Tips For Making Your Own Baby Food + Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Tips For Making Your Own Baby Food + Recipes? ›

Homemade baby food is more or less this simple: bake or steam fruits and veggies until they're tender. Puree in a blender (or whatever you're using) until you get the right texture for your baby, adding water or breast milk to thin if needed. Serve it then & there* or pour into ice cube trays & freeze.

Homemade baby food is more or less this simple: bake or steam fruits and veggies until they're tender. Puree in a blender (or whatever you're using) until you get the right texture for your baby, adding water or breast milk to thin if needed. Serve it then & there* or pour into ice cube trays & freeze.

Do not use raw un-pasteurized milk, raw eggs, honey or corn syrup.

Homemade Baby Food Benefit #1: Making baby food is affordable. While it does take more time to prepare homemade baby food than to pop open a jar, it's often cheaper to make your own. For instance, a 4-ounce jar of banana baby food costs roughly $1.00, whereas a 4-ounce banana costs $0.19.

Start with one food at a time and select foods that are nutritious and easy to mash such as bananas, avocados, peaches, mangoes, plums, grapes, potatoes and butternut squash. If your baby responds well to these, advance to other nutritious foods such as asparagus, kale, ground chicken, or quinoa.

You may need to add some fluid (e.g. formula, breast milk, fruit juice, water or cooking water) to make it the right consistency. Foods to Use: Choose high-quality fresh (preferred), frozen or canned vegetables, fruits and meats.

Thus, it is essential to follow the three-day rule to start baby food. Introduce only one food at a time and check for three days, if your baby is comfortable, then you are good to introduce the next one. 6 months baby food chart should include vegetables, fruits, cereals, grains, protein, and dairy.

Solid foods may be introduced in any order. However, puréed meats, poultry, beans and iron-fortified cereals are recommended as first foods, especially if your baby has been primarily breastfed, since they provide key nutrients. Only one new single-ingredient food should be introduced at a time.

thoroughly wash the hands, and then wash the food. peel fruits and vegetables and remove pits, seeds, and any other parts that the baby should not eat. use a blender or baby food maker to blend the food to the right consistency. always thoroughly cook meat, and only provide meat in the form of a puree.

What are the cons of homemade baby food? ›

It takes time: Purchasing baby food off the shelf doesn't require much effort. Mixing up homemade baby food isn't difficult, but it does take time. Storage can be tricky: Making batches of baby food ahead of time means you need storage space in your refrigerator and freezer.

You can use a blender, food processor or immersion blender — equipment you'll likely have at home already.

Baby food storage guidelines

Pureed store-bought meat, poultry, or fish can be refrigerated for 24 hours after cooking and frozen for 1 to 2 months. Homemade baby foods will keep for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator and for 1 to 2 months in the freezer.

Pureed foods can be thinned, if needed, by adding breastmilk, formula or water. Cow's milk and milk alternatives should not be used during the first year. After warming solid foods, be sure to mix thoroughly and recheck the temperature so as not to burn the infant's mouth.

Whilst you shouldn't keep leftover bottles of formula milk, it IS perfectly fine to use freshly prepared formula milk as an ingredient within a meal or puree that you wish to keep and reheat another day!

So yes, you can make baby food with frozen vegetables without compromising on taste, nutrition or convenience and without adding preservatives to your baby's meal. Produce picked at peak ripeness yields the best taste and nutritional value. So if you live on a farm or have a garden, good for you!

We found no evidence to suggest that homemade purees and family brands are generally safer, with lower metal levels, than store-bought baby food. Our study includes a new parent's guide of popular baby foods to serve, limit, and avoid, based on our tests.

Here are some tips for preparing foods:

Cook food until it is soft enough to easily mash with a fork. Remove all fat, skin, and bones from poultry, meat, and fish, before cooking. Remove seeds and hard pits from fruit, and then cut the fruit into small pieces. Cut soft food into small pieces or thin slices.

Most babies' first food is iron-fortified infant single-grain cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. Place the spoon near your baby's lips, and let the baby smell and taste it. Don't be surprised if this first spoonful is rejected. Wait a minute and try again.