Top 5 Essential Freezing Baby Food Tips
Being a parent is a challenging job - always busy, busy, busy! My daily routine consisted of nappy changing, cooking, washing, laundry, ironing and bathing little one. Bathing her after projectile vomiting, explosive poos, even after she did a wee wee all over the floor just before I managed to get her nappy on from the first bath. Everyday was a busy whirlwind, and yet I wouldn't change a thing! If your days are anything like mine were, freezing baby food during the weaning process can be a HUGE life-saver, and can help all parents (working or not) keep on top of cooking, and feeding little one a healthy balanced diet. Particularly useful in the early stages of weaning (4-6 months), prepping and freezing food can be useful during any stage of the weaning process.
There are a few things you should be aware of however, when freezing and thawing baby food. So have a read of my top 5 essential tips for freezing baby food below - just to be safe.
1. Flexible ice-cube trays and pots
Flexible ice-cube trays and pots are a very popular method of freezing baby food in individual servings. So if you chose to use them, please ensure the tray is covered with either a lid or placed inside a freezer bag, before you place it in the freezer. It also needs to be clearly labelled with the contents. Once frozen, remove the frozen cubes of baby food from the trays, place them in freezer bags, label and date them, then pop them back in the freezer.
2. Freezer bags
Using good quality freezer bags is another method of storing baby food in the freezer without having to worry about making space for flexible ice-cube trays and pots. It's not as neat as frozen cubes, but it is the method I used as I had so many other baby-related expenses – nappies, nappies and more nappies!! I simply spooned in enough pureed or mashed food for one serving (approximately 1-2 tablespoons) into the bag, labelled the contents and dated it; it was a great way of effectively rotating meals in the freezer. And because the food was in freezer bags, it meant I could fit the bags in tiny gaps in the freezer so it didn’t take up lots of space.
3. How long to leave baby food in the freezer
Baby food will be fine in the freezer from anywhere between 6-8 weeks (sometimes longer), provided your freezer is at 0F (-18C) or below. That said, I never actually needed to leave the meals in the freezer for that long; my little one munched through food portions very quickly.
4. Thawing baby food
Thaw food in the fridge a few hours before feeding time, or defrost in the microwave. Once defrosted, ensure the food is heated until piping hot, then allowing cooling before serving to baby warm. You MUST stir the food and test the temperature to ensure there are no hotspots.
5. Other things to be aware of:
- Wait until the food is cooled before immediately placing it in the freezer.
- You should never reheat meals more than once.
- Never refreeze meals that have previously been frozen. If there is any food leftover after a meal simply discard the remainder.
- If you chose to refrigerate baby food instead of freeze it, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 48 hours without it spoiling.
