Infant Homemade Baby Food - Upland, CA

K.-
I used this book for my son, he has never had any processed food, I make all his food, and this book was my bible. My son has a lot of food allergies and this book even shows the break down, Dairy vs wheat vs egg etc.

The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler by Lisa Barnes

I make my son's baby food and it is so easy! It is a bit time consuming so try to pick times like when he is napping or someone else is around to watch him for you. I just pick out the produce at the store then take it home and steam it. Vegetables take longer to steam then fruit. Just get it soft enough that you can puree it. Steaming keeps in more of the nutrients. I just puree it in my blender with some of the water from steaming it so that it makes a smooth consistency. Then, I freeze it in ice cube trays. Each ice cube is about 1 tablespoon. Once frozen, I put them in a ziploc freezer bag and write the date on it so that I know when I made it. Fruits and vegetables should last 6 months. I usually make enough for about 40 servings, but it depends on the produce amount. So far I have made apples, papaya, zuchinni, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, plums, peaches, mangos(his favorite!), pears, and cinnamon apples (cooked by covering apple slices in apple juice and with a few cinnamon sticks which I removed before blending). It is so easy! If you can't find something fresh, you can buy it frozen or canned. I feel great making my son's food because I have been breastfeeding him all this time too and I wanted to contine feeling completely involved in his nutrition. Plus it saves so much money making my own food! I hope that it works out well for you!

I think it's great that you want to make your own baby food. This way he gets the best out of the food without the junk they put in to keep it from going bad. Keep the foods simple and don't mix anything at the very beginning. Fruits are usually easier to start with than veggies, but the veggies are equally beneficial. You might want to try sweet potatoes and carrots and bananas to start with. I would also recommend purchasing a VitaMix blender. They are pricy, but last a long time and you can use it to make baby food, smoothies, ice cream, soups, sauces and batters. It's also self cleaning... just add water and soap and turn it on high!

Hi there~
When my daughter was a baby (20 years ago,) I cooked whatever I was going to introduce to her and blended it in the blender. I then took an ice cube tray and divided it into portions. Once it was a bit frozen, I took it out of the tray and stored it in a plastic zip lock. This worked for me, however, some might say that fresh rather than frozen is better. When baby gets older, you can add vegies and meat together. You can also leave it a bit chunky when they get even older...
Hope this helps!

Hugs,
M

Hey K.,
Congrats on the new blessing. I also made homemade food for my little ones. I purchased a small food processer and I steamed my veggies carrots,sweetpotatoesm etc. Its so easy and you can store the extra in the refrigerator for next time. If you steam it all at the same time, for ex. make sunday the day to do that and that makes the rest of the week a breeze. Just a tip, hope I helped ;)
S. O.

Begin with one new food at a time, rice cereal, bananas, applesauce.
Looking for allergies is easier when you do not combine foods, until you know for sure the baby is ok with it.
I bought a baby food grinder and made my own fresh. You can also freeze portions, but I never did.
Baby may reject at first just because it is a new texture. Most ends up on the face. Just give tiny bites until they are use to the whole process of swallowing well.
Room tempture foods are just fine.

I think I've given at least 6 MAGIC BULLETS out to new mommies over the last year for this purpose. The love it, they are able to experiment with so many different foods, fresh fruits and vegetables and one mommy I know actually uses it to feed her little one straight from the dinner menu at her house. It's so easy to use and clean which makes it convenient and less costly than baby food because you prepare it yourself. HAVE FUN N LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

We first tried our son out with baby cereal but it took a while before he was accustomed to the taste. We then fed him table food, beans, rice, pasta, chicken, potatoes, and veggies finely chopped and mushed, part of our dinner. When we tried to offer him store bought baby food along with the cereal he refused it after developing a taste for fresh food. Nothing better than fresh food and produce. Not so difficult to make at all. Try making a soup with the above ingredients, this is the best for introducing foods. Chicken and pasta with broccoli, watermelon and strawberries are his favorite - he just turned 1. You'll find your babies favorites too.