How to make your own baby food

Charlotte started on solids when she was just over four months and I make all of her baby food. 

While there are some really great organic baby food products on the market, I like knowing exactly what she is eating. I did the same for H and believe he's such a good (read unfussy) eater now because he was used to the taste of food I prepared from a very early age.

Many friends and acquaintances have asked how I find the time to make Charlotte's food from scratch. The answer is it's not as hard or time consuming as it sounds. Here are some tips to help if you're starting out:

You'll need:

- Fresh vegetables (preferably organic, local and in season)
- Pot and steamer
- Food processor (you can puree food by hand if you don't have a processor)
- Baby cubes or ice tray for freezing quantities of food.

Directions:

The table below outlines the preparation, cooking time and liquid quantity I use to make my vegetable purees. They're based on roughly 300g of vegetables. 

The liquid can be breastmilk, formula or water and is added when pureeing to help achieve the right consistency. I steam all fruits and vegetables as it's the best way of ensuring the nutrients stay within the food.

You can also try combinations of vegetables. Some of Charlotte's favourites are potato and pumpkin, potato and spinach, sweet potato and carrot.

Tips & Tricks:

- Try cooking a larger amount of vegetables at dinner time and pureeing some for your little one. It will seem like less work if you're only making 'one' meal.
 - Make a big batch of purees and freeze them. This will save a lot of time each day.
- Fruit and vegetable purees can be frozen in batches for up to one month.
- I use these amazing baby cubes but you can easily use an ice cube tray. Just remember to cover the food before freezing. 
- Don't keep reheated purees or leftovers of baby food as it can make your baby sick.
- Warm foods need to be cooled as quickly as possible to avoid the spread of bacteria. Placing warm food in shallow containers at the back of the fridge is the best way to do this.
- When reheating food, bringing it to boiling point and letting it cool will ensure any degree of bacteria is killed.
- If you use a microwave to reheat baby food, stir it thoroughly to avoid hot spots - and test it yourself before giving it to your baby.

Are you a baby food pro? Do you have any tips or tricks to share?

Comments

[Mimi]

Thanks for the information! I've always been too frightened to try and make my own baby food but this makes it sound super simple!

[Raven]

Even easier and less expensive than making your own "baby food" is to *not* make "baby food". If you wait until your baby is developmentally ready for solids, you can feed her people food instead of "baby food".