Making Homemade Babyfood

Making homemade baby food is actually quite easy. It's healthier, cheaper, and makes the transition to whole foods much easier. It does take some prep time but is well worth the quality and frugality it provides. At the heart of homemade baby food is feeding your baby whole healthy foods. I was surprised when my kids were babies just how easy it was.

I recommend these supplies:
food processor (or blender but the processor works better)
strainer
ice cube trays or small containers

VEGGIES
Steam or bake veggies.
Squash and carrots (butternut, zucchini, hubbard, crookneck, etc.) can be sliced in half and the seeds removed. Place on a cookie sheet face up or down and bake till fork tender. Scoop out flesh and puree in processor.
Peas, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, etc. can be steamed on the stove top until fork tender. Puree in the processor. For younger infants, strain the peas and beans after pureeing.

FRUITS
Steam cored and peeled apples on the stove top till completely tender. Puree in processor.
Peaches, pears, and nectarines can be pureed fresh after removing skin and pit.

GRAINS
Prepare grains (cream of wheat, brown rice, oats, etc.) either in crock-pot over night or on stove top and then puree if desired.

You don't add anything to the foods. Leave them as they are without butter, salt, seasonings, or anything of the like. Your baby will appreciate the fresh taste of foods unaltered. Be sure to use fresh ingredients instead of canned. Fresh from the garden is great but if you don't have that, choose fresh organic produce or fresh frozen when there are no other options. Fresh will give your baby the best tasting produce.

Storage:
I recommend making baby food in large batches and freezing in a deep freeze in labeled with dates on containers or Ziploc freezer quality bags. Be sure to use the oldest dates first. You can freeze directly in small containers that are easy to grab and go and reheat or in ice cube trays which then are transferred to baggies.

My favorite way to make baby food was to use my baby food mill. It was fast, easy, and convenient when out and about. You may be leery of the power in this hand cranked mill but trust me it's amazing. I carried it in my diaper bag in a large 1 gallon Ziploc for easy clean up and to keep it clean in the first place. Place food off of your own plate into the mill with a little water, milk, or dressing to moisten it and grind. It produces pureed food in the little bowl shaped top that you can serve baby right out of. Don't think it's powerful enough for food off of your plate.....how about BBQed steak? Yep, I've done steak and chicken in it!

Feeding your baby whole foods without the taste of perservatives or canned jars, will make the transition to real foods easy. And, since babies don't eat that much at one meal, making a big batch of baby foods that are ready to grab will keep you stocked for quite some time.