Easy Veggie Baby Food Recipe (Like Gerber 1st & 2nd Food)

Long before Gracie was born we decided we were going to make her baby food from scratch. It's way cheaper, fresher, and better tasting, plus I like knowing exactly what I'm putting in her cute little tummy. And while I'm not eco-friendly enough to go for cloth diapers, I also like that I'm not tossing out those little plastic food packs every day.

I looked through a few websites/books and finally came up with an easy recipe to make our own. Seriously, it is SO easy. Right now we're doing the Gerber 1st foods equivalent, but you could adapt the exact same recipe to the 2nd foods as well.

So I thought I'd share the recipe in case anybody else is interested in trying this out.

Which Veggies

So far I've done carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, & green beans. I buy frozen peas & green beans, and these work just fine (plus since they are flash frozen they are often fresher than buying "fresh"!). The carrots & sweet potatoes I bought from Henry's. You have to peel & cube these before you cook them, so they take a little longer. Alternatively, you can buy pre-peeled baby carrots.

Basic Cooking Utensils
(besides bowls, spoons, etc.)

Steamer (or alternative). I cook my baby food by steaming it, because that is one of the best ways to cook foods without cooking all the nutrients out. If you have a steamer, great. If not, put a strainer or colander in a regular pot, add enough water so that just a little bit of the botton of the strainer or colander has water in it, and put a lid on it, leaving just a little gap for some of the steam to escape.

Blender. Just a regular blender with a "puree" setting will be great.

Ice Cube Trays. These are perfect for freezing the food (because who wants to cook this stuff fresh every day!?). You can fit about 2T in each cube space. I'd get at least 2. Always wash them before you use them.


DIY Veggie Baby Food Recipe

1. Add water to your steamer (see above), and set over a burner on High.
2. Add veggies to the upper portion/strainer/colander. You can put as many or as few veggies as you like, so long as the lid can cover them. Cover with lid. Make sure there is some space for the steam to escape.
3. Steam veggies for 15-20 minutes, or until soft. (Peas & green beans take 15, harder foods like carrots & potatoes should go for 20.) Set the timer! If you have a lot of veggies, do a quick stir at the halfway point. While veggies cook, paint your nails, play with your baby, read a magazine, send a cute text to your hubby, and/or watch part of an episode of Gilmore Girls.
4. When veggies are relatively soft (carrots & potato bits can be halved easily with a spoon), dump veggies into blender. Add some of the water from the bottom of the steamer pot. Puree for about 1 minute.
5. Check consistency. If it is still too lumpy, add a little more water and puree again. Keep adding water & pureeing until you get a nice smooth texture. (You'll get the hang of this quickly).
   
6. (Optional) Pour puree into a clean bowl. (I just do this because it makes the scooping easier.)
7. Scoop 2T of puree into each cube space of an ice cube tray. Let cool to about room temp, then put in freezer.
8. When frozen, store your baby food cubes in ziploc bags in the freezer. Label them with the food & date made. They should last for up to 6 months in the freezer.

If you've moved on to 2nd foods, you can try mixing some of the veggies you've already fed your baby (i.e. do a pea-carrot combo) and you can leave the puree a bit more lumpy.