Homemade Baby Food Techniques

As I've mentioned previously, I'm making all of son's baby food. So I thought I'd share some of my basic techniques.

• The easiest way to make your own baby food is to take a perfectly ripe fruit (like a peach, pear or banana) and puree it in a food processor or blender.
• There are several ways of cooking foods for baby. I bake sweet potatoes in the (toaster) oven, stew apples in the slow cooker, and boil peas and corn. Once they're super soft, I run them through my food mill, which removes any skins and seeds, and turns the food into mush. This product is perfect for babies who can handle some texture.
• For greater smoothness, you can process the "mush" in a food processor, adding some cooking liquid or breastmilk if necessary to achieve the desired texture (just remember not to microwave any foods containing breastmilk, since it will destroy the beneficial components of the milk).
• For the smoothest puree, process the "mush" in a powerful blender.
• Freeze baby food in ice cube trays or small plastic freezer-safe containers. Don't forget to label with the date and contents.
• If you use ice cube trays, once the food is hard, pop the cubes out into a zip top bag, label, put into another zip top bag, and store. Then wash the trays and use them again for another batch. Using this method, you can quickly build up a varied selection of baby food in your freezer.