Hi Mummies
Just came in to kaypoh - haven't spoken to you gals in a while. Hope you're all doing well! Can I give some tips on puree storage? Just stuff the July mums and I have picked up over the last few months:
1. Most of us have a puree day each week when we make a huge batch of purees and freeze them so that each time we need to feed our babies, we just need to defrost the frozen puree.
2. Some of us are trying to serve only organic fruit/vege to our babies for now. This is because we believe that our babies' digestive systems are still too immature to deal with the pesticides and other chemicals present in non-organic produce. We buy our organic produce from a number of supermarkets but in particular, Marketplace (Tanglin Mall) has an excellent selection.
3. I notice that there has been some discussion about how to make frozen cubes. You have a few options:
- Buy individual cubes (with lids) from vendors such as Little Jet Plane (approx cost is abt $15 I think); pipe the puree into the cube, seal the lid and freeze
- Buy ice cube trays (which come with lids) from Isetan. You can buy trays which are configured to make very large cubes. Approx cost is <$4
- Buy silicon ice cube trays (no lids) from Ikea. Approx cost is <$3. As these are without lids, you will have to place the entire tray inside a freezer Ziplock bag when you place it in the freezer.
- Use silicon bakeware (eg cupcake cases) (no lids) available at department stores. As these are without lids, you will have to place the containers inside a freezer Ziplock bag when you place it in the freezer.
I've tried all the options above and personally, I like the Isetan trays the best. They're reasonably priced and the cubes are a good, large size. While the plastic tray seems very stiff at first, the cubes were surprisingly easy to dislodge.
A good technique is to make the puree, then spoon all the puree into a plastic bag. Twist the top of the bag tightly shut. While holding the plastic bag like a piping bag, snip off the end of the bag and pipe the puree into the ice cube tray. Cover with the tray lid and freeze. Once frozen, you can dislodge the cubes of food and store them in a Ziplock freezer bag. I label the outside of the bag with the type of puree (some apple and pear purees look very similar!) and the date the puree was made.
The disadvantage of using the Ikea trays is that you cannot get a lot of puree into each cube, so you have to buy lots of trays and you need to defrost multiple cubes for each feed. I also find it troubling that the Ikea trays don't come with lids.
The disadvantage of using the Little Jet Plane individual cubes is the high cost involved. Also, I have found it difficult to dislodge the cubes to store the purees in a bag. I find the Isetan trays much better in this regard. Also, the lids on the LJP trays sometimes don't snap tightly shut and there have been many occasions when I look in my freezer only to find that the lids on the LJP cubes have opened. Not great if you're concerned about food contamination.
Just some thoughts! Good luck with feeding solids - it's a whole new journey!
