Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Making Baby Food

I've been resisting making my own baby food because I'm so busy and those little jars of organic purees are so convenient! Alas, though, my baby has moved beyond purees. He wants finger foods. For awhile now I've been sending beans, and I always cut up fruit from the yard as part of his lunch (for the longest time it was plums; now it is pears. My little guy loves his locally grown produce!) but he really needs vegetables too. Canned vegetables are an option, but I'm a little nervous about the safety of canned foods now.
So I decided to make him some nice winter squash and a sweet potato. Two of these are from Sunday's trip to Farmer's Market. I wasn't sure if I'd find winter squash there, but there were a lot. I just cut them in half and scooped out the seeds then baked them on a baking sheet. So easy.
The question I have is about storage. I put them in glass containers and baby food jars, but how long will they keep in the fridge? I also put some in the freezer, but will they freeze well? I guess I'll just have to see as I go along. I hope I can get away with doing this just once a week on Sundays.
In other news, we are getting ready for Halloween around here. Yesterday we delivered two more treat bags--I've been really delighted by the response. It's been a nice way to connect with neighbors we don't see very often. And tonight we are carving Jack-o-Lanterns. Tomorrow night, trick or treating for the very first time.

3 comments:

jessica said...

I think that freezing the squash would work out fine. I used to freeze a squash puree for my babies and it worked well. I never froze pieces, but I know I once bought squash cubes (I think Cascade Farms sells an organic version in the frozen foods) and they were great. I always bought frozen vegetables for my boys when they got to the finger food stage.

I love your pictures of these foods - so beautiful and autumnal!

Sheila D. said...

I'm SOOOoooo jealous of your farmer's markets! Here in New England, they are all getting ready to close up for the year until next May! *pout* When it comes to finger foods, I try to put aside enough for Sydney, in her glass containers, that will last for 2 days. Or, I just give her the mushed up version of what we're having that night. For example, if we have broiled chicken breast, broccoli, and baked sweet potatoes...I'd put enough for her to have two meals all mashed or broken into small pieces. She seems to be LOVING it this way! I also agree with Jessi. We get Cascade Farms or Nature's Promise (Stop & Shop organic) frozen veggies. I keep a couple of Corningware dishes always filled and stored in the fridge...that way, they're easily accessible! No one in this house has an excuse for NOT eating veggies! ALSO, you don't have to let your purees go to waste (if you still have some leftover!)...we use ours as "sauce" on pasta or chicken(veggies) or mixed in with rice puffs and cheerios (fruit). I should post about this! *giggle* Good luck...I'm inspired to bake my squash, sweet potatoes, and apples now! Mmmmm...LOVE Fall foods!

* * said...

When I made my children's baby food I would scoop it into ice cube trays, it froze well and a cube or two was a perfect serving size and it was small so it thawed out pretty quickly!