Elliot's New Favorite Food

Mango-Banana Puree.


Elliot loved this stuff so much, evident in the way she giggled, then hollered, then tried to bounce out of the high chair after the spoon, that Maya and I had to try it. The three of us ended up having mango-banana baby food together for lunch.

We would never have done that with baby food in the jar. That's just baby food. Today's flavor of the day, started out as chunks of fresh, non-stringy mango and perfectly ripe, just-turned-yellow banana, so it seemed more like food... and more acceptable for Maya and I to steal a taste.

With all this extra time on my hands (yeah, right), I've gotten into making my own baby food. About once a week, I spend 10 extra minutes in the kitchen steaming peas or apples, baking squash or sweet potatoes, or pealing bananas and mangoes.

When everything is pureed to the right consistency, I just smoosh it into ice cube trays, and then have perfect baby portions that thaw in the microwave or (to preserve more nutrients) in a little boiling water.

This way, I can guarantee that the food was fresh and organic, plus save a little money. One mango and one banana (probably $1.10 at the store on Sunday), made about 6 jars worth of baby food (not including the two jars Maya enjoyed)!

I have a great book of recipes (mostly guidelines for preparing the fruits and veggies without cooking away the nutrients) called Mommy Made, and Daddy Too, but WholesomeBabyFood.com has a lot of good recipes and tips too.

At the moment, we're stocked with acorn squash, winter squash, peas, apples, mango-banana, and prune-banana.

This baby is in for a treat!