Stovetop Prunes For Baby

Here's something I think you should know: I'm obsessed with food...a self-proclaimed foodie, if you will.

I'm not sure if it's coincidence or not, but this started when I moved to Nebraska.  It could have been that after I left Colorado, I missed the foods and restaurants that I had grown up with (more on that in later posts).  Nebraska is a beef state and you'll find that anywhere you go here.  What I was looking for were alternatives.  I started to spend a lot of time on the Internet looking at recipes and trying new foods.  I had a lot of time on my hands back then...

To this day, if someone gave me $100 and I could use it on whatever I wanted (assuming all bills were paid), I'd head straight to a specialty food market.  I'd bypass a facial, mani/pedi combo or a splurge at Victoria's Secret.  I'd probably end up in Omaha at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, all the while my head spinning with recipes in-mind.

When my son was about three months old and I realized that he would start eating "solids" in a few months, I became very excited.  I knew that I wanted to make his baby food, so I signed-up for a class and bought a few staple items. 

~Food Processor

~Steamer Basket

~Fresh Baby Freezer Trays (www.amazon.com)

~Freezer Storage Bags

Next, I bought fruit and veggies at the grocery store.  I used http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ as a guide and then I went to work.  I made apples, peaches, pears, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, peas, carrots, apricots, bananas and prunes.  This took about two days and then I bagged it all up, labeled it and stored it in the deep freeze.  I just take out what I need a day or so in advance and we're all set.  My son, so far, loves the fruit (not surprised).  Not only does this save us lots of money (way cheaper per ounce than buying premade baby food), but I can control the ingredients.

Yesterday I made another batch of prunes, which he loves. If you do this, be sure you buy prunes with NO SULFATES added.  This can be a but tricky to find because most commercial brands add sulfates.  I go to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods to buy them, but you can also go to http://www.amazon.com/.  This is also true for apricots.

RECIPE

1. Empty the entire bag of prunes into a sauce pot on the stove.  Add just enough water to cover the fruit.  Cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes

2. Let cool

3. Puree the prunes in a food processor or blender.  You may need to add a little water as the prunes will be very thick

3.  Spoon into freezer trays and freeze overnight

4. Once frozen, pop prunes out of freezer trays and place into a freezer storage bag

5. Label and store in a freezer

Prunes Reconstituted

 Prunes in Freezer Trays & Ready to EAT!