Homemade Baby Food in Ice Cube Trays

Even though this baby won't be eating solid foods for at least six months (no, she's not born yet - six days until my due date!), I've started to think about what I can feed her when the time comes.  I plan to make my own baby food and got a food processor from a friend as a baby shower gift.  I love that I've already been able to use it to make hummus and virgin margarita jello cups.  It's one thing I didn't mind acquiring as part of the vast flood of baby items!

I've been sent repeatedly to an awesome site with recipes and food storage tips.  This seems like a one-stop shop for all of your homemade baby food questions: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/.

What I didn't realize was that you can't just grind up what you're having for dinner and feed it to the baby the first time you introduce solid foods.  I'm told food introduction should be done gradually and one food at a time, until your baby is comfortable with a variety of foods (and to better distinguish foods they might be allergic to).  So that leaves you with the problem of how to make tiny portions of one kind of food at a time.

Solution: A lot of people will make batches of a particular food and freeze it for up to one month.  The neat trick I learned today is to use ice cube trays.  It simultaneously helps you save it in chunks small enough for a baby meal, and also conserves space in your freezer (plus you may not need to buy any new equipment)!

If you don't have ice cube trays already, they make some with lids just for baby food



Once the food is frozen, you can pop it out and store it in a ziplock bag until you need it (then reuse the tray for another type of food).  This should be easier than I imagined.  I love elegant, green solutions using stuff I already own!