Based upon some other mommy’s recommendations I gave the LO (little one) sweet potatoes to try next.

I purchased a 3 pound bag of organic sweet po’s at my local grocery store.

There were about twelve small potatoes in the bag – I would have preferred a few super large ones though.

I opened the bag and scrubbed each potato individually and let them dry thoroughly.

Then I pierced a few holes in each potato with a fork so they wouldn’t burst in the oven (is this really true for the oven? Or is it just the microwave? I am too scared to try cooking without doing this because I would not enjoy cleaning up the mess!)

Then I placed each potato on the aluminum foil and parchment paper lined cookie sheets. The aluminum foil helps keep the cookie sheet clean for super easy clean up and the parchment paper stops any of the aluminum from cooking into the sweet potatoes (thank you, Martha Stewart for this trick).

I cooked these guys for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. If you have the larger sized sweet potatoes I would recommend cooking at 400 for at least an hour.

I removed them from the oven an sliced each one down the middle.

Next is the tricky part. While the potatoes are still hot, you have to scoop the flesh out. Once the potatoes get cold you can’t get separate the skin and the flesh. However, when the potatoes are hot it’s tricky to not burn your fingers while taking the skins off.

I scooped out as much flesh as I could of each sweet potato because I didn’t want to waste any of my efforts. This was the most time consuming part of the whole process since there were about twelve individual sweet potatoes.

At the end of this step it occurred to me that maybe I could have peeled the potatoes? I still don’t know – has anyone tried this before?? I’ve peeled white potatoes but not sweet ones.

After all the scooping I began pureeing the sweet potatoes using a food processor. I did a few potatoes at a time. Feel free to add water or pumped milk at this point if the potatoes are too thick for your baby. (I’m pretty sure you can add formula also as long as you aren’t going to freeze any).

After each batch was pureed I place about 1.5 ounces into my baby food freezer containers.

Once frozen the sweet potatoes will stay for about three months. If you keep them fresh they are good for three days. Once defrosted, use the sweet potatoes within 24 hours.

At first the LO wasn’t too thrilled about them, but after a few tries she loves them! She will even eat peas if I mix them with rice cereal or the sweet potatoes.

This recipe is definitely a keeper. I think next time I will try to peel the skins and instead of using the food processor try the ricer I have instead. When I make mashed potatoes I always use the ricer instead of a hand mixer, and John loves them this way.

As a side note, since you are spending so much time pureeing the sweet potatoes why not reserve some for yourself and serve as a side dish. After pureeing (I would keep the consistency a little chunkier) add some butter and top with a little brown sugar. Sweet potatoes make a great starch to any dinner. Plus they are healthy, too!