Making Baby Food in the Slow Cooker

Published: Tue, 01/23/18


Howdy, Slow Cookerers!

Baby food is a no-brainer to make in the crockpot.

All you need to do is steam the veggies, mash them up, and freeze in ice cube trays.


also? making your own totally constitutes bragging rights.


Homemade Baby Food in the Crockpot Slow Cooker


SO: my suggestion to you ---
buy organic, and don't be scared to buy frozen.

The frozen is considered "packaged" but it's also already peeled and picked at the absolute peak of freshness.

This way you can have squash year-round, if you'd like, for your little one.

THE HOW TO PART:

--fresh or frozen fruit or vegetables (I highly recommend going for the organic)
-- water
-- crockpot

THAT IS IT!



For this example I used yellow squash, sweet potatoes, and frozen green beans.

Here are the steps:

Wash your vegetables and peel the skin.
Cut into chunks.
Put the chunks into your crockpot and cover with the least amount of water you can to fully cook them.

For the yellow squash, I used 1/4 cup of water.
Frozen green beans (toss in frozen), 1/4 cup of water.
Sweet potatoes, I ended up using 3/4 cup of water.

Make baby food on a day that you are home to monitor the food. Each variety will cook differently, depending on the moisture content and the density of the fruit or vegetable.

For this example I used a 4 quart, and two 6 quart crockpots, and everything was cooked fully within 3 hours.

When the veggies or fruit are quite tender, unplug your crockpot.

Use an immersible blender, a real blender, or a food processor to puree the food.

If you need to add a bit of water to make it thinner for your baby, do so in little drips.

Freeze in ice cube trays, then pop out and store in a freezer bag. 

Make sure you write CLEARLY on the outside of the bag what it is --- carrots look an awful lot like sweet potato at 5 am --- TRUST ME. :-)

Use up your baby food cubes within 4 to 6 months.

If necessary, thin the thawed food with a bit of water, breastmilk, or formula right before serving.

ENJOY! Happy Slow Cooking with Your Baby!
:-)

steph


PS:  I've gotten some emails about 4-quart slow cookers. I really do use my 4-quarts pretty often, but if you want to make a 4-quart recipe in a 6-quart pot, you totally can.

Here is a post that details what I do.

Q:  Why do some recipes call for a 4-quart and some call for a 6-quart?

A:  It's the amount of food. Slow Cookers cook the best when they are 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. You can certainly do math to make the recipe fit your pot better, or you can start a slow cooker collection. Your choice!
;-)