Our Favorite Homemade Baby Foods!

Our Favorite Homemade Baby Foods! 

As my sweet Ava Bird just turned one (!!!), we are doing less and less purees and more solids! All of that is fun, but I wanted to sit down and take a moment to record some of Ava's favorite homemade purees over the past 6 months or so!

I did use a baby food maker and honestly it was the best! In the beginning, I used my nutribullet blender and once I switched to the baby food maker it was SO much easier! Everything "juiced" without having to be steamed much and the texture was a lot creamier, not so "smoothie-ish"! The other great thing about a baby food maker is that as your baby gets older, you have more control over leaving some chunks in your purees so baby can start to practice chewing! 

1. Berries & Spinach

This one was a GREAT way to sneak in some greens without her tasting them! I suggest doing 2/3 berries and 1/3 spinach. You will need a small amount of liquid (water or coconut water), maybe 2 tbsp. Most of the time, I used frozen berries but fresh will work fine too! 

2. Butternut Squash & Apple

This is a fantastic fall puree! I did 1/2 apple (peeled) and 1/2 butternut squash. While we are talking butternut squash, can I just say I think it is ALWAYS worth the extra money to buy it pre-chopped!!!! If you are using a blender, you will need to steam or boil both first. If you are using a baby food maker, you may need to slightly heat the apple (steam or microwave) and then you should be okay! You can add a dash of cinnamon to this too! 

3. Strawberry Banana

SO SIMPLE and no need to peel or steam anything! I usually go a tiny bit heavier on the banana since they tend to be sweeter the the strawberries. You can also add apple or pear (both peeled) to this too! 

4. Cranberry Banana

This sounds crazy but she LOVED it! I happened to have cranberries and I mixed them up with a banana so they did not go to waste! Major success! Similar to the strawberries, I went slightly heavier on the banana for sweetness. You may need 1 tsp. of liquid for this one! 

5. Pear Zucchini

This was a hit or miss with Ava to be honest but its a great way to get some greens in there! Again, go slightly heavier on the pear. If you have a baby food maker, you only need to peel both of these, they are water-dense enough that you do NOT need to steam them! A dash of cinnamon or even a little honey is good here too! I have also mixed banana into this! 

6. Apple Banana Sweet Potato

With or without a baby food maker, the sweet potato does need to be peeled and steamed beforehand. You may need a little extra liquid if using a blender as well. I did a pretty even 1/3 for all three of these ingredients! 

7. Sweet Potato Carrot Apple

See above for sweet potato :) I recommend doing closer to 2/3 apple and then 1/3 of the carrot and sweet potato combined. Too much sweet potato creates a weird texture and too much carrot just simply does not taste as good! You may need 1-2 tbsp. liquid

8. Peaches & Pears

I saved this one for last because it was her downright favorite! You can do these two combined (50/50) or separate, she loved both! You can add any kind of berry to the peaches as well. Make sure to peel both, no need for extra liquid!