PrePEARing and SQUASHing Baby’s First Foods

My daughter just had her four month well child check. At this appointment the pediatrician brought up introducing solids. I think I’m going to hold off to as close to six months as I can, but that’s only a month and a half away.

I plan on making my own baby food and have begun researching stage one foods and how to make them.

The pediatrician said Fall offers great introductory foods; Yams/ sweet potatoes, apples, mangos, pears, bananas, avocado, squash and pumpkin.

Shopping at your local farmers market or joining a CSA for your homemade baby food (and household) has many benefits; it tends to be more cost effective, your produce will be fresher and you are supporting your local economy. – Ok let me get off my soap box . . .

I thought I’d post a couple of stage one recipes.

Butternut Squash Puree

1 Organic Butternut Squash, cleaned of seeds and quartered.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Fill a baking pan with ¼ – ½ cup water. Place the cut side of squash down and bake until fork tender, about 45 minutes.

Once the squash is done, scoop out the flesh and puree in a food mill like Green Sprouts’ or food processor. Add water breast milk or formula to your 1oz. serving to thin to desired consistency.

This recipe will certainly yield more than one serving. Squash freezes really well and you can easily do so in 1 oz. single servings. Green Sprouts makes a silicone tray, which make it really easy to pop out one serving at a time.

Pear Puree

3 Organic Medium Pears, cored and quartered

Place pear quarters in a steamer basket in a pot filled with a couple of inches of water. Do not let water touch fruit. Steam 10-12 minutes. Pears should piece effortlessly with a toothpick.

Scrape pear to remove the skin and puree and in a food mill or food processor.

Use some of the left over cooking liquid to adjust consistency.

Freezing foods changes the it’s structure, thinning our the puree after freezing usually has the best results but again it’s personal preference. Squash is among the few veggies that is good to thin ahead of time. Pears may be gritty or watery once thawed.

Purchasing organic is personal preference. Pears are on the FDA’s “Dirty Dozen” list and squash is not.

Be sure to consult your pediatrician before introducing solid foods.