Well, the babyfood party is well underway, and we’re having so much fun.  Peanut is really enjoying the experiment – she has been having fun discovering some new flavors and textures, and I am having fun giving them to her.  So far, I’ve found it extremely easy to make her food.  It’s only been a few weeks, but we haven’t yet had to resort to prepared or packaged foods, and I’m thrilled about that.  There are some days when Peanut is less open to the experience than others, but that’s to be expected.  Still, I think I can say we’ve been very successful to this point.  (Finally, I can say that about something!)

Peanut’s first food was sweet potatoes.  I asked her pediatrician whether it was essential that we start with cereal grains, because I preferred not to if possible.  I didn’t believe there was much added nutrition in cereal grains, and the pediatrician confirmed that the only nutrition in baby cereal is iron, of which Peanut gets plenty through her preemie formula and vitamins.  Purees aren’t really about nutrition – they’re about introducing new flavors – and I don’t think grains taste like much if you don’t season them (which I wasn’t planning to do).  So I did some research online and in my new baby cookbooks to find a good vegetable to start Peanut on first, and after considering a few different options I settled on sweet potato.  So – are you ready?  Let’s whip up some sweet potato puree!

There are a few different possible ways to cook the sweet potatoes before you puree.  I checked out both of my cookbooks: one recommended chopping and steaming the potato, and the other recommended roasting.  Since I think roasting brings out flavors better, and I was not planning on putting any seasoning into the puree, I decided to roast.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lay two extremely well-scrubbed, small-to-medium sized, sweet potatoes on a baking sheet.  Prick all over with a fork, then roast for 45-50 minutes, until cooked through.  (Times may vary, depending on your oven.)

Mmmmm, roasted deliciousness.  Using a serrated knife, slice each sweet potato lengthwise and scoop the flesh out with a spoon.  (The skin is for you, mama.)  Place the flesh into the bowl of a food processor or heavy-duty blender.  (I used my VitaMix with fantastic results – the silky puree is as smooth as store-bought.)

Puree until the potatoes reach the consistency your baby prefers, thinning as necessary with formula, breast milk or water – whatever you have handy.  (I used formula.)  Recipe adapted from The Baby and Toddler Cookbook, by Karen Ansel and Charity Ferreira.

Feed to your baby while giggling uncontrollably and snapping tons of pictures:

This recipe will make about twelve ounces of sweet potato puree, give or take (and depending on the size of the potatoes you use and how much liquid you add).  I divided the puree into one-ounce portions and froze them in Oxo Tot babyfood storage containers (pictured above).  We’ve been feeding Peanut around 8:30 each morning, and I take a new jar out of the freezer and place it into the fridge for the next day, at that time.  I like to leave the food out for about 20 minutes on the counter before giving it to Peanut, just to take the chill off, but I do not microwave it.  Microwaving can cause hot spots and burn baby’s mouth – ouchie!  If absolutely necessary, defrost by floating the closed jar in a cup of warm water – but the fridge is better.

Enjoy!