Do you make your own baby food?

Question

If you do, what sort of things can i make for my 5 1/2 month old baby? He's prefering sweet things such as banana, and i'm finding it hard to get him to eat savory.Any suggestions?

Answer 1

My daughter loved steamed pear sauce when she was little. Just steam peeled pears for about 8 minutes (steaming preserves more of the nutrients than boiling), then mash with a fork or put them through a blender or a food processor to smash (they're cooked enough at that point, though, that all you need is a fork). Be sure to get all the seeds out, of course.

I would make big batches and then freeze portions in ice cube trays.

Steamed prunes (done exactly the same way) are good for constipation. Just be careful when you mash them - they're super sticky and will not come off of whatever you mash them with easily. I wouldn't do these in a blender.

I also steamed peaches the same way and mashed them. Froze everything in ice cubes, and then would mix and match - the prune/pear combo was especially popular.

Of course, I'm sure you've figured out that you can make banana pudding, almost, by smashing a banana with a fork to within an inch of its life. It starts to fluff up after a while - just keep mashing.

Commercial applesauce is just fine for baby - don't worry about buying the special baby sort (same goes for juice, by the way). I just bought no-sugar-added. She liked it with cinnamon.

I also baked squash and then mashed it for her. That was good with cinnamon. I froze the portions as above.

I would keep frozen veggies on hand, and then nuke a few and whirl them up in my Magic Bullet blender - the peas and carrots were especially popular. And taste the difference between commercial, jarred peas and homemade, smashed peas. I wouldn't eat the jarred stuff, either.

Don't worry about meats right away, but when you're ready, you can bake some chicken and then put it in the blender or food processor with a bit of liquid (broth or water). The chicken/pear combo was popular here, too.

Have fun! I LOVED cooking for my daughter!

PS - The other answers that say not to cook for your child because baby foods are "special" are ridiculous. What do you think people did for THOUSANDS of years before Gerber? Baby food in jars is the baby equivalent of TV dinners - they are convenience items, and it won't hurt anything to use them sparingly, but they're not optimal for everyday meals. Think of all the preservatives and additives (sugar and salt, etc.) that they have to use to keep things the right color - specifically bananas, that turn black almost immediately once they're mashed. You can feed your baby jarred bananas, and give them all the preservatives, or you can feed them BANANAS. Which one do you think nature intended your baby to eat?

You don't want to give your baby a lot of citrus, because of the acid. It makes their pee acidic, then they sit in it until you realize they're wet, and they end up with rash. I think the carrot thing is baloney, too. The same people who worry about the nitrates in carrots end up feeding their kids lunch meat and hot dogs later, and they're loaded with the stuff. You're not supposed to give kids under 4-6 months solid foods, anyway, so if the nitrates are only a problem for kids under 3 months, it's a non-issue.

Answer 2

Breast milk or formula should be the most of the baby's food intake at this time... but having baby food on the side, to introduce is fine. They suggest you try one food at a time to make sure they don't have any food allergies, and give them that food for 3-5 days before you switch to another just to make sure. We used the baby food in jars or plastic containers- by Gerber. My son loved everything except peaches- it took about 10 different times until he liked it- and with that, they say don't give up, try at least 10 different occasions just to make sure, because they might end up liking something they don't like the first time. If you really don't want to use the baby food, then you can make your own, just be sure to mash it up really good because 5 1/2 months is still pretty young... and with the baby foods- they told us to start out on veggies first or they'll never eat them because the fruits are so tasty. Also, there are many different varieties (not as much in stage one because you are introducing them at this stage making sure they have no allergies), but there are lots of different fruits- my son loves many like Tutti Fruity, Cherry Vanilla Pudding, Hawaiian Delight, etc etc.... (again this is more at stage 2 though).

Good luck!

Answer 3

Try carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. Those are sweet and gentler on his stomach than the greens. Although mine was also eating greens in stretches at this point. I also gave my son avacados mashed up like bananas - he loved them! Overcooked rice is also good. I'd make all kinds of rice for him and he loved them all! Pea pallou, chinese rice with veggies and mexican rice with veggies...he'd even eat saffron rice with rasins!

By six months my doctor said he could also have one serving of meat. So, I would give my son whatever we were having for dinner. I'd just throw it in the food processor and wa-la. You can even do the same thing in a blender.

My son's favorite things are pork and apples and chicken (sprinkled with salt, pepper and a bit of cinamon and pan cooked in a bit of oil with apples and a balsamic glaze). Make sure he's get some starches (not a lot) but a serving is great because it promotes brain growth.

I recommend Anabel Karmel's "Super Foods". This cookbook has basic purees and goes all the way up to toddler and teen friendly meals. These are great international meals that are simple and healthy. It will teach your kid to be a good eater. At eleven month the ONLY thing my son won't go near is lamb.

Answer 4

Ofcourse you make your own babyfood, you must not want it any other way !!
In the morning (his second feed) you make him a "fruit meal" only fruits blended in the blender, you can make that a little sweeter with banana or pear. Do not use strawberries until he is older, since they can contain dirt on the outside. His third meal should be "lunch" which is a savory meal, he has to get used to that. For the first 2 weeks you only make a vegetable meal (only boiled vegetables, no salt at all). You blend it in the blender and add a small tablespoon of raw olive oil and a little stock from the pan. Use potatoes, corgettes and carrots to make it a little sweeter, do not use onions.
After 2 weeks you can add a little meat to it, starting with a little beef and slowly on you make varieties with chicken, pork, fish and later on maybe lamb.You have to keep on trying, if he is hungry, he will eat, do not give him an alternative meal at all or at least not immediately.
For his 4th meal, you already should have started now with porridge, in several varieties according to his age.
And the 5th (and the first) meal of the day, should always be milk.
This is pretty much the program that you will continue to give him, later on changing the porridge for yoghurt mabey or an other kind of dessert and if he has a few good teeth, changing the fruit meal for real pieces of fruit and starting to give him a slice of bread for breakfast with his milk.

What I used to do is make the "lunch" for 3 days and devide it into 3 tupperware bowls with a little of its stock. Keep them in the fridge and only when you are ready to use it, heat it in the microwave, add oil and put it thru the blender. This way you don't have to make a meal everyday and it does not use the vitamins. Only blend it when you are about to feed it to him.

Don't worry, small babies have to get used to a lot of new things and they don't like changes, so give him a few days to get used to the new tastes.

Good luck !

Answer 5

We used the Happy Baby Food Grinder for both of our children and usually just gave them a little of what we were having, you can get it for $14 at baby stores, or you can look on eBay. In America, baby food is readily available, but in many other countries the baby eats what the family eats. Our children seemed to enjoy trying new foods and have never developed any food allergies.

Answer 6

i did it's more cost efficient and you know just whats in the food i use to cook carrots, peas, sweet potato's, green beans, I'd cook till super soft than puree them and freeze them in ice cube trays covered in plastic wrap that way you can do a lot at once and thaw them when you need them this also works for apples, pears, bananas ,apricots and peaches, when the babies a little older you can add broccoli and cauliflower and many other veggies good luck have fun

Answer 7

Give him little bits of bread soaked in the sauce from whatever you're eating... feed him right from your table. He'll be more likely to try it that way, knowing you're eating it. I used to soak little tiny bits of bread in the juice from vegetable soup or gravy, and the kids would smack it up.. This way, eating is a "grown-up" adventure they enjoy.. makes them feel like they're part of your family.. sitting at the table with you (in the high chair) and eating "real" food..

Answer 8

You can mash food such as banana, green beans, pasta, etc. and feed it to your baby, but this it not necessarily advised. Baby food can get expensive but those foods are specially formulated for babies. Fruits for example can be very acidic. This is taken in to consider when they make baby food. If you give your baby mashed real food, you risk giving your baby indigestion, upset stomach, and possibly diarrhea or opposite-constipation. I would ask your doctor first for some suggestions. If you insist on giving him real food though, make sure you mash it up with water to help dilute it some

Answer 9

I made all of my own baby food. The only thing they say not to make your own of is carrots. Becuase they have to many nitrates in them. Any thing else I just steamed and then blended. I would them put them in a clean ice cube tray, freeze them, and wwhen there done I would pop them out and put them in frezzer safe bags (label with date). And for every meal you have a perfect serving.

Answer 10

mix some sweet things like sweet potatoes and then throw a couple pieces of some vegges so it will still be sweet for him but he also getting other good foods