Introducing Solids: Making Your Own Baby Food

So here it is, part three of Introducing Solids, the Basics of Making Baby Food. You've decided to forgo the store baby food and you want to make your own.  Great!  But, how do you start? What do you do?  I promise, it's not as hard as it may seem.  It's pretty easy actually, and once you get in a groove it'll be as easy as store bought. 

First, a couple of things you'll need:

Blender: I use the baby bullet but after using it for a couple of months now I would say a regular food processor, food chopper or blender would be fine.  There's no need for anything super fancy.

Spatula - To get every bit of baby food out of the blender. If you buy the baby bullet you'll get a spatula and some storage containers to get you started.  Otherwise, any spatula is good.

Storage Containers - You know, to store your food. We like the Rubbermaid 1/2 cup size the best.  They are the perfect portion for Noah who eats two containers of food for all three meals.  They also store and stack really easy without taking a lot of room.

Pot or pan - To cook your food.

Once you have what you need to make the food, the rest is easy.  I like to cook fresh or frozen food mostly.  I haven't tried canned although I suppose you could.  I try to buy the freshest ingredients so I can make the best food.  

I begin with a pan with about an inch of water at the bottom and then add the food.  You can put spices into your food.  I like cinnamon for a lot of the fruits but make sure you stay away from salt as babies don't need as much as adults.  They also don't know how much better food tastes with salt since they've never had it, so they wont miss it.

Boil it until tender and fully cooked.  Finally, blend it and store it!  That's all there's to it. 

When cooking foods you can cook different foods at the same time or make them separate and mix them after they're cooked.  A couple of our favorites are:

sweet potatoes and chicken

pears and cinnamon

apples and cinnamon

coliflour, pat of butter and parmesan cheese

potato, corn and peas

broccoli and carrots

carrots and squash

The possibilities are endless, and until Noah gets some teeth, this is how we'll be introducing most of our foods. 

We have started giving Noah pieces of food that are in a stick shape so he'll be able to hold and learn to gum food.  So far we've tries, sweet potato and regular potato fries, cooked carrot sticks, cooked long noodles like rotini, and sticks of pears and apples. He loves the pureed food much more as it's easier to eat for him but he's definitely learning how to feel himself.  It's so much fun to watch him learn. 

Finally, you can get the links to part one and two below.

Part One:  What Foods Do I Choose?

Part Two: What Feeding Supplies do I Need?