This blog post was originally published on June 12, 2015. It was updated on October 6, 2020.

Now that I’m on my baby food stage with my third bambino, I have baby food blends on the brain all the time! I love watching Mateo try new things, and as cheesy as it sounds — I LOVE watching him try the foods my other kiddos loved at his age! I thought this was the perfect time to republish this post and recipe for Old Time’s Sake!

There are some moms who love to make almost everything for their kids, from clothes, to wipes, to crayons, and even diapers! This is so impressive to me, and also definitely not a part of my own reality. I’m lucky if I have enough time to make myself dinner and return emails. But there is one thing that I feel very passionately about making for my kiddos, and that is homemade baby food!

While not all the food I buy for myself is always organic, I do prefer to feed the baby organic foods, and those little organic baby pouches can get really pricey on a year-round basis. Like down-payment-on-a-car pricey.  And so I invested in a baby food maker, and the return has been incredible.

I have this Béaba Babycook, but there are lots of contraptions on the market, as well as manual food mills, which are a lot less expensive and a little more basic.

The reason I love making my kids food so much is not only because it is cost-effective, but because it tastes so much more delicious. It’s also way easier and less time consuming than you would assume. I remember watching Marlowe and Major become insanely adventurous eaters before my eyes, and now Mateo as well, and I attribute that to how great the food they eat tastes when it’s been made fresh.

So here’s how I meal plan for my babies: I dedicate two hours, once a week, to making Mateo organic food. I make a big batch, and then store or freeze it in varying sized pre-portioned containers that are silicone, glass, and BPA free plastic. I make two types of protein (usually chicken breast, ground beef, and/or beans or lentils), a vegetable mix, and a fruit mix. When I heat it, I pop out one protein portion and one vegetable or fruit portion, and heat them over low heat in a small saucepan until warm. Ok, sometimes Mateo is starving and having a meltdown and I heat it in the microwave… but I don’t recommend this!

When my first two kids started solids, I started them on totally different foods. Marlowe started on peas, and Major started on pears. I had gotten advice to start kids on some kind of green or veggie at first, because it indicates their ability to like vegetables later on. I thought it was super bogus advice at the time, but looking back, Marlowe now LOVES veggies and Major is a little Sweets Hound! Bizarre, but maybe there is something to it?

Since Marlowe was such a veggie-lover, I’m sharing the recipe I used for her. Remember that this recipe makes a big batch so that you can freeze some for the week. Like with anything, please ask your pediatrician before introducing any of the foods below to your little one.

Let me know if your babies like it in the comments below!

Ingredients…

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch organic kale, washed and torn into medium pieces
• 1 container organic spinach, washed
• 1 organic zucchini, washed and diced
• ½ organic white onion, diced
• 1 organic carrot, peeled and diced
• ½ clove garlic (optional!)

Directions…

1. Put a large pot of water to boil. I use a big pasta pot and fill it three inches from the top.
2. Next, place the diced carrot and zucchini in the baby food maker, and follow directions to steam.
3. Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a medium frying pan. Add the onions (and garlic, if using) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, very soft, and browning. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. When the pot of water is boiling, add the kale and spinach and stir well, continuing to stir every so often until the greens are soft. (TIP: check the kale for softness since it takes longer to cook!) Then, either remove the greens with a slotted spoon or dump them over a colander to drain.
5. When drained, add to the onion mixture.
6. At this point, the veggies in the baby food maker should be done steaming. Take out the steamer basket and drop the veggies into the blending container.
7. Add the greens and sautéed onions and two more inches of water (Don’t forget there will already be water in there from the steaming). Pulse the mixture until smooth. If needed, add more water little by little until the desired consistency is reached.
8. Aaaaand, you’re done!

Marlowe's Favorite Veggie Purée

Since Marlowe was such a veggie-lover, I’m sharing the recipe I used for her. Remember that this recipe makes a big batch so that you can freeze some for the week. Like with anything, please ask your pediatrician before introducing any of the foods below to your little one.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 7 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 27 minutes mins

Course Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 10 servings

Calories 34 kcal

Equipment

• Béaba Babycook

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch organic kale, washed and torn into medium pieces
• 1 container organic spinach, washed
• 1 organic zucchini, washed and diced
• ½ organic white onion, diced
• 1 organic carrot, peeled and diced
• ½ clove garlic, (optional!)

Instructions

 

• Put a large pot of water to boil. I use a big pasta pot and fill it three inches from the top. 
• Next, place the diced carrot and zucchini in the baby food maker, and follow directions to steam.
• Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over medium heat in a medium frying pan. Add the onions (and garlic, if using) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, very soft, and browning. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. 
• When the pot of water is boiling, add the kale and spinach and stir well, continuing to stir every so often until the greens are soft. (TIP: check the kale for softness since it takes longer to cook!) Then, either remove the greens with a slotted spoon or dump them over a colander to drain. 
• When drained, add to the onion mixture.
• At this point, the veggies in the baby food maker should be done steaming. Take out the steamer basket and drop the veggies into the blending container. 
• Add the greens and sautéed onions and two more inches of water (Don’t forget there will already be water in there from the steaming). Pulse the mixture until smooth. If needed, add more water little by little until the desired consistency is reached.  
• Enoy!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Marlowe's Favorite Veggie Purée

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 34 Calories from Fat 18

% Daily Value*

Fat 2g3%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 16mg1%

Potassium 211mg6%

Carbohydrates 4g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 3765IU75%

Vitamin C 37mg45%

Calcium 47mg5%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword Baby Food, Purée

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

These veggies should keep for about a month in the freezer, but in our house, they only last a week. These frozen portions are also great to defrost and add to mashed potatoes or tomato pasta sauce for older kids to make them a little healthier!

Photographs by Julia Dags