Make Your Own Baby Food!

Making homemade baby food is intimidating to a lot of moms and dads but it is really simple. It will also save you lots of money, be healthier for your baby than traditional jarred food (that is full of preservatives-even the organic stuff) and it's fun, too! 
We make all different combos of veggies and fruit. We did not introduce meat of any sort until around 18 months. We didn't introduce dairy until 18 months either. We waited until both of our babies were 6 months old until introducing solids. Up until that point they were both exclusively breastfed. I will be writing a blog soon on our reasons for waiting to introduce solids and the advantages to do so, so stay tuned!

Here is what you need:

Supplies needed: fresh fruit. chia seed/flax seed, freezer containers, babycook or cuisanart

1. Beaba babycook: There are other baby food makers on the market but this is the best one, in my opinion. They are quite spendy, but I managed to get mine, barely used, off of craigslist for $40. If you don't want to shell out $120, look at craigslist or garage sales! But if you do end up buying new,they are worth every penny. I would have gladly paid the full price for one!
2. Cusianart (Optional): It won't get the food quite as smooth as the babycook but it's great for making big batches that are SLIGHTLY more thick/chunky when your baby is around 8/9 months old.
3. Ice Cube Trays / Baby food pods : These are the baby pods we use. We bought them at Target. They are BPA free and flexible so it's easy to pop the frozen food out into a bowl. They are also the perfect size at 2 ounces. If you use ice cube trays, make sure you buy bpa free and get some glass containers or zip lock bags to store the cubes of food in once they are frozen. I did this with August's baby food but it is not near as convenient in having the food in the pods! I also bought 15 glass jars with plastic lids that hold 1/2 cup each from Ross (they were $5.99 for a set of 4) and they are freezer proof, microwave proof and dishwasher proof...as well as being BPA free on the plastic lids. 
4. Filtered water, Organic Veggies/Fruits, Grains and Spices: I recommend using filtered water to avoid flouride and other chemicals commonly found in tap water. None of it is good for babies to be exposed to. We buy most of our veggies and fruit for baby food at farmer's markets during peak season so it's organic, fresh and ripe. We also buy quite a bit of frozen organix produce from Costco and Trader Joes that works well for baby food. If you do not have access to a farmer's market, look for fresh produce in your grocery store and try to stick with organic. There are various pesticides on conventional fruits and veggies that you probably wouldn't want in your little baby's system. As far as spices are concerned, most baby food cookbooks will tell you to not put any spices in the purees. I disagree. There are amazing benefits for babies found in cinnamon and turmeric, just to name 2. Plus it gets their little palates used to actual taste and not bland food. I mean would you like to eat food that is not seasoned? (This does not mean to put salt or spicy things in their food- I am talking things like nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, basil, mint etc). For grains I suggest organic oatmeal, organic brown rice, organic lentils and organic quinoa. All can be found in bulk food sections at health food stores or at Costco. I also add in chia seeds and ground flax seed (bulk foods- Winco) to almost every batch of food I make. Since our kids don't eat meat, we feel it important to get their omega 3s from plant sources. Plus there are numerous other health benefits to flax and chia! Nutritional yeast is another great add in!

Step #1:

Prep your veggies/fruits. (Wash, peel, chop). 
For my example I am making kiwi, mango, banana

Feel free to make fun little concoctions like apple/pear, carrot/beets, cherry/blueberry or you can even mix the fruits in with the veggies. Most recipe books and pediatricians advise not to give your baby more than 1 new food a week. It's meant to find allergies to certain foods but I call bullshit on that theory. As long as you are breastfeeding and have little to no history of food allergies YOU ARE FINE. the ikelihood that your child will be allergic to a food is miniscule at best. If they have a bad reaction to something it would be pretty darn easy to eliminate all components until you find the culprit. 

Here is a good list of veggies/fruits to use in baby food (avoid spinach because it can contain high levels of nitrates and I would wait on tomatoes/citrus since they have a high level of acid that may upset baby's tummy early on but feel free to add those in later on down the road) and know that beets will stain ANYTHING they touch. I do not recommend cooking beets in the babycook! 

• Butternut squash
• Carrots
• Beets
• Kale
• Peas
• Corn
• Green Beans
• Yams
• Sweet Potato
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• Edamame
• Pumpkin
• Banana
• Apple
• Cherry
• Blueberry
• Blackberry
• Raspberry
• Pear
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Papaya
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Plums
• Apricots
• Watermelon

Step#2: Add filtered water to the babycook, place veggies/fruit in the steamer basket and close lid. Set timer for 7-15 minutes depending on the food.

fruit ready to puree

Step #3:Pour steamed veggies into the plastic container of babycook after removing the plastic steamer and blend to appropriate consistency (there will be leftover water from the steaming and you can use that to make a puree). Add more water if necessary. At this point you can add any spice you feel like. I often add cinnamon to pears/apples and fresh mint from our garden into peas. If you are making a banana puree or anything with bananas in it, add a little lime or lemon juice so it won't brown. Same goes for pureed avocado.

The finished puree

Step #4: Freeze in containers of your choosing and viola! Homemade baby food. 

Mango/Kiwi/Banana baby food

Chia seed/Flax seed mixture

I typically spend 2-3 hours once a month making 5-6 different types of baby food to freeze for my little guy. I love having it on hand and being able to defrost it in a day's time for him to eat. His favorites right now include blueberry/watermelon and butternut squash with cinnamon. 

Phoenix enjoys his very first taste of baby food at 6 months old! Quinoa!