Easy (ish) Baby Food

I have been thinking of what solid foods to feed my baby since way before I had her. I think it started when I saw all of the Baby Bullet infomercials. I thought, can it really be that easy to make my own?  

There are many reasons to make your own baby food. There are many who say it is cost effective, and it probably is.  Others like knowing exactly what is in their child's food. Others say that it leads kids to love new tastes and textures so that they are more willing to try new foods when they get older. 

I decided I would try it. 

There were many reasons why I wouldn't try it under different circumstances. If I were a single parent, I wouldn't have done it. If I worked full time, it probably would have been harder. Since I stay at home, I feel that I have time. 

I did go overboard with one thing though. When we planted our spring garden, I planted some butternut squash. I knew this was a common baby food starter, so I thought I would grow my own and save even more money. It worked. 

I picked the first butternut squash and tried using my Magic Bullet to purée it. That didn't work very well. If I had a better food processor, it might have, but instead I chose to get an actual baby food maker. After reading online reviews, I picked the Sage Spoonfuls one. It has a hand blender and optional food processor.  It also comes with a book that has excellent reviews.

Following  the instructions that came with the book, I first cut the squash in half lengthwise, scooped out the seeds, then placed it face down on a parchment covered cookie sheet. 

I baked them for about forty minutes. 

The tricky part comes next. I had to separate the skin. I tried a spoon, but found it easier just to use my fingers. 

The squash then went into the food processor for blending. 

There are a couple of ways that I freeze it, depending on time. I sometimes fill the containers that came with the machine. 

Other times I fill ice cube trays and then transfer frozen cubes to plastic bags. 

Or sometimes I throw it into a container like the ones that came with the baby food maker. 

To defrost, if its in a container, I leave one in the fridge overnight. 

For cubes, i transfer a couple into a breast milk storage bag and warm in the bottle warmer. It seems to have worked so far. 

Angela seems to love the results!

Anyone else out there make your own baby food?  What are your favorites?