Acorn Squash

Looks yummy right?  Acorn squash are actually a pretty bland food sometimes.  They can be found almost year round at the grocery store though!  When I eat them I like to bakethem with cinnamon and eat it, but for baby, we'll do it a little differently.

First, cut the acorn squash in half and then spoon out the seeds.  This is really easy, unlike pumpkins where it takes forever!

Voila! 

Nice cleaned out squash half!

Now, it's summer.  I don't want to turn on my oven and heat up my house if I don't have to.  So I'm going to use the microwave method.  Just put a little bit of water (like 2 tbspns) into each half and set them on a microwavable dish.

Microwave on high for 10 minutes.  Let stand in microwave for 5 minutes.  The squash will be really hot and you have to touch them for the next step so don't rush the 5 minute wait or you'll be sorry. (I'm speaking from experience.  My poor fingers!)

Spoon the guts out of each acorn squash half.  It should come out really easily with a spoon.  Think of it like scooping the fruit out of an avocado.  You should be able to get right down to the skin.  You can scoop this directly into the blender!

Now, add 1/2 cup of water ot the squash and puree!  Acorn squash comes out close to the consistancy of apple sauce instead of a paste like other baby foods tend to.  Now, you can pour into your ice cube trays, freeze, and store!

Tip:  If you are making two baby foods and don't have enough trays to freeze them all, you can often just pour the food into a container and put it in the fridge.  When you remove one food from the trays, you can freeze what you stored in the fridge.  Note that some foods change colors to an icky brown color if they are not frozen immediately so think about that when chosing which one to freeze first!

Carrots - A Detailed "How To"

So, after you make a few of the baby food items the way the book recommends, you get the idea.  So here is how I make carrots.

Pour entire bag of frozen carrots (no butter or anything) into a pot.  Add enough water to somewhat cover the carrots.  Cover the pot and cook on medium until the carrots are done.  You can tell they have been cooked well enough by sticking a fork into the carrots.  If the fork comes out easily, they are done.  If the fork sticks in a carrot, they are not.

<=Not Done

 

<= Done

Strain carrots to remove excess water.  Carrots will be HOT!

Pour carrots into blender or food processer and add 1/2 cup of water.  Puree.   You can add as much additional water as you would like to achieve a desired consistancy.  I add water slowly until my blender is capable of moving all of the food freely and it is entirely pureed.  For the carrots, I added an additional 1/2 cup of water.  My daughter sometimes has a problem with food that isn't "thick" enough, so instead of rice cereal made with breastmilk, we add a little rice cereal to her solid foods.

Next, you will pour the pureed carrots into one of the ice cube trays as pictured.    Smooth food with a spatula until each compartment is covered evently and you can see the dividing lines.  Then cover with the lid (or you can use seran wrap if using normal ice cube trays).  And freeze!  One bag of frozen carrots makes 24 servings, or two ice cube trays full. 

Freeze overnight, then remove and separate into individual servings, repackage and return to freezer!

Intro to Making Baby Food

To make my daughter's food, I use to So Easy Baby Food Book.  It comes with a guide for picking out fruits and vegetables, as well as instructions for each type of baby food you can make and when it's best to introduce the foods to your little one.  Today, I made carrots and acorn squash.  Squash and carrots are not in full season yet, so they are not available at the farmer's market.  So I went to my grocery store and bought 1 acorn squash and a bag of frozen carrots.  I always opt for frozen if a vegetable is not in season.  They don't have a high fructose corn syrup or other additive bath before eating.

I also use ice cube trays with covers from So Easy Baby Food to freeze my baby food.  I like them because the covers fit perfectly!  This is something you can register for at Babys R Us if you are expecting, or pick up there as well!

For most baby foods, you need a microwave (or pot if you are a stove lover like I am), spoon, blender or food processor, water, and ice cube trays.