Suggestions Requested for Making Healthy Baby Food

My son is almost two, and we did the home made baby food. It is very easy, simple, and definitely a money saver! My mother-in-law bought us a food processer, and I bought ice cube trays plus a few other things. We used a lot of fresh veggies and frozen veggies. I would recommend googling "how to make homemade baby food." There are a lot of helpful websites that offer menus, ideas, and the best veggies to freeze...If I can be of any help don't hesitate to write me!

Hello A., I'm new to the group but I'd like to share my experiences with you. I did have a friend spend 3-4 months preparing seperate meals for their youngun'. She quit after introducing about 15 'new' foods containing little or no spices, no perservatives, and each new food one at a time. She said it was too much work.
On the otherhand, I choose to give my daughter the same foods we ate. I did keep it to one new food at a time. When I was cooking, I would think of my girl before adding spices. As I cooked carrots, I would take them out to mash for my girl. I use a wonderful little Oster, blender. I still use it, my girl is 15 years old. I breast fed for 17 months. So, baby girl got LOTS of spices through the milk. Therefore, she had little difficulty when she joined our full meals.
, I do hope this is helpful information. God bless. D.

ok so you won't want my advice because I think you should take the everyday food you eat and feed her with it...I have always done that and with my very first one who is now 27 years old and man did they always like the real food!! baked sweet potatos are one of the favorites!!! Good Luck D.

A., It's true that making your own baby food is a healthy, affordable way to feed your baby. I make a lot of my own fruits and veggies and all of my own cereal. If you haven't already, you'll want to invest in a good food processer or blender. I use a mini cuisine art, and it works great! For healthy, whole grain cereal that is not processed or stripped you can buy organic short grain brown rice. Grind it up in your processor and add 1 cup of water to every quarter cup of powder. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly or until it has gotten good and thick. You can then puree it again to work out any lumps, add formula or breast milk and freeze in an ice cube tray. These cubes are very convenient and if you do it right you should only have to make it every week or so. You can also use barley, oats, quinoa or millet to make other tasty cereals. Fruits and veggies are simple too. Things like bananas and avacado you can mash up raw(actually the two mixed together is very tasty believe it or not), but most should be peeled, steamed and pureed. Green beans are tricky, and I never could get them right, but lentils are great, as is winter squash(which should be baked for about 45 mins or until the skin puckers, then pureed). A great website to use is www.wholesomebabyfood.com
Good luck!

I have made all of my daughters food as well. I never did the make ahead and store thing. Whatever I was eating or my other daughter, I would take it and mash it to fit her needs. Just make sure if you are doing fruits such as apple or peach you take the skin off and steam it. It needs to be soft first. Other than that have fun. It is very rewarding knowing you can make there food too!

My daughter is now 26 months old and I did exactly what you mentioned and made her baby food. I suggest reading Super Baby Food. I called it my food bible. She has only been sick once in her two years and is very healthy and happy. I breastfed her until she was 14 months old and only started giving her food at 6 months. She never had a drop of sugar until her 1st birthday. If you do foods in batches and freeze them it takes no time at all to reheat and serve. You know exactly what they are getting and it is truly less expensive. If the food was frozen I could travel short distances with it and if we traveled by plane I just made food on our trips atfriends or family's houses.

You get strange looks from friends and other mothers who might not have done it. I think some people thought I was trying to be super mom but while their babies had double ear infections , I went the first year and 11 months with a healthy child. The book answers anything that you would need to know.

Good for you!! I agree on all points. There's plenty of general info out there to help guide you. For me, the simpler was always better. I mostly just kept a bit out (unseasoned) of the regular meal and pureed with milk, formula, breast milk, water, or juice- whatever stage she was in. I feel like I cheated, though, because of this fantastic creation called a Vita-Mixer. I still have it. I still use it.....every day! If you are able to put in a bit of an investment- or slip a hint to the family for a GREAT Mother's Day gift- you will never regret it. They aren't cheap, but they last forever.....9 years and counting for mine.

Just for fun, visit www.vitamix.com. It really is as good as it sounds! However you do it, enjoy feeding your little one so well. My daughter still has the best dietary habits of any child I've run across- without forcing her!

I made almost all of my son's baby food and found it to be a cost-effective alternative to store bought food. I used both fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables and I just steamed them in the microwave with a minimal amount of water. To retain the most vitamins, I then blended the fruits and veggies with the water they cooked in. I spooned the blended produce into ice cube trays, wrapped them securely in plastic wrap, and froze them. Once they were completely frozen, I popped out the cubes and stored them in freezer bags.

For me, making homemade baby food worked out really well and I will definitely do it for my future children, as well. Hope that helps!

I used the book Super Baby Food and stored the pureed fruits and vegetables in tiny ziploc craft bags from Michael's/Hobby Lobby. The size I used held 4oz/half cup and was perfect for when baby started eating more each serving. Good luck!

A.,

I did prepare and store fruits and veggies in the ice cube method with my daughter. It wasn't that time consuming and the blender worked wonders. I did not do that with my son and he has had allergies to fruits and vegetables. Don't know if there is actually a correlation there or not but she just has an allergy to molds/mushrooms of course, but I have that same allergy as well. Giving her the actual food was easier and more pleasant for her taste buds even without using salt or seasoning. She is now almost 21 and if I were to do that today I would be looking to use organically grown fruits and veggies as opposed to your typical grocery store bought. Good luck with all of your endeavors. S.

It looks like you are getting some really good advice. I am just starting this route as well with the homemade baby food so I am only in the learning stages and cannot offer much help. But I did want to let you know about a group of Alabama mamas that have like minded views (and are always open to new ones) that could offer you advice or support or a friendly chat. You can register at http://www.alabama-moms.com/index.php?referrerid=7 and enter the forums and check it out!

I did that with both of our girls and it worked very well. IT IS SO MUCH CHEAPER IT IS RIDICULOUS! I have some recipes for more advanced foods if/when you are interested. Also, if your into the organic thing...there is a farm in college grove called Delvin farms (www.delvinfarms.com) we get our vegetables direct from them May-October and they are certified organic, and inexpensive AND you are supporting sustainable local agriculture. My only advice is to think big and make a bunch at once...sweet potatoes and carrots go pretty quickly early on, and anything left over can be thrown in a soup for you and hubby to add a little extra flavor. I always did it on Sunday, I'd rally during nap time and just hop to it. Once you get the hang of it it's very very easy. I have a few books on it, so if you have anymore questions just drop me a line. GOOD LUCK!!!