A Fresh Take on Homemade Baby Food

When Evie first started with solid foods four years ago, I took lots of care and time to slice, steam and blend the perfect mini meals for her (read about my case for homemade baby food here). Not only is homemade healthier, but I imagine it must be tastier for tiny palates. Homemade baby food saves plenty of money, and homemade is certainly the environmentally friendly choice (even if all those little jars are recycled, the energy required to process the waste is staggering).

When Mack started solids, I once again lovingly prepared homemade food…but true to his personality he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the fruits of my labor; he preferred eating what everyone else had on his or her plate!

And now my sweet Vivian is 7 months old.  I still see the merit in preparing baby food, but with work and two older kids I just don’t have the time to peel and prepare food specifically for her.

But, I recently had a revelation: homemade baby food doesn’t have to be time consuming or difficult.  It really is just a matter of modifying the food the rest of the family is eating so it is safe and appropriate for her tiny tummy.  I rely heavily on my Cuisinart immersion blender – just drop it into a bowl of healthy tidbits and baby food is born.  No fancy equipment or twee cookbooks are required.

Here’s a little sampling of what I’ve been cookin’ up for my little dumplin’:

Thawed frozen mango + a banana:

Evie and Mack love oatmeal in the morning.  I cook up a big batch in the slow cooker, and the leftovers are always blended into meals for Vivian.  Like this banana + blueberries + oatmeal:

I made pumpkin soup for Halloween dinner, and before adding spices and milk I ladled some into a bowl for my little pumpkin:

I had a big bowl of diced butternut squash in the fridge last week.  It was wonderful to have on hand – a quick lunch of butternut squash tacos for me, a quick dinner of butternut squash and oatmeal for Vivian.  I just boiled the squash with the oats, and blended till smooth:

Oh, and when I served homemade butternut squash soup to my friend Adrienne for lunch on Sunday, of course Vivian had a bowl to enjoy:

And, tonight I introduced Vivian to peas for the first time because Evie requested some for herself.  A scoop of leftover oatmeal + a ripe pear + peas blended so nicely for my little sweet pea:


Bon appetit!

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2 Comments for this entry

  1. Kathy says:

    How do you avoid making a mess with the immersion blender? Do you have to do it in a deep bowl? I use mine for soups and I find it can be messy if I don’t have a deep pot.

    We will be starting solids in a few months so I’m very curious. Thanks!

    • Maureen says:

      I actually prefer the immersion blender because it minimizes the mess for me! I just watch to make sure the blade part stays under whatever it is that I am blending.

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