a freezer ziplock and toss the pans into the dishwasher. Easy as pie.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Kellyx2:
Do you thaw out the cubes in the microwave?

Yep, depending on how many I use I microwave them for 20-30 seconds, stir, another 30 seconds stir. For some food this makes Napalm-hot food, other things end up being just right. You just have to figure out how long it takes for a particular food.

 

I microwave the cubes on a saucer for 45 seconds, then mix with a spoon.

 

I usually microwave 4 cubes at a time for 2 minutes on 50% power.