Test 1: Applesauce

Yesterday I picked up several different fruits and veggies to make into baby food for Ella. I got apples, squash, carrots, avocado, and bananas. I plan to simply mash the banana and the avocado up when I'm ready to feed her as these don't require cooking. As for the other fruit and veggies, I plan on cooking them, freezing them in ice cube trays, and storing them in the freezer until I'm ready to use them. My plan is to make a bigger stash of each fruit or veggie so I don't have to make the food too often.

I started with the apples today, mostly because I figured they would go bad quicker than the squash or carrots if I was a little slower in getting around to converting them into baby food. I read up on how to prepare the apples on www.wholesomebabyfood.com, and I decided I would boil them until soft, blend them in the food processor (with a little bit of the cooking water to thin it out a bit), and then freeze the puree in individual one ounce servings in the ice cube trays. It was SO incredibly easy! The hardest part was definitely peeling the apples. The whole process, from start to finish, was also really fast. I thought it might take a long time for the apples to get soft once I started cooking them, but they ended up only taking a few minutes. Once the apple purees are thoroughly frozen, I'll pop them out of the ice cube trays and into a freezer ziplock bag for easy access down the road.

I was slightly disappointed in the amount of applesauce I was able to get from my apples. I used four gala apples (I think - maybe it was five - I should have paid better attention), but it looked like a pretty good quantity in the pan. Once they were cooked and pureed, I only had enough applesauce to fill up one ice cube tray and then one small serving for Ella to eat tonight. I was expecting twice that amount. Oh well, I'll know for the next time I prepare them! Perhaps next time I'll bake the apples to try a different technique. Overall, I'm very pleased with the ease of making the applesauce.