First off, I want to say that making baby food is really easy. Truly. It just takes up a good amount of time, you'll have a lot of dishes to do (if you're anything like me) and you'll probably make a mess. But keep in mind its all worth in when you have carrott puree in your hair and under your finger nails!

First off, these are stage 2 and 3 foods that I'll be presenting to you guys on the blog but they can be easily modified for stage 1. Stage 1 foods really are just 1 veggie or fruit with nothing additional. 

So, I made butternut squash (my daughters fav) and apple puree. I used 1 large Butternut squash which was delievered right to my door by Door to Door Organics: 

I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and cut it into cubes (well sort of cubes)!

Next I steamed the Squash. I am sure there are fancy steamers out there but I use a very simple steamer that rests on top of a pot. You add water to the pot, boil the water and add the steamer to the top. You can also boil or bake your fruits and veggies but they lose their nutrients and vitamins when you use this method so I would suggest the steaming. Like so: 

It generally takes at least 20-30 minutes for me to steam a thicker veggie like BNS. You'll know that your fruits or veggies are done when a fork can go through them easily. 

Next I cut, peeled and steamed the apples. My suggestion, buy this gadget. I'm not sure what it's called, apple corer? apple thing? Not sure but it makes perfect slices every time! 

Once the apples and BNS were steamed to perfection I added them to the Baby Bullet. The baby bullet works great but a food processor or blender will work just as well! I add a half of a cup of water to the food and blend. Once the food is well blended with no large chunks, transport it to BPA free (preferably soft plastic) freezer trays. 

I freeze the food overnight, remove them and add them to freezer bags labelled with the date, and the type of food I made. Typically you can freeze the food for 6 months but it doesn't last that long here!

Banana puree is a very easy, and tasty puree. Take very ripe bananas, put them in the food processor or baby food maker, add a splash of water and voila! Banana puree. I freeze the food and mix it with Greek Yogurt. Its my daughters absolute favorite. Loaded with vitamins and minerals and protein!

Other favorites of Raegans are Sweet Potato and Mango, Blueberry and Banana, Kale, Carrot and Apple, Plum and Banana, Avocado and Banana, Avocado and Pear and Pear puree. I also cannot stress enough how wonderful avocado is. Some say its a better first food than banana due to the fact that it doesnt cause slight constipation like banana does. Luckily my daughter loves it and eats every drop when I feed it to her. 

Food can be stored in the fridge for 3 days safely. I usually set aside some food and put it in a Pyrex, resealable bowl. I acutally have homemade applesauce in the fridge now (which lasts a little longer, about 1 week). By the way, homemade applesauce, super easy to make! Steam apples, add a little water and cinnamon and puree. No added sugar, no preservatives, just straight, unadulterated yum!

Enjoy your baby food making adventures, and please post any recipes you may have. I'm going to try to some new recipes with Quinoa soon so I will post them as Raegan is starting finger foods. Happy Cooking (errr steaming!)