Baby Food Follies
Stephanie Kearns, our Director of Business Operations, shares her baby food tips!
As a little girl, I vividly remember watching Baby Boom with Diane Keaton as the high powered Manhattan executive newly saddled with an infant daughter. She quickly become overwhelmed by her dual roles and decided to turn lemons into lemonade, well, technically apples into applesauce. Dianne decided to forego her big time city job and start a baby food company. It looked like so much fun and easy! I thought, “I will definitely make my own baby food when I have a baby too! What fun!” Well, here I am with my first baby and I can humbly say, it is not as easy as it looks but I’ve found ways to make the experience fun in the real world. Here are my best tips:
- Good storage containers are important! Scrutinize your choices and see what works best for you. Don’t forget to measure your freezer to make sure the base of the containers you choose fits
- Buy storage containers for “on the road” They sell reusable pouches that you can freeze and take on long car trips
- Fill each container only halfway. Little tummies need less food so you’ll waste a lot if you don’t plan for small doses
- Get creative with new ideas or simply copy the ideas for pre-made food from Happy Family or Plum Organics. They always have yummy combos so I take their lead when possible
- My favorite starter foods alone or combined: sweet potatoes, yams, butternut squash, carrots, peaches, peas, broccoli, bananas – all freeze very well!
- Less water = better consistency
- Chill the food first, then freeze. This results in less freezer burn.
- Your food will not be as pretty as prepackaged food. Don’t panic, your baby doesn’t care about visual as much as taste
- Always keep pre-packaged food on hand. Many times I forget to thaw out food overnight and have to turn to my trusty stock of pouches to serve up dinner. Happy Family and Plum make excellent options.
- Don’t stress out if he/she doesn’t like your food. Keep reintroducing different options and go back to previously rejected items and you’ll often find they’ll eat it!
- You can make a delicious broccoli/pea/squash soup out of the leftover puree. Fill all of your little tots food containers and keep the remaining in the food processor. Add 1 ½ tablespoons of cream or milk and black pepper and salt. Serve in a shot glass as an appetizer for dinner.
- Make your prep work count twice! Chop your fruits and veggies and use 2/3 for baby food and 1/3 for baked goods or stews for a dinner party or family dinner.
