Activity #177: Make your own baby food

If you think we are over ambitious granola moms for even suggesting this idea, I totally get it. There is nothing wrong with pouches or jars of baby food. I personally found making food this way fun, so there’s that. If you are intrigued by the photo above, keep reading.

The book, Super Baby Food is chock full of recipes for making and storing baby food. Actually the most useful part of it is that there’s a list of foods to introduce your baby to for each month, from month 5 until toddlerhood. I referred to it constantly when Julian just started solids and then Heather read it (almost cover to cover) like a novel. Our tip is to make and freeze as much as you can when you still have interest and energy, because it may lose it’s appeal as your baby gets older. The book is also crazy full of other money- and earth-saving ideas if you’re interested in that. But for now, let’s get down to a basic how-to.

How to make your own baby food

Let’s keep it easy and choose fruits or veggies that are softened when steamed. Pears are a good first food to make. Follow this same process for any food you pick: sweet potatoes, squash, apple.

1. Boil water.
2. Add peeled and diced fruit.
3. Poke with a fork to check status. When the fork pierces into the food easily, you’re done boiling it.
4. Remove from stove top
5. Pour out most of the water. Leaving some is fine.
6. Puree. Use a food processor or a blender if you have those. I have a stick mixer, also known as an immersion blender, and I HIGHLY recommend it. More on that later.
7. Feed baby some of the puree fresh out of the container.

Saving and storing homemade baby food

1. Put the puree into ice cube trays and freeze.
2. When the food cubes are set, remove them and place in resealable bags. Label with food type and date, such as “yams feb 21”.
3. To reheat, place in microwave safe container and nuke it. Stir well to avoid hot spots. If you don’t like microwaves, place in a resealable bag and run under hot water.

Serve with a spoon or fill a reusable baby food pouch (we have mixed opinions on these).

Tools of the trade

You may be seduced by the Beaba Babycook. I know I would have been if it was around when my babies were babies. It steams and purees in one appliance. Awesome. The latest model makes larger or smaller portions. Price tag is a bit high.

There is a hefty price tag on this guy, however. As mentioned above, we are both devotees of the immersion blender. Consider this sexy red one by KitchenAid. Look, it made applesauce while you were reading.

{Note:} Instead of ice cube trays, you can buy specific baby food freezer trays  and keep the frozen pureed servings in the cubes until you use them. These BPA-free containers come in many brands but we like OXO tot.

Finally, a few books to guide you in your baby food making adventures: