Any tips on making your own babyfood?

Kylie - posted on 01/30/2010

y the salt ????

Eliza - posted on 01/12/2010

My baby eats just about anything, but depending on what yours likes and doesn't and whether she has any allergies: Soups are great... just whiz it up in the blender! Or even if you've cooked a pot roast with potatoes and veggies, you can blend that up too, pop it into your storage containers, and freeze.=)

Josie - posted on 01/12/2010

My daughter has never eaten bought baby food, it is healthier for them not too. If you make your own you know what they are eating. My daughter is going on 8 months and she eats and loves spinach, turnip, turkey, veal, white beets, sweet potato and baby pastina (you can find this at the super market). As far as the food goes, just puree it and the soup you can cook it and add just a little bit of olive oil to it. They love it!



Good luck!

Heather - posted on 01/12/2010

oh yeah... I forgot. Another tip is, when you freeze your food, try to have something covering the tray whether it's plastic wrap or a lid. This is because I know there have been times when I've gotten Ice for a drink and it has a sort of smell and sometimes taste to it b/c it wasn't covered so it picked up a smell from something in the freezer... good luck!

Heather - posted on 01/12/2010

I got tha BEABA Babycook recently. Not only does it steam and blend food, but it can also defrost the individual portions... which is nice b/c that way you're not putting microwaved food into your baby's system. If you're looking for non-orange foods here are some to try. greenbeans & peas (if there are strings, make sure you remove them before blendding), parsnips, broccoli, potato, corn...
I have a friend who has a baby 3 weeks older than mine. She makes her own baby food too. She uses the Magic Bullet after she cooks the food. My suggestion is, whatever you choose to make your food with, make sure that is all you use the item for. I say that b/c even when thing come out of the dishwasher they may still have some food hidden on it somewhere, and I wouldn't want to feed my baby food that might have other particles in it. Maybe I'm just paranoid... anyway, happy food making!

Vicky - posted on 01/12/2010

Hi heather, Jaynah Morgan's post is correct about your doctor so maybe get a second opinion just to make sure there is no other underlying issues but maybe try a balance of store bought food & making your own, sometime being a mum is just too busy & you have 2 kids so double the chaos! making food can be a chore if you have no time so take the stress out of it & provide your baby with food that doesnt take the cutting, steaming pureeing etc etc & go for yoghurt with bananas or avocados - items that you can just mash together for a meal & use the store bought food for times when you have nothing else prepared. seriously when i had my baby i thought i'll make everything & just tired myself out cooking up a store & freezing everything & never got anytime for myself or my family so take the stress out of the food issue & utilise what you can from when you make your family meal & research some other recipes so you dont get into a baby food rut! recently i have been making vegies in a batch that would last a few days & keep in fridge rather than daily otherwise i feel like i'm always in the kitchen!!!!! in regards to how much just look at if your daughter eats a tin/jar of food each meal or half make that amount- if they like it they may eat more- no big deal if you have to throw uneaten portions out thats why i make a large batch & keep in fridge just in case there is a hungrier baby on my hands!!!!also maybe try an organic baby food company - sounds like you live in the US so not sure on the price comparison. also just wanted to mention that if your daughters skin is a bit orange this may not go away instantly & may take a few months to fade....

Jenness - posted on 01/11/2010

Hi Heather, I really like home made food as you know exactly what your feeding your baby. I use whatever we are eating, potato, broccoli, carrots, etc. Spinach is a good one as it is high in iron which our little ones need after their natural stores of iron are affected by 6 months. I also use organic rice ceral on the side. We started with vegetables, and as the meals increased to two a day, we introduced fruits eg. apples, avacodo, bannas, pear, apricots etc. There is a really good book I was given called New Complete Baby & Toddler Meal Planner by annabel karmel. It has about 200 recipes, but also answers a lot of questions about weaning and introducing foods. Her website is http://www.annabelkarmel.com/au which is also a good place for recipes etc. Hope this was helpful. You'll find it's really easy to make home made baby food, especially in bulk and freeze it. All the best with making your own baby food, hope you enjoy it like I did :)

HANNAH - posted on 01/10/2010

I make all my twins baby food, you've gotten lots of great info but one thing that I do that makes it easier for me is use the crockpot, just put it on go about being busy mom and hours later all you have to do is blend. (freeze the left overs) Applesauce is super easy to make like this!

Teresa - posted on 01/10/2010

if you're in a hurry like most of us, using frozen veggies works great. just pop them in the microwave, add seasonings, then puree when done. depending on how much you made you can freeze some and refrigerate some.

Gemma - posted on 01/10/2010

make up lots of food and freeze them so its easier

Teresa - posted on 01/10/2010

:) Like many of the moms who've responded, I too make my son's baby food (except breakfast - which I use Earth's Best banana mixed with Oatmeal). I decided to take the plunge sooner that I did with my oldest because it was so easy and my son seems to prefer seasoning since he is also breastfed. I dedicate one day (usually Sunday) to microwave veggies and puree them in blender. Then I put them into small tupperware containers for daycare and home. I even did apples which was way easier that I thought: peel and slice apples then place in microwave dish & sprinkle with cinamin, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla. then microwave for 5 min. Your house will smell like you've been baking and it tastes great. Good luck.

Bonnie - posted on 01/09/2010

oh yeh freeze them in ice cubes ! last for ages then u can make more

Bonnie - posted on 01/09/2010

there is a store brought food called raferty's in coles they are all 100% natural and r in easy squeezy tubes for when u are out and about they are so great cause u squeeze them on the spoon and throw them away. by been 100% natural i mean when it says they have pumpkin,corn & potato for example that is literly all thats in it nothing else.



but i also make my own food just boil up a whole heap of different veges and mash it together with baby formula, i do like: potato, pumpkin & sweet potato, or corn pumkin & potato things like that. unfortunalty the best foods to boil r orange! my baby went a little orange but it was from all natural orange foods. the jared baby foods have the sugar etc.

hope that helps

Jamie - posted on 01/08/2010

earths best baby food is all natural and organic. its the only brand i have gotten.

ive been giving my son orzo mixed with pureed vegetables. mashing a banana and oatmeal. he loves it!

Kelly - posted on 01/08/2010

I too have used the Williams Sonoma book, and it is very good. I also use the Beaba Baby Cook from WS. Also a GREAT product!

Lindsay - posted on 01/08/2010

i make my own baby food! i have a book from william Sonoma called Cooking for Baby. for me it is very helpful! it gives certain foods for each age group! hope this helped!

Kelly - posted on 01/08/2010

I too make my own food....I find the Baby Food Bible to be the best resource book out there...also, I can't believe how easy it is. I feel better since I know everything going into my daughter's body. But I do purchase the rice cereal (just easier) and somethings that are cost prohibitive like blueberry purees, raspberry purees, prunes, apricots and things that are out of season. For instance, to make even a small serving of blueberries or raspberries would cost like $10! Not cool. And as far as Apricots and prunes go, most are treated with titanium dioxide to preserve color, so you really cannot or should not use that to make baby food, so I do purchase that. I purchase Earth's Best food as they do not use preservatives. Any questions feel free to contact me :) and best of luck!

Jaynah - posted on 01/08/2010

I know doctors don't like to be wrong because I'm married to one, but in this case your doctor is wrong. This condition is not caused by "orange dye" which by the way is NOT in Gerber baby food or any other baby food for that matter. It is caused by beta-carotene which naturally occurs in many vegetables especially orange ones such as carrots and sweet potatoes as well as dark green veggies. It will be in the vegetables whether you make your own food or not. Unless your child's eye whites are yellowing or the color is more yellow than orange (which could be signs of jaundice), it is simply an appearance issue. Beta-carotene is actually very good for your child and helps promote good eye health among many others. If you don't want to make your own baby food, simply try and vary your baby's diet more with less colorful veggies or more fruits. If you google this orange condition, you will find that many many babies have this, especially ones who like their veggies! I'm all for making your own baby food, but don't do it because you are scared of "orange dye."

Brandi - posted on 01/08/2010

My general rule now that I am making food for my 3rd child, is that if I am making bolognaise sauce or another meal like it, take half a cup of the mixture out before finishing it off with spices etc, this can be mixed in to mashed veg for texture and flavour. Half a cup will mix in with about 5 feeds of veg. When it comes to baby food, the base flavour doesnt have to change so much, but try adding to the veg (sweet potato, pumpkin, zucchini, swede, parsnip, sweetcorn..) finely shredded tuna, chicken any other meats, even cous cous adds a great texture, or risoni. Or the nights you are cooking meat and veg, just put a little of meat and veg in a bowl, whiz with a hand blender til desired texture. Going to cheap as chips and stocking up on some of those little airtight containers that hold half a cup/one cup are ideal for stacking in the freezer after cooking quite a lot. I find that ice cube trays are great when bub is 4-6 months old, but by the time they are eating consistantly, they dont hold enough food. Hope this helped

SANDRA - posted on 01/08/2010

Quoting Roxy:

Hey Heather, I make my sons' food but i do weekly batches and i usually use carrot sweet potatoe ,white potatoe, cauliflower, brocoli, yellow squash and pumpkin boil them together and mash them adding a forlmula or breast milk and some unsalted butter recently i started adding some friend chicken breast in unsalted butter and boiled pasta to the batch and just mashing it all together and i guess you can make different batches with just veggies and chicken or veggies and pasta and i usually add them in individual servings and freeze them and this usually lasts me a whole week ...touch wood i've never had any problems with my son's health he is eight months on the 15th and weighs almost 11kg :)

Hey Roxy!!Učinilo mi se da bi mogla znati hrvatski,neznam dal sam u pravu??:))Uglavnom sviđa mi se tvoj način pripremanja obroka,jer i ja isto tako spremam svojoj kćeri hranu i oduševljena je,sve pojede u trenu:))Pozdrav,bilo bi mi drago da se javiš!!

SANDRA - posted on 01/08/2010

hello Heather!!I making my daughter food about 1 month.I make potatoes,rice,carrot,chicken meat,brocula,....All this i cook about 1,5 hour.Then i take good mix,without any litle part.She loves that meal,and its easy to make. i hope that helps.Excuse me about my bad english!!!

Stephanie - posted on 01/07/2010

I make most of my little girl's food...supplementing if I have to. I use the following websites for guides:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
http://www.nurturebaby.com/
http://www.annabelkarmel.com/

Arman N Roxy - posted on 01/07/2010

Hey Heather, I make my sons' food but i do weekly batches and i usually use carrot sweet potatoe ,white potatoe, cauliflower, brocoli, yellow squash and pumpkin boil them together and mash them adding a forlmula or breast milk and some unsalted butter recently i started adding some friend chicken breast in unsalted butter and boiled pasta to the batch and just mashing it all together and i guess you can make different batches with just veggies and chicken or veggies and pasta and i usually add them in individual servings and freeze them and this usually lasts me a whole week ...touch wood i've never had any problems with my son's health he is eight months on the 15th and weighs almost 11kg :)

Brie - posted on 01/07/2010

i make all of my son's baby food. Just steam veggies and fruits then put them in a food processor then freeze them in ice cube trays...each little cube is about an ounce. its cheaper and you know exactly what is going into your child!

Kara - posted on 01/07/2010

your Dr. really said that? Legally, the company would have to list any dye used in the ingredients on the jar. If no dyes are listed on your jar, you are safe. Foods such as carrots have natural dyes (early settlers used carrots to dye clothes orange) which are what turn a baby's skin orange.

Sarah - posted on 01/07/2010

Hey there Heather
My on Maxwell (Max) was born on May 11th. We are now getting into the home made foods for babies.
For Christmas I was given a Food Mill from KidCo. It is a plastic container that meshes up food really nice. I have done many different foods with it. Carrots and peas, Potatoes, Apples & Pears, Mixed Veggies, Sweet potatoes, ect. All these were made by boiling the food. Along with the food mill I was given a book called TOP 100 BABY PUREES by ANNABEL KARMEL. It has some great ideas in it.
Hope this helps.
Sarah

Amanda - posted on 01/07/2010

I too make all my own baby food. It's so easy. My favorite website is, wholesomebabyfood.com. The website tells you what your baby can eat, what freezes well, and gives great tips. I usually take an hour when I have free time and make a couple weeks of food at a time. I have also found that an immersion blender works best. It is fast and there is less to clean up.

Aubrey - posted on 01/07/2010

It's easy -- I use this site to help me. http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ Good luck!

Jo - posted on 01/07/2010

I forgot to mention, only introduce a new food every 3 days that way you will know if their are any allergies and whats has caused them.

Sanelle - posted on 01/07/2010

Throw everything in a pot (beans, peas, carrots, corn, potato etc) and cook until soft (only add a little bit of salt). Add rice to your pot and cook until your rice is cooked. Make sure there are not water left in your pot, mash it all (not too fine). Dish it up in separate dishes, let it cool down, freeze! Works like a breeze! My baby's current mix consist of carrots, corn, peas, broccoli, green beans and rice and he LOVES it

Jo - posted on 01/06/2010

Best thing you can own is a blender wand. that way you can make as you g. If you want to make large amounts freeze them in cubes and keep them in containers. makes it easier. I usually just give my baby part or all of what we are having. So say we are having Mince potatoes and veg I would blend a small part of each and give him that. Or Tuna pasta is also really good blended. We usually have veg and pasta or potatoes of some kind every day so I just extract a little bit and blend it. Also you can make your own cheese sauce with Formula/Milk flour and cheese. Thicken it in a saucepan and blend with whatever. My little boy especially likes this on pasta or arborio rice with corn. Just blend it all down to whatever consistency you like then serve. Always fresh and way way cheaper. hope this helps

Tanya - posted on 01/06/2010

I got the BabyCook as a Xmas present. It's a steamer, food processor in one. Makes making baby food really simple. You don't have to worry about it being over or under cooked, and you don't have to wash more than one appliance. I just started using it, and so far really like it.

I have also been advised to not make my own root vegetables for baby food b/c of the levels of nitrates. For carrots, sweet potatoes, or any root vegetable, you should actually buy the premade baby food of those b/c they make sure there are less nitrates in it.

Breeze - posted on 01/06/2010

I also make my own baby food and as the others mentioned it is fairly simple. You can use a blender or food processor or a hand wand (for protein shakes and whatnot) For rice cereal, barley or millet cereal you must turn the rice or barley or millet into powder with blender, food processor or whatever you use to blend things. Then you boil 1 cup of water and add 1/4 cup of the cereal, reduce heat and whisk constantly for about 5-9minutes until water is absorbed. once baby isnt on purees can make the cereals chunkier. FOr fruits and veggie you will want to bake or boil most of them. To boil them you steam them like you would other veggies for yourself until soft enough. Example..1/4in of water in pot, boil it then add halved pears or apples to steamer, cover and cook for 5-7mins. then you will scrape the flesh out, leaving skins and blend it up. Again can leave chunkier when babies eat more solids later. You can serve papaya and banana and avocados raw, just mash them up. Add breastmilk or formula to get desired consistency with most things. I give my baby such a variety that is is just fun to see what he will try next. I mix bananas and avocado and he LOVES IT!! you can try Zucchini with apples or pears too. I also do this with meats. Ground turkey or chicken cooked then pureed. Add fruit like apples or pears or cherries too. THey like the variety. You can start with TBLSP portions and add to it. NEver reuse what you have in the bowl either. I always leave a few portions in ref for 3 days and freeze the rest in ice cube trays, they stay good up to 3mo in freezer. Cannot freeze banana or Avocado. ANy questions I would be happy to give you recipes or directions for. You will find it fun and better for your baby to make the food yourself!

Narelle - posted on 01/06/2010

I make most of my own food. I usually spend dedicate a day to making baby food and cook up vegies (potato, carrot, brocoli, cauliflower, peas corn) pretty much anything really and fruit I have even started experimenting with some casseroles lately. Everything gets mashed or pureed and I freeze into individual portion sizes. I then defrost and use as required I find it lasts me a couple of weeks at a time. There are lots of books available with recipes specially for babies and toddlers. I would maybe suggest making only a small amount of everything first time to get your baby girl used to the different tastes. Good luck and happy cooking

Lindsey - posted on 01/06/2010

I have made all my son's baby food and it is really easy. They do tend to like the orange vegetables better so that won't change even with making your own, but you have much more choices to feed them when you make your own. One thing my son loves is parsnips and they don't have the orange coloring. I just peel them like carrots,cut them into chunks and boil them until tender, then I put them and the water they are cooked with into the food processor (you can use a blender too). I then put all the mixture into ice cube trays for single servings. After they are frozen solid, I remove them from the trays and put all of them in a labeled freezer bag, that way I can have my trays for making more food. You can do that same process with just about any other food. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to tell you what I've done. Hope that helps!