Are you worried about feeding your baby store bought baby food? Do you want to give your baby the most nutritious food possible? Butternut squash baby food is an excellent food to make for your baby!
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Butternut Squash Baby Food
When it comes to our children, we as moms want to give them the best! We want them to be healthy and we want them to have the best start at life possible!
A great way to give your baby the best optimal start is to make your own baby food! Unfortunately store bought baby food can be laden with chemicals and other nasty ingredients.
Making your own baby food fresh is a great way to not only avoid these nasty ingredients, but to give your baby the freshest, most nutritious food possible!
When all four of my children were babies I made my own baby food for them. If you have never done it before, then don’t worry, it’s very easy! I’ll walk you step by step through the entire process:)
And I know it sounds time consuming, but it’s really not. You can make up a whole months worth of baby food in just a few hours!
Butternut Squash Baby Food Recipe
Butternut squash are very nutritious!
They contain vitamin A, which is definitely something that your baby needs! Even as your baby gets older butternut squash are great to include in their diet.
How to Make Butternut Squash Baby Food
So let’s get started and go make some butternut squash baby food!
The only ingredients that you will need for this recipe are butternut squash, and a little filtered or reverse osmosis water.
The first step is to wash and prepare the butternut squash.
As with all veggies for baby, I recommend only buying organic squash.
How to Cut Butternut Squash
There are multiple ways to prepare and cook butternut squash.
You can steam your squash, you can bake it whole, or you can bake the halves. If you choose to steam or bake the halves then you will need to cut the butternut squash.
To cut the butternut squash you want to cut the squash in half lengthwise. Then scoop out the seeds and fibers in the middle. Be sure not to scoop out the actual squash, only the seeds and goo in the middle!
If you are going to bake the halves then you are done cutting. However if you wish to steam the squash you are going to need to chop the halves into smaller pieces. Cut them into approximately one inch cubes.
If a squash is extremely tough and hard to cut, I recommend skipping this step and just baking the whole squash.
How to Bake Butternut Squash
Baking butternut squash is very easy. If you are baking halves then place the halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Rub the cut side with butter if you desire. This helps to keep the squash moist and from drying out.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 to 45 or until tender. The amount of time really depends on the size of the squash. Once it is done you can scoop the squash out of the peel.
If you are baking your squash whole, then you need to pierce the squash several times on top just as you would with a sweet potato. Then place the squash on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until soft. When it has cooled you can easily slice off the top and scoop out the seeds and goo. Then scoop out the squash.
How to Steam Butternut Squash
Steaming the squash requires the squash to be peeled and cut into cubes as I mentioned above.
Simply add water to the bottom of the steamer, put the steamer basket in place, and add your chopped butternut squash to the basket. Place the lid on and turn on the burner. Once steam begins to build up you want to steam the squash for about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the squash cubes.
Butternut Squash Puree Baby Food
To puree the butternut squash I highly recommend purchasing a Vitamix Blender to make your baby food with. It is one of the best blenders and will blend baby food to a super smooth consistency to insure that you do not end up with squash strings or chunks in the baby food that baby can gag or choke on.
This is the only blender that I will use when pureeing not only baby food, but other recipes such as Sweet Potato Pie or Apple Butter as well! It is the best! And it lasts FOREVER! I have had my Vitamix for over a decade and it’s still going strong and purees foods just as good as the day I got it! Definitely worth investing in!
Butternut Squash Puree
So add the cooked scooped squash to the blender. I usually fill mine about 1/3 full at a time and blend in batches to help speed the process up. You need to also add a little water at this time. If you steamed your squash you might want to add back in some of the nutrients that were lost during steaming by using the water that you used to steam the squash. Just be sure that you use a good quality filtered or RO water when you steam them.
Start with a few tablespoons of water as you can always add more. If the squash gets too thick it will not blend well. So keep stopping and scraping down the sides of the blender as needed and adding water until all the squash is smooth and well blended.
You want it to be somewhat thick and not runny, so don’t add too much water. You basically only want to add as much water as is needed to help the blender out. Otherwise the squash will just stick to the sides and won’t fall down to the blades.
Once all the squash is blended to a super smooth consistency you have baby food! Yep, it’s that easy!
How to Store Homemade Baby Food
But wait, we’re not done yet!
What are you supposed to do with this large batch of butternut squash baby food?
Like I mentioned above you can make a LOT of baby food in a short amount of time. The key is to freeze the butternut squash puree that you won’t be using in the next couple of days for later.
However, you don’t want to freeze it all together. You want to be able to freeze it in serving sizes so that you can easily thaw out and use a small amount at a time. This way you can have baby food for a month or more!
How to Freeze Baby Food
To freeze baby food efficiently you really need to get these baby food cube trays. They’re kind of like ice cube trays that have lids.
Simply scoop the pureed butternut squash into the trays, place the lid on, and put it in the freezer. Once they are completely frozen you can pop them out and store them in freezer bags that are labeled with the date made.
Now you have a large supply of ready made, single serving, butternut squash baby food cubes! How easy is that?!
How to Thaw Frozen Baby Food
When it comes time to use your frozen butternut squash cubes you need to be sure that they are thawed in advance.
There are a couple of different ways to thaw out butternut squash baby food.
The easiest is to put it in a bowl with a lid the night before and let it thaw in the fridge. That way the next day it will be soft and ready to use.
However, I know from experience, that this isn’t always an option! There were many times that I forgot to lay my baby food out and had to do it just before serving it.
I really don’t recommend thawing baby food in the microwave. Not only does it leave hot spots in the baby food that can burn your baby, but it also is bad for the baby food! You can read here about the dangers of microwaves and why I don’t have one.
So, the best way to thaw frozen baby food cubes quickly is to fill a bowl that is a little larger than the bowl holding the baby food with hot water. Sit the bowl with the cubes in the hot water. The heat will be enough to cause the cubes to melt.
You might have to change the water a few times and add fresh hot water as it gets cold. Also occasionally turn the cube and break it up as it gets softer to help speed up thawing.
I know this might seem like a pain, but it’s the best way to thaw the cubes so that they don’t get too hot for baby and the best way to preserve the nutrients in the food that you worked hard to make!
Be sure to test the thawed squash to be sure that it isn’t too hot before feeding it to your baby.
How to Make Butternut Squash Baby Food
And that’s how you make homemade butternut squash baby food!
Now the only thing left to do is to serve it to your little one:) I hope they enjoy it as much as you enjoy giving your baby the healthiest food possible!
For additional baby food recipes be sure to read:
Butternut Squash Baby Food
Butternut Squash Baby Food
Make your own butternut squash baby food to give your baby the healthiest food possible!
Ingredients
- Organic Butternut Squash
- Filtered or RO Water
Instructions
The first step is to wash and prepare the butternut squash.
How to Cut Butternut Squash
If steaming or baking halves, cut the squash.
To cut the butternut squash you want to cut the squash in half lengthwise. Then scoop out the seeds and fibers in the middle.
If you are going to bake the halves then you are done cutting. However if you wish to steam the squash you are going to need to chop the halves into smaller pieces. Cut them into approximately one inch cubes.
If a squash is extremely tough and hard to cut, I recommend skipping this step and just baking the whole squash.
How to Bake Butternut Squash
If you are baking halves then place the halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Rub the cut side with butter if you desire. This helps to keep the squash moist and from drying out.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 to 45 or until tender. The amount of time really depends on the size of the squash. Once it is done you can scoop the squash out of the peel.
If you are baking your squash whole, then you need to pierce the squash several times on top just as you would with a sweet potato. Then place the squash on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until soft. When it has cooled you can easily slice off the top and scoop out the seeds and goo. Then scoop out the squash.
How to Steam Butternut Squash
Steaming the squash requires the squash to be peeled and cut into cubes as I mentioned above.
Simply add water to the bottom of the steamer, put the steamer basket in place, and add your chopped butternut squash to the basket. Place the lid on and turn on the burner. Once steam begins to build up you want to steam the squash for about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the squash cubes.
Butternut Squash Puree Baby Food
Add the cooked scooped squash to the blender. I usually fill mine about 1/3 full at a time and blend in batches to help speed the process up. You need to also add a little water at this time.
Start with a few tablespoons of water as you can always add more. If the squash gets too thick it will not blend well. So keep stopping and scraping down the sides of the blender as needed and adding water until all the squash is smooth and well blended.
You want it to be somewhat thick and not runny, so don't add too much water. You basically only want to add as much water as is needed to help the blender out. Otherwise the squash will just stick to the sides and won't fall down to the blades.
Once all the squash is blended to a super smooth consistency you have baby food! Yep, it's that easy!
