Last month, I wrote my first post about what Theo’s eating and got some very positive feedback.
As I mentioned in that post, I was apprehensive to put it all out there because people are so judgmental on this topic. But what do you know, I have some amazingly kind readers here. And for that I am grateful.
Theo turned 9 months yesterday, and so here we are again. This time, I want to focus a little bit more on how I prepare and manage all that baby food, because I know it can sometimes feel like a daunting task, but it certainly doesn’t have to be that way. I make my own baby food for a couple of reasons—first off, I obviously like to cook, not that this is really cooking. Then there’s the argument that if you make it from scratch, you know exactly what is in it. And if those two reasons don’t resonate with you, get this: making your own baby food is about 4 times cheaper than buying pre-made baby food at the store. Are you with me?
So, to keep us organized, I’ll break the food down into three categories:
- Big Batch Cooking & Freezing: vegetables, poultry/meat, some fruit
- Small Batch Cooking: whole grains, eggs
- No Cooking: dairy, some fruits, some vegetables
Big Batch Cooking and Freezing
For me, this is the largest and easiest category to do. Anything that needs to be cooked and freezes well falls under here, including lots of vegetables, all poultry and meat, and some fruit. The fruits and vegetables in this category get steamed or poached, then pureed in a food processor. From there, I’ll scoop out into 2-3 tablespoon sized portions and freeze them on a baking sheet. When they’re fully frozen, they go into a large ziplock bag that’s labeled and stored in the freezer.
I tend to do these in really large batches about once or twice a month. I spend maybe an hour and a half, only a third of which is active time, peeling, cubing, and steaming the vegetables. This may seem like a lot of time, but a single butternut squash ends up being about 20 meals for a baby, so the effort pays off for a long time.
Here are some more specifics on what I cook and how I cook it:
- Sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, pumpkin: peeled, cut into 1-2 inch pieces, steamed until soft, then pureed.
- Peas, green beans, asparagus, sweet corn, broccoli, zucchini: trimmed if needed, steamed until soft (almost overcooked), then pureed.
- Peaches: poached with their skin on in water for about a minute, peeled, then pureed.
- Chicken: poached in water until fully cooked, then shredded in food processor.
- Ground Beef: sautéed over medium heat until fully cooked.
When it’s time for a meal, it’s really convenient to pop a few of these in the microwave and be ready to eat.
One thing I hear often is “don’t waste time making a bunch of baby food because your child may not like this or that.” True, some things may not be met with the utmost joy when introduced, but don’t give up. The frozen vegetables will keep for months and you can and should try again in a few weeks. When Theo first tried green beans, he was not a fan. Now, he eats them without coming up for air.
Small Batch Cooking
While certain things lend themselves nicely to cooking and freezing, other things just don’t defrost as well. For the foods in this category, I cook in batches to last about 4-5 days in the fridge. This includes all grains (brown rice, oats, and millet) as well as hard boiled eggs. There’s just something about the idea of defrosted rice that doesn’t seem kind to give to a child…
The grains I keep on rotation—when I see something is running low, I make a new batch. This may seem like a huge pain to keep on top of, but I just check it when I’m making dinner, and if I need to throw an extra pot on the stove, it usually doesn’t inconvenience me too much. And I always know that if I run out of grains, Theo can eat an extra vegetable that day and the world will go on.
Hardboiled eggs, which he eats three days a week for breakfast are another thing that I make once a week—typically on Sundays when I’m cooking something else, but if I forget, it’s only about 10 minutes to make in the morning.
Here are some more specifics on what I cook and how I cook it:
- Brown rice, oats, millet: 1 cup of grain to about 3-4 cups of water, which is more than I’d use if I was making it for adults. In the beginning we were pureeing these too, but now we’re starting to introduce them whole so he gets used to the texture.
- Eggs: cover eggs with about an inch of water, bring to a boil, remove from heat and cover for 9 min. To serve, peel and mash these with a fork.
These get stored in tupperware in the fridge, labeled with the date I made them just in case something is getting a little old.
No Cooking
And the best category of all! No cooking is required for things like cottage cheese, yogurt, ricotta, avocado, or bananas. Scoop it out and mash away!
Baby’s Menu
The structure of Theo’s meals haven’t changed much over the course of the last month, we’ve just added a few new options and upped the portions a little bit. Here’s what his menu looks like (and yes, I love calling it a menu):
- 6:30AM wake up: 6 ounces of formula
- 7:30AM breakfast: 1/4-1/2 cup whole grains, either a hardboiled egg (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) or 2 tablespoons Vitamin A-rich vegetable (remaining days), and 2 tablespoons green vegetable
- 11:30AM lunch: 1/4-1/2 cup dairy, 3 tablespoons fruit or vegetables, and 4-6 ounces of formula
- 3:30PM dinner: 1/4 cup whole grains, 1 tablespoon protein, 3 tablespoons vegetables, and 4-6 ounces of formula
- 7:00PM bedtime: 6-8 ounces of formula
Theo cut three teeth this month, and they’re slowly growing. Next month, I’m excited to start introducing more and more foods that aren’t pureed and starting to let him be a little bit more independent with his food (but oh the mess!). Until then, friends.
What a smart way to freeze individual portions! Who needs millions of tiny containers hanging around??
writes CarissaThanks! I also know a lot of people use the ice cube tray method – freeze them pop them out into a bag.
writes Vicky[…] month, I talked all about how I prepare the baby food—from the vegetables to the grains to the proteins, I shared my method that ensures I’ve […]
writes What Theo's Eating, 10 Months - Things I Made Today