How do you make blueberries? Chicken? Eggplant?

I'm having a hard time making blueberries, chicken & eggplant for Loey!

The blueberries.... I followed wholesomebabyfood's "recipe" but there were so many chunky pieces of skin that I didn't feel comfortable giving it to Loey.

The chicken... I baked at 400 in a broiling pan for 12 minutes/side. It tasted yummy! I put it into the food processor and ground it up... but then when we went to give it to him later that night, it seemed too dry for him to swallow.

The eggplant.... I roasted it for 30 minutes at 375. It was nice and soft. When I went to puree it, it would not get smooth! There were still again, too many chunks for me to feel comfortable giving it to him.

It was really frustrating! I feel like we wasted so much food (from Whole Foods, so it was $$) and came out with nothing. I ended up buying some Earth's Best foods just to have something to give him... but now I feel guilty because I really wanted to make all of his foods!

Re: How do you make blueberries? Chicken? Eggplant?

This is what I did when I made some of this for Emmy

Blueberries- I bought frozen, cooked in some water( just a touch) until really soft and falling apart, and then used the food processor. No chuncks but was watery so we added cereal

Chicken- we boiled the breastes in water with onion, carrots, and celery. After that we did the fp and added some of the water as needed so it would not be dry. If you roast it try adding some chx broth to thin it out a touch

Eggplant- not sure, but I would maybe add some water and instead of baking you could steam it.

I found steaming was much better for a good puree then baking or broiling. HTH

Re: How do you make blueberries? Chicken? Eggplant?

I never made my own babyfood, so I'm not an expert on everything, but for the blueberries, maybe you could try a food mill rather than the food processor. The food mill is a manual "processor" so to speak, but I know when I make applesauce and tomato sauce in it, the skins are left behind. Then when it is all processed, you just turn the handle counter-clockwise and it lifts all the skins up for you to toss.

Re: How do you make blueberries? Chicken? Eggplant?

I usually serve the berries with another fruit (pears, apples, bananas) and they are a big hit.

With chicken, I usually blend it with sweet potatoes or squash. Dd doesn't care for it alone when it is pureed (now that she can eat little pieces of chicken as table food she loves it though!)

I never pureed eggplant - Now I just bake it and cut it up into little pieces and it's a hit. Did you take the skin off before cooking? Maybe that would help.

Re: How do you make blueberries? Chicken? Eggplant?

I was going to suggest using frozen for the blueberries as well - something about the freezing process really seems to have an effect on the skins - I haven't made them yet for DD but I will only use frozen in smoothies for this reason.

Chicken - save some broth and add it or add some veggies. Also, make sure to include some dark meat - it's juicier and has more iron. I still think you'll need to add liquid given chicken's texture but if you use carrots, celery, and onions, it'll be a lot like chicken soup, which sounds yummy to me.

Eggplant - maybe peel it, steam, then puree. Eggplant has almost no nutritional value so you're not losing much by losing the skin.

For what you already have, just push them through a sieve or a mesh collander - that should salvage them.

Re: How do you make blueberries? Chicken? Eggplant?

I always used extra chicken broth to pureed the chicken and usually mixed it with something else like sweet potatoes and DS loved it.

Re: How do you make blueberries? Chicken? Eggplant?

i boiled the blueberries and removed the skin

i mixed avacados with chicken to make it creamier

eggplant i never got smooth but never had a problem either