My toddler daughter is quite the little foodie. From the time that she started eating solid foods at exactly six months old, I have primarily made homemade baby food for her. Now that she is over nineteen months old, she still eats the baby food that I make her. She does eat other foods that we give her, but she still loves her baby food twice a day. By adding less water, I make her toddler food pretty thick instead of the thinner purees that I used to make. She loves the taste and texture. I love the convenience of popping out a few baby food cubes as well as knowing that she is getting a well-balanced diet full of healthy fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. One of the most recent foods that I made my daughter was snow peas, mushrooms, and broccoli.
Snow peas are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Although fairly high in natural sugars, peas are a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, thiamin, folate, iron, and manganese. Mushrooms are low in saturated fat and sodium and very low in cholesterol. Mushrooms are also a good source of vitamin D, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, and magnesium and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium. Broccoli is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol; is a good source of protein, vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and selenium; and is a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, folate, potassium, and manganese.
To make the snow pea, mushroom, and broccoli baby food for my daughter, I started by picking up the veggies at my local grocery store. (Yes, I know that mushrooms are technically fungi, not vegetables.) Then I washed everything thoroughly. After chopping up the broccoli into smaller pieces, I put all the veggies in a microwave safe bowl with a little extra water for cooking. I then microwaved the food for about fifteen minutes, checking after ten minutes to stir the concoction. After the broccoli was cooked to tender, I let the mixture cool slightly.
Once the cooked veggies had cooled slightly, I transferred some with a little extra water into my baby food processor. For a thinner puree, simply add more water. I then mashed the mixture up into a thick toddler food. I then spooned the mashed veggies into ice cube trays for easier freezing. Once the cubes were thoroughly frozen, I transferred the baby food into freezer bags for easier storage. As my daughter needs food, I simply take out a few cubes to thaw in the refrigerator or microwave.
Do your kids like snow peas, mushrooms, and broccoli?
Image Credits
Snow Peas, Mushrooms, and Broccoli © 2013 Heather Johnson
Raw Chopped Broccoli © 2013 Heather Johnson
Raw Snow Peas and Broccoli © 2013 Heather Johnson
Raw Mushrooms, Snow Peas, and Broccoli © 2013 Heather Johnson
Cooked Mushrooms, Snow Peas, and Broccoli © 2013 Heather Johnson
Mashing the Mushrooms, Snow Peas, and Broccoli © 2013 Heather Johnson
Mushroom, Snow Pea, and Broccoli Baby Food Cubes © 2013 Heather Johnson
I have been making lots of baby food for my girly but she doesn’t really like to eat anything, ha ha. She is my first baby to not like food! I may have to go the baby led weaning route with her although I prefer to do purees because the gagging of baby led weaning freaks me out.
I would only make my own baby food if it’s possible, I don’t want to get storebought baby food. So I really love this post.
I loved making baby food for my two younger girls! It’s great piece of mind knowing exactly what you’re feeding them. Plus, it’s a wonderful way to introduce them to a larger variety of tastes & textures than store bought baby food! 🙂
I used to do this all the time with son #2. So much easier, economical, and healthy for the little ones!