Get Started: Make Your Own Baby Food
Making your own baby food can be a little daunting at first. When my son was first starting on solid foods, I did not really know where to begin so I actually started him on some organic first food purees to get an idea for how the switch to solid food was going to go. After Jaden’s initial tastes of “real” foods I dived into making and freezing my own baby food. I discovered that it was actually easier than I had anticipated, and I was able to do it without buying any expensive extra equipment.
Benefits of Making Your Own Baby Food
Aside from feeling very accomplished in the fact that I was preparing all my baby’s meals, I discovered some great benefits in making my own baby food.
- Money – Buying the little baby food jars is convenient, but the cost adds up fast. Purchasing fresh or frozen vegetables, fruits, and meats and preparing my own baby food meals was far more inexpensive.
- Taste – Have you ever tasted your baby’s food? Blech! No wonder they make strange faces and spit it out sometimes! Some of the jarred baby foods smell and taste strange…on the other hand, your own purees smell and taste just like your home cooking – delicious! I figure if it smells and tastes great to me, my baby is much more likely to enjoy his meal as well.
- Ingredients – When you make your own baby food, you have complete control over the ingredients. No more ingredients that you cannot pronounce, just the basic foods and flavorings.
- Time – While making your own baby food involves an initial time investment, if you freeze your baby food in advance it can still be extremely convenient. Reheating frozen baby food may take a little longer than opening a jar, but I found the difference to be minimal.
These are only some of the more basic benefits to making your own baby food. For some families making your baby’s food can be a way to deal with food allergies or dietary restrictions, for others it may be simply personal preference.
Baby Green Bean Casserole
Get Started Making Your Own Baby Food
So…how exactly can you get started making your own baby food? Over the next couple of weeks I will provide additional resources to help you begin making your own baby food.
- Kitchen Equipment
What basic equipment will I need to make baby food? - Preparing Purees
Can you walk me through preparing a puree? - Freezing Baby Food
How do I freeze and store my baby food? - First Foods
What are some good first purees for my baby?
Baby Food Recipes to Get You Started
Want to get started right away? Here are some great recipes to start with if you want to dive right in and start making purees for your baby.
Pureed Peas in Food Mill
4+ Months
- Creamy Rice Pudding
- Applesauce
- Bananas
- Carrots
- Green Beans
- Peaches
- Pears
- Peas
- Sweet Potatoes
- Fall Vegetable Mashers
Sweet Fall Squash Soup
6+ Months
- Apple, Kiwi, and Pear
- Beef and Veggies
- Cherry-Berry Puree
- Cheesy Tomato and Cauliflower
- Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Apples
- Chicken and Veggies II
- Carrot Chicken Hash
- Ham, Pineapple, Peach, and Apple
- Peach, Apple, and Strawberry
Anyone have a benefit to making your own baby food that I have not mentioned? Or perhaps a great recipe that your baby loved? We would love to hear how making baby food has benefited you and your family, or about a great recipe combination that your baby loved!
I started making my own baby food as soon as my daughter was old enough for solids! I found out fast that she does NOT like apricots…at all! hahhaha Right now my daughter is on an elimination diet, so we have resprted to BeechNut jarred food for the moment. It’s made with veggies & water. That’s it. Nothing else. So it’s as good as what I would have served her. When she’s off this diet, I will once again serve her my food since I’ll be allowed ot do some seasonings again. I’m really hoping she’s not allergic to anything cuz we are foodies!
I do have a question though…I noticed in at least two recipes you have brown sugar listed as an ingredient. Is the brown sugar really necessary? I’m not saying I don’t eat sweet stuff, because I do…I just don’t know that it is the best thing to offer an infant. I did some research into flavoring, spices, herbs, etc. and found that sugar & salt are definitely items to avoid…they are not needed in any way if using vanilla or spices. Just a thought.
No the brown sugar is not really necessary and could simply be eliminated, especially in the recipes using vegetables that are already quite sweet (such as sweet potatoes). When my kids were babies they loved mashed sweet potatoes with no sugar or salt. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your preferences and your baby’s.
My daughter is 3 now (my son is 8 ) and I STILL make baby food on a weekly basis! I use the frozen purees in everything from taco meat to oatmeal, mac & cheese to chocolate chip cookies. I freeze mine in silicone muffin pans and then transfer the frozen “cups” to a plastic baggie for longer term storage. Each serving is about 1/4 cup.
I love the idea of freezing in muffin cups – thanks for sharing!
I started making baby food when my daughter was about 5 months old. I had just been laid off work and needed to find creative ways to save money. This saved a lot!
I never added anything to her food. I boiled carrots then used the water from boiling them to help in pureeing them. The apples and pears would turn brown, but they still tasted fine. One thing I learned was to combine some of her foods. She hated carrots, but if I put an ice cube of carrots and a cube of apples then she’d eat them. Peas got mixed with pears.
I still do some purees even though my daughter is 19 months now. I found that butternut squash and carrots can go into a regular blue box of mac and cheese and my (VERY PICKY) hubby doesn’t even know he’s eating his veggies. Or I put them in the crock pot when I make soups. Hubby has a tendency to pick out the veggies in soups, but he can’t pick them out if they’re pureed in there….hehehe