I invested in this bad boy — this food processor is my partner in crime. I bought it from Walmart.com, refurbished because I wasn’t even sure if I was gonna be doing this long term and didn’t want to overspend. $42, shipping included.

It holds 5 cups comfortably… but honestly, I’ve held more than that. It comes with a lid for storage. And the best part is that it has a built-in handle and spout, perfect for pouring those messier blends. Others food processors work well, but baybee… this thing here is the bomb.com.

Sidebar: I will forever recommend Ninja because their products are honestly the truth. Considering the quality of the materials and the reliability of the products, their brand is affordable and well worth the money. I’d have to use both hands to count the amount of Ninja products we have in our home. (Ninja, if you’re reading this, I’d love to be a brand ambassador for y’all… hit me up!)

I went to Amazon and searched for silicone ice cube trays with lids and found these. They were great for when my son was younger and eating smaller portions. After some searching, I found these that are just as marvelous; they have bigger cubes, perfect for bigger serving sizes or thicker blends. They measure at exactly 2 oz, which is great for people who need to log quantities or prefer to just purée single ingredients and blend them in the bowl after heating. I’ve done both and can confirm that regardless of how or when you choose to mix, what matters most is the consistency at time of freezing.

The Process

I figured that if I was going to be making his stuff from scratch, that would be a good time to introduce some new fruits and veggies. To make sure things went undetected, I had to make the flavors match what he was already used to. So I got to taste-testing the baby food. Yuck. I know. But, I learned that the majority of his veggie purées were apple-forward. The fruit ones were either apple, banana, or berry-forward. Look at me, sounding like a food critic. 😉

Texture Matching

I knew that if my plan was going to work, I’d need a product that could get the purée very fine in texture, but still easily spoonable. No weird lumps or bumps. No grainy texture. No dripping or wateriness. I also knew that for the sweeter flavors, I’d need to mix in some foods that could make the purée creamy and thick, because my son was used to his fruit-based blends typically including banana or oatmeal. (I believe those count as level 2 purées, but don’t quote me on that… I haven’t bought baby food in a minute, lol.) Those are the textures my son was used to at that point, so that’s what I’d have to recreate.

Bananas and avocados became my staples for creaminess. I tried coconut milk and yogurt, but my son didn’t care for the flavors of either. I also tried a few variations of an oat-based thickener, similar to the baby oatmeal flakes you may find in the baby aisle at the store. I had to grind up the oats suuuuuper finely, basically into a flour. After mixing with some water and heating separately, it blended well into my fruits to basically make a yummy oatmeal-like breakfast.

Steaming & Blanching

The fruits blended better raw, with the exception of apples. Apples were always steamed unpeeled. Veggies were always steamed, or blanched at the bare minimum. Because veggies lose nutrients as they cook, it’s important to ensure that they remain as close to raw as possible. Steam just enough to blend smoothly. Any longer is a waste of product because those important nutrients are practically gone, and frankly, the softness could ruin the texture of the purée by making it too watery. We want it smooth, but we also want it to hold up.

I learned that green whole veggies, like broccoli, peas, and green beans work best when they’re steamed to a bright green color. Green leafy veggies, like kale and spinach, blended better when they were steamed much longer, until a deep green color. Spinach never took too long to steam; 10 minutes max in bulk. Kale usually took a minimum of 20 minutes when I made it in big batches.

And I learned that to cut back on sugar, unsweetened applesauce worked just fine in most applications. I really only used the sweetened for the kale blends, because kale can naturally be a bit bitter.

Carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes are all veggies that are similar in texture and flavor when steamed and blended. I frequently would steam them together. I also would roast them if I had the time. Because squashes are seasonal and can be tougher to find where I shop when not in season, I would sometimes use the frozen butternut squash cubes from Aldi.

Speaking of squashes, both of my kids were loving the squash blend I made. I bought the squashes right as the season was ending so they tasted extra yummy… but unfortunately, that was the last time I was able to get them before the price jumped. I shop at my local farmers market for all of the kids’ fruits and veggies, and their pricing and availability are largely based on season.

Helpful tip: If you have the freezer space, I highly recommend shopping for veggies and fruits while in season and then freezing them until you’re ready to blend. Most veggies freeze well if they’re peeled, cubed, and then blanched for a few seconds before freezing. I haven’t had any issues doing that with anything I’ve tried so far. When you’re ready to purée them, take them out of the freezer a little bit before hand to get slightly thawed and they should be just fine. If you have any other tips for preservation, comment them below!

Puréeing

Like I said earlier, that Ninja food processor has been my best friend, and I said that for a reason.

When I tried to purée in a standard blender, the mix was too puréed. Now, it could’ve been because I was using my Ninja blender that plays absolutely NO games when it comes to doing its job, but it left my mixes a bit too smooth. That would be perfect for stage 1 foods, but we’re shooting for stage 2 — thicker with some texture, but not a ton. Think applesauce or yogurt. We don’t want tomato soup consistency, but we don’t want a soupy mash either.

Part of what makes the Ninja food processor so great for this project is that

• The blades mimic what you’d see in a Ninja blender; they’re positioned on a pole that goes from the top of the processor (where the motor is) to the bottom of the cup. This setup allows for a more uniform blend in less time. Plus, there’s 4 blades, while the majority of food processors I’ve seen only have two — and they’re only located at the bottom of the cup
• You can control the speed more easily by pressing down on the top of the processor, versus pressing a self-holding button or a burst button
• The spout, y’all, the spout
• The handle!
• Lightweight and doesn’t take up a ton of space
• A bit quieter than your typical food processor (in my opinion, but I may be biased there 😉 )

The Blends

I made my version of my kid’s store-bought favorites, and he seemed to like my versions more! Plus, we knew exactly what was going into his body. And we were saving money, which made the switch from store bought that much sweeter!

After much success with the original recreations, I started trying out my own combos on him. Here are some of his faves:

• Avocado banana
• Apple broccoli
• Kale spinach
• Apple sweet potato
• Lean Green (avocado, broccoli, and kale)
• Apple carrot
• Banana nut

Those are just a few, but I’ve made close to 50 blends. Keep in mind that these recipes are geared towards kids, but the textures can be adjusted to accommodate any one at just about any stage of eating.

Now, I love y’all and I want y’all to be great. I’m working on an eBook of my recipes to save you guys some guess work. If any of those recipes sound like something your kiddo would love, subscribe to emails from ‘Tism Things and be the first to know when the book drops!

And as always, please remember: I’m proud of you. Keep going. You’ve got this!