How to Freeze Baby Food

Freezing baby food, especially homemade baby food, ensures that you will always have it on hand when you need it. In busy households with fussy babies, knowing that you can easily access the foods your baby will eat is worth making the extra effort to freeze it.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• ice cube trays
• <br>Homemade baby food
• <br>Freezer bags/containers
• <br>Permanent marker

1. Invest in some plastic ice cube trays that can be used specifically to hold frozen baby food. Each compartment hold approximately one ounce of baby food and can be defrosted individually, which can help you to avoid unnecessary waste. Wash the trays extremely well before using them, either by using hot, soapy water or running them through the dishwasher.

2. Add a few spoonfuls of homemade pureed or mashed baby food to each space in the ice cube tray. You can thin the food with breast milk prior to freezing if you wish, but formula companies advise against freezing their products. If you choose to thin the puree before freezing, use fresh, not previously frozen, breast milk. You can also just thin the baby food when you defrost it.

3. Cover the ice cube trays with plastic wrap and use a permanent marker to label the tray with the date and type of food.

4. Increase your stock of frozen baby food by transferring frozen cubes (of the same food) to a freezer bag for storage. You can then use the ice cube trays to freeze more food. Eventually you can build up a nice selection of foods from which your baby can choose.

5. Check the baby food freezing chart at Wholesome Baby Food's website to see what types of food freeze well and which don't stay well in the freezer (see Resources below). Among it's vast library of advice for parents, the website provides a comprehensive list of which baby foods shouldn't be frozen and why.

6. Transfer store-bought baby food to ice cube trays or plastic freezer containers before putting it in the freezer. Check the specifications of disposable containers to make sure they are designed to be used for freezing.

7. Avoid re-freezing items. Baby food that has been thawed should be used or thrown away, not refrozen. This isn't any different than the expectations for adult food, it's just more likely that there will be extra baby food after a thaw.

Tips & Warnings

• Use your frozen baby food within 3 months to get the best nutritive benefits.
• <br>Meat purees can be frozen just as easily as fruit or vegetable purees, but when they are thawed there may be some separation or changes in texture.
• Never freeze baby food in the manufacturer's glass jar. In most cases, the glass has not been designed to withstand the expansion that occurs with freezing. The little jars can crack or burst.

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