Homemade baby food

[LaurenLC]

I made a lot of homemade baby food for our DD. Fruits, veggies, main meals, I just put them in the food processor with some water to water it down some.At the time, I worked in a daycare setting and saved all the food containers (and lids) that were brought in by other parents. I washed the heck out of them and then was able to make my own food and put them in those containers and freeze them. It worked out pretty slick. Not sure, some people might not think that is ok but it worked for us!

You do realize that you can buy those little containers for very little at pretty much any store......

 

[sherry7]

Check out: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ It's an excellent website, and I never bought any books after reading through it.

I make about 85% of my 9 1/2 month old daughter's food. I don't make applesauce, because regular (adult) natural applesauce (in the big jars, no added sugar) is the same thing, and very cheap. Like someone else said, peas are a pain to make because you have to strain all of the hulls out. I didn't make carrots until she got a bit older, because of the nitrate issue.

I didn't buy any special equipment, except for an inexpensive $30 Hamilton Beach food processor. (Which I'll continue to use even after the baby food stage.) I make a batch of food, and freeze it in a regular ice cube tray(s). The next day, I empty out the cubes into a quart size freezer bag, label, and put it in the freezer. When it's meal time, I get out an appropriate number of food cubes and thaw them in the microwave. Because the cubes are small (approximately 1 oz each), I can feed her multiple types of food at the same meal.

Avocados are a great food for baby, and super easy. Just scoop out the ripe avocado, smash with a fork and feed. Bananas are just as easy. If we have overripe bananas, I always toss them in the food processor and freeze them in cubes for future use.

I've found that making baby food is quite a bit cheaper than buying it in the store. As an example: last fall I bought 2 large butternut squash for $6. After they were roasted and pureed, it made the equivalent of 70 jars (the small 2 oz jars) of food. If I had bought 70 jars of baby food for 50 cents each, it would have cost me $35.

Now that she is getting a bit older, she eats a lot of regular table food. Depending on what it is, I either mash it with a fork or toss it in the Magic Bullet.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I did all the food for my triplets too except that would buy the fruits and veggies by the case from my dad. He has a restaurant and he would buy cases of stuff for dirt cheap. The most I ever paid for a case was $20. I too used http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ website. After a while, you'll get the hang of it and start doing your own things.

 

[KayBella]

You do realize that you can buy those little containers for very little at pretty much any store......

Whoops, guess not. At that time, we probably didn't have the money for it even if it was cheap. Just putting in my two cents. Oh well, she survived. 3 years later she is still a fantastic eater. I'd do it again if I had to.

 

[bear74]

thanks for all the great responses. I really like the website that several of you have posted.

I don't have a food processor. I have a blender and a mini food chopper. will these be good enough of should I get a food processor? If so which one do you all recommend?

 

[camlace]

thanks for all the great responses. I really like the website that several of you have posted.

I don't have a food processor. I have a blender and a mini food chopper. will these be good enough of should I get a food processor? If so which one do you all recommend?

Both of those should easily get you by...I have a blender, mini chopper, food processor and stick blender. The stick blender got the most use. It was easy for small batches great for big batches, all around a great tool. So if you are going to invest in something else I vote for stick blender rather than a bulky food processor. Unless of course you are looking for an excuse for a new kitchen gadget

As others have said wholesomebabyfood.com is an excellent resource.

Remember too...what "goes together" is really a learned behavior, so don't worry about strange combinations. Like someone mentioned eggplant and okra I think, sounds strange but a baby doesn't know that One of my daughter's favorite mixes was butternut squash, tofu and apples. Yum! I didn't have much success with meat so I tended to use tofu as a source of protein.

Good luck! I will be back in the baby food business in a month or two!

 

[bear74]

Both of those should easily get you by...I have a blender, mini chopper, food processor and stick blender. The stick blender got the most use. It was easy for small batches great for big batches, all around a great tool. So if you are going to invest in something else I vote for stick blender rather than a bulky food processor. Unless of course you are looking for an excuse for a new kitchen gadget

As others have said wholesomebabyfood.com is an excellent resource.

Remember too...what "goes together" is really a learned behavior, so don't worry about strange combinations. Like someone mentioned eggplant and okra I think, sounds strange but a baby doesn't know that One of my daughter's favorite mixes was butternut squash, tofu and apples. Yum! I didn't have much success with meat so I tended to use tofu as a source of protein.

Good luck! I will be back in the baby food business in a month or two!

thanks for the tip. I also have a hand held mixer and a stand up mixer as well.

 

[quagmire0]

My wife did this for our son who is 1yo now. It worked out great. Originally she had invested in some of those little plastic cubes with the tops on them. That just made more things to clean. Eventually she just want to freezing the food in ice cube trays. That's was even easier. But for the most part, it's an easy way to 1. get your kid to try different things and 2. Know EXACTLY what is going into your kid's food. I think, for the most part, (and depending on what food it is) you save money in the process. Some foods can be more expensive and give you less quantity. All-in-all though it was a good experience and nice not having to waste jar after jar of food. (Although it helps that our son is the exact opposite of our daughter and eats everything in sight)

 

[CandleontheWater]

I made all of DS's baby food, it ended up being pretty easy, and I liked that I could use all organic ingredients. I got one of these for my baby shower http://www.amazon.com/Beaba-Babycook-Baby-Food-Maker/dp/B001LQCOIS and it made the whole process so simple because I could steam and mash in the same container. It worked really great for me, and was super easy to clean. I know its a little pricey, but I think it was totally worth it! I definitely got my money's worth out of the machine and now I've packed it away, waiting on baby #2.

 

[Disneymadhouse]

I mainly gave my baby fresh homemade food, but i did try her on a few jars. When i found a few she would happily eat (there were some she just spat out at me!) i just kept some of these in reserve for emergencies and going out.

Claire

 

[LaurenLC]

I made all of DS's baby food, it ended up being pretty easy, and I liked that I could use all organic ingredients. I got one of these for my baby shower http://www.amazon.com/Beaba-Babycook-Baby-Food-Maker/dp/B001LQCOIS and it made the whole process so simple because I could steam and mash in the same container. It worked really great for me, and was super easy to clean. I know its a little pricey, but I think it was totally worth it! I definitely got my money's worth out of the machine and now I've packed it away, waiting on baby #2.

Just a warning, these have been known to collect mold in spots where it is IMPOSSIBLE to clean. We actually had one, but I discovered the mold that I could NOT clean and it had to go back.

 

[princessbride6205]

I also made all our own baby food. When you make your own it still smells like the food it's supposed to be. I couldn't take the smell of the jarred baby food veggies!

While it seems like a chore if you're short on time, I didn't find it a bother. I work full time outside the home and it really wasn't much of a time commitment. And I enjoyed that I knew exactly how the foods had been prepared and could try some items that you can't find in jar food.

I just wish that I had tried mixing more meals - like others have mentioned putting rice, produce, etc. all together. We really stuck to single fruit or veg in each batch.

And I did find it a lot cheaper than buying regular or organic jar food. This may also have had to do with the time of year when my DD was eating pureed food: spring/summer. We could visit the farmer's market, get some organic stuff at the grocery, etc.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Just a warning, these have been known to collect mold in spots where it is IMPOSSIBLE to clean. We actually had one, but I discovered the mold that I could NOT clean and it had to go back.

Hmmm... where did you find the mold? Just curious to make sure that I haven't been missing anything. I usually put the basket and the bowl part in the dishwasher when I was done, and then hand washed the gasket and blade. Was the mold in the water tank area?

 

[LaurenLC]

Hmmm... where did you find the mold? Just curious to make sure that I haven't been missing anything. I usually put the basket and the bowl part in the dishwasher when I was done, and then hand washed the gasket and blade. Was the mold in the water tank area?

In the water reservoir. I cleaned mine with EVERYTHING that I could think of and the mold and brownish build- up would not go away. The only reason I found out about it was because 4 moms in my mom's club were talking about it. ALL of their Beba's had the same mold and brownish build- up! I got home and looked at mine and I had the same! The worst part is that the company that makes this product will completely ignore your concerns if you call or write them about it. I took mine back to Buy Buy Baby. They told me they get them returned for this reason a lot.

 

[KristinU]

thanks for all the great responses. I really like the website that several of you have posted.

I don't have a food processor. I have a blender and a mini food chopper. will these be good enough of should I get a food processor? If so which one do you all recommend?

That's the combo of equipment that we used when DS was a baby, and they worked well! DH and I both worked, so we would have big cooking/prep nights where we'd make several items and puree them then freeze them in ice cube trays. Tupperware made some covered ice cube trays at the time, and they were great for this purpose!

My DS is 7 and is a great eater. He loves all sorts of non-typical kid things and I attribute part of that to him eating homemade baby food because of the flavors and textures he was exposed to early

Best of luck!

 

[MSSANDRA]

And remember if you are "sharing" your food with your infant, a little spice or seasoning will not hurt your baby. You do need to watch the sodium (as we all should, but exposing his or her taste buds to lots of different flavors can be interesting to your child and help them to learn to enjoy a variety of differnt foods. Of course avoid hot or very spicy things but both my boys
LOVED garlic very young.