Making baby food

[PamCo88]

My sister has been making her own baby food (pureed fruit and veggies) and asked me if you can "can" baby food (I "can" pasta sauce) so she asked me. I don't know, so I thought I would ask all of you if you have done this before.

Suggestions on how or where I can Find out how to do this?

Thanks, Pam

 

[jamsmom]

I didn't even know things could be canned anymore at home.



Actually, I did. But, since Jim cooks and I clean.....I am NOT the one that can help.

 

[MosMom]

I've never heard of canning babyfood. You can buy homemade babyfood containers but those have to be frozen for long storage. It will last in the freezer for up to 60 days though! I put mine in ice cube trays, freeze it then dump the cubes into baggies labeled for what they are (peas, carrots, etc.). It works out great because one cube is just about the perfect portion size!

 

[Tiggeroo]

I too, used to put it into ice cube trays. It worked great. I very rarely bought baby food for my kids.

 

[dandave]

One thing to keep in mind when making baby food is the possibility of pesticides on fruits and veggies purchased. Baby food companies have higher standards as to the allowable amounts of pesticides used in the production of fruits and veggies for baby food.

 

[CamColt]

Hi Pam!
I dont have an answer for you, but I thought congratulations were in order after reading the title of this thread.
Nice to see you around again.

 

[piratesmate]

DISCLAIMER: My children are 22 & 11 - things have changed, but . . . .

We were told NEVER to give a baby (under 2) home canned foods due to the possibility of contamination - such as botulism, etc. While I never had a problem with anything I canned, it DOES happen & babies are more susceptible - who wants to take a chance???

We made all of our own food for both children. We just used a baby food grinder at the table & they ate what we ate when possible. We also ground extra & froze it for later use when possible.

 

[Kermit]

I don't think that you're supposed to can baby food, either. There is always a possibility of contamination, and I think that you usually have to add salt or sugar when you can foods. (I've never canned, so that last part may be completely wrong.) When Jacob starts eating solids in about 4 months, I plan on using an ice cube tray and freezing things. Babies don't really eat the same type of food for very long anyway. They usually start on food that are almost liquified at 6 months, but then by about 8 months or so when they can pick things up, they prefer soft cooked cubes of things. And then it isn't long before they just start eating table food, albeit a little healthier than most of us normally eat. Canning makes food last longer than you'd ever need for one phase of a baby's eating.

 

[Pembo]

I'm impressed that people make baby food. I keep trying to get dd to eat mashed fresh bananas and she just smiles and spits them back out.

 

[MerryPoppins]

It's been a few years since my two were small, but I did make my own baby food. I had a hand crank baby food grinder that I loved. I could put many things that we were eating in the grinder and mash them up fine. If we had leftovers, I would mash some extra and use a couple of ice trays to freeze them. Fat ice cubes are about the right size for a serving. I'd then freeze them for nights when we were eating something spicy or unsuitable for a baby.

I even took my grinder to restaurants with me. I'd give the baby part of my dinner and DH would give part of his. You might want to see if you can find one. I may have ordered it through Sears? I think the brand was Happy Baby. It grinds the food up pretty fine and my babies loved it.

 

[piratesmate]

Originally posted by Pembo
I'm impressed that people make baby food. I keep trying to get dd to eat mashed fresh bananas and she just smiles and spits them back out.

Dumb question - what color are the skins on the bananas you're mashing? My in-laws (& DH ) eat their bananas while the skin is bright yellow & still green at the ends. They think this is ripe. Yuck! We always ate ours when they started to get brown spots. They're much sweeter then & maybe your daughter would like them better if they were sweet. Since you're mashing anyway, the softer texture shouldn't be a problem.

 

[PamCo88]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll tell her about the freezing in ice cubes, that might give her the flexibility she is looking for.

Thanks again.

 

[ahutton]

We've done this for both kids, and found that we just saved several of the empty baby food jars, ran them through the dishwasher, and then steamed and mashed stuff in our blender's food processer attachment. We then fill the jars and put them in the freezer. I have had the best luck with peas, butternut squash, apples, pears and carrots. Neither of my kids ever liked mashed real bananas, but liked them plenty when I cubed them and gave them as a finger food. Lately I haven't been planning ahead well, and DD#2 - who by the way is 1 year old today!! - has been fine with me just mashing whatever we are eating for dinner and having it with us. She actually loved the hamburger helper stroganoff, which I put real sour cream in! She is much less excited about jars now, and wants a dish of her own food to try and eat.

 

[MerryPoppins]

For anyone who is interested . . .

While this subject was on my mind, I did a search for Happy Baby and found a grinder like the one I used. So they are still around if anyone is interested. Oh, and by the way, they come in a carrying case with a handle, so it's handy to carry with you. And I have no connection with the people who make Happy Baby products.

Did anyone ever use a molded plastic style bib? They had a little shelf in the front to catch the food toddlers drop. They LOOKED a little uncomfortable, but my kids wore them without complaint. In fact, they learned to eat out of the "pocket". They cleaned up in a snap under the faucet. They were great! I'd like to find them again to give as baby gifts. After I tried them I never wanted to use other bibs. Anyone know what I am talking about?

 

[ahutton]

I've seen those bibs in "The Right Start" catalog... or maybe it was First Years... either one of those would probably have them - check their internet shops, or maybe at amazon.com at their Babies R Us store!

 

[becka]

MP - We have been using the Pampers Bibsters with DS and they have a 'pocket' version that has a little pouch built into the bib. I was skeptical at first (I bought this type by accident) but it really works. When DS will drop the food it goes right into the little pocket and DS has also discovered that if he drops food he can just eat out of the pocket.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Thanks guys. Not really trying to hijack the thread, but it seemed to go along with the theme.