Making Baby Food

OK so when I started making baby food I was lost. I found this great site called

www.wholesomebabyfood.com

it love it!

Hi, I have made all of my little guys food. It's just what's done down here in Brazil. We make something they call soup. You start by simmering a little onion and chicken (You can use or not use onions), then you add water and let it start to cook. Start adding the veggies from hardest to softest. I always pick on of each color, ie. carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and spinach. You only put enough water to that it makes a thick thick stew. You can then blend it or mash it with a fork, depending on baby's age. Btw, I peeled all the veggies until Luka was a bit older. Here we also gave them black beans, at first only the thick sauce that cooking the beans made then later the beans themselves and rice. My boy LOVES it!

I made my daughter her baby food and it was great. Get the book Super Baby Food it has everything you need to know and more. It is such a great book. Good luck.
Liz

I made almost all of my daughter's food from the start. It was funny, easy and it seemed to make it easier for her to transition more quickly through the "stages" of baby food. Most fruits and vegetables can be prepared simply:
1. peel and remove and cores, seeds, etc.
2. cut into chunks
3. steam until tender- usually 8-10 min. (I found it easiest to get a steaming basket to put in a regular pot)
4. puree to desired consistency (courser as baby grows)
I used a blender, food processor and baby food grinder (KidCo) and found that I liked the grinder the best. Even though it took a little bit of muscle, it eliminated any skin, seeds or just hard parts of the food that I had missed.
Baking is also an option (although it takes much longer- approx. 45 min.). I used this option for peaches, plums and potatoes (white and sweet). For the fruits, just core, cut in half and bake "face" down in a little water. For potatoes, bake as you would for yourself, scoop out the insides and mash with a fork.
I made a lot at a time and then scooped the purees into ice cube trays (approx. 1 tbs.) to freeze. Then I stored them in large ziploc freezer bags labeled with the date (keep about 3mo.). Then I would just take whatever cubes I wanted for the next day and put them in the refrigerator before bed the night before I wanted to serve them.
I also got a lot of good tips from www.wholesomebabyfood.com.
K. S.
PS. Zucchni and squash get REALLY watery, so I would try to drain water out before freezing and then during the defrosting process as well.

If you have a nanny or babysitter, ask them to peel (carrots, apples, etc) while the baby is asleep. then you can warm them on the stove and puree in your blender and freeze some/use some as needed. I recommend a Vita Mix as it works amazing and the puree process takes a few seconds. I made all our own food, my baby never ate a jar. Buy organic, wash with filtered water and GSE to clean any debris and make less toxic, then peel and cook on low with some water and just until a little soft...then you puree. I also recommend adding Pink Salt (from PRLabs) to all your babies food, as all kids are deficient in minerals and it is amazingly helpful for their nutriture and health.

Namaste,
J. Eltman, MPH, RD
Preventive & Therapeutic Holistic Health
www.CreativeNutrition.com
1.877.5.EATWELL
Author: The NO DIET Diet: Healthy Meals in 5 Minutes

Make it! It is so easy! For the most part, I didn't make anything ahead of time because I would just mash up something from my plate, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocado, etc.. But if you want to make ahead, just puree some favorite first foods (you can find a great list at www.askdrsears.com) put them in ice cube trays and freeze. Then just thaw and serve!

Enjoy!
M.

I made my baby food. I used frozen vegs. and all natural applesauce in a jar. I did try using fresh fruits and vegs, but very time consuming. I steamed the vegs in my rice cooker/steamer. They come out much softer than the microwave. I also used a hand blender (until it broke) then I used a food proccessor. I bought alot of icecube trays from the dollar store, froze the food and then place the frozen cubes in freezer zips. Winco has frozen squash, and thats the only place I could find it. It comes in a box and each box makes approx 1 tray. Also each cube is approx 1 TBSP. The nice thing about making it yourself, you can control the consistency as your baby gets eating. My daughter loved all the fruits and vegs. There are great websites for help. The only thing I could not do is meat. Good luck
K. E

Hi My son is Jacob and he is 6.10 now and also sent from heaven...We also made his baby food as the stuff in the jars is awful! In a pinch we used the hand grinder from Whole Foods (about 10.00) and it makes a couple of tablespoons at a time. One day a week take all the veggies/pasta you want to serve him for the week. Steam them (and lightly season them) then food process them til they're baby food. Put them in small freezer containers and store. It only takes a few seconds to heat them up. By about 9 months don't make it special just process whatever you're serving for dinner so that he begins to taste your cooking.
L.

Congrats on making such a wonderful choice. I made my all of my daughters baby food and kept up with it till now and she's 30 months old now. Home made food can be a lot of fun to make..I dont even vegetables and very few fruits so I wanted to make sure my daughter would eat all those things so that she would be a healthier child than I was. She loved every fruit and veggie I gave her and the homemade foods tasted so much better to me than the jar. Yep I bought a few jars and tasted each one and bleck, I wouldnt eat it so I wasnt about to make her eat it. I didnt know much about vegetables and how to choose them so I went to onestepahead.com and bought the "So easy homemade baby food kit" and some extra ice cube trays.Here's the link http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId... Amazon.com also sells the set. The Cworkbook thought you every thing you need to know on how to select the correct fruits and vegetables, during which age to feed what foods, as well as how to prepare. etc. I also bought me a microwave steamer from walmart and a magic bullet food processor. That was my winning combination. Those three items made my life easy. I would go shopping and buy all the fruits and veggies I needed for the month. I cook, process, and freeze all my food for the month in one day. Then I'd vaccum seal everything and throw them in the freezer and take them out as I needed. It worked out well for me and I always had fun doing it. Till today my daughter is the only 2 year old in our family that eats every vegetable and every fruit you put in front of her. As well as eat fruits and veggies at every meal. My one tip though, no matter how you choose to do it, get the covered ice cube trays. It makes life a lot easier and the baby food doesnt pick up any icky flavors or smellls from your freezer. Good luck and have fun with it. You baby will thank you someday. Write me if you have any questions..I am so excited for my new baby whose 3 weeks old to get old enough so I can start making him food too.

Hi J.
My son was born 9/17 and I actually got the OK from his doctor to start him on solid at 5 months. I started him in peas 1st (he was so so on this) and than carrots. He loved the carrots. I am starting him on sweet potatos next. Make sure you start on one food at a time and feed it to him for 4-5 days to make sure there are no allergies. Do this for every new food. Do not give him 2 new foods at a time otherwise if he is allergic you won't know which food it is. Once you determine which foods he is OK with you can start mixing veggies. After sweet potatoes I am trying apples this way he has a fruit and a veggie with his meals.

A really good website is wholesomebabyfood.com. They have a lot of information/recipes and tell you which foods are better baked or steamed. For most part I steam all the veggies in my rice cooker (sweet potato I baked because website said you get more flavor this way and they were right). I then use my food processor to puree everything (but have heard the magic bullet is also really good)

I also purchased ice cube trays from Right Start. They are great as the cubes easily come apart. I make all my food on the weekend and freeze it in these cubes. I then take 1 cube a day to his sitter (the cube has enough for 2 servings). Or you can just put food in an ice tray (cover with saran wrap) and when they are frozen pop out the cubes and store them inside a freezer ziploc bag and take out cubes as needed)
Good luck!

Hi. I am also a 33 yr old with a new baby boy sent 09/19/2007. We just started solids. It is actually quite simple. A lot of recipes have 10 steps and at the end say 'or mash with fork and add breast milk/formula'. I opt for the mash with fork and add formula. Pears I put in the steamer to break down the sugars and fiber. 10 minutes and mash. Add formula. I make baby's food fresh every time because it is so quick and easy. We are starting carrots and green beans this week because that is what I am making for dinner. The high chair pulls right up to the table so we are eating together as a family. It is soo much fun. Good luck!

Hello J.,

When my daughter was a baby, I cooked all her food until she was 18 months.
I used to buy organic veggies only, boiled them with a tiny bit of salt and blend them.
the beginning you will have to introduce them to your baby one at a time - I believe it has to be a new veggie per week, or every two weeks - so he will get used to that veggie and won't have gases.
You can make the baby food by mixing 2 or more veggies, or just make jars with single ones. After a while, you can add to the mix some protein. I used chicken only, I would mix it in the blender with the veggies and put them all in little jars.
TIP: buy tons of baby food, keep the jars (I liked the big ones) throw the food away and use the jars for your home made baby food. Store it in the freezer, you will only have to do it once a week. They defrost in a minute.
Not bad having to cook only once a week, huh?
Another thing I did is to added whole grain rice to the mix, I think she was already 12 months. Or you can add another grain or cereal of your preference, corn, oat.
But I did use store bought baby food, organic only, for when I was on the road and had no refrigerator.
Good luck with your home cooking! I do believe it's the best for the kids.
A.

Hi there. I, too, am 33 years-old. I'm blessed with a 3 year-old boy and a 14 month old boy. As far as solids, I would purchase fruits and vegetables from our local farmer's market or health food store. Try to get items that are pesticide-free and/or organic. You can bake a butternut squash in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour. No need to cut it or peel it. Just wash the outside, pat it dry, use a fork a poke holes around, put on a baking sheet(w/foil or parchment paper), and into the oven. Finally, cut and remove the seeds. Then, put the bs into a food processor or food mill. Use a kidco food tray and freeze whatever is not going to be used right away. The food tray is great because you can pull out a portion and heat it in an instant. You cann also steam other veggies and fruits, puree, and freeze. I would reccomend "Organic Baby & Toddler Cookbook" by Lizzie Vann.
I would carve out time and prepare the foods on a Sunday evening after the kids are down. This way it's all set to go for the week. Hope this helps and enjoy!

Hello,
I made my boys food for months. They start on Yellow and Orange foods, no fruit yet. It is sweet and they will like it more, and not eat veggies. What I did was buy a lot of Yams, peel them, boil them, and put them into my food proccesor. I mixed in some breastmilk to thin it out a little. Then I put it into ice cube trays, froze them, popped them out and stored in a freezer gallon bag. It's easy, takes just a little time, and can make a lot!

You got lots of good advice here, but I wanted to add, that my son now is almost nine months and ice cube portions are too smaall, so I buy these small 4oz plastic containers. They come 8 in a package and cost only 2 dollars.

Hello I always found it easier to buy Gerber although it got expensive. My mom on the other hand prefered to make her grand kids her own. She would make something as simple as adding whole kernel corn, water, and rinsed ham(to reduse salt)in the blender and WALA! baby food. They loved it.

I made all my daughter's food until she was ready to eat adult food. It's pretty easy. You just take whatever food you'd like to make (I usually did a couple of things at a time) and steam it, then put it in the blender with some of the water you used to steam it and whiz it up until it's the consistency you want. At first I used a food processor, but it didn't get smooth enough. I always made a lot, so the Magic Bullet would have been too small for me. Then, here's the trick, I froze it in ice cube trays. Each cube is a serving. I kept the cubes in a bag and labeled the bags "vegetables", "fruit", and "meat". I usually tried to have at least 3 of each (except the meats) in a bag so I could give her a variety. Of course, you want to start off only introducing one thing at a time. I couldn't believe how easy it was and I was happy to know exactly what my daughter was eating. It was also A LOT cheaper! AND...my daughter is a VERY good eater - not picky at all. Good luck.

Hi J.,
I ground up, pureed or otherwise prepared what food we ate as baby food, froze portions in an ice cube tray and then when frozen, bagged the cubes for meals.
vegies, meat, starches all work.
they are used to the food you eat that way and solid food intro at the right time is what they are already used to taste wise. My 5 never had purchased baby food of any kind. we took our food grinder with us when we went out and on one occasion, our pediatrician was at the same restaurant and came over to see what we were feeding our daughter, he was impressed, they all have loved spinach from the start as i do...
it is quick and easy and you always have the cubes for portion control. just heat and serve.
C.

I bought a small food processor to make things quick, they sell them everywhere, it's 1 1/2 cup. It really made things easy, also when I gave my son bananas I would peel them, put them in a ziplock bag and mush them, cut a hole in the bottom of the bag so there's no mess and I'd squeeze the banana's into his cereal, He LOVED it, and it's quick so if I was on the go I could do it easily and give him the freshest fruit I could, plus you can control the chunk factor as your baby gets to where they can have more solid versions.

I made all food for my first and will do the same with my second when she is old enough for solids. The Super Baby Food book was great and I also referenced Dr. Sears Family Nutrition Book. Both really helped me - also, Dr. Sears has a website that I used: askdrsears.com.

Good luck!

Git the fresh start cook book, a couple of ice cube trays and a good blender or food processor. It is really easy. Good Luck,

Jamie.S

Dear J.,

I'm not going to say a lot, I know other mothers will give wonderful books and sites to reference. I just wanted to share that when I was pureeing my own baby food, I would store it in the freezer in ice cube trays. Quick and easy to thaw, I used jar food just a couple times - but made sure to save the jars to use when we went out . . .

Good luck!
B.

Hi. I am a huge supporter of making your own baby food. What I know to be the easiest and most convenient is to put whatever you want (carrots, fruit, soup, etc.) into a food processor and make it the appropriate consistency. Then, you can take ice cube trays and freeze it in small portions- saves a lot of time and you can prepare a ton in advance. Good Luck.

Hi

Really easy! Just get one of those mini food processors or hand held Braun or Oster blenders. Mine can be used directly in a pot or bowl, but also comes with its own attachable cup. Anyway, steam which ever fruit or veggie, puree well, add water if necessary (use the water that you cooked the veggies in) and put in ice cube trays, freeze, transfer to ziploc bags. Meat even works. Just add water to get the needed consistency.

Good Luck and have fun.

I chopped up and steamed organic veggies like sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, etc and ran them through the food processor with a tiny bit of water. Then, I poured them into ice cube trays or for thicker purees; plops on a cookie sheet and then froze them. When frozen, I put them into labeled ziploc bags which made grabbing one or two out for mealtimes really easy. In the beginning, my baby would only eat one serving with some cereal mixed in but as he grew I would give him several servings, mixing kinds of veggies. Good luck with your baby!

Hi! My three girls never had a bite of food out of a jar - I made it all (except for the rice cereal). I used to cook all my foods on Sunday and I had enough for the whole week. I would usually steam them and puree them. Then I would put the purees in ice cube trays. When I fed the girls I would use one cube at first, then two, then three as they got older. You can make combinations this way too. One cube of peas, one cube of chicken, for example. I didn't find it too hard to do, and I'm really glad I did. Have fun - and good for you!

I just always gave my babies table food that they could pick up themselves: pieces of ripe banana, avocado, whole grain toast strips, a chicken drumstick (with the splint bone taken off), pear slices, oatmeal, whole cooked beans, whatever healthy food the family was eating. It made for a much easier transition, and helped the baby regulate her own intake as she learned about new tastes, smells, and textures while joining the family in a social situation.

Hello J.,
It has been a long time since I made my own baby food, (our oldest daughter is 26 now) but I would buy either fresh, or frozen veges, cook them until they were soft, use a potato masher to make it the right consistancy, and then put them into ice cube trays for individual servings. I would pop them out, and heat them up. We didn't have microwaves, and I personally wouldn't use one now. You want as many nutrients in your baby as possible.
Hope this helps. Enjoy your precious Jacob.
T. Vincent

www.wholesomebabyfood.com was the greatest reference for me in making baby food. great recipe and need-to-know info.

Good for you for making baby food! So many these days find it too hard or are too busy!
Here are some tips:
1. When you make baby food, make a day out of it. It gets messy and rather than making a mess everyday, do it all at once and be done with it for 30 days or so!
2. Fruits and Vegetables are easy (you can use frozen or fresh), just steam with a little water till nice and soft. Put them in your food processor or blender and blend till nice and smooth. You can use water, formula or breastmilk to get that smooth consistency if needed.
3. Good starter foods are applesauce, peas, sweet potatoes and yams. Remember to peel the skin from your apples until your child is little older. The fiberous skin is hard on their little digestive systems.
4. Stock up on icecube trays...i have about 10 of them. Once your puree is the consistency you like, pour it in the icecube trays and freeze. When frozen, put in ziplock bags and label them with the name of the food.
5. Serve your baby 1-2 cubes when you're feeding solids. If when you thaw the cubes out, you find they are too runny, add a little cereal to thicken things up.

Good luck!

Hi J.,

I highly recommend "First Meals." It has easy, unique recipes, that will really get your baby ready for more sophisticated flavors. Here is the link:

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

We often gave our little one the same things we were eating; just mashed or pureed. Some foods, like banana or avocado, need no prep other than mashing. Other foods, like peas or green beans, just need to be steamed, and then pureed. The book, "First Meals," gives a lot of great baby food recipes, but also contains great recipes for toddlers and older kids. It's definitely a book that grows with your family!

I bought an inexpensive food mill and cooked all sorts of vegetables and fruits (especially organic) and ground them up. I'd usually steam them without added seasonings or fat. Then, I'd spoon the ground up food into ice cube trays. When they were frozen I'd pop out the individual servings and put them into plastic bags in the freezer and defrost as needed. My kids liked carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. They weren't so thrilled with green beans and other green veggies. Also, you can use sugar free organic apple sauce from the market. Fresh bananas are easily squished up with a fork. My kids never had jarred baby food. They are very healthy kids now, aged 7 and 10.

I madea baby food for my little girl beginning at 3 months. That was 27 years ago; I know it's not fashionable to start that soon these days, but I started her on cereal first and gradually worked in other foods and she took to it and never had any health issues. I also let her use a bottle and gradually introduced her to cow's milk - it did not deter her from breastfeeding. She nursed until she walked @ 10 months. After that she was on the go and ready to wean. We lived on a farm so I grew all our own fruits and veagetables, raised our own beef, chickens and eggs. (I provided the milk). Get a baby food grinder, buy organic fruits and vegetabales (unless you can grow your own) then simply cook the ingredients, cool and spoon into ice cube trays, freee and store in the freezer for 1-serving portions. Good luck and have fun! You baby will be much off with this healthier alternative.

I made all my own baby food for both of my sons. The easiest system I used so it didn't feel like you were doing extra work was that I just made more of the vegetables that my husband and I were going to have for dinner and pureed them in the blender or with my hand held blender (less washing up with a hand held vs blender). Extra food went into ice cube trays for other meals. The cubes I would use for day trips out and I would let them defrost in the Avent disposable cups that have lids. Made for easy transport and storage containers. A great book for recipes and help your confidence is Super Baby Food. Also I get all my fruit and veg at the local farmers market or co op.
Good luck and happy cooking

I have 4 year old twins and when they were little I made my own baby food. I used sweet potatoes and a bunch of other veggies. I would steam or bake them in the oven and then vacuum seal them and put them in the freezer. It worked out great because I could just putthe bag in boiling water to thaw it and it would be ready in minutes and no preservatives!

check out the "super baby food" book. Available everywhere & it will give you everything you'll need to know in order to make the food.

I have a book called Mommy Made that has easy ideas on how to puree foods and gives good ideas for matching veggies and fruit together. I usually buy fruits and veggies and spend a day making lots of food. I use ice trays to frreze the food in and then store them in a freezer bag when they are frozen. Another idea is getting a group of friends together and each person makes one or two items for the whole group, then you pass them out and you end up with lots of different types of food but only have to make a couple. Anyway hope this helped. Blessings

I highly recommend the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. It's fantastic! Making baby food is so simple and so rewarding. To know exactly what is going into your little one's body is so important, imo. I would make all my baby food on one Sunday a month, so it doesn't take too much time either. Also, I don't know if it was a coincidence, but both my kids are great eaters who have a taste for all kinds of different foods.

Hi J., I made baby food for both of my boys (now 3 and almost 2). I purchased a book called the Petit (french title) Appetite cookbook. The book has recipes, instructions on how to prepare the food and how to store it as well as the ever so important LIFE SPAN of the food. I started with sweet potato (not yam) I baked them, peeled them and pured them in a food processor, you add water to create the texture you desire,at the beginning I made it a bit smoother to help it go down. I also started with carrots, I steamed them, put them in the food processor added water from the steamer pot to adjust consistency and served it. I stored my baby food in small 4 ounce airtight jars. I placed two jars of each food in my refrigerator and stored the rest in the freezer. I would take it out a day before for defrosting when I new I was getting close to needing it. As far as meat went I did that fresh every day, we did chicken and veal, added a dash of onion powder, not much and added water as it was processing until it created a light mouse like texure, I also added vegetables to the meat like spinach, carrot and sweet potato to make a more interesting flavor. Being Italian I also made lentil soups, minestrones things with ricotta as well as your traditional spaghetti dishes and processed that as well. I commend you on doing this, it is soooo important!!!! If you can't find the book I used you can go to Barnes and Noble or any other book store and they have TONS of those books, the key to success is make sure it has reasonable everyday ingredients that won't send you to specialty stores, keep it simple and yummy for there young tummies and also make sure it has instructions on storing and life spans of the food. Also when you little one gets older/toddler age pick up a book on how to "sneak" vegetables into there dishes, I purchased Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld however there are many wonderful books out there and I will probably purchase another one for more variety. Congratulations and have FUUUUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!

Super Baby Food Book
by Ruth Yaron

available on amazon
awesome

good luck

I made most of the baby food for my 3 liitle ones. I would just steam any veggie or fruit and then puree in food processor adding a little of the water used to steam for a smoother consistency. The key to making it all easy is to freeze the food in ice cube trays and store in freezer bags so they are readily available. You can defrost and combine foods for variety. I would also add tofu or cooked egg yoke to the puree right before feeding my babes so there was protein in the mix. I did not offer meat protein till way after 1 years old. Good luck!

Hello J.
I your eating habits are healthy, you can puree your own food. You would just have to modify the way you prepare it, like adding spices at the end after you put aside food for your baby. I bought a small baby food processor so I didn't have to use the big one for such a small amount of food. I did this with all my kids with the bonus that they where used to table food from the start. One of my kids never touched rice cereal or other baby food. He just refused, so from day one I fed him what we were eating (makes my like a lot easier too).
Good luck. M.

Babyfood never passed my daughter's lips and believe me, it was CHEAPER to prepare her food. She ate just what we did for most meals. Baby cereal she did love, though. I used my blender to grind up what we ate with a little breast milk or formula, until it was pureed. Then I put the liquid in ice cube trays, froze it into cubes and bagged the cubes into labeled freezer bags. I always had peas, beans, squash, beef, pork, etc. ready to go. Just pop it into the microwave! I would also suggest you get a good book at Borders or wherever on making your own babyfood. There are some good ones out there. Happy Cooking!
L.

steamed yams and sweet potatoes are easy, great tasting, affordable, super nutritious, and she never seems to tire of them (though we do eat other stuff).

Steam any veggie, liquify it with 2 tablespoons of water from the pot. keeps for 2 days. [do your best to not add salt, they don't know the diff :)] My daughter's fav were yams and Mexican squash. Look up their vitamin/mineral value. Sauteed ground turkey works very well, easy for them to eat. Grilled/baked salmon is easy to mash, they love it and it is great for them. Good luck!!!!

Hi J.,

My son is 13 months and I have been making a lot of his food since he was about 5 months old. I bought "Super Baby Food" from www.overstock.com (they had the best price) and it's great from infancy through toddlerhood. A lot is common sense, but there a lot of recipes and tips.

Steph- Foothill Ranch, CA

I made all of my daughter's baby food with whole foods and a small electronic food chopper (ours is Oster brand). The closer to nature, the better (fresh ORGANIC veggies and fruits, age appropriate, watch for allergens). Use a little bit of breastmilk or plain water to puree the food, then store it in ice cube trays. Reheat a cube or two on the stovetop rather than the microwave (it's much safer and healthier).

Have fun!

HI there,

I am a mother of 2 little girls, 4 and just about 3. I wanted to share with you the fact that I never bought ANY jarred baby food because I always made their baby food. It was so easy with any kind of a grinder - I had the Magic Bullet. It never made any sense to me that I would feed them something that has been sitting in a jar on a shelf! So, I would recommend choosing whatever it is you want to start feeding your little Jacob and just boil it in water, let it cool and blend it up in the magic bullet. They eat only a couple of tablespoons at each sitting anyway, so I would make just a little bit and refrigerate the rest to serve it again later. The Japanese seem to specialize in extra small storage containers so I used these cute little 2 X 3 in little containers that was perfect for one or two servings of baby food.

Also, as my babies got a little older and I was sure that there were no allergies to any of the foods I was introducing then my goal was to get as many "colors" into their diets as possible - mushed carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, apple sauce, spinach, zuchini, etc.

The whole process of making baby food from taking the food out of the fridge and getting it to the baby took maybe 15 minutes so I thought it was really not very time consuming at all, and then of course the second serving only required a little heating up in the microwave ( in a glass container, not the plastic) took even less time.

I hope this helps and I hope that Jacob learns to eat great healthy nutritious food from the get go!

K.

there are tons of great books out there.. i just read a few last week but cant remember the names!! check your local library!But I made my daughters baby food for awhile and I would just steam the fruits or veggies and then throw them in the food processor and then freeze them in ice cube trays. Then once they were frozen I would pop them out and put them into labeled ziploc freezer bag and stick them in the freezer.

I made baby food for both of my boys and it is really easy. What I did was get the basic veggies (carrots, squash, etc. ) cook it in a little water or steam it and puree and put them in either icecube trays or those little glad containers are very handy and freeze it. You'll find one squash goes a long way. Then I would mix how ever I felt my kid needed more of. After they are introduced to a lot and ready for meat I would either just take the roast chicken we were having that night(or whatever it may be) and puree a portion into their baby food...and I would also make bigger than normal batches of stew and soups and package them enough for a family dinner and freeze, and when it was dinner time have the stew and puree baby's portion...there are a ton of possiblilities...

Hi! I have this wonderful book called "the petit appetit cookbook" by Lisa Barnes. It is full of healthy and organic friendly ideas. We love it. There are lots of great homemade recipes for your baby and toddler. You will like some yourself too! Good luck.

G.

go to wholesomebabyfood.com

Hi J.,
My son is nine now, but when he was a baby, I got a book called "First Meals" and it had a lot of great recipes for making healthy baby food that he would enjoy. It has recipes for kids up to 5 or 6 yrs old when they can begin helping. I found it to be a great help. Congratulations on your little one and taking the time to make his food!

Hi J.,

Congratulations on Jacob. My son, Matthew was born the exact same day. YOU MUST THE BOOK, "SUPER BABY FOOD". It is a big book, but very very informative about making your own food. I make all of Matthews food with organic fruits and veggies and it is sooo easy and so cheap. Best first foods are rice cereal, sweet potato, avocado, banana. But you really should read the book, as there are important foods to avoid in the early stages. The author gives simple ways to make all baby food for all stages. In short, I just blend(puree) the foods with water to get ghe best consistency for a baby your age and than put in ice cube trays, and once they are frozen just take them out and put in zip lock bags.. please buy the book.

Best of luck

Hi. I made both of my daughters babyfood. It was really easy! I steamed the food and pureed it in a food processor. Once it was pureed I put it into ice cube trays and after it was frozen I put it into ziplock bags after writing the name of the food and date I prepared it on the outside of the bag. :0)

Congrats on little Jacob sent from Heaven. THey are such belssings. Anyway, I made food for all three kids, and the easiest way I found was to try to do it in one afternoon. They don't eat much in the beginning, so simple vegetables steamed, then pureed and placed in ice trays. I would freeze the trays wiht plastic wrap and aluminum foil on top, and then just pop out a cube or two, put it in my purse and off we went. They all three eat very differently, so I don't know if it makes a difference for them to eat with you later, but it is defiantely MUCH easier on the budget. One carrot goes a looong way in ice trays. As they get older then, you can slip all kinds of yummy foods in like spinach, flax seed, prunes, etc.

I remember reading once that you should not make your own carrots. There will be too much of something (I can't remember what) in them and if you buy it organic it's better, because the FDA keeps an eye on it and regulates it.

Here try this. Make the baby food in bulk when you have time and freeze it in ice cube trays. Then when you are ready to feed Jacob all you have to do is defrost the food.

The Magic Bullet is the perfect tool for this....You've seen it advertised on television. It comes with a handy receipe booklet and once you discover all the ways you can use it, I'm sure making baby food will be a breeze.........HAVE FUN WITH IT!

J.,

Check out Barnes and Noble or Borders for natural baby food books. The biggest piece of advice is get a couple of sets of ice cube trays, you freeze the food in these to make the servings. You'll also need a good food processor. Once you start making the food yourself, you'll learn to mix and match the ice cubes of food. Good Luck.

J.

Hi J.,
We had a Magic Blender, you know one of those of the infomercials that they sell at target and Bed Bath ect now.
I tell you I loved that thing. What ever I was cooking for the family I just made sure to set a bit to the side before I added the seasonings and ground it up. At first it was all vegetables and then when we introduced meats they too went in with some veggies and blend away. I LOVED IT!! I cooked my own fruits down too if needed apple, pears ect.

My kids are the most awesome eaters I know. They are 3 and 5 and the absolutely love vegetables, asparagus, broccoli the works they love it all, and I feel very strongly that it was in part that since birth we never cooked food to cater to them they have always eaten what the rest of us were having.

Best of luck and enjoy your little munchkin, they are heaven sent indeed

H.

Congratulations! I have a 6 month old too that was born on 8/24/07. What I did with my first born (who is now 5.5 yrs.)I started with fresh banana mashed up. Then banana mixed with avocado. He loved that. It actually tastes very good and it's super healthy. Thouhg these two items can't really be stored because of turning brown. With the other food that I made I just simply blended it in my blender or food processor. Like chicken soup. I use to steam all his veggies in an old fashion double boiler and then mash it all up. I steamed squash, pumpkin squash, sweet potatoe, broccoli, all veggies and he loved it. I would also mix some veggies with tofu for protein. After a year old he was able to pick cut up tofu on his own and eat it. I didn't give him beef or pork until after 2 years old. He ate mainly tofu and chicken and turkey slices. I hope this helps.

Both of my boys ate food that I made from scratch. It is really easy. I highly recommend a mini food processor. To begin with, all you do is boil the vegetable or fruit until it is tender. Let it cool and then put it in the processor. I made a good batch and then froze the rest. I would use the really small glad plastic containers since they were the right portion. The first vegetables that I made were peas, carrots, green beans, zuccini and yams. The yams could either be boiled or baked. I also baked eggplant. The fruits that boiled well were apricots, peaches, apples, and bananas. Later on when they are older and you have ruled out anything that they are not alergic to, you can take a little bit of everything from your chicken soup(or stew) and put it in the processor as well. As your child gets older and has developed chewing better, you don't have to pulse as much on the processor so that it is chunkier. I introduced my sons first to veal and then chicken and beef. Your grocer can ground the veal then you bake it and then process it. I also put fresh fruit like cantelope, watermelon, strawberries and bananas into a mesh bag that they sell at the store. It is messy but they love it. It is also good for teething when you put cold fruit in there. Canned food is easier but the extra work of making their own food is totally worth it. My boys love fruits and vegetables now and they are not picky eaters. Good luck!

I just steamed organic veges and pureed and froze in ice cube trays with a lid. Then you can take 1-2 cubes out at a time! Worked great. However, my 4th child only eats steamed veges in cubes...will not eat any baby food mashed. So if the baby food does not go well you can try tiny little steamed chunks at some pt. too...He is 8 mons. now. The organic baby foods are great too to try something to see if he likes it first. Also, a sweet potato in the micro or baked for 5-7 mins. is great to go. Take 1/2 with you and a spoon and a quick healthy treat for the go. Good luck!

Hi !!
Please educate yourself about organic and GMO-Foods -
foods that are genetically modified ...
so bad!
they don't even have to label those fruits - let's say papaya's from hawai - they force the farmers to seed those GMO manipultated grains and it's a big mess ...there is an open Letter to Hillary Clinton explaining the outrage : http://ninahagen.beeplog.de/1508_392559.htm
and PLEASE WATCH THiS YOUTUBE EXPOSiNG MONSANTO FOR WHAT iT iS : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E-5KivgwO4

so you know what to be aware off when buying the foods that become your babies solids !!

with Love ,
N.

Keep it simple. Do not mix the foods until you know if he is allergic to them. Just puree the food. Then freeze them in ice cube trays. Then put them in freezer bags. Mark them with the date and what it is. That way they are serving size. Make a few batches at a once to save time later.

Hello, I make my own food. I did it with my oldest and now I am doing it for my youngest.
It really is not that hard. I just buy the fruit and vegis. Some of them I have to boil to soffen and then I put it in a blender. I freeze half the batch in ice trays and put the other half in the fridge. I take about a table spoon to warm up when it is time to eat. If we are going some where for the day I take a frozen one put it in a container and by the time lunch or dinner comes around it is defrosted.
It saves a whole lot of money...
Good luck

Hi J..

I strated making baby food for my daughter when she was about 6 months old. Not all the time, I would still buy baby food from the store, but one time I had leftover chicken and rice and I thought I would try it. It was a huge hit with my baby. I have the Magic bullet and it was perfect for making baby food. I would make a chicken breast and season it with a little garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. Yes pepper. I know it sounds spicy but I think she loved it because it had flavor. And when you blend it all together It's not spicy. So I would bake the chicken and make either rice or potatoes and I would shred the chicken and put the rice or potatoes in there and blend it up. You probably want to add water to get it to the consistancy you want it. But that was so easy and she loved it and I knew it was fresh and homemade. I did it also with beef and carrots together with a little rice, she loved that one too. Even chicken soup with noddles or rice or both. The magic bullet was great for making anything into baby food. And I wasn't afraid to use some spice and flavor. It didn't hurt her tummy and I think she loved to eat something with some flavor. Hope This helps.

HI J.. I made a lot of my sons food at first, he's now 16 months. The easiest is squash. Just bake some organic squash according to directions and put in a food processor (I finally got that little blender, The Magic Bullet, which is way more convenient). Always add some breast milk to thin it out. You can put portions in ice cube trays and freeze and pop out cubes as needed. As he got older, I've made squash, then added oats and apple juice and baked in the oven into patties. He pretty much lived on avocado, banana, squash and baby yogurt at first. Now, I hide broccoli and other veggies in his fruit smoothies!
D. (SAHM for Calder-16 months)

My sister used this technique. Prepare a stew with a balance of meat/vegies, or a mix of chicken and vegies. Thoroughly cook, then place in food processor or blender to puree. Pour into icecube trays till frozen, then remove and place a couple of "cubes" into individual plastic bags. At mealtime you can either simmer the cubes (in the bag) in water or microwave till warm. This way, you can ensure the quality of meat, vegetables, etc, and provide balance for your baby. You can also prepare fruits by pureeing fresh cooked fruit. Hope this helps.

We should all be eating as much organic as possible, but this is especially important for babies.

Super Baby Food is a good resource, but not a very enjoyable read. Lots of cross-references, and I feel that the author waaaaay overcomplicated even the simplest things.
We really like The Petit Appetite Gourmet Cookbook for Babies and Toddlers.
Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right is another good one, with lots of great info and some recipes at the end.

Mainly just make sure you start with things like sweet potatoes, apples, bananas - easy-on-the-tummy stuff. Steam, puree, and then put it through a mesh sieve to get any remaining lumps. Add pure water or breast milk to thin it out if the consistency is too thick.

Avacadoes are good because you can just cut one in half, and spoon out little bites. Practically no mess.

You can freeze small portions in ice cube trays, then pop the cubes out and put them in an airtight container or freezer bag, taking out only the amount you need for each sitting.

Despite what many people may tell you, grains are not the greatest thing to start out with because they are more difficult to digest.

Don't stress if your baby doesn't take to food right off - he may not be ready for solids just yet. My daughter wasn't ready till she was over 8 months.

www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a great site and very simple. Also get these things called "Baby Cubes" they are BPA free and allow you to store in the freezer 1 serving at a time. You can buy at www.thesoftlanding.com My son is 5 1/2 months old and is LOVING his fresh homemade food. I started with mashed avocado - then pureed steamed carrots (you add a little fresh water to make it smoother) Be careful of too much banana at this point, they are binding, I made that mistake (banana every morning) and he got constipated. Not fun! You can always add cereal to any puree to make it a little thicker too if you wish! (oh and pears and peaches are great for preventing constipation!) You can make your own rice/oat cereal too, just buy oatmeal (not instant) or brown rice, put in a food processor, then blend into a powder. Then add water when its time to eat! Enjoy, this eating thing is a lot of fun :)