Make Your Own Baby Food

An ice cube tray to store the food. I use to put a little milk in the food when it was still hot but not the portions to for the freezer.

My mother in law gave me a great book called...cooking for baby ...I think you can find it at williams -sonoma...and what you have is all that you need.
We have started doing that...it's so amazing how much food you can make with not many veggies and fruits.
If you need any other advice...let me know
S.

I used Fresh Baby trays, which are nothing more than fancy icecube trays with tops (like Tupperware covered ice trays) but they were great to stack in the freezer. I still use them for making basil pesto and freezing - it's the top that counts. Good luck - it looks like you have lots of advice here! :)

Good for you for wanting to make your own food! I second using www.wholesomebabyfood.com. They have lots of good tips and recipes. There are tons of books on the subject too, but rather than go buy them you'll probably find some at your local library. The book someone else mentioned, "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron is no frills and has tons of tips not just for baby food making and storage, but arts and crafts and household hints too. If you want something with nice glossy color photos, look for books by Annabel Karmel.

For pureeing, some people like food mills or but if you like your food processor and that works well for you, then stick with that. Blenders are good sometimes but require more liquid to get going, which will dilute the food. Try not to put hot food into the food processor - the bowl is made of polycarbonate plastic, the type that leaches bisphenol-A so you want to limit the time the food sits in the food processor bowl. Heat and acidity also draw out the bisphenol-A. Don't try to make mashed potatoes in the food processor, they'll come out gluey. Best to mash them manually or use a potato ricer.

Before you start, make sure to wash all the produce really well, even things like melons and avocadoes where you don't eat the skin. By handling the food, you'll introduce whatever pesticides and bacteria are on the outer skin to the part that you do eat.

If you can afford it, some fruits and vegetables are worth buying organic because the conventional versions are so high in pesticides - like apples, peaches and bell peppers. Mangoes, kiwis and avocadoes don't need to be organic, the conventional versions are not that high in pesticides. Since babies' bodies are so small and they tend to consume a lot of the same foods, pesticides can really build up. It's also important to do organic for animal products like dairy, because the conventional versions use a lot of antibiotics and hormones.

This ranks different fruits and veggies by pesticide content:
http://www.foodnews.org/?gclid=CJ_BxcqAopYCFQNaFQod8VY76Q

I tried a few different ice cube trays and liked the basic Rubbermaid trays from Wal-Mart the best. They're about $1.39 and twist more than some other plastic trays so it's easier to get out the cubes. You DON'T need the special baby food making ice cube trays that cost like $13. Spoon the purees into the ice cube trays, cover with Saran Wrap, and freeze. When you have solid cubes, you can transfer them to freezer bags for storage. If you leave them in the ice cube trays, they'll eventually get freezer burn. Also you want to rotate your inventory to use the oldest cubes first. You don't want to keep the cubes for more than about 3 months, they can get freezer burn, which can cause nutrient loss and affect the taste.

When you defrost the food, do it on a low setting and use a glass container. Pyrex glass storage containers with lids are great. Never put plastic in the microwave, as it'll cause leaching of chemicals into the food. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this.

Get the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron (http://www.superbabyfood.com) for advice on how and when to feed each food, although she suggests serving some of the more allergenic foods a bit earlier than is now recommended, but I have an older version, so it may have changed in the new book. Buy the Fresh Baby food trays (basically ice cube trays with covers, but they are great). I always buy organic veggies if I can find them.
To cook the food, steam the veggies until soft, then puree the foods as finely as possible. Another good thing is a metal mesh strainer for straining out stringy pieces in squash, beans and other veggies. But after 9 months or so straining is not usually necessary. You can slowly get thicker and chunkier at that time. Fill the ice cube trays with the puree and stick them in the freezer. Once they are frozen solid, put the cubes in quart size plastic freezer bags and label them with the contents and the date. They defrost really quickly in the microwave- 30-45 seconds usually and you probably need 1-3 cubes at a time, depending on how much your daughter eats, but if she is still hungry, you can always just defrost another cube. I heat them up in a ceramic bowl and then transfer them to the baby dish so I am not microwaving plastic and so the serving dish is not hot. I found that it is best to buy one jar of each baby food to make sure that my son liked the food before I made and froze a big batch of it. I get the Earth's Best brand since I know there is nothing bad in in. Although, sometimes it takes several tries before he decides he likes something. Their tastes change over time so if he doesn't like something I always offer it again in 1-2 weeks. I thin out overly thick foods and cereal with breast milk. The milk tastes familiar and also helps prevent constipation from too much cereal. Make sure to start slow and don't push if she doesn't want to eat. Just try again in a few hours.

Ruth Yaron is a must, yes. I have those Baby Cubes which are great - everyday for lunch I stir something into plain yogurt (yo baby finally makes whole milk PLAIN yogurt) - sweet or savory and everything from fruit to spinach to avacadoes (avacadoes mix in great with everything and are so great for growing babies) and a dash of flax seed flakes.

As she gets bigger, have a bunch of those little stackable bowls with lids (I think Gerber makes them - or any small size bowl with a lid) and make her little meals in them from something you make for dinner that works extra well for a baby. Sometimes the things I make for us don't really work for an 8 month old (seafood, etc) so I keep extra on hand of the stuff that did work that I froze - for instance I packaged up matzoh balls and the other soup ingredients that I shredded up, like the chicken and carrots (all low sodium of course). I made my son a little entree of turkey meatloaf and mashed sweet potatoes. Some lentils and rice. So if you know you are cooking something that will be baby friendly, set aside extra to pack away in the freezer so the nights that you are cooking something that won't work for her, you will have something on hand. Now she is probably only doing the basics but my son graduated quickly from pureed fruits and vegetables and now really loves everything!

I always did this for my children - now 20 & 16. I would use mostly what we were having for dinner - without seasoning. The food processor and steamer will work great.

Then I would spoon the veggies or whatever into ice cube trays. Freeze in cubes and then put in ziplock baggies to keep in freezer.

It worked great - by the way I see you are a swim coach - both of these children grew up to be successful competitive swimmers!

L.

The book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron is wonderful. This is tell you every thing you need to know and when to introduce foods. I have made food for both of my children and will for this one on the way as well. As far as gizmos........ I do not have a microwave so I bought 2 packages of stainless steel prep bowls from William Sonoma so when I would make the food in advance I could just put that bowl in the hot water and it would heat up nice and even and they have really great lids. I could give tips all day on this subject........ love making the food!!! If you are going to grind your own grains you will need the blender blade on the food processor to get them really fine. PM if you have any other questions :)

Hi K.! Making baby food is so much easier and cheaper than most people think! It is great that you want to do it! There are some great baby food cookbooks out there to help you with some ideas. Just watch out for the order that some books present foods to babies...I am a pediatrician and I was shocked at what some said was ok for infants...so on that note, check with your own doc first!
When I made food for my son I used ice cube trays and I also found these great little individual serving trays--great for freezing and defrosting individual portions. Steaming works great for veggies, as does baking--baked apples and pears are so yummy!
Hope this helps!

The Super Baby Food book by Ruth Yaron is full of all the best tips, methods and ideas. Also, Baby Cubes, ice cube trays and lots of freezer bags in small and large sizes are what I use. The Vitamix blender is great for grinding dry grains, nuts, etc... into flours for the cereals.

There is a book called Super Baby Food that might help.

My daughter is 8 months old and someone gave us the BabyFresh food making kit which has been great. It includes the cookbook for fruits and vegatables and tells you every detail from what to look for when buying the fruit to how to store it. We use our food processor to puree the food and you need a microwave. There's even a DVD and 2 ice cube trays. You can go to babyfresh.com for more info and store locations where to buy it. I just bought it for a friend of mine for her shower. I bought it off of Amazon since it was less expensive on there than the babyfresh site. Good luck!

Lots of responses - but with the craziness of working, two kids, etc...
My baby ate what we ate, sure, the veggies were cooked a bit more but I cut things into smaller pieces and put it on her tray. I didn't really use baby food that much.

You don't need any gadgets. :)

What we do a lot of the time is whatever we are having for dinner, we just puree. We held off on doing our own meats until both girls had teeth. We would use jarred ones from time to time so they were getting meat. Carrots don't thin out nicely, so you can use water, or apple juice. We also make batches of things such as carrots or peaches, cook them, puree them, and then pour them into ice cube trays for freezing and then bag them. I recommend getting the "Super Baby Food" book if this is something you are serious about. There are a lot of helpful tips in there. There are a lot of foods that they can't have yet that you will find in jarred food- so that is especially helpful. Good luck- if you have any more questions feel free to ask!

Hi K.. I've been making my son's food for the past year. I steam everything, then just blend it in the food processor. Some foods need extra water (like prunes or lentils). I try to use the water from the steamer pot to get the most vitamins as possible. From there I scoop 1-2 tablespoons into ice cube tray sections, then put the whole tray in the freezer in a sealed freezer bag. Oh, and a tip about freezing I learned from the Super Baby Food book...use a straw to 'suck' out the extra air in the bag every time you seal it. My son is 14 months old and the only problem is that he still likes his food blended. He finally has some teeth, so he'll eat some finger food now, but forget chicken or certain veggies! I always have a few jars of Earth's Best food around if I forget to take the cubes out of the freezer in time to thaw. Its a decent alternative to 'regular' jarred baby food.
Good luck!

I made my own most of the time. I mashed whatever it was and froze it in ice cube trays and bagged it. Just defrost. No need to heat. Raw fruits are great, just mash them up. Kids love them, they're nutritious too. Just be sure to always rinse their mouth out so that there's no residual sugar. A book I really liked was Whole Foods for Whole Families by La Leche League.

Good for you for doing the extra work! Please use organic if you can.

Hi K.,
I also made all my own baby food for my children when they were small. You never hear of too many people doing this. I felt it was a great thing to do for my children. When you make vegetables and see the color difference in the food you make and the food on the shelf in the store you will always feel you are making the right decision.
I just steamed the vegetables and then put them in the blender with a bit of water. I also put fruit in the blender. The apples will turn brown but they are still good.
I also purchased a baby food mill: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
When I was out or in a pinch I could just make the food fresh for my children.
I collected a bunch of baby food jars from friends and used to make a lot of food and freeze it. You just have to take it out in the morning and it will defrost by the time you need it.
Any more assistance I can be to you please email me.
Good luck
J.
mom of a 13 year old and a 11 year old.

You've gotten lots of great advice already, Super Baby Food is a must read in my opinion. I make steel cut oats and puree it for 2-3 minutes in a blender. It comes out nice and creamy and I blend pureed fruits and veggies in it for my son's meals.

We started out with avacado, sweet potato, and squash (pumpkin is great - roast well, then puree).

It takes a little extra effort, but if you plan ahead it will be relatively simple. You are doing the absolute best thing for your child. Nothing beats fresh, whole foods. If you need any other meal ideas feel free to email me. I could go on and on about this.

Good Luck.

i used a pressure cooker. when you steam veggies etc. all the vitamins escape...i used to puree chicken and mix it with apple, babies love it! i puree'd everything...meats, veggies, fruits. the only trick with fruits is that you have to feed them to your baby right away, they go bad quickly. the chicken and veggies you can freeze also but the consistency isnt the same when you defrost it, i used to just make fresh food twice a week and refrigerate. good luck and congrats!!! and dont feel guilty if you use jarred food once in a while...Gerber has been around a long time!! if you have any more questions, please feel free to email me! D.

freeze it in ice cube trays so that they are in individual servings. then pop them out and put them in a freezer bag or something to keep them fresh in the freezer. this way you don't have to constantly make food each day. also, remember to keep the food kind of bland.

I loved the magic bullet. It worked great to purree whatever we were having for dinner. Sometimes I would add a little bit of juice or applesauce to thin it out a little. It is so easy and saves money. Good luck.
S.

Super Baby Foods-as mentioned--is great but FULL of info--sometimes it can get overwhelming. If you want just a recipe book--according to age--Annabel Karmel Top 100 Baby Food Purees is AWESOME!!! It has recipes that you can EASILY make for the whole family for dinner then just blend up babies portion. Plus, it has a wonderful variety of foods and spices. There is no reason why you can't introduce certain spices to baby. My son just turned 1 and he eats curry, coriander, cumin, parsley, basil, LOVES garlic and leeks in his food and will even eat buffalo wing sauce (not that I do this regularly but hubby gave him a little lick and he went crazy for it!) I am a personal trainer and nutrition consultant and wanted to do all I could to not have a bland picky eater which is why I got this book. It introduces spices little by little and the recipes are great for mom and dad too.
Hope this helps!

Great for you!! i just purchased this book- First Meals by Annabel Karmel
i like it so far. it give advice and recipes for kids ages 6 months through 7 years.
There are several baby food books out there, just look in the parenting section of the book store. there might even be some in the cookbook sections too.
according to my book, the gadets that you have are sufficient. i don't have a whole lot of gadets either. The food processor is key :)
Good luck!

Hi K.,

It's really simple especially if you have a food processor. I by a bag of organic frozen veggies at Trader Joe's- (not sure if you have a store near you- their organic foods are super cheap)!! I steam them and throw them in the food processor. I add water as needed to thin it out. I will also add cooked brown rice or chicken. I do them same with fruit. Ad

I put them in ice cube trays to freeze then convert them to freezer bags and take them out as needed.

It really save A LOT of money!!

Good luck!!

I made all of my son's babyfood - he never ate jarred food. I will do the same for #2 coming this March. I made the decision easily after tasting store bought baby food! Although it's a popular method, I didn't freeze. I made it once a week, making enough for about 7 days. (Keep in mind I work from home 25-30 hrs a week - so it can be done easily. You just have to like doing it.) I just got special containers to ensure freshness. The beauty of it, is that you can choose every apple, string bean etc. yourself. I always bouught apples that were in season so he always had the BEST applesauce. I also mixed it with bananas and other of his favorites or a bit of cinnamon. Another of his favorites was avocado and banana - it's delicious together and you can't buy that. That doesn't keep well so it should be made fresh - which is easy because you dont have to cook it. My son had cauliflower, eggplant - so many great foods and I made it all. I now teach other Moms how to make baby food and offer recipes. While I can't do that here, just know that things like apples and pears must be sauteed with a bit of water to obtain the necessary consistency for baby. Veggies I steamed to keep most nutrients. I baked chicken and sweet potatoes. You can microwave butternut squash - scoop it out and blenderize for a quick and easy method. Tools you need are steamer, big sauce or saute pan (I also often used a dutch oven for big jobs), I like the cuisinart miniprep for bananas and avocado - small jobs...and a big food processor for bigger jobs. Investing in a good processor is ideal. I bought small containers for traveling or being on the go. So it works just like jars you just need a cooler bag. There are a lot of cookbooks out there, I have some of those mentioned. Just note, before you waste a lot of money - many of the recipes are not realistic and they don't adhere to the AMA guidelines about allergens, i.e. strawberries, mangos and honey. Lastly, when warming homemade food, microwaves can be tricky since they don't heat evenly. Be sure to use the stovetop or be very careful. Have fun! Feel free to email me directly if you have specific questions.

It kind of depends on how she does with "chunky". If she is still gagging on little bitty chunks (Stage 3 Gerber), then you'll either need a Food Mill, or process the food REALLY well. After that, just stick it in a very clean ice cube tray, freeze it, and then pop the "food cubes" into plastic containers marked with the date and what food is inside. (You don't want to keep these TOO long...freezerburned baby food is nasty!)

When I had my son, about 13 years ago (Wow has it been that long?) I received a book called "Feed Me, I'm Yours" and a baby food grinder. I used it ALL the time. It has recipes in it that you can use right up past toddlerhood. In fact things like the Simple Souffle have become a staple in our household. I see that the author, Vicky Lansky, has updated it in 2004.
I did a search on Amazon and found both the book and the food mill that I used. Good luck.
J.

You can make a bunch and freeze it in ice cube trays... The one's with the lids are good.

go to www.wholesomebabyfood.com awesome site!