How To Make Baby Food
Are you ready, or starting to think about making your own homemade baby food purees? Then you have come to the right place.
Making and serving homemade baby food is easier than you think. Plus, when your baby wants to devour your delicious homemade purees it’s a priceless moment that is worth the work.
Why To Make Your Own Baby Food
1. The first reason I began making my own baby food purees was simple – I am a control freak.
2. Food always tastes better using fresh ingredients. Most commercial baby food purees are heated to extremely high temperatures so they can last upward of three years on the shelf, which means the food you spoon into your little one’s mouth is most likely older than your baby.
3. The ability to control the thickness of your baby’s puree is also a tool that will not only help you get though the picky-eating days, but also help transition your baby from purees to solid food. The biggest thing about control over the food is the biggest nutrition win I feel you get for making your own purees; you can tailor them to your child’s needs at any particular moment. Constipated? Make a prune or fruit puree. Feeling under the weather? Make a puree high in vitamin C.
4. This might come as a surprise to you, but making your own baby food with all organic ingredients is more than 50 percent cheaper than buying food.
What Will You Need?
The tools you need to make your own homemade baby food can usually already be found in your kitchen.
While there might be a couple of items you need to purchase, don’t let that derail you. I started with the very minimal kitchen appliances and tools and upgraded as I kept exploring (and blogging) my way around the kitchen.
Blender or Food Processor
Any brand will work just fine. Don’t let the price of a new blender scare you away from making your own baby food. If your blender or food processor is older, then you will probably just need to add a little more liquid to your baby food then stated in the recipes to get them completely smooth.
Freezer Trays or Baby Food Storage
This is probably one of the few items you will need to purchase. You can get freezer trays from the dollar store. I personally LOVE these freezer trays.
Steamer Basket or Insert
You will nee a steamer basket or insert in order to steam the produce for baby’s purees.
Baking Sheet
Medium and Small Saucepan
Knives
Spatula
How To Blend Baby Food
To get a completely smooth baby food puree, you have to give your blender or food processor some time to work it’s magic.
You might have to add in extra liquids (water, breast milk, formula or stock) into the blender or food processor in order to get the blender going. Hard root vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, etc) often take at least 1-2 cups of liquids because they themselves do not have a high water content. I recommend slowly adding liquid into the blender.
Also, while blending make sure to scrape the sides with a spatula to get all the produce.
How To Freeze & Store Baby Food
Freeze
Whenever you make a puree, put several ounces in the fridge for your little one to enjoy that week, then freeze the rest of the batch for her to finish up at a later date.
After making your puree, let it cool slightly and then transfer to your desired storage.
Cover the ice cube trays, and place in the freezer. Let them freeze completely before you crack the purees out of the trays and place them in plastic freezer bags. Label and date each bag.
Storage
Most purees can be stored for three to four days in an airtight container in the fridge. If freezing them, Most produce-based purees can last up to three months in the freezer. Purees containing meat, beans, or grains will last two months in the freezer.
IN THE IVY 