Homemade Baby Food Part 2 -- Carrots & Sweet Potatoes

Today I made my second batch of baby food- carrots and sweet potatoes. It was so quick and simple, I almost feel like I shouldn't think of it as a recipe or blog-worthy. But then I thought about how I feel when I have any type of car issue- clueless, uncomfortable, frustrated, and unsure of myself. I mean really, someone at a car repair shop could totally take advantage of me and rip me off because I have absolutely no clue about anything when it comes to cars. Taking my car for an oil change causes me so much anxiety because I'm so out of my comfort zone... I figure some people must feel this way about cooking and being in the kitchen. (Does this analogy even make sense?) Ok back to the point...I'm here to tell you- making yummy, nutritious food for your baby is simple, easy, and does NOT require stress, even if the thought of being in the kitchen makes you anxious. Take a deep breath, trust me, YOU CAN DO IT! :)

Carrots for Baby: 

Ingredients:

Organic carrots (I had one large package, 9 total carrots)

Water

Step 1: Wash, peel, and cut the ends off of your carrots.

Step 2: Cut your carrots into smaller chunks, and steam them using the method of your choice. The key is to steam them until soft... mine took about 15 minutes.

     Like with my apples for baby, I used a double boiler pan to steam my carrots. I have had this simple pan since college and I love it. But, there are fancier options and specialized baby steamers out there too. Whatever works for you will work for your baby! 

Step 3: Transfer your carrots to your food processor/blender. 

Step 4: Add 1/4 cup of water and blend until smooth. 

Step 5: Put your mushy delicious baby carrots in storage containers of your choice and feed to baby as needed. I freeze my extras and pull them out the morning that I plan to use them. 

Note: To store my baby food, I use the tiniest BPA free containers I could find in the food storage/tupperware section. I love them! They are a great size, freezer friendly, and stackable. I know that they make adorable little silicone pods for baby food that can be found in the baby section at Target and Babies R Us. They are a little more expensive but are made exactly for baby food. Again, whatever works for you will be just fine! 

Baby Titus spends a lot of time in the kitchen. Here he is entertaining himself while the whole carrot/sweet potato thing was going on today...

Sweet Potatoes for Baby:

Basically, you are going to follow the same process as above... wash and peel your sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, steam, and process. Easy, right?! Your baby will love them! 

Ingredients:

Organic sweet potatoes- (I used 2 large ones)

Water

Step 1: Wash, Peel, and chop your sweet potatoes into small chunks.

Step 2: Steam until soft. This took about 7 minutes for my using my trusty double boiler. 

Step 3: Transfer potatoes to food processor. Add 1/4 cup of water for every 2 potatoes you use. Blend on high until smooth. 

Step 4: Pour pureed sweet potatoes into storage containers and freeze what you won't use right away. You're done!

Thanks so much for visiting! If you are interested in apples and avocados for baby, click here.

-Alison