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Food Fun: A Photo Essay
April 15, 2008 11:55 am | by

Zucchini is getting cheap around here, summer must be right around the corner! I bought a bunch the other day and made some very yummy zucchini bread. I had some extra zucchini when I was done mixing so I figured I would just pop it into my Fresh Baby Tray and make good use of it.


When I have been making veggies for the family it has been easy to pop a little of the leftovers into the blender and put them in the tray as well. I have just made sure to cook the vegetables without butter or salt, but those can always be added at the table if you miss them. For my zucchini, I just packed the shredded zucchini down in the tray without any other preparation. By doing this a little at a time, I have not really spent any extra time on freezing baby food. Well, I have to rinse out the blender, but that is only like a minute.

Once they are good and frozen I just pop them out and put them into labeled bags and rinse the tray out so my tray is always ready to catch more leftovers. I use one tray for food and one for breastmilk.

To get the zucchini baby-ready I popped it into a little bowl and microwaved it for 30 seconds, then mashed it a little with a fork.


Then the real fun began! Lily was not too fond of the zucchini, or maybe the texture. But they say that a baby may need to try something up to 15 times before they like it. Since it is such a mild vegetable, I think we will keep trying. This has been her general reaction to most foods, so I am really not too surprised that she was reticent.


In order to give her a chance to really understand what she was getting, I spooned some of it directly into her hand so she could squish it and smell it and put it in her own mouth. Watching babies have new experiences is an amazing privilege of parents and caregivers!


She played with it for a few minutes before it was time for nap. I think we will try it again later on today, maybe it will keep her busy while I try to eat dinner! (Her bib with a pocket kept her nice and clean.)

Other ideas for making your own baby foods:

  • Corn, peas, green beans, carrots… pretty much any vegetable that you would eat yourself. We gave Lily a broccoli stalk to chew on while we ate dinner the other day and it kept her busy. She got enough of it to produce evidence in her diaper, even if it didn’t look like she ingested any!
  • chopped up fruit
  • chicken or beef, VERY finely chopped
  • cooked beans, whether canned or cooked from died
  • leftover breakfast oatmeal

Some combo ideas:

  • Beans and rice: I combine some canned beans with a little leftover rice, swirl in the blender (it gets blended less and less as baby grows and gets more teeth) and pop into your freezer trays.
  • Chicken and noodles
  • sweet potatoes and chicken (this one is a big favorite with my kids!)
  • Apples and additive free breakfast sausage

Really the list is endless! Think about what you feed your family already. Start your baby on individual parts of that, about one every 4-5 days. They don’t have to have a lot of it for you to be able to tell if it disagrees with them. A lick, a chew, a spit, and their body has been exposed to the new substance. Before you know it they have sampled most of what you are eating yourself. Don’t be opposed to letting them experience the food with all their senses and their hair. The whole world is new to them!

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1 Comment

  • Anonymous said...
    April 18, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    Awesome tips! I’ve been thinking about making babyfood and this makes it seem pretty easy. Thanks! 🙂
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