Baby Food Recipes!

Annabel Karmel has a website: http://www.annabelkarmel.com/ she has several recipes for all ages. I haven't tried any yet but they look tasty.

I was totally against making baby food. Thiking it was a waste of time and a lot of work. Then the food prices went up yet again and I started to make it and it's so easy! I love it and it tastes better. I use the website http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
I also have the book Super Food for Babies and Children by Annabel Karmel. E-mail me if you need any pointers. Happy Cooking!

I too LOVE Super Baby Foods (by Ruth Yaron). It seems like it would be a lot, but it is really easy. I work full time and still have managed to make my daughter's food. I really like the Super Porridge for her breakfast and plan to make it as long as she will eat it. And even if you don't want to do her food plan exactly, there is a lot of just general information that I have found to be really helpful (i.e. when to introduce which fruits and veggies and how to prepare and store them).

Good luck to you!

Good for you! I made my own baby food from the start, and I find that my 16 month old is much less picky about table food, now, han most other kids her age who were started on the Gerber or other name brand jar baby foods. I think it is because that commercial baby food is so over cooked and processed, it doesn't even taste like our food, but this way, they are eating the same tastes form the start!

It IS NOT HARD! My 2 favorite tools are my Magic Bullet Blender, and my Pampered Chef Food Chopper! I got my Magic Bullet off TV, but they now sell them at Bed Bath and Beyond, and WalMart and Walgreens.

In the beginning, I would cook in big batches, and just steam plain fresh or frozen veggies, fruits, and bake the meats, and just throw them in the blender, then pour them into ice cube trays and freeze one night, then pop out and place into Freezer bags, with the date and name of the food on the front. I also got a lot of those gladware or ziploc "disposable" tupperware type containes, and froze things right in there, too. I would take out one or two days worth of food at a time and put it in the firdge to thaw for a day ahead of time. Then I would microwave for only 20 seconds, to just get it lukewarm, and serve.

At first you don't need to have "recipes", since you'll start with single foods. Even later, I never used a book, I just put together foods we adults eat together, or that sounded good, like apples and sweet potatoes with pumpkin pie spices, peas and carrots, broccoli and cauliflower and chicken, etc. Anything you would put in a casserole together! Once she was bigger,and had tried all the individual ingredients (to rule out allergies) I would just cook the family meal and then puree her portion of it in the blender, Now, I just use the Pampered Chef Food Chopper to cut up veggies and fruits I have steamed, or some even raw if they are soft enough; she still only has front teeth and no molars, so I worry about her choking a little still.

Also, a few tips, I always kept the baby oatmeal, rice and multi grain cereal around, they are great to thicken up any puree that is too runny on the spoon, we also would use Mussleman's Natural Unsweetened Applesauce to thicken, or to cool something too hot(it is just as healthy as homemade, and actually cheaper to buy than to make it, unless you have your own apple tree). If anything is too thick, you can use formula or water, or even juice, with fruits and some sweet veggies, to thin it out.

Here are a couple sites that had very useful information for me:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
http://www.simplybabyfoodrecipes.com/
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/first-foods.html
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?s_type=%2Frecipes.p...
http://www.parents.com/baby/feeding/solid-foods/superfood...

HTH

Jess

I'm with Jessi - use the "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yarron. With our first baby I was a wreck trying to work on "what and when". I bought Ruth's book and I never looked back. It is fantastic. Some of her suggestions are a little over the top - like what bot to cook in - but if you slide over this, you will not believe how easy it is. We never bought one jar of baby food, saved a bundle and had a very healthy, happy baby and toddler.
Good Luck.

We too made our own baby food. I do have a couple of baby food books that I read. They mostly helped me with when to start certain foods. Keeping timing in mind, I think the best advice I have is to serve foods similar to what you are eating. Then, you can just make extra and puree it or cut it up when you are done. Freeze it in ice cube trays (get serving size portions) and you can thaw it when you are ready. This methodolgy for doing things cuts down on the time that you spend making "extra" food for your little one. If you are eating something their bosy is not ready for, there is extra already made. We took out cubes in the morning and sent them to daycare as I was not happy with the foods that she was serving there.

I find that my son eats almost anything - including foods that I like and my husband does not or vice versa. There are few foods that he does not like and he is 2 1/2. He also prefers fruits and vegetables over sweets (this amazes most people). We also did not have trouble switching him over to table food as he got older.

K.,

Your not alone wanting to finally make your own food. I have been thinking about doing it myself with #3 who is 6 months old - just haven't gotten around to it. I will watch what great advice you get!!!!

Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. The best!

The Super Baby Food book was my bible. Good luck - I think once you get started you will find it is not nearly as overwhelming as it sounded. And it saved me a FORTUNE when feeding my little Moose :)

Hi K.,
I absolutely loved using the book----Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron---to guide me through the world of baby/toddler food. It is easy to read and use parts that fit your style. And there are so very helpful charts to what foods to introduce when, as well as a whole back section on with recipes.
Enjoy!
C.

K.: i used to take some food, any food, blend it in a blender, mush it good, and pour it into the ice cube tray, freeze them, then store them in plastice bags when done, this worked well, just thaw and serve, D. s

K.,
I did this with my two, and I am by no means "really domestic" - just cheap. And I wanted really good food for my kids. I highly recommend "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. It is very comprehensive from birth through school age (with the later being cool crafts and snacks). It is a great guide to making your own baby food. I also would recommend a stick blender, Magic Bullet or one of the available baby food pureers like in on www.onestepahead.com.

Have fun! You won't need luck because its really easy.

It's www.wholesomebabyfood.org Make sure you have a few small storage cups. I bought some glass ones with plastic lids with the measurements on the side from pampered chef. Then I already had an immersion blender. A mini food processor would work as well. And a steamer for my pot. It is so easy and I would never buy the canned stuff. I think that is one of the things that makes babies so expensive when they don't have to be.

I made homemade babyfood a few times, just steamed and mashed fruits and/or veggies, but it is really too time consuming for me, I would rather be playing with my children! So I played around with the pre-made baby food and tried mixing it together and adding spices to make it more tasty and interesting. Here are some suggestions: Both of my babies loved applesquash, just mix applesauce with purred squash and add a dash of cinnimon or nutmeg, the natural unsweetend applesauce that comes in a big jar is just as good as the stuff that comes in little teeny babyfood jars and it is cheeper. Never waste money on pureed bananas either, just buy the real thing and mash it, that is my one always homemade babyfood, add ginger or cinnimon to bananas. Carrots taste great with some basil added, pears are good with a pinch of ginger. Cinnimon and nutmeg are great with almost anything. Just make sure to not add too much spice, an 1/8 of a teaspoon is a good rule of thumb, and taste everything yourself first. Also try plain or vanilla full-fat yogurt (Yo-Baby is a great brand) with any pureed fruit added, this has much more real fruit in it than the fruit-flavored yogurt. For toddlers who want to eat finger foods but have trouble getting enough nutrition that way, try using pureed baby food as a dip, ranch dressing mixed with pureed carrots works great, and any babyfood combo that they liked from the spoon they will probably like as a dip for bread, crackers, sliced fruits or veggies. I guess my point is that you don't have to make babyfood strictly "homemade" to make it delicious!

I guess I don't have any recipes per say. But I made baby food for my two boys their whole first year. I never once bought baby food in a jar....too expensive. I used a food processor and was able to make any fruit or vegetable imaginable in there. The best thing for hard fruits or vegetables is to steam them a bit first or boil them, whichever you can do. I have a steamer and that is the best. But the food processor has an instruction booklet but it's really quite simple. Just add the food, push the button, add water as needed for consistency, and ta-da....baby food. The only thing I realized I never put in was bananas because I just mashed those with a fork.
I hope this helps. I wish you luck! Baby food really is quite simple to make, better for your baby and much cheaper.

awesome idea! pretty much, i think making babies food makes everything more simple, as they can usually eat whatever everyone else is eating. just make it small enough pieces, and make sure it is the right consistency. if he has teeth, it can be a little harder than if theres no teeth. if there is no teeth, i highly recommend just giving soft soft foods that can be mashed, not anything that needs a bite or a chew.

i dont have any recipies, although i did look on amazon to see which books had high reviews, and i did get one, i just cant remember what it is called. a lot of places online have baby food recipies, but pretty much follow your own ideas. adding applesauce/juice to anything is an easy way to improve taste, without adding bad sugars.

that kind of stuff.
use your imagination! LOL

Why effort to make baby food when a 6 month old can pick things up and put them in their mouths.

Whole foods work well and require less prep: baked potato pieces, baked sweet potato pieces, all cut up fruit, noodles, thawed frozen or fresh peas, steamed carrots, asparagus, toast cut into squares, pancakes... the list is almost endless. Small babies are not ready for meat or dairy, so save these for later.

The benefit of letting your baby feed herself is the independence she will get from it. Feeding a baby with a spoon develops a "servant" relationship between parent/child that will have to be corrected later. God gave us fingers with which to eat. Let her explore whole foods and enjoy watching her :o)

I highly recommend Fresh Baby So Easy Baby Food Kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Baby-Easy-Food-Kit/dp/B000GUS...

The name says it all - so easy! All the recipes make about 24 one ounce servings so it hardly takes any time at all to make a few batches to put in the freezer and have plenty of food to last weeks! I'd recommend getting one more covered ice cube tray since some of the recipes make more than the two trays can hold.

I also never bought baby food for my two children, currently 12 months and 25 months. I had two little ones and worked part-time, but found it very easy to make my own food. When they were young, I would just cook some fresh fruit of veggies, puree them, and put them in a ice-cube tray to freeze. Once frozen, pop out the servings, place in a freezer baggiis, label, and you have individual servings ready to go. It takes less than a minute to warm a serving in the microwave. Bananas are very easy to just mash fresh. I also bought jars of unsweetened applesauce. It is cheaper to buy unsweetened applesauce than make your own. The farmer's market is also a wonderful source for fruit and veggies in the summer. You really only need to make separate food for a short time. Babies can eat most of what you eat by the time they are 9 months old. My kids are both very good eaters and we think it is because they always ate normal food. Once you get started, you'll see how easy and inexpensive it is. Have fun!

Find the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. Its Great! There are many recipes and advice how to look for fruit and veggies at the store(for those of us who are clueless cuz we haven't cooked enough) There's even an arts and crafts section and how to make homemade babysafe environmentally friendly cleaning products. Its got tables on when to feed what food and just all kinda of information.. I think of it like my babyfood bible! :) good luck and have fun!

My baby is almost 9 months old, and here is the book I used for her food--just a matter of taking any fruits/veggies (the book outlines which foods to use for 6-8mths, then 8-10mths, then 10-12mths), cooking them (this book cooks all in microwave), blending them or putting them in food processor until desired consistency is acheived. Someone gave me the book along with 2 'ice cubes' trays with lids on them. So you freeze them, pop them into baggies/any container and thaw when needed. The book is "Fresh Start Cworkbook--A personalized guide to making baby food at home". Hope you can find it...like I said, I was given the book and the trays from a friend. It really doesn't take that long. And 2 ice cube trays of food lasts my babe quite a while.

Happy to help -- It is actually very easy! A foodie friend of mine gave me the book "Feed Me I'm Yours" and it is a great resource. I have a two year old and a six month old and started by just cutting up and cooking pears and then throwing them into a small food processor. After that it's easy to graduate to squash and other healthy things. This cook book offers a lot of fun ideas for foods as your children get older and fun ways to include them in cooking activities.

I highly recommend www.wholesomebabyfood.com. I make all my own food & this is my resource for everything. It'll save you so much money!

So fresh baby food making kit is great and the book First foods by annabell Karmel. GOod luck!

Hi K.,

All I did when my kids were little (now 15, 14, and 12) is buy a small food grinder and put whatever I made for supper in that before I seasoned the food. To start on solids, I just ground veggies and fruits, or meat before adding to casseroles for example, until we graduated to the entire meal. A little breatmilk, formula, water from boiling veggies to soften things up, and you're good to go. It couldn't get any easier, and we ate healthy foods, so I was confident the baby got good nutrition. I saved jarred babyfood for trips (convenience and preservation).

A small piece of advice:

Don't "cook" or unthaw any baby food you make in the microwave. It creates hotspots and puts harmful checmicals into your childs (and yours) food.

Here you go this has not only good recipes but great nutrition advice... cheers, L.

http://www.westonaprice.org/children/nourish-baby.html

Ruth Yaron's book (Super baby Food)

When you do babyfood, remember, you do not want added fat, sugar, salt, or flavors. It might not be especially tasty to us. I put my veges fruit like squash, peas, peaches etc.. in water and boiled until the veges were mushy. I then blended it, poured it into clean ice cube trays. When frozen, i dumped them out into a ziploc freezer bag to grab a cube at a time. 1 cube was 1 oz serving. Of course I don't know the size of ice cube tray you have. Happy mushing!!
DR

I got this in my weekly Whole Foods e-mail! This is for Saturday, May 10. May be some help for you!

Homemade Baby Food
12:00–1:30 p.m. $15 per person; please pre-register
This course will walk you through the quick and easy steps of making your own baby food. We'll start with appetizing purees, like mashed banana and roasted squash, and then explore how to add texture and flavor to help transition your baby into tasty table food, including herb-roasted chicken pot pie, yogurt and granola parfaits, and braised chicken with pastina. Instructor Sharon Schaefer is a dedicated mom to Thomas and James as well as an instructor at the Institute for Culinary Arts.

"Super Baby Food" is a great book. I think the auther is Yaren (don't want to dig out the book to check) I used it with both my kids. It has tips, directions, recipes, etc. Good luck...and a great time to be doing it with the prices of food!

-A.

Hi K.! I found a great book at the bookstore, I can't remember the name of it but you will find a selection of books on this topic. One note of caution...I found it VERY easy to make the baby food. I used organic food and everything. It was very economical because one sweet potato made over 12 servings of food. Therein lies the problem...I found it to be a hassle when I actually needed the food. I would have to unthaw it and warm it up and it never happened fast enough. So I just started buying the organic baby food and called it good. =) Maybe someone will have a good suggestion on how to handle the problem that I had in that area.