How the very Jeff do you make a puree?

[HarderToKidnap]

How do you make a puree? (I am an intelligent, educated woman believe it or not). Tried to make a sweet potato and parsnip puree this lunchtime. Boiled the veg in a little water until soft. Then used three different machines to try and puree it - hand blender, jug blender and food processor. The paste still had lots of "bittiness" to it. Tried feeding it to DS (24 weeks) who gagged and coughed and we had RIVERS of sick and it was just a really distressing and awful experience which made me cry. Same thing happened a couple of days ago with a carrot puree. He's having a little finger food too which seems successful. I'm obviously doing something wrong with the purees, they are nothing like the texture of the ones out of a packet that I have seen. I could hold off a week or two but he loves sitting munching something at the table and I also want to be able to do purees! Please help.

If he'll eat finger food but not purees I'd ditch the purees. They're not a compulsory part of weaning, and it'll make life a lot easier...

They don't really need purees at this age, especially if he can manage finger food. Just let him eat proper food.

I dont think i pureed a single thing.

I would also say stick with the finger food and self-weaning. He doesn't 'need' to go through the puree stage. The jars are smoother than you'll ever get them, so this is why lots of babies then reject the homemade ones.
DS started on purees but got 'stuck' on lumps so then we went to a more BLW style. When DD started weaning she just got on with it. Both are good, non-fussy eaters.

Goodness only knows how you make them, it sounds like it should have worked says the woman who can mess up fairy cakes

I'd suggest sticking to finger foods then just squishing stuff with a fork if needed at a later stage.

From experience of making soups, you need to mix it with something which goes smooth, like potato or baby rice mixed with milk.

I agree with the others though, don't bother - just cook the stuff (steam, roast, whatever) and give it to him in stick/chip shapes to hold and gum on :)

This may be obvious but don't add honey to parsnips if you're roasting them as they can't have honey until 1 even if it's cooked.

Just add a little milk or water and some butter and keep blending...

at 6mo they don't need a "proper" puree IYSWIM
dd1 was weaned on finger foods and stuff I'd mashed with a fork on the edge of my plate - potatoes, peas, broccoli etc. it has a chunkier texture than a puree but she managed fine.

Ella's Kitchen ?! Plum Organics ?!

Having pureed one carrot, one sweet potato, some various other bits and dutifully froze on mass in wee pots etc I lost the will to live after the first week and whilst of course it's not particularly economical - though many would say otherwise when you start thinking of time / stress levels / cost of this organic veg or that organic fruit..

DD is 17mo old now and a real food lover of all descriptions.. most helpful thing I would say is please, please don't stress and turn it into a 'battle' or unpleasant, unhappy time for either of you. I witnessed friends doing this and it was horrendously miserable for them - hours spent needlessly pureeing this and pureeing that then getting so distressed when baby just wouldn't go near it.

Go with the flow.. if he likes finger foods let him enjoy them and as I state - I wouldn't scoff any of the pouches of puree.. enjoy the sunshine, enjoy yourself and encourage your son to eat whatever he enjoys!

Chop into bits, chuck in oven until soft, cool down, hand to baby. Seriously. Much easier and the texture of a well-baked sweet potato or parsnip is close to puree anyway.

The commercial ones go through a sieve essentially, so aswell as being hammered in a blender they are then sieved to remove any bits. You will be unlikely to get that consistency in your kitchen.

As others have said - I wouldn't bother, it's a lot of hassle for no benefit!

ha ha! I couldn't make puree either and thought i was a failure. I used Ella's Kitchen purees for the few weeks it took until DCs went on to finger food and refused all spoons anyway.

I don't think you did anything wrong. Like FredFredGeorge says, the commercial ones went through a sieve. You can do it at home using a muslin (if you read recipes for jams etc, they push through a muslin to remove any bits).

But I really really wouldn't bother for a 24wo. They are supposed to be able to chew and swallow when they start weaning at near 6mo. As opposed to drinking things down. It's skill to learn to actually swallow lumpier food. When you feed him with a spoon, are you waiting for him to come foward and put his mouth around the spoon? Maybe you just put too much in that he can't handle? Have you looked at Aitch's site at www.babyledweaning.com? I know you are doing purees, but it's got good information on gagging and that might put you more at ease.

If I were you, I'd keep with the finger food, and maybe try the purees again in a few weeks. I wouldn't go and buy the commercial food, but that's just me.

i recently pureed a total of three carrots and two apples and then lost the will to live. dd1 then had toast, rice cakes and mashed banana in various combos until i regained the will to live. most of time i hand her bits of my lunch or make her a sandwich (cream cheese today) it's much cuter to watch. the only purees i'm giving her I'd eat myself as soup with added stock. it's less soul destroying if it's rejected. Or i'm whizzing family meals up. i add boiled water for lubrication. dd is 27 weeks however so we don't need to avoid much!

See www.justhungry.com/2006/03/milking_the_soy.html on how the author to use muslin to make soy milk if you are really really that keen

Thanks so much everyone, just what I needed to hear! Going to dump purees for now. He's chomped on a bit of asparagus tonight and loved it, a totally different experience to this lunchtime.

HappyJoyful, thanks so much for saying what you did. I was in bits this afternoon thinking about how dreadful weaning was going to be. Going to decompress now and relax!

Ah, glad to be of assistance and I'm happy you feel more relaxed already.

Honestly the state some of my friends and their babies got into was insane and it just seemed such a pointless waste of time and energy to me.. and to top it off their toddlers / kids now are awful eaters (ok, so I'm not scientifically linking the two things but to me it seems somehow linked)

I went with the flow, relaxed and found it to be really fun (and cute as someone said) and enjoyable watching her chomp on various things and learning and exploring things - I'm not all about baby led weaning either and think it's good to get a mixture of textures etc into them and to make sure that also for 'on the go' it's really handy that (don't flame me for saying this anyone) they can happily sit and 'suck' an Ella's pouch.. I also phoned the 'hotline' and you can squeeze out and freeze anything not used in one go (or as I believe some women do, decant them so you look like you've been busy making your own puree!! - all guilt gone!!)

Enjoy it and he'll enjoy it too - well that's my motto and as I said it seems to have really paid off. If it is stressful did someone say he's not quite 6 months yet ? I'd wait till then too as perhaps he's just not ready.. longer you leave it I also believe the easier it is.. case of if he's happy and content now with milk leave it tad longer.

All the best

I've made loads of purees with great success. The process was:

• Boil veg/whatever in plenty of water to extinction
• Pour into my small bowl on my food processor, adding a decent amount of water from the pan
• Whizz up on highest power level, stopping and adding more fluid if needed until smooth
• Froze in little pots

I combined with finger foods from the beginning.

I used the Annabel Karmel method for my little boy and the purees went down a treat (and were very easy to make). I just chopped whatever combo of veg was required into small cubes, steamed them and blitzed them in the blender with a bit of the water. Put them in cubes/small bowls and froze them. I started giving finger foods once he'd tried lots of flavours through purees and it's worked really well for us.

It might be because you're spooning in the food, he sucks it and then chokes.

I give dd mushed up stuff but never put the spoon in her mouth - I show her, put it near her mouth and she grabs it and licks it off.

have a look at the cow and gate website - it's packed with great ideas... also www.thefeedingclub.co.uk

My DD also gagged on purees when we first started weaning. We switched to BLW and haven't looked back.

If your baby isn't getting on with purées I'd ditch them. Sticks of cooked veg that they can mush with their gums might go better. Dd1 ate purées enthusiastically from the off so I carried on and she weaned that way, building up the lumps and combining with finger foods. Ds and dd2 just wouldn't be fed from a spoon. A little anxiety ensued but dd2 is just starting to eat proper food at eleven months, very happily. Still not great quantities but has just eaten cheese sandwich and strawberries. The only way either of the later two dd would tolerate purées was with breadsticks like a dip. So if I was out and about I might use a jar that way.

The key to purees is having enough liquid, otherwise they do stay lumpy. Add in some milk or water or apple juice or something.

Purées are unnecessary faff. Have a look at baby led weaning instead. Dd has never had them, you do need to do a bit of research on what to offer when. If you google you'll find a forum on. There is also a book by Gill Rapley, which is very helpful.

Good luck, if you let your son lead the way it needn't be stressful at all.