First Solids:1/2 ounce of freshly pumped breastmilk (which is more familiar to the baby than formula if you’ve been nursing until starting solids; you can use formula if you have been bottle-feeding) and about 1/2 Tbsp of Earth’s Best Whole Grain Rice Cereal. It’s all about the consistency. You want it to be thin enough to be very similiar to milk/formula but thick enough to stay on a baby spoon. I try to get mine to be the consistency of yogurt, definitely runny but not totally watery. Serve at room temperature. My baby didn’t eat it all and probably won’t for a little while. It’s all about learning about all the new tastes.

Oatmeal Cereal:Preparing the oatmeal is just like the rice cereal. You can use water if you don’t feel like pumping breastmilk.

Peas:About 8 oz. of frozen peas (normally I prefer fresh produce, but it’s tough to find peas in the fresh produce area in Texas)1/4 cup waterDump the peas and water into a bowl and microwave until very tender. (In my microwave, it’s about a minute and a half.) When done, pour the entire bowl (water and peas both) into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth for beginners (around 6 months) or leave a little chucky for older babies. The amount of water is the key is the thickness. For a 6 month old, I use a little more water to thin it out. As they get older, I make it thicker by using a little less water.I then pour the mix into an ice cube tray and freeze. I fill the cubes about 3/4 full. For a 6 month old, 1-2 cubes is a serving. I use the Oxo Ice Cube Trays (found at Bed, Bath, and Beyond) because they have lids so t makes it easier to stack several trays in the freezer. I leave the cubes to freeze. Once frozen, I dump the frozen cubes into a ziplock bags and label them appropriately with the type of food and date. Use the cubes within one month to maintain freshness. Also I don’t recommend freezing your baby food in glass jars as they have a tendency to break.Every couple days I pull out the cubes I want to feed the baby and let them thaw in the refrigerator in a bowl for each meal. Use them within 1-2 days.The preparation time is about 20 minutes, and this recipe yields about 8-12 cubes.

Butternut Squash:Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pull out a cookie sheet and cover with foil (makes for easy clean-up.) Rinse squash off. Cut in half vertically (lengthwise) to that you expose the seed cavity in both halves. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the seeds and “guts” (just like you are carving a pumpkin.) Lay your two halves meat side up on the cookie sheet and bake for 90 minutes for an average to large size squash. (Times may vary depending on the size of the squash. If you have a smaller squash, start checking it at 40 minutes.) The squash is done when it is soft like a well baked potato. I stick a fork tito the meat of the squash to test the softness. If it is not done when the timer goes off I put it back in for 15-20 minutes and check again. Once done, let cook. Scoop out the meat, put in blender, and blend. Mashing with a potato masher works too but it’s more work. Add water to thin out the mix if needed. As with many foods, make it thinner for younger babies and thicker for more experienced ones. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze.This recipe yields about 24 ice cubes.

Yellow Squash:Rinse off the squash. For younger babies like mine, it might be wise to peel the skin. For older babies with more eating experience, you can leave the skin after scrubbing it clean as they can digest foods better. Cut the squash into small 1/2 cubes. Boil or steam themuntil very soft and tender. They should be easy to mash with a fork. Retain water in case you want to water down your mix a bit. Put soft, cooked cubes into your blender and blend! Pour your mix into ice cube trays and freeze. Easy huh? I don’t add water to these because after you freeze and thaw you naturally water down quite a bit. In fact, if they thaw too thin, you can add rice cereal to thicken them up a bit. This recipe yields about 8-10 ice cubes.

Sweet Potatoes: Just put them in the oven like a baked potato on 400 for about 35-45 minutes. Use a fork to check for doneness. Make sure they are really soft but not burnt. Let cool, spoon out the meat, and blend! Easy!

More recipes to come! Check back!

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