Making Baby Food

Alice - posted on 08/03/2009

I just started introducing food to my 5-month old. It's been really fun making it from scratch-- and super easy so far.

I started with avocado and she loves it. Super easy and no cooking involved at all. Just mash it up, add some water or formula to thin it out and serve.

I second the use of 1) small food processor, 2) steamer, 3) ice cube tray for freezing extras and 4) Cooking for Baby book from Williams Sonoma. Also gonna try the muffin tin when she needs larger portions. Great idea.

So far, so good.

Joanne - posted on 07/12/2009

Just thought I'd add something I learned recently. If you are making your own baby food with root vegetables like carrots, yams, turnips etc. It is especially important that they are organic because they can have dangerously high levels of chemicals from the fertilizers they use.

Tracy - posted on 06/02/2009

I also made my own baby food and loved it. We also made baby cubes, and just either just added more cubes when he got older (I thought he got more variety if his portions were smaller) or we froze the food in muffin tins. I never bought special containers, and reusing babyfood jars can be dangerous. If they aren't made to be frozen or heated they can cause the jars to break or to have tiny chips of glass left in the food that you can't see.

I used the book "The Healthy Baby Meal Planner" and in it it says "Never refreeze meals that have already been frozen; however, if using frozen vegetables or fruit to make baby purees they can be cooked and refrozen" And the information I found suggested frozen vegtables were just as good, if not better in some cases then fresh, due to the way it is frozen on site, as opposed to being shipped all over the country. So we ussually used food from the garden or frozen in most cases.

Hope I don't upset anybody, but that is the information that I found, and I scoured the library and internet for reliable information.

Jennifer - posted on 05/29/2009

As my child grew and ate larger portions than the size of ice cubes, I started re-using the babyfood jars from the store. They were perfect, and took out some of the guess-work for portioning when others were feeding her.

Michelle - posted on 05/14/2009

One thing that I use for purees is the Magic Bullet Blender that's always on infomercials. I bought it at Costco (in Canada) and it works wonderfully for getting the food smooth.

Kimberly - posted on 04/20/2009

I also have enjoyed making my own baby food. My son is 1 year this weekend and still likes pureed foods in addition to feeding himself bits of what we're eating. I second the suggestion for "Baby Cubes." I used both these and ice cube trays and really preferred the BPA and pthalate free baby cubes. We received a Beaba Babycook steamer/blender as a gift and I've LOVED using it to steam and puree foods, but I recently saw how much it cost and I know I'd never buy myself one. But you may want to check Craigs List or eBay to see if anyone has a used one for sale. If not, a steamer and blender or food processor does the exact same thing. I also used the cookbook "Cooking for Baby" which I thought had tons of useful information and great recipe combos. I make up my own combos and recipes now, but when first getting started found a resource like that helpful. Have fun! Oh, what Ellie Sutton said about using fresh I think it also true. If you cook frozen veggies, it's suggested that you not re-freeze that food. So I found it far more convenient to buy fresh organic food, cook it, then freeze in baby-size portions. This website is also super duper handy. http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ Great recipies and timelines for when to add what foods to your baby's diet.

Ellie - posted on 04/19/2009

Go buy a copy of Super Baby Foods, it walks you through the whole process. I loved making all of my own baby foods- my husband and I ate better as well always having those fresh fruits and veggies in the house. And my daughter never got sick. It's a fantastic choice. I used a small food processor to make all of mine. I had a bunch of small glass pyrex dishes with lids that I would use to heat up the cubes and to take a couple out with me when I was away from the house. They worked great. I also always bought fresh- never frozen. I just have it in my head that it was healthier that way- but have no idea if that's a fact or not.

Dana - posted on 04/11/2009

My daughter is 15 months right now and I've been and still am making her food....its great!! So many more choices of food! I'm now using a betty crocker blender but I started out with an electric one called Baby Steps from a company called KidCo, it worked good when she wasn't eating as much, watch the blades though, they are sharp, lol. Also I strongly recommend Baby Food Cubes, they freeze the food in individual containers, they are dishwasher and microwave safe, so you can pick what you want for a meal, open the lids and put the in the microwave....they are great. Also, very important the cubes are BPA free and make sure that whatever blender you use is BPA free, the KidCo one is....or just go glass.
Making her food was the best decision I have made, its healthier and cheaper with more variety! Another little tip, I always buy freash organic food, not frozen food because the way I figure it, if you buy the frozen, yes its easier, but, your going to cook it and freeze it again? I don't think thats too good, but thats me.

Natalie - posted on 04/10/2009

HI, I was wanting to pass along what I did with my kids. I steamed everything in a vegetable steamer and then used my blender. You can also steam/bake in the oven. It is very convenient to use ice cube trays for portion control and then move them to freezer bags to store with an expiration on them. I tried not to keep anything longer than 3 months. As the babies got older, I used a potato masher and found some tiny noodles that I cooked really long to make super soft. I didn't introduce meats until they were eating table foods.

Candace - posted on 04/09/2009

thank you so much! I appreciate the feedback. sounds like its not going to be too difficult

Candace - posted on 04/09/2009

thank you so much! I appreciate the feedback. sounds like its not going to be too difficult

Candace - posted on 04/09/2009

thank you so much! I appreciate the feedback. sounds like its not going to be too difficult

Penny - posted on 04/09/2009

I just used a standard processor and pureed cooked fruit and veg then put it in icecube trays in the freezer. Around 6 months I started making vegetable soups and mixed dishes, still pureed in the blender, and as I introduced solids I pureed it less and less, leaving bits in it, and now I just mash whatever we are having and let her use her hands for everything. (9 months)