Making Your Own Baby Food – Butternut Squash
I try to make all of Lucy’s baby food. It’s really very easy to do and it ensures that I know exactly what is going into her food.
I want Lucy to try butternut squash this weekend so I decided to make some tonight and I took pictures of what I did. When I bought the butternut squash it was a work night and I didn’t have time to bake a squash for an hour so I decided to get organic frozen squash from Whole Foods. That night ended up being a bear so I didn’t get to make it. I would have preferred a fresh squash but this was really nice quality.
I followed the instructions on the bag for cooking it on the stovetop. I prefer not to microwave her food because you never know what those microwaves do!
I said to boil on the stove for 5-6 minutes. This is what it looked like going in:
As it boiled I got her baby cubes ready.
These are great for daycare because it only gets one container dirty and the lid is connected so they (and I) can’t lose it. I prefer the 2 ounce cubes because Lucy has taken to solids and eats A LOT. The one ounce cubes just don’t do it for her. Plus the lids don’t stay closed as well as the 2 ounce containers.
Back to the squash. This is what the squash looked like when it was done.
And into the Cuisenart it went:
I processed it:
Until it looked like this:
I spooned it into the Baby Cubes:
Make sure not to go past the max fill line because the lids will pop open in the freezer when the food expands.
I mark the tops of the cubes with an erasable marker so I know what’s in them.
(It was fun to write “BS”)
Then put them in their freezer trays:
And into the freezer they go with the other food:
The food is good in the freezer for up to 3 months-it doesn’t last that long in this household!
Category: How To | Tags: baby cubes, butternut squash, making baby food, tips and tricks 3 comments »
Very cool! Are you concerned with boiling and losing nutrients into the water, or does the squash tend to absorb the water (therefore keeping the nutrients?)
Kath-I use the water that I boil it in to help with the consistency. I also try to cook them until they are just done-not over cooked. Although with most of the fresh fruits and vegetables I make I do roast them in the oven. I may try plums that way tonight!
I need to check this post from home so I can see the pics. I really want to make Katie’s food when she is old enough. I appreciate these tips!