Pee Wee Purees

My son is in for a treat when he’ll be ready for solids in the next month or two. Until then, I’ve been having fun playing with various vegetable and fruit purees by incorporating them in everyday dishes. For the recent Pee Wee Puree Party I hosted, friends and I made a handful of purees for babies and our older children as well. These purees make great additions to everyday recipes to sneak in some extra goodness…

When I was researching baby food and purees, I was happy to find so many great resources out there. Some of those resources included the following books I received during my baby showers…

But going a bit further, purees aren’t just for babies. In fact, I looked at my cookbook collection and was glad to see this book there since it also focuses on the use of purees in everyday meals…

Aside from the above books, there are also a great deal of websites dedicated to baby foods. Here are some of my favorites:

Carrot Puree
1 pound baby carrots

Put the carrots into a steamer set over boiling water and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until tender. Alternatively put the carrots in a saucepan and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until soft.

Drain the carrots and place in a blender, adding some of the water from the bottom of the steamer or some of the cooking liquid, then puree until very smooth. The amount of liquid you add really depends on your baby, you may need to add a little more if he finds the puree difficult to swallow.

Spoon some of the puree into your baby’s bowl and serve lukewarm. You can freeze the remainder in an ice cube tray or small plastic containers.

Green Bean Puree
1 pound of fresh green beans

Put the green beans into a steamer set over boiling water and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until tender. Alternatively put the green beans in a saucepan and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until soft.

Drain the green beans and place in a blender, adding some of the water from the bottom of the steamer or some of the cooking liquid, then puree until very smooth. The amount of liquid you add really depends on your baby, you may need to add a little more if he finds the puree difficult to swallow. Spoon some of the puree into your baby’s bowl and serve lukewarm. You can freeze the remainder in an ice cube tray or small plastic containers.

Sweet Potatoes Puree
1 large sweet potato

Wash and poke holes in sweet potato with fork then wrap sweet potatoes in tin foil – do not peel for baking/microwaving. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for 30-60 minutes or until soft. Remove skins by slitting the sweet potato lengthwise when cooled then scoop out the “meat”. Use a liquid from your preferred source to puree or thin the sweet potatoes.

Alternatively, peel sweet potatoes and cut into small chunks. Place chunks into a pan with just enough water to slightly cover potato. “Steam” boil until tender, be sure to check on the water level. Reserve any left over water to use for thinning out the sweet potatoes if desired.

Sweet Peas Puree
2 cups peas, fresh or frozen

Pour water into a saucepan to a depth of 1 inch. Put the peas in a steamer basket and put the basket in the saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and steam until the peas are bright green and tender enough to mash easily with a fork, about 5 minutes for fresh or frozen peas and about 3 minutes for thawed frozen peas.

Remove from the heat and remove the steamer basket from the saucepan, reserving the cooking liquid. Rinse the peas under cold running water to stop the cooking. Transfer the peas to a food processor or blender and process to a smooth puree. Add enough of the reserved cooking liquid, breast milk or formula to thin the puree to a consistency your baby can handle. Makes about 1 1/2 cups puree.

Butternut Squash Puree
1 acorn or butternut squash

Mango Puree
1 ripe mango

Peel, remove the seed and mash the mango until smooth. Add water until the proper consistency for your baby is achieved.



Pear Puree
1 ripe pear

Peel, remove the seeds and mash the pear until smooth. Add water until the proper consistency for your baby is achieved.

Banana Puree