It is easy to make homemade vegetable and fruit purees for babies and toddlers. It can be stressful when you want to serve your child the best foods and they refuse your every attempt. This is still something I live with daily 7 years into this game. But, I have decided to not let it crush me anymore. I have come up with some ideas for fussy eaters, and using purees is one idea you can try. I have resolved myself to the fact that they have their favorites, and its a win that they even eat those. However, I love the taste of sweet victory when I am able to sneak healthy additions in to foods and they have no idea.
How to Make Puree
Whether using fruits or vegetables your cooking process will be the same.
- Steam
- Chop/Blend
- Serve on its own or add to their favorite foods
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You have 2 ways to go about steaming:
- Get a $4 steam insert for a pot on your stovetop and then toss the food into a blender.
- Get a steamer-chopper tool like this one. Although its pricey up front, mine has paid for itself a million times over and it’s extremely convenient to have an all-in-one tool like this.
Personally, I find having a tool that does both steam & chop saved me time and hassle. You know how it is, often you will get pulled in another direction mid prep. Having a tool that automatically shuts off will keep you from burning or drying out your food too much, and you can come back to it when you are available again. Start this process off right and get a good tool to assist in the madness, I mean life 🙂
Sneaky Vegetable Purees
Sure you can put any fruit of vegetable into a meal, but the idea is to get them used to it without a fight.
Go To Purees
The following purees can be put into pretty much anything. I would recommend adding the following to whatever your child eats already: pizza, pasta, sandwiches, dips, or spread on to bread.
Easy Starter Purees
- Spinach
- Squash
- Cauliflower
SOme Recipes to Sneak in Purees
- marinara sauce
- spinach-bean sauce
- any soup
- chicken pot pie
- mac & cheese
- quesadillas
- ANYTHING REALLY 🙂
Additional Easy Purees
- peas
- banana
- pears
- Carrots – great softened as sticks once they have some teeth
- Apples
- Avocado
Have Confidence
This is a hard hurdle to get over but stay persistent and you will be happy with the results. If meal time isn’t going as planned, its ok to throw in the towel for the day, and start fresh tomorrow. Keep showing up and you’ll eventually have a victory.
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