There are a few different reasons for making your own baby food. I personally want to gag at the idea of a pureed carrot sitting in a jar for MONTHS somehow without preservatives. Riddle me that one. Others may just want to cut back on their grocery bill, whatever the reason, I applaud you and say lets do dis. There are several different ways to make your own baby food and they only take a few extra minutes of work, so if you have doubts about it taking forever, I assure you I am super lazy and do not have any extra time. These two methods are my tried and true, my plan A and plan B, my only two ways of making baby food of all the many ways I had tried.
*Disclaimer*
I am not shaming anyone for buying canned baby food, you do you momma. I am simply stating my personal feelings on the matter. I will say that I have bought organic baby foods and kept them on hand for times when it was too much of a hassle to bring my own or emergencies. If you are going to buy canned baby food some advice from me to you is, always check the label. There should only be two ingredients, maybe three. Water, whatever veggie, and possible lemon juice (citric acid) for preservatives. There should never be any fillers of any kind, it may also say something like “starch”. You do not want fillers in your babies food because they shouldn’t be there. Simple, your babies tummy is learning how to handle these new foods and developing the enzymes appropriate to break them down, no need to put extra stress on your babies body. Starch is not something your babies tummy needs at all let alone during this delicate time. Another tip is always buy organic. Organic means that there will never ever be any GMO or Genetically Modified Organisms in your babies food. GMO carrots for example, are carrots that were changed in a lab and then sprayed with pesticides. That’s a discussion for a later date, but everyone definitely needs to educate themselves on the topic. Also, there is no definition for the word “natural”, this means companies can claim anything they want is “all natural” and never get in trouble for how close to plastic it really is.
Lets get started, Plan B is my second, more in a hurry way to make baby food. I recommend this method for mommies just starting baby food. You will not need a whole bunch of baby food at first maybe 1 ice cube, so one tray can last you quite a while. You will need a large pot to boil the veggies in, an ice cube tray, and a food processor. I found my food processor at my local grocery store for $10. This is an appliance you really do not need to invest any sort of money on, once your baby gets the hang of eating you will need to get something bigger. So all you do is boil the veggies for a really longtime. The goal is to make sure there is absolutely nothing for your baby to choke on. So for broccoli I cut it up into pieces big enough to fit into my food processor and boil for 25-30 minutes. For sweet potatoes I cook them extra long since they are so hard, you will be able to use your judgement. Remember to take out any possible seeds,remove all peels, and I shouldn’t have to say this but fruits do not need to be cooked. Simply mash and enjoy. Once you have boiled your veggies, drain all excess water. I have even taken a paper towel while the veggies are still in the strainer and soaked up any excess water on top. Blend all of this up for a good while. Stir the bottom up and then re-blend several times. This will make sure there are no chunks or strings for baby to choke on. Poor the goop into the ice cube tray, cover with tin foil, and freeze. When you wake up in the morning pop out how ever many cubes you will need per meal into bowls with lids. I suggest using glass bowls with lids, I will post links to everything that I talk about at the very bottom so you can get an idea of what to look for.
*Tip about plastic is it wears down over time. Its coated in harsh chemicals, its just bad news. It is very hard in the baby world to get away from plastic but it is doable!
Plan A, my favorite plan, is for hungrier babies. It is one big meal prep at the beginning of the week and your set. For both plans I suggest everyone buy a steamer. You can get a double steamer for around $20-25. The steamer is so much faster than trying to boil all of these veggies, it doesn’t stink up your house as much and you don’t loose as much of the veggies. The double steamer allows you to make two different kinds of baby food at once, which gives baby some variety. I did not know this at the beginning and I bought a butt load of different products and they all sucked. You could make like a cup of baby food at a time that way and my chunk of a daughter was eating like 2 cups a meal at one time. So if you know in your heart that you want to make all of your guys food that you need to go big. Double steamer for $20-25, blender for $20, and breast milk storage bags (hubba wha?). Let me explain, if you want to make your own baby food chances are that you breast fed, I just have a feeling. Breast milk storage bags are on average 8-10 ounces and are designed to freeze and thaw precious liquid. So when producing mass amounts of baby food you are going to need to store mass amounts of baby food, ice cube trays would take up your entire freezer. So if you already are buying these bags or just have a zillion of them from your baby shower, why not put them to good use? So the process is the same, you peel and chop up the veggies. Steam them, you don’t have to strain them, that’s nice. Blend them all up and then fill up the baggies. Every night you defrost a baggie in the fridge, the next morning poor into containers for the day. Super simple.
I will be doing another blog on how to introduce baby foods. I will be covering how to know when your baby is ready, what to introduce first, what products can I trust? So stay posted for that. I hope this was of some help to you and your little one. Ultimately, whatever decision you make you are doing a wonderful job and at the end of the day you are feeding your baby. So hats off to you mom, you made it out of bed and fed your baby today, you deserve a glass of wine.
These are the products that I used. The blender is a little more expensive online than I found in the store.
HippyLife 