February 2010

When I. and K. were babies, I bought jarred fruits and vegetables to feed them.  Organic of course, but still not fresh.  I felt too busy and didn’t want to add one more thing to my “to do” list.  It seemed so much easier to just grab a bunch of jars each week at the grocery store so I didn’t have to plan the baby’s meals too.  I was working full time outside the home (taking baby to work and working at home, but working at least 32 hrs/wk none the less), caring for 2 kids under 5 and had a hubby working full time too.

When O. came along though, I was only working part time at home, the other two kids were older, and, it just felt like I should try it; I’m a big believer in homemade, non-processed food after all…..and even organic jarred baby food is pre-processed – organic yes, but still not fresh.

So, I tried it.  We’ve been going at it for over 5 months  and haven’t bought a jar of food yet!  I do feed him organic, whole grain and brown rice cereals, but, his fruits and veggies are all homemade.

I’m here to tell you, it’s actually really easy.  And, if I had tried it with the other two, even with all of my other responsibilities, I think it would have been just fine.

Not only is it easy though, making O’s food at home has saved us a ton of money too.  Organic jarred food is upwards of $1 per jar in our area!  Homemade food, baby or otherwise, is also generally much more environmentally friendly than buying pre-packed foods.  Not as much energy is used to produce the food (or transport it if your buy local!), and there isn’t as much packaging to dispose of.

The trick to making it manageable for me is making big batches and freezing the extra in easy to use portions.  They make BPA free plastic trays (basically chemically free ice cube trays) which work really well for this purpose.  This way, all I have to do most days is pick a few different cubes out of the freezer, put them into his bowls and let them thaw.

Or, if I’m in a hurry, I can heat up some water, pour it over the cubes, add some cereal and there ya go!

I know some people use a microwave too.  We personally don’t have one, but, if you do then that’s another option.

Now, I understand that by freezing the food, those portions he eats aren’t fresh.  I also feed him frozen berries this time of year.  But, freezing keeps far more nutrients in the food than canning.  And, I know exactly what was in the food.  Plus, it allows me to use as much locally grown produce as possible (there usually still is some even in the winter if you look hard enough!), which I also feel is important for many different reasons.

The process for making homemade baby food is pretty easy, but, I thought I’d provide some helpful instructions and recipes to make it every easier!

When babies are beginning to eat solid food you want to focus on simple fruits and veggies.  For example, a great starter food is a fresh organic banana.  Just put it in a bowl and mash it up with a fork.  For your baby’s first meal add a bit of water or breast milk to thin out the banana, but soon, your baby will be able to eat the mashed banana on it’s own.

Some other early favorites are…..

carrots (just steam and put in the blender with a bit of water)

sweet potatoes (same, steam and puree with some water – you DON”T have to peel the sweet potatoes- a lot of nutrients are lost by peeling fruits and veggies just wash and steam)

squash (any variety but a big favorite is usually butternut squash – just steam the squash, then scoop out the innards and puree with a bit of water to thin out the mixture).

Pears (put ripe, un-peeled pears into the blender with a bit of water and puree).

Apples (same as pears)

You probably get the basic idea – some foods need to be cooked first, and steaming keeps the most nutrients.  Other foods can just be pureed once they’re ripe.  Either way though all you’re doing is putting the food into the blender, putting it on puree (or whatever setting works for the food you’re using), add a bit of water to thin things out and wholah, baby food!  Fresh, tasty, homemade baby food!

When you’re first starting solids with your baby.  Be sure to only try one new food every few days.  This way, you can be sure that your baby doesn’t have any allergies to the new foods.

Also, don’t begin dairy, nuts, eggs, shellfish or any other food group that your family has a history of allergies with until your baby is at least a year old or more.  Waiting on these foods until your baby’s digestive system is more mature can actually help prevent the development of allergies or sensitivities to these foods in the future.

Besides using a blender to make homemade baby food, you can get your baby’s food to an acceptable consistency with a baby food mill.  A baby food mill is a really simple contraption that purees foods with a turn of a handle.  No electricity needed!! And, it’s small, so it’s easily portable.

The one you see here was passed on to us by my mother in law.  It was the one she used with her 3 kids, including Mr.T. so, that’s very cool.  You can find these easily now online, and some companies even offer food mills made of BPA-Free plastics!

Once baby is older and has more experience with solids, you can get a bit more adventurous.  At this point you can introduce some more complex foods like berries, and legumes.  You can also combine foods that your baby has had before, like bananas and blueberries or squash and apples.

After baby reaches the 1 year mark, pretty much anything goes.  Avoid sugar (including juices) and salt as much as possible.  And don’t feed baby fish like sword fish or tuna that may have a high level of mercury in it.  Other than that, the main goal is to help your child develop a healthy idea about eating and most importantly to enjoy his or her food!

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