Baby Food in 5 Easy Steps!

Yes I am completely serious when I say you can make delicious, nutritious, inexpensive food for your baby in just 5 simple steps!!


Step 1) Gather the food you will be preparing.


Step 2) Prepare the food. This means wash any fresh produce and cut into large chunks. Peel if it needs peeling.


Step 3) Cook the food just as you would if you were making for dinner. Add a bit of water and simmer (you could also steam or bake them as well). Make sure to cook until it's very soft, almost overdone. You only have to cook firmer foods like apples, carrots, etc. The softer food like blueberries, peaches, etc. you don't need to cook just make sure they are nice and ripe!


Step 4) Puree the food until smooth. You can do this using a blender, food processor, food mill, or something like the Bullet. Be sure to add enough water so that it blends. Also you can strain the food through a metal strain if it needs straining. An example was when I made Banana Blueberry food and I strained that to get the seeds and blueberry skins out. You may also choose to do this for younger babies just starting out so it's even smoother.


Step 5) Spoon into ice cube trays and freeze! Once they are frozen, place into labeled freezer bags, or another freezer safe container like tupperware.


Soon you will have a freezer that looks very similar to this! It will soon get even more full when I can make some more fruit.


I find ice cube trays to be perfect because you can use 1 cube for younger babies and as they get older and eat more you can pull out 2 or 3 at a time. Also you can do a combination of fruit and veggies. I also prefer to put mine in freezer bags instead of containers because they take up less room and are flexible in case you have a full freezer and a small opening you want to stuff it in.

Some other helpful hints:

* This is common sense but make sure everything you are using is clean including your hands.

* Be careful if you used canned food because most have added salt which you do not want! I tend to stick to fresh and frozen and have no problem with variety or time.

* Make sure to introduce only one new food or spice per 4-7 days at first. Yes, this means you are free to use spices when making baby food but again stay away from the "salts" (ie. garlic salt, celery salt). Once your baby has had a handful you can start doing new combinations. It's not a crime to use more than one new one at a time just be forewarned that if there is a reaction it will be harder to pinpoint.

* You don't have to peel apples and pears. If you cut them into large chunks the peels will come off during cooking and then you can pick them out later. I am going to be making some apple food later so I'll do a brief tutorial on this concept.

* And finally once your baby gets older and has had a good variety of foods take a scoop of your dinner out (before you add salt, butter, etc) and blend it up for baby. This is a real time saver killing 2 birds with 1 stone and it also will get your baby used to the foods he/she will be eating later!

I have asked my doctor many questions and have made all the food so far for my daughter so I have a bit of experience with this but if you have any questions or concerns bring them up with your doctor at your next visit. If your looking for more info or some recipes browse the internet because there is a TON of info on this matter! I am just hoping this helps some of you feel less overwhelmed about homemade baby food because it really is SUPER simple and can be done in 5 easy steps!