Sunday, October 24, 2010

Green Beans

Green beans are a staple food in our family. We (my husband and I) eat them all the time--in every way shape or form: sauteed, boiled, canned, frozen, with toppins and without. We love them. So, it is imperative that Little Joy learn to enjoy green beans!

Ingredients:
Frozen Green Beans (organic as available)
You can use fresh of course, but since this blog is about our adventures, I wanted to share what I did
Steps:
  • Cook according to package directions (watch for any salts added), cook until tender!
  • Puree in your food processor of choice; the green beans will not get completely smooth like other foods we have posted about
  • Allow to cool
  • Pour into your freezing method (I prefer to pour into ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap)
  • Freeze until frozen solid (about 12-24 hours)
  • After frozen, place in freezer zip lock bags until ready to use (I like to save about 2 servings in the refrigerator)
**NOTE: one ice cube is about an ounce of food**

Timing: Many resources recommend introducing green beans around 6-8months months. I introduced them at 6 months and then later discovered that many babies reject homemade green beans since they cannot be completely smoothed in the puree process. To test this theory, I am going to offer store bought green beans which ARE perfectly smoothed. I will post a blog about the results.

Storage: According to "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron, green beans can be in the freezer for two months.

Epicutie Rating: Sour Puss--see right side of page for rating descriptions.
Epicutie Joy has been offered green beans 4-5 times. Although she takes 2-3 bites fine, she will not take more than that. Based on the discovery that many babies do not like homemade green beans until much later, we will wait to attempt green beans again until 7-8 months. Remember, if you do not succeed, try, try again!

Difficulty:
1 out of 5


Green bean puree, notice the texture

I learned that the foods are much easier to "load" in the ice cube trays if I place them in a measuring up to pour. It is also less messy :)

No comments:

Post a Comment