Now that your little love has experienced all of these foods individually and shown no reactions, the real fun begins! Let’s get that kitchen messy and make some baby food.

Tools you may want:

• Blender or Food Processor
• Pumped breastmilk
• Real Butter (Kerrigold brand is real – or hit up your local farmers’ market!)
• Coconut Oil
• ALL.THE.FOODS.
• Ice cube trays or individual serving storage containers (BPA and phthalate free)
• Freezer space

Keep in mind that you want to use fresh, organic (if possible), in season fruits and vegetables whenever possible. If it is winter and fresh, local produce isn’t available, grab frozen organic options.

Apple

• 5 apples
• ¼ cup water (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, apples don’t have to be covered)

Take out the core of the apples. Cut the apples in big chunks and put them in your pot. Add water. Turn heat on medium high and bring water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, turn heat down to low. Put lid on pot. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then puree.

Pear

• 5 very ripe pears (pears do not need to be cooked as long as they are nice and ripe)

Wash, de-seed, and peel the pears. Puree, as always, if you need to add a bit of water go ahead.

Peas (Or Green Beans)

If frozen, cook as directed and plunge into a bowl of ice. Then puree with breastmilk/water to thin. If fresh, shell and steam peas. Then plunge into a bowl of ice before pureeing.

Banana & Avocado

• 1 Ripe Avocado
• 1 Ripe Banana

Peel the avocado and take out the pit. Peel the banana. Mash together in a bowl.

Pear & Apple

• 3 apples
• 3 pears
• ¼ cup water (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, apples and pears don’t have to be covered)

Take out the core of the apples and pears. Cut the apples and pears in big chunks and put them in your pot. Add water. Turn heat on medium high and bring water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, turn heat down to low. Put lid on pot. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Puree.

Butternut Squash & Carrots

• 10 medium carrots
• 1 medium butternut squash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the squash lengthwise. Scoop out all the seeds from the round end of the squash. Wash and peel your carrots Put the squash in your baking pan so that the skin is facing up. Add the carrots. Bake for 45 minutes. Scoop out the squash from the skin. Add both squash and carrots together to puree.

Steamed Peas & Carrots

• 5 carrots
• 1lb peas

Take the peas out of the pod if needed Cut off the ends of the carrots and peel Chop the carrots Add enough water to just barely touch the bottom of the steamer basket and bring to a boil. Place the carrots in the steamer basket and cover. Steam for about 5 minutes. Add the peas. Steam for another 5 minutes. Puree. Do not use your cooking water to thin carrots. Use either breast milk or water.

Sweet Green Beans & Pears

• 1/2 pound green beans
• 3 Pears Water/Breastmilk

Wash and cut the ends of fresh green beans (if using frozen don’t worry about it). Wash, de-seed and peel the pears. Place the green beans and pears in a pot and cover with about 1 inch of water. Bring water to a boil and then turn heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree, if you need to make the food thinner just add some cooking water or breast milk.

Pumpkin Pear & Peach

• ½ cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
• 1 peach – peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 pear – peeled, deseeded and diced

If needed, steam fruit to soften. Combine all and puree, adding breastmilk if needed to thin.

Apple & Pumpkin

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 apples – peeled, cored and sliced
• Cinnamon and Nutmeg (optional)

Steam apples until soft and add to food processor with pumpkin. Sprinkle with spices and add breastmilk to thin if needed.

Pumpkin & Carrot

• 1 pumpkin
• 10 carrots

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the pumpkin lengthwise. Scoop out all the seeds and guts. Cut off the ends of the carrots and cut them in half. Put the pumpkin in your baking pan so that the skin is facing up. Add the carrots and 1/4 cup water. Bake for 45 minutes. Scoop out the pumpkin from the skin and puree with the carrots.

Sweet Potatoes & Green Beans

• 1 lb green beans
• 5 sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and cut the ends of fresh green beans (if using frozen don’t worry about it). Wash and peel the sweet potatoes Chop up sweet potatoes into cubes. Throw sweet potatoes and green beans in a casserole dish with just barely enough water to cover the bottom. Bake for 1 hour. Throw them in your blender and puree to the right consistency. You may need to add water or breast milk to thin them out.

Blueberry & Chick Peas

• ½ cup blueberries
• ½ cup chick peas, strained and drained
• Sprinkle of rosemary (optional)

Combine blueberries, chick peas and rosemary in food processor and pulse. Scrape down the sides as needed and add breastmilk to thin.

Cantaloupe & Yogurt

• ½ of a cantaloupe – cubed Organic
• whole fat plain yogurt – add a tablespoon at a time

Add cantaloupe to food processor with 3 tablespoons of yogurt. Pulse. Add yogurt sparingly until you get the consistency you’d like.

Yam & Carrot

• 1 yam, peeled and cubed
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped

In a pot, cover yam and carrots with cold water and boil for 25 minutes – until very tender. Drain and puree with breastmilk until smooth.

Spinach & Blueberries

• 10oz package of frozen spinach
• ¾ cup blueberries
• ¼ teaspoon lemon juice

Bring spinach to a boil in a pot of water and simmer for 6 minutes. Drain and puree with blueberries, lemon juice and water/breastmilk if needed.

Salmon Puree

• 1 large carrot, diced
• 3 ½ oz salmon fillet
• 2 tsp breastmilk
• 1 cup tomatoes
• 1 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup Grated cheese of choice

1. Steam the chopped carrot for 15 minutes or until tender.
2. Put the salmon into a suitable dish, add the breastmilk, cover leaving an air vent and microwave for 1 ½ to 2 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
3. (You could poach the salmon in a pan of milk over a low heat until it flakes easily with a fork.)
4. To skin the tomatoes, cut a cross in the base of the tomatoes and put them into a heatproof bowl.
5. Pour over boiling water and leave for one minute.
6. Drain and then rinse with cold water and the skin should come away easily,
7. De-seed and roughly chop the tomatoes. Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the tomatoes until mushy (2 to 3 minutes).
8. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheese until melted.
9. Flake the fish and mix this together with the tomato and cheese sauce and the diced carrot.

Banana, Mango & Peach

• 1/2 cup mashed mango
• 1/2 ripe banana – peeled and mashed
• 1 ripe peach – pitted and mashed (remove skin)

Add fruits to a large bowl and mash together Add water or another liquid if your baby needs a thin consistency.

Acorn Squash & Apple Bake

• 1 acorn squash
• 2 or 3 Macintosh apples
• pinch of cinnamon

Peel and dice apples Cut acorn or butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds. Place halves face UP in a pan and add with an inch of water to the pan. Place diced apples in the squash “holes” where the seeds were. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired. Pour water over the apples so that there is water in the squash holes – cover pan with tinfoil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the “shell/skin” puckers and halves feel soft, then scoop squash “meat” and apples out of the shell. Puree as needed, adding water to thin if required. You may also chop or dice and serve as a finger food meal.

Squash Bowl

• 1 acorn or butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• handful of raisins cinnamon (as you prefer)
• ginger (as you prefer)
• nutmeg (as you prefer)

Cut acorn or butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds Wipe insides with butter or olive oil and add raisins and applesauce. Add 2 inches of water to a baking pan. Place halves face up with shell down in a pan. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the “shell/skin” puckers and halves feel soft. Serve as is in the shell to older toddlers (our kids LOVE this in the shell) or scoop out the meat and mash then serve.

Pear and Asparagus Puree:

• 1 organic Bartlett pear—washed, peeled and chopped
• 4-6 spears of asparagus—washed, rough ends trimmed and discarded, spears chopped

Pour water into a pot until it is about 1″ deep and bring to a boil over high heat. Place the chopped asparagus into a steamer basket and put the basket into the pot. The water should not touch the bottom of the basket. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and steam for about 7 minutes, until tender. Once the asparagus is cooked, place into a food processor with the pear. Blend until a mushy mash consistency is achieved. Asparagus can be stringy, so make sure to remove any stringy pieces before serving. Pear and Asparagus Puree can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge and up to three months in the freezer.

Mango, Banana and Chicken Puree:

• 1 large, ripe banana—peeled
• 1 ripe mango—peeled and chopped
• 1/2 pound ground chicken
• 1/2 cup of organic, low sodium chicken stock

Heat the chicken stock in a medium-sized skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and lower the heat to medium-high. While cooking, break up the chicken using the end of a spatula so the pieces are nice and small. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. Place the chicken, mango and banana into a food processor and blend until a mushy mash consistency is achieved. Serve or store. Mango, Banana and Chicken Puree can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge and up to three months in the freezer.

How to Freeze

Place trays in freezer until solid. Combine like “meals” in a freezer bag and label with the meal name, ingredients, and date you made it. This will last about 3 months in the freezer, unless of course your freezer is overstuffed and not being utilized well – then only keep the baby food stored 1-2 months.

How to Thaw

Place frozen cubes into a container in your fridge and let defrost overnight. Take frozen cubes and put in microwave safe bowl and heat in microwave for 30 seconds per cube. Stir and test to make sure the food is the right temperature. Heat frozen cubes in small sauce pan for 3-5 minutes or until melted. Let cool slightly and then serve warm.