7 Easy Steps For Making Homemade Baby Food

Making homemade baby food is probably one of the best ways for overcoming concerns about commercial baby foods. Nowadays one of the things that many parents find most challenging about raising their baby is knowing how to prepare their own healthy food.

If you are concerned about the quality of the baby food offered these days, then learning how to make your own baby food is a great cure for this concern. 

Homemade baby food gives baby a preview of what table food will be like. You are preparing the fruits and vegetables the same way that you do for yourself. By making homemade baby food, you might just avoid the picky eater hurdle many parents face as their babies become toddlers.

Here are 7 easy steps for making homemade baby food:

Crushing & pulping equipment 

We all have pots and pans for cooking the baby foods, but you will need something to puree them. A blender won’t provide as fine a puree as a food processor. A food mill is another option that may be a better deal than the food processor. Choose the one that’s right for your family’s budget.

Create a list of what you want to introduce first 

You can still buy the baby cereals from the store or grind up your own grains. A word of advice - cooking the grains first, makes it easier to puree them before feeding to baby.

Clean properly

Foods have to be thoroughly scrubbed and washed to remove dirt from the skin. Keep everything you use to prepare baby’s food as clean as possible. By paying careful attention to these steps you can keep bacteria from invading baby’s food.

Cook first 

To avoid any type of illness from the foods you prepare, cook everything first. Apples, peaches, pears, and other fruits need to be soft so that they blend better when pureed. 

Also, don’t forget to remove all skin and seeds before cooking to avoid a choking hazard for baby.

Choose right

There are so many foods to choose from. Even if you don’t like a particular food, give baby a chance to try it. 

Your pediatrician can give you a list of foods to avoid when baby is new to solid foods to help you avoid any possible allergies or other health concerns.

Babies are little people. Foods that give you gas or heartburn will probably do the same to them. You may want to stay away from broccoli, greens, and cauliflower until later. Your nose will thank you.

Cook with little liquid

Add as little liquid as possible during the cooking. In the beginning you will be adding baby milk to the food when you puree it so that the consistency is not too thick. 

The whole process is trial and error so if the pureed baby food come out runny, add more vegetables or fruits. 

Try not to use any seasonings or sugar in baby’s food. The natural taste is better on their taste buds and their bodies.

Collect cleverly 

Freezing baby foods after they are prepared prevents spoiling. Storing the baby food in the refrigerator can lead to food poisoning if left too long.  Protect your baby by only refrigerating what you will need right away and freezing the rest in freezer safe containers.

I always marvel at people who are willing to pay so much for jars of commercial foods while ignoring the benefits of making homemade baby food.

With a little bit of effort you can be making homemade baby food knowing you have total control over your baby's diet and knowledge of what exactly goes into it. Maybe it's time to leave the unwanted ingredients and additives to the baby food manufacturers.