If you need an “excuse” to take the plunge to buy a Blendtec, my friend Tasha has one for you! Enjoy her story here!

Buy a Blendtec; Blame the Baby (wink, wink)

By Tasha Hackett

Good morning! At least it’s a good morning for me. It’s true I’ve been awake since 4:30 am but I read some Bible while I nursed the baby, exercised, tossed this easy breakfast casserole in the oven, watched funny YouTube videos while I drank my lemon water, showered, and now it’s 7:00 and none of the children have come down yet! Wow. 

I figured this was the perfect time to share with you how I’ve been getting on with my new Blendtec that I bought for the baby. Wink, wink. And not at all because I wanted one since before I was even pregnant. 

First off, making baby food is (to use some of Laura’s favorite words) so SIMPLE and EASY. 

Here’s a favorite. I like to call it: Carrots.

1. Wash a few carrots (I used four.)
2. Cut off the tops
3. Chop small enough to fit in your pan
4. Use a steamer or simmer with an inch of water (lid on)
5. When soft, dump into the Blentec and blend. (I used the 30 second button… but I could have saved 20 seconds, it was most definitely smooth after 10 seconds.) 
6. Pour into these cool baby food trays (or regular ice cube trays!) to freeze. Once frozen, pop into a freezer bag to save and serve when needed. 
7. Attempt to keep most of the food in the baby’s mouth and laugh when it ends up everywhere.
   
   

With my first kid, I used mostly store-bought baby food. He took to it very well. This was extremely convenient with me working full time. And now he is my best eater! He will eat salad. He will eat fish. He will eat mysterious casserole. One of his favorite things with his Dad is to try new and unique foods together. He will eat something because I tell him to even if he finds it to be unpleasant. 

With my second and third kids, I didn’t feed them any purees and practiced what’s called “baby led weaning” where you nurse longer and offer them soft foods and whole pieces of food as they are ready. It was easy. I was home full time and I mostly nursed and didn’t worry at all about food. They tasted table scraps until they had teeth and could chew their own. That was the idea, but when I was sadly forced to wean the girl at 11 months, the only thing she would eat was costly fruit pouches. But… the middle two (at 3 and 4 years) are now SO picky. Actual tears and crying and holding hands up to their mouth and refusing to even taste mashed potatoes. It’s a whole thing that I won’t get into. 

This attitude could very likely be personality. Their mother (me) “didn’t like” eggnog until she was 31 and finally tasted it last Christmas and found out that it is actually delicious! I now make my own year round. On the slim chance good eating is from the feeding of baby puree, I have high hopes for baby number four. Check out this face! 

The carrots “recipe” can be adapted for any raw vegetables. From what I have researched, by 6 months most foods are totally fine. The experts (which I am NOT) recommend introducing one food at a time to rule out any food sensitivities. I tend to barrel on ahead. Here are some blends I’ve made so far that he’s not opposed to at 7 months: 

• Green Beans (cooked or can, drained), Banana, Oat flour (be sure the oats have time to soak, dry/raw oats are not so good)
• Red Bell Pepper (steamed), Baked Chicken (with the skin), Chicken Broth, Basil
• Sweet Potato (steamed), Yellow Summer Squash, (seeded and steamed), Butter

Don’t make this harder than it has to be! If you’re making dinner, toss some cooked veggies in the blender and then there’s extra to serve the baby for days. I make a new batch of puree maybe once a week and pull a cube from the freezer at each meal. Currently I have five different blends in the freezer that I rotate each meal. Sometimes he only takes a bite or two, but I can toss the extra with no hard feelings. Last night I simply Blendtec-ed (see what I did there? It’s now a verb. I verbed it.) a cup of soup I was serving my family. He loved it! (Cheesy bacon potato)

“But, Tasha, what about fortified cereal?” you ask. “What about the spray on vitamins and iron?” Well… I believe in food. Real food. White rice powder is what I would consider an empty calorie. Not to mention it tastes like the cardboard box it comes in. Iron is good for your baby. But do you know what else has iron in it? Fruits and Vegetables. Peaches, Raspberries, Spinach, Peas, Squash, Coconut, Asparagus… get me? 

I figure as long as my baby makes this face while scarfing down sweet potatoes and spinach, I’m not going to worry about a lack of measurable iron intake. 

What about you? What did/do you feed your baby? Have you noticed a difference what type of eater they are years later? What’s your baby’s favorite puree?

Ready to invest in a Blendtec? Here are Laura’s thoughts on why they are so awesome!