Scott is a working Dad and Husband, married to Katie, a stay-at-home Mom, with 3 kids ages 4, 2, and 9months. Scott enjoys spending as much time with his family as possible. When time allows he also enjoys photography, listening to music & podcasts, reading, and his newest hobby is making paracord bracelets, lanyards, etc. Follow him on twitter @scottkeyes
After our first son was born and it was time for us to start giving him solid food I can remember opening a jar of baby food, tasting it, and wanting to gag and spit it out immediately. I’m sure the main reason this happed was because it was probably some flavor like Peas & Carrots, but the second reason was because I couldn’t believe how bland it tasted. It really didn’t taste like real Pea or Carrot flavor but more like gross green & orange mush mixed together to form a color that doesn’t appear in nature. Naturally, after yelling something like, “This is disgusting!” I immediately said to my wife, “Try this” and made her taste it too. That’s the last time I ever fed him store bought baby food. After that day I started making my own. It’s simple. You should do it too.
I like to make a breakfast option and a lunch/dinner option. In less than 2 hours I can have enough food made to last up to 2 weeks. I’m sure I you could make a larger quantity if you wanted to but this seems to work for me. Here are 2 quick and simple recipes that you can make. The only tools you’ll need to do this job are: a sharp knife, large pot, peeler, vegetable steamer, potato masher, and a hand blender or stand up blender.
Cinnamon Apples & Pears (with Oats)
12 Large Apples/Pears
Cinnamon
Quick Oats
Peel and dice the apples & pears. Place them in a large pot and heat them on high until they start to sizzle in the pot. Add cinnamon to your desired taste. Then let them cook on medium heat until they are soft enough to mash. Once they are soft enough to mash, use the potato masher to do most of the work, then you can use the blender to puree the mix to your desired consistency. Depending on the age of you baby you can decide if you would like to add oats at this point or not.
Once this mixture has cooled a bit spoon it into ice cube trays and freeze.
We usually started our kids off with 2 cubes and worked our way up from there.
If your baby is older and you and you need larger quantities we use Ball Plastic 8-Ounce Freezer Jars
To serve – just pop the cubes/jars in the microwave until they are the desired temperature.
Carrots, Cauliflower & Chicken
1 bag of Carrots
2 heads of Cauliflower
1 large chicken breast cooked (I prefer marinated and grilled)
Peel and dice the carrots.
Clean & cut the cauliflower.
Place the veggies in you steamer and cook them until you can mush them with a fork.
While the veggies are steaming, dice the chicken breast up and place it in the blender. Run the blender until the chicken is the desired consistency.
Once the veggies are done steaming and soft enough to mash, use the potato masher to do most of the work, then you can use the blender to puree the mix to your desired consistency. Now mix in your chicken.
Once this mixture has cooled a bit spoon it into ice cube trays or jars and freeze.
As you can see, making food for you baby is super simple. Give it a try and let me know how it went in the comments, or on twitter @ScottKeyes.