fawn&forest

The fun thing about making your own baby food is you can make dozens of fun (and funky) combinations. It can be made just for that meal or be frozen for later use. Once you get the hang of it, recipes offer general guidelines as the possibilites are endless. The following is a simple combination recipe, most suitable for babies who have already had single foods + are ready for texture.

Banana + Pear + Oats:

1 c. cooked organic oatmeal
1 ripe organic banana
1/4 cup pureed organic pear. 

Place oatmeal, banana and pear purée in the work bowl of a food processor. Process mixture for 30 seconds, scrape bowl and process until desired consistency is reached. Breast milk, formula or water can be added for an even smoother texture. Makes about 12 1-ounce servings. Recipe adapted from Cuisinart.

Generally all baby food recipes freeze well. I'd skip the breastmilk or formula as those have the chance of getting a little funky pre-mixed with the food. Best to leave a bit thick + thin it out according to your baby + with each serving. While they freeze ok, mushy bananas also tend to discolor a bit. Adding a fresh banana to a thawed oat+pear cube would also work.

Frozen Organic Baby food is becoming increasingly popular + is available at the grocery store. While convenient + fun, it can be a bit on the pricey side, especially if you have one of those picky-spit it out or refuse it all sorts of babies. I am however, inspired by the food combinations + ideas. HappyBaby and Plum Organics are 2 of my favorites. I am also intrigued by Pomme Bebe.  

For general guidelines on what to feed baby + when, click here.  For general information on baby food preperation (like how to make pureed pears) visit this site.