How hard is it to make my own baby food?

Question

When I start my baby on solid foods in a few months I am thinking about making some of the food myself. I will still probably buy the majority of baby food that I give her, but I'm wondering how hard it is to mash up my own cooked carrots or bananas? I'm not really interested in getting lectured about how much better homemade foods might be vs. storebought. I just want to know if you thought it was easy or hard, and what equipment did you need?

Answer 1

Not hard at all and i had NO fancy equipment...a potato masher maybe....mashed bananas...pretty obvious...just a fork for those...if baby likes things runny...add some water, breastmilk, formula whatever to thin it out...i baked a sweet potato and regular potatoes in the oven and then let cool, scrape out insides and mash with water, breastmilk, etc....carrots, i cooked in water and mashed up.....beans and peas were too hard to do this way...couldnt remove the skins from the peas...the beans never got soft enough....apples and zucchini are easy stove top foods as well....again, just skin, chop, boil in water and mash. i also kept the baby cereals handy to thicken any food...my kids seemed to like it thick....making your own cereal at first is not worth the energy....in my opinion...but yes, baby food is not rocket science...use your best judgement...i used to buy jars of beans and peas for my kids and re-use the jars for my own stuff!

Answer 2

Buy the fresh veggys. Wash well. Things like carrots and sweet potatoes you microwave until soft. I usually peeled, cubed and put in a Pyrex bowl with a tablespoon or so of water. Cook until soft. Depending on how old the baby is, either mash with a fork ( older ) or put them in a food processor ( those little 'oscar' ones , or something like the 'magic bullet' work great.) The younger the baby, the smoother you make it. Add a little water as needed (filtered or bottled is a good idea). Things like peas and green beans are best cooked in an inch or so of water and boiled until soft enough to put in the processor. When you make a batch, divide it up and use a plastic ice cube tray to freeze some . After it is frozen, empty into a zip top bag and thaw and use as needed. Never feed the baby out of homemade baby food and put it up for later, and only keep it (untouched) in the fridge about 2 days. There are no preservatives. But it is good for weeks in the freezer so no big deal. Only feed ripe fruit, so that it is soft, and process or microwave just a little if you must to soften. I never added anything to the food, no salt or sugar or anything. And DO NOT use honey before baby is one year old because it is dangerous, botulism is possible. It is for sure worth it, I never bought baby food. The stuff you make is healthier, cheaper and tastes better. Good for you for making homemade.

Answer 3

It's really easy to do your own baby food. I used an electric food chopper to do mass quantities. A fork works too, just takes a little longer if you're doing a lot. Anyway, when I did larger amounts, I would take and pour it into ice cube trays and freeze until solid. Then I would empty the trys into a ziploc bag and store in the freezer. It was handy to pull out a cube or two, thaw and feed. I did squash, potatoes, peaches, pears, all most anything you would want to feed your baby. The drier foods, I too added a little water to get them to feeding consistency. If you don't want to take the time to cook some of the fruits and vegies yourself, you could use canned but I would choose those packed in water or light syrup or maybe low sodium.
So I'd say you'd just need something for mashing the food up, ice cube trays, and bags. Things you probably already have.

Answer 4

I have always made my own baby food because the baby will actually eat it. I usually use rice cereal and oatmeal in the jar, and take that places with me. All of my babies have liked that.

At home, as long as you are making mostly healthy foods, you can just take what you are eating (or the appropriate parts of it), mash it up with a fork, and feed it to your baby. Very easy. Carrots, mashed potatoes, green beans, apples, pasta, You don't need blenders, fancy food makers, or anything like that. Just a fork will do fine, and then you don't have to worry about keeping a stock of all those jars. Although, they can also be useful and convenient.

I have started all my kids on the box of flaked rice cereal, and mashed up a banana for good taste. They love that.

Answer 5

Its actually rather easy and not much equipment is needed. I tried it with my first child but found buying store bought was just more convenient for me. You'll need a baby food grinder or a small food processor(or food mill) which is what I used,Sieve, strainer or ricer, and Fork or masher, if you don't already have a steamer you can steam in your microwave.

Ice cube tray slots are about one ounce so if you plan on freezing any of the food its so simple to pour the pureed food into the ice cube trays cover with plastic wrap and freeze them . Store them in air tight containers or plastic zip lock bags so they don't get freezer burn and NEVER refreeze any unused defrosted foods to avoid bacteria.

If you plan on using canned fruits and veggies which is fine make sure they contain NO SALT and whatever you cook on your own season lightly or don't season at all.steam or microwave vegetables and fruits to retain as much vitamins and minerals as possible, as opposed to boiling. Somethings you can use as thinners are water left from steaming, breast milk, formula, cow's milk, yogurt, broth, or apple juice. And things that can be used as thickeners are wheat germ, whole-grain cereal, cottage cheese, farmer cheese, cooked egg yolks, yogurt, mashed white or sweet potato. Though I wouldn't start with the egg yokes that's just a personal preference.

Answer 6

My lil boy is seven months and was on solids at four months at first I tried him on all the jar food just to see what he liked....now I do make it myself and its alot easier and you just freeze it. All I do is use whatever vegetables, steam them then put them in a blender with some water and i usually can get a weeks worth.

I find homemade food fills him up more and he can poop alot easier.

Answer 7

USE A BLENDER BOIL CARROTS BUT IT IN THE BLEND WITH A LITTLE BIT OF SALT AND SOME OF THE JUICE OF THE CARROT AND THERE YOU GO. YOU CAN DO IT WITH MEAT, FRUITS AND ECT. IF YOU NEED ANY HELP OR HAVE QUESTION EMAIL ME AND I CAN TELL YOU HOW AND THE BEST FOOD YOU CAN MAKE. [e-mail]