Homemade Baby Food

Nancy - posted on 12/02/2011

I wouldn't use canned veggies, too high in sodium. Use frozen veggies (cooked then pureed) as they contain all the same amount of nutrients as fresh. Avoid Chef Boyade until after the age of 1. Stick to homemade pasta but serve it plain to start and then you can add small amounts of marinara sauce.

Mousey - posted on 12/02/2011

Is it ok to puree canned foods like veggies and chef boyade and freeze it if so should i cook the food first or cook when im going to serve it to her?

Nancy - posted on 08/07/2009

I've always made my daughter's food but I also LOVE cooking. She's 9 months old and I feed her just about everything I eat. She loves salmon, chicken and any other meat that you can tear up into smaller pieces. She's at that age where she wants to feed herself so soft and ripe fruit (canalope, pears, quartered peeled grapes..etc) are a hit as are soft cooked veggies (carrots, asperagus, brocolli, sweet potato, squash..etc). She also loves multigrain Cheerios and playing with cottage cheese (what a mess!).



Here's a basic test if you want to make sure you baby can eat it, take whatever you are going to serve them and using your tongue against your palate try to break up the food...if you can't then mash it, blend it or cook it longer before serving.

Ashlee - posted on 08/07/2009

we started with 1-2 tablespoons I think not much, just to give him a taste. Now I give him a couple spoons of veg, meat noodle whatever and if he eats it great if not then oh well- most of their nutrients should still be coming from their formula until at least 1 year eating solids now is more of a help in the transition to only solids later.
And yes any time we introduced a new food we would wait 3-5 days before trying anything else new. Also I was a bit paranoid at first so we only introduced new foods in the early morning or afternoon not at night because if he was going to have a reaction I didn't want it to happen while he was sleeping
hope that helps

Maricel - posted on 08/07/2009

how much to give?? My baby is allergic to wheat, milk products, and both could flare up her eczema. We are slowly giving finger foods also. But what about allegies.. and trying out one food at a time for at least 3-5 days?

Ashlee - posted on 08/07/2009

my son (oct25) gets whatever we eat. I used to make his food and puree it but he wants stuff he can do himself so its bits and pieces except he still gets oatmeal or cereal at least once a day.

I have tried on more than once to give he jarred baby food and he will not have it he spits it out immediately. We started with easy stuff carrots, squash, sweet potatoes things we could steam the beegee-us out of then mashed it. Fruit was also easy apples pears cook and mash easily. He LOVES avocados and then we went from there like I said he now eats pretty much whatever we are eating.

Good Luck

Renee - posted on 08/06/2009

most times whatever am cooking for dinner unless i know she wont be able to chew it i stick it in the blender and give it to her my daughter eats every thing and if you gradully go down from pureeing it to slighty mashing it they will get acustom to the texture to save it i put it in icecube trays with a lid and she eats like 3-4 cubes

Jenny - posted on 08/04/2009

My son 30th Oct baby, pretty much eats what we eat and by this age they most certainly should be, they need to be used to lumpy, textured food way before they are 1yr! I started making baby food when he was 5mnths, but now there is really no need, and any left overs we have go into small freezable containers in the freezer for when I need them! The only thing he doesn't eat is steak as it is to tough, but if I make something from chunky beef in the slow-cooker he most certainly can eat that as it comes out so tender. He eats chicken, fish, beef mince, rice, pasta, vegetable dishes with us every night, I don't understand why anyone would make separate food for their baby by this age,it is so not needed, just don't add too many spices ect and they are fine!!
So don't be afraid, it's not meant to be a hard thing, have fun feeding your growing Oct baby!
From mother x3 & under 1's Child Care Worker!

Janine - posted on 08/04/2009

I bought a couple books but had a site called wholesomebabyfood.com reccomended to me and it was great. I still use it, where the books I've given to friends

Jo - posted on 07/20/2009

go on to annabel karmel website all baby foods are there and easy to follow... i bought her book as she is recommended by health visitors... my baby girl loves the food i prepare and some you can freeze...

http://www.annabelkarmel.com/

Crystal - posted on 07/20/2009

I don't eat as healthy as I'd like my twins to eat, so make their own food. They do get baby food jars sometimes when we are out & often get some of my food if its healthy enough! Breakfast is still farex or weetbix with fruit (cut up banana, or some pear or apple prepared as per veges - they eat 2 weetbix EACH for breaky - more than me! but they are still on the small side..) Usually finger food for lunch, morning or afternoon tea. I use heaps of different finger food as its their favourite - cut up fruit, cut up cheese, cooked pasta, dry cereal (adult cereal - but low salt/sugar stuff like cheerios) toast squares (love a bit of cream cheese on that too) & some spooned yogurt. I had them eating scrambled eggs with fingers last week - it seemed more successful than the spoon! Dinner is veges & meat, with maybe some pasta, rice or cheese mixed in. Due to sheer quanity needed for 2 bubs with no bottom to their bellies, I tend to pick maybe 3 or 4 veges per shop & prepare in bulk (eg 1 whole pumpkin, 1 kg apples, etc) I will steam/boil veges, then mash Meat I will fry in water rather than oil eg chicken, then stick blend it as the girls don't have teeth yet Then the meat or veges are put into ice cube trays, frozen & then bagged with what it is & date on the bag. That way I can mix & match eg 4 cubes of sweet potato, 2 broccoli, 2 chicken etc I also use low salt tinned salmon, tuna & creamed corn & freeze the leftovers in cubes. They eat baked beans (salt reduced) The only thing my paediatrician said they can't have is big chunks of meat & nuts due to choking hazards (no allergies in either family & haven't had any reactions) You'd swear they had teeth as they bite of chunks of mandarine (seeds removed)! Hope this has give you some ideas anyway - I get more creative as I think of healthy foods they can try!

Crystal - posted on 07/20/2009

Hi I've got twins & probably don't eat as healthy as I would like them to so I make their own food. They do get bits of whatever I'm eating if it's not bad for them as they will eat anything (even spicy), & also get jars of food sometimes when we are out but actually prefer my cooking! (thats a 1st!) Due to the sheer quantity needed (do they ever stop & give their bellies a break?!) I tend to pick 1 vege, fruit or meat & prepare a good size of that at a time - 1 whole pumpkin, or 1kg apples etc. I just pick 3 or 4 veges each time I shop. Veges get boiled & mashed Meat is cooked (I just use water to fry instead of oil for chicken etc) then stick blend it (think its called a bar mixer too!) Mine don't have teeth yet so I'm still keeping away from cut up meat Then all the prepared food is put in ice cubes & small containers, frozen & then bagged with what it is & when it was cooked on it. I still like ice cubes even though they eat heaps in a sitting, as then I can mix n match So maybe 4 cubes of sweet potato, 2 broccoli, 2 chicken etc I also give them rice or pasta, or cheese mixed in with their veges sometimes. They love finger food too & it gives me a break from constant spooning! They love fruit & cheese cut into bits & pasta & dry cereal (just any adult cereal without too much salt/sugar) They get weetbix with fruit in the morning (like 2 weetbix EACH with fruit - they eat more than me & I have 50kg on them!) Don't be worried about trying chunky finger foods, as long as you are always watching them - mine eat mandarine segments (seeds removed) & you'd swear they had teeth the way they bite chunks off! (My paediatrician has oked everything but big chunks of meat & nuts - they were already eating the other 'banned' food of fish so he said that was ok, but health nurse also mentioned honey)

Davina - posted on 07/16/2009

I started pureeing food for my little one at 5 months when the doctor gave the ok to start serving baby food. I had given him a few jars of gerber and he got so sick which is what prompted me to start making my own food. I honestly didn't use any recipe books. I just stuck to steaming and pureeing any fruits or veggies that were appropriate. Now at 9 months his doctor gave the ok to give him anything he can chew except honey, nuts, strawberries, citrus fruits and red meat. I wish I ate enough fruits/veggies to just give him a little off my plate but what I do to ensure he's eating healthy is when I go to the grocery store or farmer's market I buy an equal amount of fruits and veggies. Some I steam like carrots then cut up or like with pears I freeze them and give him slices as teethers. I like to make sure that whatever I give him is soft enough to chew with his gums. He loves blueberries! I just wash them and put them on his tray and he eats them up. He also loves mangos. I hope this helps but don't worry about following recipes. Just try to stick to the food pyramid and start the healthy habit now.

Joyce - posted on 07/15/2009

Thanks everyone for the great tips! Keep them coming!

Anne - posted on 07/14/2009

I would agree that at your daughter's age, pureeing is not as necessary anymore. I still puree some of my son's foods, but he's doing more and more finger foods and/or mashed foods. I do puree his meats still b/c he won't eat them whole, but most of the fruits/veggies, I just mash or give them to him in slices.

Amanda - posted on 07/14/2009

Since my daughter was 6months I have given her all homecooked food. Phillips Avent do a weaning set of storage containers they are brilliant and you dont need to transfer the food into another container, now my daughter as pretty much what we eat just cut up more and freeze if there is any left over and I do all her breakfast dinner and tea time food plus i do desserts for her. At 10am, 3pm my daughter as some type of finger food either fruit, veg, and a couple of times a week she will have a treat like a biscuit etc. Homemade is the way to go nif u buy all the ingrediants you need it take a couple of hours on a night and you have a month or two supply of food. I hate baby jars they look awful and you dont no what is in them . If I am out I would rather look at other options ofo fod for my daughter like a jacket potatoe with some cheese.

Loes - posted on 07/12/2009

i love this book:
http://www.petitappetit.com/
all organic, and very nice to eat for the whole family :)
we all enjoy "lee's lentil stew" a lot!

Natalie - posted on 07/12/2009

I have to say that when my daughter was six months old i just pureed home cooked food but now she's getting older she wants to eat 'proper food' so i just usually give her a small portion of what im having and cut it up small enough for her to chew. Im finding that because she has always had home cooked meals not jars of baby food she's eating what im having and im not having trouble giving her what everyone else is eating becuase its the same flavours as what she's used too. Also my health visitor recommended giving finger foods from about 8 months as chewing helps their speech develop.

Hope this helps :)

Lindy - posted on 07/12/2009

I also used Annabel Karmel for inspiration but at 8 and a half months, Hannah is eating more of the same foods as we are - perhaps just cooked a bit softer and cut up small. But the books can be handy for pointing out allergy risks etc.

The great thing about preparing your own baby food is that you develop a good idea of what your baby likes and can experiment when introducing foods you would like him or her to eat. So you can guide your little one towards the meals the rest of the family enjoys. And anyway, that store stuff just doesn't look like real food to me!?

Kylie - its Annabel Karmel, not Karmer - might make finding the site a bit tricky!

Good luck

Rochelle - posted on 07/12/2009

i just mash veges for my 9 month old like potatoes pumkin carrots and that sort of thing also apple and add kiwifruit and pear

Kylie - posted on 07/11/2009

Check out www.annabelkarmer.com she has heaps of great easy recipes to make for babies, also she has a book called annabelkarmer which you may be able to get out from your library- I found this book very helpful its also has meals for toddlers and preschoolers.

Belle - posted on 07/10/2009

Joyce,

I just started making my own baby food. I don't make all of her food, but since its summer and I can get lots of good fresh produce, I make some. I bought a food grinder at baby's r us for about $15. It works really well. I just put whatever fresh fruits and veggies I have in it and feed it to her. A few times I've made extra and froze it in the plastic containers the store bought baby food comes in. I haven't feed her any of that yet.



As I said its pretty easy right now, bc so much fresh produce is avaible and my mom is off the summer and has time to make it too!!!! We'll see what happens in the fall :)

Minnie - posted on 07/10/2009

The extent to which I would make food for my eight 1/2 month old daughter is pick up pieces of food from my plate and give it to her.

Seriously, why bother with pureeing food when she's perfectly capable of taking table foods now?

Heather - posted on 07/10/2009

I also used Super Baby Foods when my son was younger. Now that he is older though, I just add less spices and seasoning to our food and grind it up in the food mill. i found it very easy to do. I would spend one day about every two months making the food and freezing it. It would last about two months. I still have a few leftovers that I add to my sons other foods.

Jessica - posted on 07/10/2009

I use a book called Super Baby Food that gives lots of good details on how to prepare and store foods that you make at home. The author refers to it as the ‘ice cube tray’ method, which involves cooking the foods, pureeing the foods, pouring into individual ice cube trays, freezing, and then transferring the cubes to store. The author suggests a way to store, but I found it 10 times easier to go buy airtight storage containers (the kind with a push button on the top) and store the cubes in there (you have to store the cubes in an airtight container or they’ll get freezer burn).


If I prepare something for daily use, like cereal or one small sweet potato that will be gone in a day or so, I use small individual Pyrex containers and just spoon it out into the bowl (don’t serve from these bowls or bacteria will build up) and keep it in the fridge. I don’t always make all of my food because some foods are harder to prepare or out of season. I keep containers of baby food on hand for backup.


I make things like: fruit, vegetables, food dishes, cereal (with whole grains), and I'm adding beans to her diet today.


The book also gives good suggestions for nutritious alternatives to adding sugar or other fattening items to your child’s diet as he/she gets older. I already have begun adding applesauce when the recipe calls for sugar (for pancakes) and like to get creative with my recipes.


I’ve also used a website called http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com for protein/meat recipes because the author of the book believes babies should primarily eat a meatless diet. However, it is a great resource for knowing how to pick, cook, and prepare produce.


Good luck!