Baby puree recipes are not only affordable, but they are also easy to make, healthy, natural, and practical. Nothing beats homemade baby food, especially if you make them from fresh ingredients like apples, carrots, and sweet potatoes!
Pin this recipe on Pinterest to save for later
Using the right ingredients can tremendously affect your baby’s growth, brain development, and immunity.
How to Make Baby Food
Baby food puree has never been more affordable, healthier, easier, and tastier! What makes it more special is that it’s straight from the kitchen and into your baby’s bowl.
Try this recipe if you want your baby to explore the best and healthiest food!
Ingredients
Apples
Sweet Gala Apples are best for this recipe because they are one of the most accessible variants of apples, and they are mildly sweet so as not to overwhelm the baby’s taste palette.
Apples are one of the first fruits that you can feed your baby. They contain lots of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants to help the baby’s body fight against numerous diseases.
Carrots
The taste of carrots can be sweet and a bit earthy, and it works well with apples and sweet potatoes. Its vibrant color can also appetize the baby to eat more.
Carrots are loaded with nutrients that can improve eyesight, prevent cancer, boost immunity, aid digestion, and strengthen bone health.
Sweet Potatoes
When it comes to flavor, sweet potatoes are sweet and starchy, which is a great combination for your baby’s first foods. It also tastes fresh; its flavor can be altered depending on how you prepare it.
Sweet potatoes can make healthy baby food puree because of their nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that can improve digestion, develop good eyesight, increase brain function, and boost immunity.
These three powerful, delicious, and healthy ingredients are easy to find, prepare, and cook! Before you know it, this Apple, Carrot, and Sweet Potato puree will always be on your grocery list.
Directions for Baby Food Puree
- Wash and rinse the ingredients.
- Peel and chop the apples, carrots, and sweet potatoes using a knife.
- Steam the carrots and sweet potatoes in a steaming basket for 10 minutes.
- Add the apples and steam for 3 minutes.
- Use a blender to blend the ingredients with a bit of water until smooth.
Once the consistency is smooth, and the color is a vibrant orange, your apple, carrot, and sweet potato puree is ready for your baby’s mealtime!
Tips for Baby Food Puree
How to Choose and Store Ingredients
Apples
Selection. To check an apple’s quality, you can feel its skin and slightly press into the fruit. Steer clear from apples that are soft and mushy to the touch.
You can still use them for the puree, but this might be more prone to contamination. Apples in bright red color have great flavors! You will also notice that the apple’s scent has a sweet and pleasant aroma.
Storage. For storage, you can put apples in a plastic bag and place them in the crisper drawer of your fridge. For better results, pierce some holes into the plastic bag or wrap the apples in damp paper towels.
Carrots
Selection. In choosing carrots, purchase ones that are firm to the touch, plump, and without holes or cracks. Select ones that are bright orange in color and smooth in texture.
Carrots with touches of yellow are likely to have lost most of their naturally sweet flavor.
Storage. In terms of storage, it’s best to refrigerate carrots by placing the unpeeled carrots in a glass jar or plastic container and submerging the carrots in cold water.
Check the water every four to five days to replace the cloudy water.
Sweet Potatoes
Selection. For sweet potatoes, look for small to medium-sized ones without cracks on the surface. The skin should feel smooth and look similar to the color of copper.
If you opt for the frozen version, check the label to ensure that the sweet potatoes contain no salt.
Storage. Store sweet potatoes in a cool and dry place and make sure to use them within one week to utilize their nutrients and flavors.
It’s also best to be gentle with strong sweet potatoes because they tend to bruise easily.
How to Make Plaintain Baby Puree Without a Blender
As an alternative to blending, you can simply boil the ingredients, drains the water, and mash them with other kitchen utensils such as forks, potato mashers, or a mortar and pestle.
You may also sieve the ingredients to make sure that there are no large chunks.
When to Feed Plantain Puree to Your Baby
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting babies on solid foods or purees at 4 to 6 months old.
Introducing them to fresh and natural food at these ages can improve brain development and overall health.
Moreover, according to a study conducted by The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, babies exposed to fresh purees are less prone to asthma and common allergies.
Baby Puree Variations
How you prepare fruits and vegetables for babies will differ as they age. Aside from puree, you can turn healthy ingredients into smoothies, popsicles, or baked goods.
| Age | Variations |
| 6 to 12 months | This is the perfect age to serve the apples, carrots, and sweet potatoes in puree form. Let your baby explore the textures and flavors. You can also cut and boil the ingredients into bitesize pieces. Add in milk to make it more flavorful. They can eat with a spoon or even their hands. |
| 12 to 18 months | You can already incorporate grains into mashed or boiled fruits and vegetables by this time. With supervision, you can allow the baby to chew and snack on larger pieces. |
| 18 to 24 months | At this point, the baby can already consume fruits and vegetables either in puree form or raw form, as long as the ingredients are washed, well-prepared, and properly preserved. |
Recommended Tools
- Steaming basket: Steaming is highly recommended for baby food because it softens the ingredients without sacrificing nutrients and minerals.
- Peeler: This is used to remove the skin of the fruits without removing too much of the flesh.
- Apple corer and slicer: Core and slice the apple with an apple corer and slicer effortlessly.
- Knife: This can also be used to peel the fruits and slice them into small pieces
- Blender: To effectively combine the ingredients together using a blender with a mixer rod.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn commission income from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information.
How to Serve Baby Food Puree
Simply serve the puree in a baby’s bowl with a baby-friendly spoon! It’s already delicious and flavorful on its own but if you want more flavor, you can add bananas, cinnamon, or soft fresh peas.
Creamy textures are great for babies because they get to explore different food textures. To make this puree creamier, you can add breast milk or formula milk! Gradually add them in to determine your preferred consistency.
Storage Tips
- At room temperature: As suggested by the Home and Garden Information Center, don’t leave baby puree at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are homemade baby purees healthy?
Of course! The great thing about making your baby’s food is that you have the assurance that it is naturally and properly prepared. There are little to no preservatives, and the ingredients are also fresh.
When is the best time of the day to feed puree to your baby?
The best time for baby food puree is in the morning! It gives the baby lots of time to process and use the energy from the food. It also stimulates the baby to become more active and alert during the day.
Refrain from feeding the baby puree during the night because digestion problems may disturb the baby’s sleep. Moreover, remember not to overfeed the baby with the puree. For example, babies aged six to eight months can have up to nine tablespoons of puree.
Can your 4-month-old baby have baby puree?
Yes, a four-month-old baby can have baby puree but limit feeding to a few teaspoons a day. It is still best for babies to source primary nutrients from breast milk or formula milk at this age.
Apple, Carrot, and Sweet Potato Baby Food Puree
Ingredients
- 3 gala apples
- 1 sweet potatoes
- 3 carrots
- ½ cup water (from steaming)
Instructions
- Boil water and prepare the ingredients. While boiling two cups of water in a saucepan, wash and rinse the ingredients. Make sure that you are washing the ingredients well to get rid of any residue of pesticides. Then, peel them with a peeler or a knife. Chop them into your preferred size but keep in mind that the smaller the slices, the quicker it cooks. For the apple, you can use a knife to peel, remove the core, and slice but you can also use an apple corer and divider to save more time. Also, place the steaming basket in the pot and cover it with a lid.
- Steam the carrots and sweet potatoes.Allow up to 10 minutes to steam the carrots and sweet potates. When steaming, put these in first because these take longer to cook compared to apples.
- Add in the apples. At the 10-minute mark, incorporate the apples into the steaming basket. After three minutes, check for doneness by piercing them with a fork. If the slices are soft and tender, remove them from heat. Set the steamed ingredients aside and allow them to cool.
- Blend the ingredients together. Before blending, add in the water from the saucepan used for steaming. The amount of water you put in depends on how thick and smooth you want the puree to be. To completely incorporate the ingredients, use your blender’s mixing rod to slightly stir the contents of the blender.
Video
Notes
- The baby puree is easy to prepare, but to ensure it’s safe for the baby, refrigerate or freeze it within 2 hours of making it.
- Don’t let it sit at room temperature for longer than 2 hours to prevent contamination and spoilage.
Nutrition
