At my 4-month-old’s pediatrician visit, the doctor told me she was more than ready to begin solids. (This is what my doctor said for my daughter. Please ask your doctor regarding your own child.) He also told me to skip baby cereal all together and begin giving her vegetables. I don’t think my other kids ever had more than four servings of baby cereal. And, I’m pretty sure neither one of them enjoyed eating it.
As soon as I left the doctor’s office, I ordered the Infantino Squeeze Station off of amazon so I could make pouches of homemade vegetable puree for my baby girl. I Love it – this little squeeze station is great!
The pouches are easy to freeze and don’t take up a lot of space. I love that you can screw a little spoon onto the end of it and directly feed baby from the pouch. Now, I don’t have to wash a spoon and bowl when I feed the baby. I also like that the food is fresh and homemade. One sweet potato made two pouches of baby food. It is a very cost efficient and a great investment!
Two Methods for Sweet Potato (Yam) Baby Food Puree Recipe:
Boiling/Steaming Sweet Potatoes for Baby Food:
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into small chunks
2. Place chunks into a pan with just enough water to slightly cover potato 3. “Steam” boil until tender, be sure to check on the water level.
4. Reserve any left over water to use for thinning out the sweet potatoes if desired.
Microwave Sweet Potatoes:
1. Wet and wrap sweet potatoes with microwave safe plastic wrap. *You can skip the plastic wrap and simply wet the sweet potatoes
2. Poke holes in the wrap with a fork and microwave for 10 minutes or until done.
3. Remove skins by slitting the sweet potato lengthwise when cooled then scoop out the “meat”.
4. Use a liquid from your preferred source to puree or thin the sweet potatoes in a food processor or blender. I use baby formula or pumped breast milk as my liquid source to get the potatoes to the right consistency.
Once the potato has been processed with the milk, I scoop it up and put it in the beaker of my squeeze station. I simply press the puree into the pouch and viola – a pouch of fresh, organic, homemade baby food for my little princess.
She loves her sweet potato and smacks for lips for more at dinner time. If you’re looking for a first vegetable to feed your little one, the sweet potato is a favorite among my children.
I highly recommend the Infantino Squeeze Station. I like it much better than freezing the baby puree in an ice cube tray method I used in the past.
What is your baby’s favorite food?
