I start with simple 1 ingredient purees, my favorites are yam to start since that is the easiest puree to make. Applesauce and banana are great travel foods since you can buy regular pots of apple sauce and keep them with you. Bananas don't require refrigeration which is always a bonus. Here are some of the first purees that I made for Little Man, on the left is carrots. Top right is yams and bottom right is cauliflower. Real simple and delicious.
Another green puree that I have done but isn't shown here is Pea, which has the best colour imaginable, so bright.
Applesauce also won't be shown here since I was using up the stock that I had made last fall, and the rest I get from a jar. Hard to mess up with jarred applesauce, just make sure it is unsweetened and there aren't any funky ingredients. Ascorbic acid is ok since it is just vitamin C to keep the colour.
I also tried out some kale with leeks and butter. Wow, I wish that that little bowl wasn't a whole bunch of kale, since I would have happily eaten it all. But I do loves me some kale. The top small bowl is some more yams since they are always a favorite.
This morning, I wanted to try something different from his usual applesauce breakfast, so I took some of the frozen blueberries that we have in the freezer, cooked and pureed them and added applesauce and a scoop of yogurt. He was squealing with joy with that one, and I can't blame him it was pretty good.
Now you ask what I do once I have these purees made. Well, I freeze them, of course. I have a bunch of different freezing devices such little freezing pots and ice cube trays, and silicon trays. I really like the silicon, but I've misplaces them between children. They are probably in my house some where, I just need to find where. If using little pots or ice cube trays, they can hard to remove you frozen foods. try running the bottom under hot water for a bit and then try and push them loose from the bottom.
Here I have stacked the little pots ready to be put in the freezer for a few hours or overnight. Then pop them out, and place in a labeled (which what it is and when you made it) freezer bag and place it back in the freezer.
They usually don't take long to thaw, either by packing up lunch at breakfast time or by microwaving in short burst until it has thawed but without over heating since you want to be careful with little mouths.
Carrot Puree
~Carrots
~nub of butter
Peel and chop carrots. Place in a pot with enough water to cover and simmer until carrots are soft usually less then 10 min. Remove from water and place in a blender or the cup of a hand blender (which is my preferred way of pureeing.) I remember reading that you shouldn't use the water from carrots or beets to add to your purees, so I used boiled water because it was handy. Add enough for the puree to get pretty smooth. Apparently, beta carotene requires fat to make it more easily absorbed. So I add a bit of butter to the carrot puree. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Yam
~Yam (orange fleshed yam)
Peel and slice the yam. Place in a pot with enough water to cover and simmer until yam is soft. Blend, adding back enough cooking liquid to make a smooth puree. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Cauliflower
~Cauliflower, about 1/2 a head.
I use a steaming basket in a pot for cauliflower. Steam for about 10 minutes, until soft. Blend, adding back enough cooking liquid to make a puree. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Peas
~peas, fresh or frozen
I use frozen peas which are really great, just add some hot water until the peas are thawed, then puree with some water. Thin to what ever consistency you want. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Leek and Zucchini
~2 large Leeks, washed and finely chopped
~1 medium Zucchini, sliced
~1 -2 tbsp Butter
In a frying pan, melt the butter over medium and then saute the leeks until almost soft and buttery. Add zucchini and cook through and have started to get a bit mushy. Blend, adding extra liquid to make a smooth puree. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Potato
~2-3 Potato
~Butter(optional)
Peel and cube potatoes, in a pan with enough water to cover, simmer until soft. Mash potatoes with cooking liquid to make a puree. *note* mash rather then blend potatoes to avoid the gummy mess that will result. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Broccoli
~1 Head of Broccoli
Peel stock of broccoli, then chop and add it into a steam basket with broccoli florets. Steam until soft. Blend with cooking liquid, until smooth. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Potato and Broccoli
Add mashed potato and pureed broccoli together and Voila!
Kale and Leek
~2 tbsp butter
~1 large Leek, washed and finely chopped
~1 bunch Kale, with spines removed and roughly chopped.
In a frying pan, melt butter and saute leeks until buttery and soft. Add Kale and cover, stirring occasionally. Once Kale is soft, blend with liquid to make a smooth puree. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Blueberries
~1 cup or so frozen blueberries
In a sauce pan, heat the blueberries over medium until berries are soft. Blend with a bit of liquid to make a smooth-ish puree. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Lovely Lentil Stew
~1 large Leek, washed and finely chopped.
~1 large Sweet Potato (yellow fleshed)
~3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
~1/2 cup red lentils
~2 cups low sodium chicken or veggie broth
In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute leeks until soft and buttery. Add Carrots and lentils and soften. Then add sweet potato and add broth, enough to cover. Cook until everything is soft. I love my hand blender since this makes quite a lot, I used the hand blender in the pot to puree this tasty treat. Cool puree before portioning and freezing.
Extra Notes:
~As the baby matures, you can make your purees thicker and chunkier as they go since that way they get used to different textures.
~Good food hygiene is important, so keep hot food hot and cold food cold, and keep the in between really short.
