Homemade Baby Food - You Can Do It!

So back in my days of Pinterest (pregnant/nesting days before I actually had the baby as opposed to the days now wherein I have no time for Pinterest) I came across a post of a woman and her mother who had just made a month's worth of baby food. Clicking through, the site gave a great shopping list for everything they had made and then step-by-step instructions on how to make it all within two hours. It inspired me and I said, that day, "I am going to make my own homemade baby food!" Fast forward months later when baby is here and I started to doubt it - just a little. Will it really be as easy as the post described? Will it really only take two hours? Will it be that inexpensive? And is it worth it?

I can now answer those questions: It really is as easy as they described; It took me longer than two hours the first few times (especially if you count the set-up/clean-up time which I do!); It can be inexpensive or you can buy all organic and mostly fancy-shmancy Whole Foods things like I have; and yes, yes, yes, it is worth it!

Apples to make (avocados are in the brown paper bag to ripen faster)

I started my baby with some of the basics: avocado, banana, apples. Avocado and bananas cannot be messed up - you smoosh them. Seriously. If you want, you can use the Baby Bullet (which is what I use for everything) to puree them and add a touch of water, but you really can't screw it up so they are the best to start with. WARNING: Your baby will most likely become constipated. My daughter never seemed uncomfortable, but I wasn't happy that her bowel movements changed so quickly which is what prompted me to make things besides just avocado and banana. 

Apples are easy too and once you master those, many fruits/veggies follow the same rules: (1) When in doubt, peel whatever it is (the skin is good for them but more difficult for their little tummies to digest); (2) Put the fruit/veggie in a pot of water so that the water is just covering it and bring to a boil; (3) when the fruit/veggie is soft, put it in the Baby Bullet and add the water it was cooked in as needed to adjust the consistency. I have cooked the following things following those three rules: apples, pears, eggplant, golden squash, zucchini, broccoli, peas, and carrots.

Sweet potatoes, bananas, broccoli medley, and
the Baby Bullet base.

I have also sauteed baby spinach and kale in virgin olive oil and then pureed it. Once I got these basics down pat, I started making other things such as sweet potatoes and butternut squash (bake on 425 degrees on cookie sheet until soft - depending on the size it may take 45 - 90 minutes, then scoop out and puree, adding water as necessary). I also made regular white potatoes this way but will not make them again - they were too thick and adding water and pureeing made them paste-like. It almost broke my Baby Bullet and they didn't taste good. 

I have given her mango (scooped right out of skin and pureed with water) and blueberries (popped into Baby Bullet and pureed with no water).

I regularly make oatmeal. I buy steel oats from Whole Foods (scoop them yourself  - really inexpensive). I grind them in the Baby Bullet into a fine powder. Then I boil 1 cup water and add 1/4 cup of ground oats and whisk constantly for 8-10 minutes. I sometimes add pureed apples (you can even add frozen chunks of this puree if you previously made it), bananas, cinnamon, brown sugar, etc... depending on what flavor I want as I whisk them. 

All of the above can then be frozen in ice cube trays or small Tupperwares (OXO brand makes great small 2 and 4 oz containers with tight snapping lids that I love - Babies r Us carries them). I keep it all in the freezer and every night before I go to bed, I take out a breakfast, lunch and dinner meal for the next day and move it to the refrigerator. Easy peasy. 

To serve it, I either give it to her cold (bananas, blueberries, mangoes, etc...), room temperature (avocado, spinach, etc...) or warmed (potatoes, oatmeal, etc...) At first, she would only eat things cold! But she transitioned out of that and now usually takes whatever I will give her so I serve it the way I would want to eat it!

Here is what I made in just under three hours (that includes set-up and clean-up)! What takes me the longest is peeling whatever needs to be peeled - the rest is smooth sailing! You can see the Baby Bullet storage containers on the bottom right, the OXO containers on the bottom left, the Baby Bullet rubber container on the top left and the ice cube trays I use (got them at the dollar store - three/four trays for one dollar!).








Below is my freezer door full of food I made last time (once I transferred it from the ice cube trays into Ziploc bags). After it freezes in the trays, I place 2-3 "cubes" into a Ziploc and label it with the food and the date I made it. Food lasts up to 3 days in the refrigerator (although I don't usually go more than two days to be safe) and up to 3 months in the freezer (although it's best when used within 1 month).

So try it! I love the fact that I can buy all organic produce and can make it easily at home - I know every single thing that has gone into my baby's mouth! If I can do it, anyone can and it is beyond worth it. Your baby will be happy, healthy and will be a great (read: not picky) eater! Have fun cooking!