Homemade Baby Food

Since Charlie's been tolerating his oatmeal and rice cereals well over the past several weeks, I've decided to get him started on veggies and fruits. And in an effort to avoid buying expensive baby foods and to satisfy my control freak tendencies, I've started by making my own baby food with the help of a fantastic book my sister gave me, Cooking Light First Foods.

There are two specific things I really love about this book. First, it shows that you don't have to buy any expensive equipment. When discussing the tools needed to make baby food, the book gives a list of items ranging in price from as little as $2 to as much as $150. And thus far, none of the recipes I've looked at require the expensive baby food makers. Second, it offers lists of food choices beyond what I would have thought to feed my baby. After all, my thinking is just because I don't like a food doesn't mean I shouldn't expose Charlie to it; he may love foods I don't usually eat or enjoy. There are two lists I like to peruse, one that breaks fruits and veggies into color groups and another that groups fruits and veggies by seasons.

So, with my handy-dandy baby food cookbook, I got started by making Charlie some carrots. Now the recipe given is super simple and also kind of obvious—you may be thinking, "she needed a cookbook to figure THAT out!?" But I do find the book helpful. So here's the recipe:

1. Steam 1 pound carrots for 20 minutes or until very tender. 2. Blend, process, or mash until smooth, adding cooking liquid to reach desired consistency.

Since I already had a really awesome blender, I used that, and it worked great. Now obviously a baby isn't going to eat a pound of carrots in one sitting, so I spooned my carrot puree into an ice cube tray and put it in the freezer; when the puree was frozen I took the cubes out of the tray and am storing them in baggies in the freezer. One serving for Charlie is about two cubes.

All in all, the experience of making baby food was a success. I found it to be quick and easy. Plus, now I feel all thrifty and domestic—hooray for esteem boosters!