The amounts of ingredients in these purees are not specific. You can use any amount of each that you have. Steaming and roasting are the best choices to keep all of the fruits and vegetables' nutrients in tact.
Ingredients
For Sweet Potato: 2 sweet potatoes/yamspeeled and cubed
For Butternut Squash: 1 butternut squashpeeled and cubed
For Beet: 2 beetsquartered, skin on
For Carrot: 2 medium carrotschopped (You can also use baby carrots, grated carrot, etc.)
For Zucchini: 2 organic zucchiniskin on (Choose organic because baby will eat zucchini skin)
For Spinach: 4 cups fresh or frozen spinach
For Pear: 2 ripe pearspeeled, cored and chopped (Choose Bartlett pears)
For Apple: 2 applespeeled, cored and chopped (Choose Gala, Red/Golden Delicious, Rome or Pink Lady)
Instructions
For Sweet Potato: ● Steam sweet potato for 20-30 minutes, or... ● Roast whole peeled potatoes at 400 degrees F for 1 hour. ● Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency; use breast milk or formula in place of water for a creamier texture.
For Butternut Squash: ● Steam butternut squash for 20-30 minutes, or... ● Roast halved, de-seeded squash, cut-side down at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes. ● Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency; use breast milk or formula in place of water for a creamier texture.
For Beets: ● Steam skin-on beets for 30-40 minutes, or... ● Roast whole beets at 400 degrees F for 1 hour. Trim off root and rub off skin. ● Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency; use breast milk or formula in place of water for a creamier texture.
For Carrot: ● Steam carrots for 20-30 minutes, or... ● Roast carrots at 400 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. ● Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency; use breast milk or formula in place of water for a creamier texture.
For Zucchini: ● Steam skin-on zucchini for 8-10 minutes, or... ● Roast skin-on zucchini at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. ● Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency; use breast milk or formula in place of water for a creamier texture.
For Spinach: ● Steam spinach for 5-10 minutes, or... ● Roast spinach at 400 degrees F for 5-7 minutes. ● Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency; use breast milk or formula in place of water for a creamier texture.
For Pear: ● Steam pears for 8-10 minutes, or... ● Roast pears at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. ● Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency; use breast milk or formula in place of water for a creamier texture.
For Apple: ● Steam apples for 15 minutes, or... ● Roast apples at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. ● Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency; use breast milk or formula in place of water for a creamier texture.
PREPARING TIPS ● Buy pre-cut, peeled sweet potato and butternut squash for quick and easy prep. ● I love this 2-tier electric steamer because I can steam 2 fruits/veggies at once.
STORAGE TIPS ● Cool purees and pour into BPA-free containers or ice cube trays. ● Refrigerate up to 3 days. Freeze up to 3 months. ● Thaw cubes overnight in your refrigerator. ● If you see ice crystals form on food, it's not freezer burn, it's just excess water from the fruit/veg.
FEEDING TIPS ● Wait 2-3 days between offering new foods to spot allergic reactions. ● Don't ditch a new food if your baby winces after tasting it. Babies may need to try a food 10 times before accepting it, so offer it again days later, or mix it with something you know baby likes. ● Let baby play with the feeding spoon a few minutes before giving solids. This helps baby become more familiar and comfortable with what you're doing. ● Start with just a little puree at a time on the spoon. Wait for baby to swallow before offering more.