Friday, February 17, 2012

Freezing Baby Food

When my baby started taking solids the first few days seemed like a lot of fun..we were making videos of him eating off a spoon and I was excited at the prospect of him wanting more and not rejecting the spoon. Being a lazy person soon I found it hard to come up with a freshly cooked wholesome portion of baby food..The result..I opened the kitchen drawer and gave him a jar of  baby food.

I do use baby food from the market at times when I don't have anything else on hand..or sometimes for variety in puddings and fruits. To come up with quick meals I find it best to freeze a batch of vegetables, fruit and meat in small portion sizes. Here's how:
  • Wash, Peel and Cut the vegie of your choice..All vegetables don't freeze well. I usually do carrots.
  • Steam or boil them to soften them. I use very little water.
  • Drain and purée them using a Stab Mixer. I used to make a very fine paste up till age 8-9 months but now at 1 year I leave in some chunks as well.
  • Let it cool..but do not let it stay at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
 I use wide strips of aluminium foil to wrap up small one time portions.Previously I used to pour the Puree or chicken stock into silicon ice cube trays but now the little man needs bigger portions and I find these packets take less space in the freezer as compared to plastic jars or boxes.
Freeze the individual packets. Do not put them in the freezer one on top of the other..they will be hard to separate. Once frozen put them into a zip lock bag, label and store.
Takes no great effort. You can mix n match to give variety. I make similar portions of minced  chicken and mutton as well because we use Halal meat and the ones from the local shelves are not an option at any time.
My stock up lasts from anywhere between 2 weeks to a month. I can make spaghetti bolognese, butter vegie, carrot pudding, soup or any other combination for a hungry baby instantly!

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