Any new parents out there? We’re first timers here with a 7 month old, and have slowly been introducing her to different foods. The one that I was hesitant to show her was apples, being in my mind fruits taste better than vegetables. If my little one gets fruits before vegetables, who’s to say she will ever like vegetables. So we waited, gave her carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and peas prior to applesauce. And I was so right, she loved applesauce. This post explains how to make baby applesauce.
Why make your own baby food?
What’s one thing people know not to mess with. It’s babies. We were all babies at one time and babies are very sensitive as they are growing and developing. With the recent reports on the toxic levels of heavy metals and arsenic in somewhere around 95% of packaged baby food, I am not lining up to be the next parent to be feeding my baby poison.
As a stay at home mom, I have the luxury of making my own baby food. With that means I get to see exactly what goes into the food. We can purchase our own produce, I control how clean my kitchen is, and how the food is stored. Personally, I’ve found success with making a batch of food, saving a few servings in the fridge, and then freezing the remaining in silicone ice cube trays then storing in air tight storage containers or freezer bags.
How to make baby pureed apples (applesauce)?
Seriously, homemade baby food is one of the easiest things to make. Even a busy family could make their own while meal prepping on a Sunday afternoon. Throw a pot of boiling water on the stove and toss your produce in and cook until soft. Cool it down and puree in a high performance blender with water (or breast milk if you want to try that out). My little one prefers food blended with water though.
They say not to introduce your little one to spices and herbs until about 8 months old, so when you’re ready something like these apples work well with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or even a little bit of vanilla extract. If you’re adding vanilla, make sure it is alcohol free as many pure vanilla extracts are preserved with alcohol which gets cooked away when baked with, but if you add it after the apples are baked it will remain in the baby food.
Pureed Apples (Applesauce) Baby Food
Ingredients
- 2 apples (I use honeycrisp or rave)
- ¼ cup Water (or as needed for desired texture)
Instructions
- Wash and peel apples.
- Core apples and cut into about 1″ chunks.
- Bring a pot of water to boil on stovetop.
- Once boiling, add apples to the water.
- Cook for about 10 minutes (it may need a couple minutes longer for firmer apples. Check if you can easily pierce them with a fork).
- Once they’re cooked, dump into a strainer and rinse with cold water for a couple minutes to cool the apples. You want to minimize continued cooking if they remain hot because the nutrients continue to break down in the heat.
- Once they’re cooled off, add to blender or food processor and add water. Blend until desired consistency is achieved. You may need to add more water. Apples vary in size and moisture so go off texture.
- Serve fresh, or place into air tight storage and either refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for 3 months.
Nutrition
If you’re interested in introducing vegetables, here’s a great one to start with, pureed carrots.
What did you all think of this homemade baby food? You know this isn’t just for babies – you can enjoy applesauce too! Feel free to make it for yourself and sweeten it to your liking. Let me know if you spiced it up in the comments below.
-Cassie 🙂
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Mother and Baby Love has a great list of baby food recipes including a butternut squash one. This is another good one for the fall that is easy and healthy to make.