- one sweet potato
- a mixer {blender of some sort}
- a steamer / pot + steaming basket
- breastmilk/formula
- water
- a potato peeler
- knife
First thing you will do is get your steamer going. Just add a tiny bit of water under your steaming basket & put it on a medium setting on your stove.
Be sure to wash it really good once it is peeled!
Once its cut into nice, small pieces put it in your steaming basket. & put the lid on the pot!
While it is going, is a good time to get your milk together! I pumped during this time. If you choose breast milk, make sure it is FRESH. Because if you plan on making a batch, you cannot refreeze your milk!! If you plan on using formula, now is a good time to mix!
I believe I let it steam for about 20 minutes. You just have to keep checking on it. When you're able to EASILY stab a piece with a fork, you're good to go!
Once it is done steaming, you'll add the slices into your blender. I use a baby bullet. You can use any type of blender that can puree well! You don't have to, but I would recommend adding breast milk or formula to the slices! The amount of milk depends on how smooth you want the texture. I added about 2 oz of breast milk, and also added some of the water from the bottom of the pot because some of the nutrients from the sweet potato is in there!
Then you're ready to blend!!
It is a good idea to stop & stir while blending!
If you see it's still too thick while blending, you can add more milk/water/formula.
When it just falls off your spoon, it is perfect for your baby!!
This one sweet potato made about 8 servings for me! I decided to freeze 6 servings since I used breast milk, I don't want risk using bad milk if it stays in the refrigerator too long!
ALWAYS be sure to date when you made the baby food! These nifty baby bullet containers have a date dial. {I recommend the baby bullet if you don't have a mixer!}
& this large holder will go in the freezer!
Here is a little bit of information on safely storing baby food! {from www.foodsafety.gov}
Storing and Reheating Baby Food
First and foremost: always throw away any uneaten leftover food in the baby’s dish!
Other ways to keep your baby’s food safe:
- Never allow cooked food to stand at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or more than one hour when the temperature is above 90 degrees)
- Do not store prepared baby food in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs or more than 48 hours for fruits and vegetables.
- Thoroughly reheat refrigerated or frozen food to an internal temperature of 165 ºF.
- Never defrost baby foods by leaving them at room temperature or in standing water.
To freeze prepared baby food safely, put it into labeled and dated containers. You may freeze it for up to one month.
I definitely recommend researching about what are good first foods for your baby if you are just starting out! It's always good to start with foods that are less allergenic.
We just started Ollie on solids & sweet potato is his third food. We are alternating between fruits & veggies each week so he doesn't grow to just want fruits because they are yummier! It's always a great idea to try a food for a week before switching to a new one so you can make sure your child is not allergic to that one food!
There is tons of useful information online & in books. :)
