Thursday, March 28, 2013

Baby Purees: Avocado

One of my favorite things to do with Liam is feed him new foods. Around 4 months, he had oatmeal for the first time, and around 5, I decided to let him taste avocado.
It hasn't become a regular thing yet, (he's still primarily breastfed)--I only give him cereal/purees a few days a week. I wanted to ease into it and kind of gage his interest.
Your pediatrician will tell you to introduce foods slowly & one at a time to watch for any allergic reactions. They also recommend holding off until 6 months on most things, as their digestive system normally isn't ready for it.
Definitely check with your doc to get the go-ahead on giving your baby purees!

That being said, I had heard a lot of good things about using avocado as one of baby's first foods. I did a little research, and found that avocados are considered to have some of the highest nutritional value compared to other fruits appropriate for babies.
This article is fantastic & talks about avocado nutrition content for babies.

Liam LOVES avocado. He normally gobbles down his entire 1 oz serving and asks for more. (I learned the hard way not to give him more. And by 'hard' I mean...the green, barfy way...) Since avocado is so rich in fat, it's good to start with small portions.

I do plan on making Liam's food most of the time, mostly because I'd like to monitor what goes into his sweet little body.
I am by no means the cruncy, hippy, 'gluten and candy are evil' type of person, but I do my best to provide my family healthy meals!
In my baby-food-making journey, I'm going to share a few of my methods, starting with avocado.

1. Get your pulp out of the shell.
I normally do half an avocado at a time since it browns quickly. I cut it in half length wise, and then scrape or cut out one side.
 (side note: if you can't get ripe avocados from the store, buy them upripe and put them in a paper bag for 24-48 hours. To speed the process, throw in a banana. After the avocados are ripe, they will keep in the fridge uncut for up to 2 weeks)

2. Put desired amount of pulp in food processor.
You can get a fancy baby food maker, but I personally think it's an unnecessary expense (And those things are expensive!) They're basically a food processor with the words 'Baby' something on the side. I just use a cheap food processor (got this for about $13. You can find them at Wal-Mart, Target, etc.) I may eventually invest in a better food processor, but for baby purees, this is perfect. 
There are also certain foods you'll be able to easily mash with a fork.

3. Blend.
Normally I have to blend for about 10 seconds and then scrape the sides.

4. Add water as necessary.
It's really up to you how thick or thin you want your puree depending on what you think your baby can handle. I normally add a little bit of water just until I feel like the consistency is right.

5. Portion into sealable containers. 
 I got these containers on Amazon. Perfect size, 2 oz. each, but right now I'm doing 1 oz of avo per serving. 
Half an avocado will get me two servings. I've found that it keeps in the fridge for a few days, but not much longer. It will get a little discolored on top which is fine & still edible, but if it bothers you, you can scrape the discolored part off!

What to do with the rest of your avocado? A while ago I got this 'avo-saver' from Wal-Mart.
After it's cut, an avocado will save for a few days in the fridge. 
I usually eat half the next morning with my eggs. :)


  1. I cant wait to start making Kenz her food. Trying to talk my hubs into letting me start feeding her soon lol. She has only had cereal a few times. He wants to wait til 6 months. But I know she is ready. I am thinking about starting her with bananas!

  2. Thanks so much for writing this post! We are starting solids in 1.5 weeks...meaning avocado first for us and I was just going to look up how to do it. I have also read that you can freeze cubes with citrus juice to preserve it, but I had no clue they would last that long in the fridge...awesome!

    1. Yep, before they're cut open that last a lot longer than when you do cut them. I never knew it either until a few months ago...we buy a lot of avocados so it definitely helps!

  3. My little miss is obsessed with avocado! We're a bit ahead of you age-wise, but I just mash up half an avocado with a fork. No food processor or extra water needed! Bananas are just as easy! :-)

  4. Logan didn't like Avocado his first time...I read somewhere to mix it with Banana's (which he loves)...and now he loves the blend of avocado and bananas!