Okay, so recently I’ve decided to start making my own baby food. It’s generally easier on the wallet, and healthier for baby! I looked all over the internet for recipes to make, but for some reason I have had a hard time finding anything. (If you have any good recipes, please share them with me!) Here is one good site I did find. But, I have to say that I am very proud of how what I made came out. Plus, baby loves it! And it was a lot easier than I initially thought it would be, and a thousand times more rewarding than popping the lid off a can that was filled who knows when!
So, here is the simple method I used:
I was blessed with a baby food processor for a shower gift when my daughter was born, but I only used it once or twice with her. I decided to give it a real shot this time around with my son. The one I have is by DEX. I really like it! It’s super easy to use, and works great. The only thing I still need is a strainer. When I made corn and peas, poor baby Titus gagged on them.
1. I got together the food I was going to prepare:
Apples, Bananas, Frozen Strawberries (test for allergies first!), Frozen Blueberries, Mango
Squash, Carrots, Frozen Peas, Frozen Corn, Frozen Broccoli Florets, Frozen Green Beans
2. First I washed all of the fresh fruit/veggies. I peeled the skin off what needed to be peeled. Cut up what needed to be cut. Then I just steamed the fresh fruits and veggies (all together), boiled the frozen veggies as directed, and thawed the frozen fruits.
3. When everything was tender and cooled, I added each item to the food processor as I wanted them (mixed or plain), and added a little purified baby water. A little mixing and it’s done!
4. Next, I filled my ice cube trays with the different foods, and froze them. Once they were frozen I separated the fruits from the veggies and put them into little freezer bags.
**Here is a little tip I learned the hard way… see the empty ice cube sections?? That’s where I broke the tray trying to get the frozen food cube out with a butter knife. My suggestion, buy a good quality ice cube tray, or those made specifically for baby food. I had a hard time getting the frozen cubes out of the tray, and ended up cracking a bunch!
This is what I made:
Squash
Carrots
Green Beans
Peas (not so good without strainer)
Corn (also needed straining)
Broccoli
Mixed Veggies (squash, broccoli, carrots)
Applesauce
Bananas (I added a little 100% OJ)
Banana Apple
Apple Strawberry
Apple Strawberry Blueberry
Strawberry Banana
Mango
These came out great (other than corn and peas) and baby Titus gobbled them down! I was so proud of myself, and glad that he enjoyed the fruits of my labor!
Next I tried to make chicken. I cooked a plain piece of boneless, skinless chicken breast in the crockpot until tender. Once it was cooled I put pieces into the food processor and added a little water. It blended up nicely. I sat down to feed it to baby, and this was his reaction:
YUCK!! Okay, the chicken… not so great. I’m gonna work on that one. For now, I’m still buying his meat from the store.
So, if I can do this, you can. It’s really easier than you think. And believe me, you will feel so good about what your baby is eating because you will know exactly what is in it. And, you will save your family lots of MONEY!! Yay!
Melissa says:
I recently found your website and love all the tips and links you share. Here is a website I found with lots of information on making your own baby food. Good luck!
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
May 20th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Marion says:
I had the same problem with meats with both of my kids so I talked my Dr. He’s told me it would be fine to season it just a little with veggies including garlic (the real thing not power or salt). So I cooked my chicken in the crockpot with a garlic clove or two and a few carrots. I would strain out most of the garlic and then blend it in my food processor. My kids loved meats from that put on. So you might try that.
May 20th, 2008 at 10:20 am
charlene says:
If you check out Wendy Bellissimo’s book at the library- I think its called Nesting or something- there is a DVD inside with a quick segment on making basic baby food. Also Williams Sonoma has a GREAT book with a ton of ideas from Asparagus Risotto to Blueberries… The book is spendy at 20.00 but I figured I more than made the money back by not buying Gerber anymore.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Tiffany says:
I was just coming to tell you about wholesomebabyfood too! I used that site when I got started making Aiden’s food. I only had a regular food processor too, and it worked fine.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Holly aka all2Jesus on WTM says:
Oh, i have a son named Titus, also.
I’ve been reading you blog fro a couple months, and luv it.
I’m gonna try some of these combos, so thanks!
May 20th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Kristine says:
Instead of ice cube trays that could break, I used muffin tins. They were a great size and you can use the mini muffin tins, too, if you wanted. They don’t break when you try to pop them out!
May 20th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Renee says:
I agree about liking the wholesome baby food website. I’ve been using the silicone ice cube trays and they work great. Super easy to get the frozen food out.
May 20th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Kansas Mom says:
I made all the baby food for both of my kids. With my son, I would make and freeze it in batches (lots of cooking one weekend day), but I was more relaxed with by daughter and would just mash or puree what we were eating (spices and all) and then freeze the extra. When I first started, I used a book called First Meals by Annabel Karmel. There’s a new edition out, so you might find the old one inexpensively. Also, you could try the library. I found it was very comforting to have a book that indicated what was best at certain ages, what combined well, what froze well, etc., when I was a newbie.
I received some of the baby food freezing sets as a gift but have found ice cube trays to be just as good. (It’s a good idea to have quite a few on hand if you plan to cook in batches.)
Both of my kids liked meats, but I found they also enjoyed them when mixed with other things. In particular, my daughter liked her chicken mixed with beans (just puree them together or mix them after defrosting) and my son loved his chicken mixed with a little applesauce (natural unsweetened regular applesauce, no need for the baby-food kind). I also often mixed in baby rice cereal when pureeing meats to soften the taste a little. When pumping, I would mix in breast milk as well, though I didn’t bother with my daughter since I didn’t have a supply in the freezer.
I highly recommend making your own. I think it’s cheaper, though I never did the math. I do know they liked it better. When traveling, we bought commercial baby food and my kids would basically refuse to eat any solids until we got home. (It’s a good thing they were always still nursing!)
May 20th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Lee says:
Cook split peas and they won’t require any straining. Excellent. How did you do the green beans?
May 21st, 2008 at 1:55 am