Eli has become quite the little eater. If he could eat while cruising around furniture, I think he would be in heaven! Alas, we have to put him in his high chair, and we will usually get this face while he eats:

Contrary to this face, he actually loved carrots! Like most baby food, it didn't require a huge amount of work. Steam, puree, freeze. That's pretty much it! Carrots are a great solid for babies. They are easy to digest and are packed full of nutrients such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Calcium, and Beta Carotene. Due to the issue of Nitrates, recommendations for the introduction of carrots varies. Please see this article on Nitrates for more information before preparing carrots for your baby.

I'm so happy to be blogging again! I thought I would get started with the first installment of baby food. Don't worry, I'll be back on Wednesday with something for us adults. (Here's a hint... it starts with pumpkin and ends with snickerdoodles... Try not to drool too much until then.)

When Eli was six months old, I decided I not only wanted to make all of Eli's baby food, but I also wanted to go organic. I had always shied away from organic foods thinking, "Well, we just don't have the extra money to spend on organic food." I was very surprised to see that organic food isn't always more expensive. In fact, at our grocery store organic potatoes, apples and avocados are the same price as the regular produce! Justin and I have not transitioned to 100% organic eaters, but I have been trying to stick to the dirty dozen as a general guideline to start.

I was a little nervous about making all of Eli's solid food, but making baby food has been significantly easier than I expected. I generally make a big batch on Thursday evenings, and then freeze most of it in ice cube trays. After the puree is frozen, I pop the cubes into freezer bags to store them. This makes it easy to thaw overnight in the fridge, or pop into the microwave if we are in a hurry. If you decide you want to start making baby food, don't feel like you have to go out and buy special equipment, as you probably have everything you need already. I use a jelly roll pan for roasting, a stock pot with a steamer insert for steaming, an immersion blender, and ice cube trays. That's it!

One of the things I love most about making my own baby food is that I can already make something for both Eli and us. I don't want to eat pureed peas, but if it's a vegetable I'm roasting, like this butternut squash, I can roast and puree for Eli, and save a little for Justin and I. We like to use the squash for some of Mrs. W's Butternut Squash Pasta. Give this a try for you and your little one!

Butternut Squash Recipe