Here's my intro into the baby blogging world. I'll keep the majority of my posts around recipes for the whole family, but hey, my life has changed and therefore this blog will change a bit.
I was so excited to start Madeline on purees and solids because nothing beats watching her master a new task. The first year is remarkable and wow - it's flying by. Meal time is so fun and I hope to always be able to make fun, healthy, and filling meals for Madeline and our family. 🍌
These purees are so easy and a great way to cut costs since these babies are so expensive (but oh so cute) 🥕
I knew that I wanted to make a few purees for Madeline, but I thought it would be more of a chore. I would make 1 or 2 purees a week and it would take me 30 minutes max. I'd say that's well worth it and I didn't mind giving up my TV/scrolling aimlessly through Instagram time to making delicious and nutritious food for my cutie. I almost bought the whole "baby food blender set" buttt I'm so glad I didn't because you probably already have what you need!
Below I reference the serving sizes as "cubes" because I used standard ice trays that held around 2 tablespoons per frozen cube of food. Most of the purees below are made the exact same. Some just need more or less water or boil/steam time depending on the fruit/vegetable.
We started Madeline on these purees at 4 months and would introduce solids once a day. When she turned 6 months we started feeding her solids 3 times a day and a sample day would look like this
- 7am - formula, whole wheat cereal or oatmeal, and a fruit puree cube
- 11am - formula, 2 veggie puree cubes
- 3pm - formula, Gerber chicken blend
- 7pm - formula
Now that she's 8 months old we've adjusted it to introduce her to new foods that are not completely pureed (this is scary at first and I recommend feeding littles for tips)
- 7am - formula, whole wheat cereal or oatmeal, and 2 fruit puree cubes
- 11am - formula, finger foods! (toast with avocado, scrambled eggs, smashed blueberries, banana, diced roasted sweet potato) **this will be messy
- 3pm - formula
- 6pm - Gerber chicken blend or shredded chicken with no seasonings and 2 veggie puree cubes and we offer up to 4oz water
- 7pm - formula
We've had great success with this schedule, but all babies are different! I had a hard time finding a feeding schedule with AMOUNTS so I wanted to share what worked for us. Please note that I am not a pediatrician, dietician, or hold a medical degree at all - I'm just a mom, sharing what worked for me!
Puree Recipes
- Carrots
- 1 pound fresh carrots, peeled and chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces
- Bring 2 cups of water to boil
- Optional: add steamer basket (I boiled my fruits/veggies, but some prefer to steam, up to you)
- Add in carrots and boil/steam until fork tender (around 10-15 minutes)
- Add carrots and ½ cup water from pot to blender and blend until smooth or transfer to a bowl and blend with immersion blender until smooth (this is what I used)
- Let cool slightly and then pour into ice tray and freeze until solid 2-3 hours
- Transfer to freezer safe ziplock until ready to use, eat within 3 months.
- To reheat: either let thaw in fridge overnight and serve cold or transfer frozen cube to glass dish and microwave at 20 second intervals until room temperature.
- Apples
- 4 Gala Apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces
- Same instructions as carrots
- Butternut Squash
- Smallest butternut squash available or frozen butternut squash cubes
- Peel and chop if using fresh and use the same instructions as carrots
- (This one comes out the creamiest)
- Sweet Potato
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces
- Same instructions as carrots
- Peas
- 1 bag frozen sweet peas (get a good brand)
- Follow instructions on bag to warm peas
- Add most of the water with the peas and blend until smooth.
- Same instructions for storage and reheating as above
- Pears
- 3 or 4 pears, peeled and chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces
- Bring 1 cup of water to boil
- Steam pears (not in water) for 5-10 minutes to help the pears to be more tender, periodically checking with fork.
- Add pears and no water to blender and blend until smooth or transfer to a bowl and blend with immersion blender until smooth (this is what I used)
- Same instructions for storage and reheating as above
- Fruit and spinach blend (apples, blueberries, strawberries, spinach)
- Follow apple puree above and then include 2 cups of blueberry and strawberry blend (I used frozen) and a large handful of fresh spinach.
- Blend until smooth and then follow the same instructions for storage and reheating as above
I hope these ideas help with preparing yummy food for your little one. Some other ideas that need less preparation
- Smashed avocado or avocado pieces
- Smashed banana or banana pieces
- Scrambled eggs, cooked very thin and torn
- Slightly smashed blueberries or strawberries
- Roasted diced sweet potatoes, slightly smashed
- Lightly toasted bread with avocado spread (for older than 6 months)
- Yogurt (for older than 6 months)
in
baby food ARE expensive
great meal ideas!
Ashlynn
I started my 5 month old with solids today! & this is so helpful!