Homemade Baby Food- the process

Here are my directions for making bananas, avocados, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes.  What I did is prep the butternut squash and sweet potatoes for baking and get them in the oven first, and then worked on pureeing the bananas and avocados while those were baking. Time wise, it turned out really efficient and I completed the entire process in about 2.5 hours from start through clean-up. 

Bananas:

1. Peel and put them in the blender. I used 4 and filled up 14 - 1 oz portioned ice cubes. In order to avoid the bananas browning, I also added a few drops of lemon juice to the puree. This is a natural preservative and doesn't change the taste of the food.

2. My ice cube trays come with a slide on cover.  If you don't have a cover, just cover with saran wrap to avoid freezer burn. Put in the freezer for 2 days.

3. Pop the portions out and place in a zip lock freezer bag.  

4. A day before needed, I put 2 cubes in a bowl with lid and place in the fridge to thaw. They are ready to serve the next day. (You can use the microwave to thaw, just zap for 10 seconds and mix well to avoid hot spots)

 Avocados:
1. Peel and de-pit the avocados. I used 4 avocados and filled made 20 - 1 oz portions.
2. Blend. You can either add water during the puree process or add to each individual portion before serving in order to create a puree consistency.  I would recommend during the puree process, I did not and the frozen cubes were harder to get out. So from now on, I will add water during the blending process. I also added a few drops of lemon juice as well in order to avoid browning.
3. Cover, freeze for 2 days.
4. Pop out the cubes and put in a freezer zip lock bag.
5. A day before needed, I put 2 cubes in a bowl with lid and place in the fridge to thaw. They are ready to serve the next day. (You can use the microwave to thaw, just zap for 10 seconds and mix well to avoid hot spots)

I also invested in these 2 oz freezer safe containers for when we are on the go. They come with a base for easy storage and these are BPA free and dishwasher, freezer, and microwave safe.

Very easy to toss in the diaper bag and use whenever a meal comes up

 Butternut Squash:
1. Cut the butternut squash in half and scrape out the seeds and strings.
2. Fill a baking dish with about 1 inch of water and place the squash face down and bake for 45 minutes @ 350, or until soft.

 3. Scoop out the inside and place in a blender. 

4. Blend and add water until it is a puree consistency. 

5. Place in ice cube trays, or in freezer safe containers! I used 1 butternut squash and it made 12 - 2 oz portions. 

Butternut squash, halved and placed face down in 1 inch of water

Ready to scoop out!

Sweet Potatoes:
1. Cover sweet potatoes in foil, take a fork and poke holes in the covered potatoes.
2. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes @ 350, or until soft.
3. Scoop out the insides and blend.
4. Add water until it is a puree consistency.
5. Place in ice cube trays or freezer safe containers. I used 3 sweet potatoes and it made 14- 2 oz portions.

Here are the 2 oz and the 4 oz containers. What I plan to do with the 4 oz portion is put one in the fridge to thaw when needed, and scoop out half and put in a bowl, and use the rest the next day.

My sweet little helper :)