When my son was eating all his food pureed, I was making batches upon batches of sweet potatoes, beans, lentils, apricots, applesauce etc... I'd freeze these in ice cube trays and then once they were frozen, pop them out into freezer-tight containers. What I was always concerned about was how long they would last in there and whether we would be able to get through them all! I ended up labeling each batch with it's "expiry" date based on the following:
Frozen vegetable purees: 1-2 months
Frozen fruit purees: 1 year
Bean, lentil, and pea purees: 2 months
I have always been a little bit of a stickler for food freshness. I have never really warmed to leftovers (no pun intended!) and always triple check expiry dates on all my foods. I have been known to refuse to eat something that's been sitting out for a couple of hours, while my husband will gladly eat a slice of pizza out of the box that's been sitting out all night - yuck! In any case, I thought I would share my cooking safety tips and hopefully not rub too much of my obsessiveness off on my readers!
1) Leftovers should be frozen for the maximum safe time. Frozen foods should be thoroughly defrosted before eating and never refrozen.
2) If using commercially prepared baby foods only the amount that is likely to be used in one meal should be transferred to the serving dish. The remainder can be refrigerated in the jar, properly sealed, for the following meal. Do not keep it in the fridge for longer than 2 days.
3) Small children are more susceptible to the really nasty problems presented by listeria and salmonella. For this reason do not give a young child soft, unpasteurized cheeses or soft egg yolks.
4) Wash fruit well and peel non-organic produce for children. Although the most valuable nutrients are right under the skin, it is safest to remove the skin where there can be a build-up of farming chemicals that can cause stomach cramps in children.
5) Always wash your hands before handling bottles and food. Always wash your children's hands before each meal.
6) Never cut anything on a cutting board that has had uncooked meat on it. If you live in an omnivorous household, make sure all meat preparation is done separately from all other meal preparation.
