How do you get your homemade food smooth enough?

[becky1969]

My LO is 30 weeks (7 months at the end of this week). We started solids at 6 months (cereals at 5, but he didn't digest them well, so we don't do any cereals right now per pediatrician's instructions). So far his only tried and true foods are sweet potato and squash. We tried green beans and pears, but they didn't agree with him either.

I start off with store bought organic baby food to make sure he can eat it, and then I make my own once it's a tried and true food. However, LO is not real happy with my squash adn sweet potato! I think it's a bit too stringy. I used a blender first, then tried using the food mill that attaches to my Kitchen Aid mixer. Neither method made it as creamy as he wanted.

Could someone tell me what they use to make their baby food? Is it crazy to think I can make my food as smooth as the store bought variety? Or are sweet potato and squash just difficult to get super smooth? I'm guessing fruits might be easier?

[Gareth - Harvey & Theo's Dad]

I have no personal experience with getting it really smooth, we use a mini-blender for Theo's and it retains some texture which he is ok with.  What I would try if I needed to get it smoother is passing it through a sieve a few times, that should take a lot of the texture out.  Better to use a nylon sieve if you have one, a steel one will turn the fruit brown.

HTH

[becky1969]

I tried a sieve with the squash, and nothing came thru! Just a little liquid. Maybe my sieve is too fine? I'll try a different one nexttime and see if that works. I'm hoping that as he gets more used to solids, he'll handle a bit of texture. But he literally gagged on my sweet potato and spit it out!  He LOVES sweet potato, so I know it was the texture. 

[sophiems]

I think the key is to add lots of water, while pureeing it.  If you are boiling the veggies, use the water that you used to boil, it's full of nutrients (as long as you washed everything good enough).  I think squash and potatoes, especially in the beginning you reallly have to use more water than you think.  I remember thinking I was just watering everything down too much, but in the early stages, it helps alot.  Plus if you're freezing then defrosting, the water will kind of separate a little so if it's too much you can scoop it off the top. 

Also, with the squash, what kind are you using?  I think butternut is the best, most nutrients per scoop, acorn comes next.  Don't use the spaghetti squash yet...it's too stringy. 

Another thing is that I really overcooked those hard veggies a bit.  I think the squash is a lot softer and less stringy if it's a little overbaked! 

[becky1969]

I probably didn't add enough water. I used butternut squash, but I microwaved it. It's 100+ degrees here, so I really wanted to avoid turning on my oven! But maybe baking/roasting would make more sense.


Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try adding more water to my next squash and see how it goes!

[Zoey]

I microwave all the foods.  I too find overcooking and adding more liquid helps the consistency.  Green beans and peas stink to try and make smooth lol. 

[jer-76]

Once I,ve done all of my peeling & chopping I shove it all in my steamer. Its electric, with a timer, so I can walk off & leave it.   
It also has a drip tray, the water that comes out of the veg I use to help to blend it. All very easy & ultra-nutritious! I,ve never had a problem getting the butternut squash smooth.
 I don,t find fruit easy. I use the microwave to make it soft. There is a lot of chopping with minimal outcome. Now that I have tried her on a few things I use the store bought fruit pots & make the savoury stuff myself.