Question About Storing Blended Fruits and Veggies

I make baby food for my daycare children. I steam or bake veggies (like sweet potatoes and squash)...and for fruits, if they are already soft, I just puree them up with a tich of water in there to get the right consistency. I never add anything else. I freeze them in ice cube trays, the next day I pop them out into freezer bags and label them with the date.

For myself, and my family, I will use alot of the fruits for ice cream malts! YUM. Ok, so maybe not the healthy aspect like you are going for...but still YUM! I will pop some banana..blueberry and some ice cream and milk into the little Rocket Blender smoothie maker I have...a little malted powder....YUM!

I also will pop veggie chunks into spaghetti sause for my daycare kids...just beefing up a jar sause to add extra nutrition the kids wont know about with squash and zuchinni puree usually.

Anyhow, now I am craving a malt....and just letting you know...freezing them works fine for me. Now I gotta call my hubby to grab some vanilla ice cream on his way home today....LOL!

2 moms found this helpful

I've always used mine fresh from the blender, but if you HAVE to store it I suppose freezing would be the best way to go. Dont let it thaw before reusing tho, just throw it straight back in the blender when ready to use. If you put some in the fridge it will turn brown due to NO preservatives but it will still be good to drink that day. Like Diane said, the enzymes start breaking down and they lose their nutritional value once exposed to air.
Congrats on making such a smart choice for the health of your baby :)

2 moms found this helpful

H A.---It is likely best to blend those smoothies as you use them. Having said that, cooking the veggies stops the enzymes from breaking the foods down which is this first step in the digestion process. So I would cook those veggies, steaming is best, and then freeze them until ready to use. I do this with fruits all of the time...when no longer desired to eat as fresh but not yet spoiled, I freeze them for smoothies. Then I add the fruits or veggies to a liquid, juice or plant milks (no dairy...go to www.pcrm.org and put dairy in the search box) and a high quality, food-based soy protein powder (for info on the health benefits and misinformation about soy, go to
http://www.womentowomen.com/healthynutrition/soycontrover.... Avoid whey protein mixes as these are dairy proteins, and too much animal protein leads to many disease processes (www.thechinastudy.com).

I've learned these tips from a series of wellness classes I am taking, taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. I would be happy to share my resources with you...just let me know what you would like to know. Hope this helps. Be well...D.

I also add freshly ground flax to my smoothies for extra fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals and omega 3 fats. Flax seeds are a super-food.

2 moms found this helpful

I'd just freeze them in serving sizes so you can get out a little at a time. Also, if you get Popsicle molds, you can make smoothy Popsicle for the summer:)

1 mom found this helpful

The cooked veggies are like normal leftovers in the fridge for a few days and will freeze too.
The smoothies don't keep well. The vitamins go out in 4-6 hours, it will be sort of rancid as early as the next day. Always best to do smoothies fresh, and finish within a couple of hours. Don't forget to blend some raw veggies into the fruit smoothie for extra nutrition-it will still taste like fruit even with some broccoli etc in there...

You can freeze for 3 months (safely longer but you lose nutritional value and appearance). You can store in the fridge for several days but if you are using bananas, uncooked apples or pears your smoothie will turn an unappealing brown. You can mix it up and add the things that brown at the last minute.

Take leftover smoothies and make them into popsicles - the worst thing that will happen in the freezer is that they lose a bit of their vitamins over time. They won't go rancid and you won't be wasting food. My daughter seems to hate smoothies or juice after a few sips, but LOVES the same food made into a popsicle later:)

As for vegs, I make about 1/2 to 3/4 of my 10 month old's baby food - the basics, like carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, a few "mixes" like port/sweet potato/apple, and I've also taken bags of frozen mixed veg (corn/green beans/ peas/carrots), cooked, pureed and frozen them into ice cube trays. Then I defrost about 3 cubes at a time and mix and match his meals. Saves money, and I know exactly what he's eating (we are going slow on acidic foods as he's in the process of growing out of reflux, plus my daughter has food allergies).

As for pureed foods, my rule is 3 days in the fridge - for kids or adults. I toss it after that.

Good luck!

I would steam the veggies and either put them in the refrigerator for blending in the next day or two, or put them in the freezer for later use. I shy away from pre-blending smoothies because they can get a little "off"... at least in my experience.

I have also blended fruits and veggies together to make "smoothies" and kept them in the freezer for a quick and tasty dessert for myself and my little men.

most nutrients are only good for about 72 hours max. so unless you freeze them as soon as they cool, then i woudl consume within two days.
J.
personal nutrition coach
www.n-im.net

I used to make baby food in batches and freeze the cooked veggies (steamed and then pureed for babies, chopped for toddlers) and fruits (usually just pureed or chopped - sometimes in an applesauce base for moisture) in ice cube trays or muffin tins. When they are frozen, pop them out of the mold and store in freezer bags (label them - I can't tell you how many times I started at a bag trying to divine whether or not it was peaches or sweet potatoes lol).

If you just want to refrigerate, a few days in the fridge for cooked and pureed/chopped veggies and pureed fruits is fine. I would use a blended smoothie the same day (the items will separate after too long, meaning you'll have to re-bend anyway and if you're going to bother with that, just make a fresh one) but you can prep and pre-portion the fruit so that it's easier to throw together in a few minutes when you make a new one.

freeze it in bpa free cups, they sell them in baby r us