My baby (omg, he's growing too fast!) is about ready to start on something other than baby cereal and I want to make my own baby food. Anybody got any tips or tricks on how to do this?

By Happynerdmom on Monday, April 26, 2004 - 02:19 pm:

I made my own baby food with my second. Someone had given me a food grinder, so I just cooked beans, carrots, whatever, and ground it up. As he got older, I just ground up whatever we were having for dinner. (As long as it wasn't spicy, etc.) It was quite a while ago. Someone else may have more specific tips.

By Coopaveryben on Monday, April 26, 2004 - 03:37 pm:

I used to make my own. They loved squash, so I would buy a butternut squash, carrots, green beans. potatoes or anything else, boil it, put it in the food processor, add water to get it to the consistency I wanted. I would then freeze it in ice cube trays, when it was frozen pop it out and put it in a baggie and leave it in the freezer until they were about to eat. One cube is about 1 serving and I would pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.

Banana's I would just mash with a fork and serve.

When they got a little older I would grind up what we were having before I seasoned it. Stay away from doing this with anything you cooked with garlic.

By Palmbchprincess on Monday, April 26, 2004 - 04:01 pm:

I made baby food for my kids, and think it is simple thing to do. I would buy fresh or frozen veggies and fruits, cook them if needed until nice and soft, and put them in the food processor, like Chrissy did. I used either the liquids they were cooked in, or water to thin them to the right consistancy. Make big batches, spread the food into ice cube trays, freeze, pop out into a ziploc bag and store in freezer. Follow the guidelines for each food on how long it can be frozen. The only things I never really made were meats, they always came out yucky. My kids LOVED butternut squash, cut it in half long ways, bake at 350 on a cookie sheet cut side down, until soft and mushy. It was probably their favorite! If it seems too watery, add some baby rice cereal to thicken. I still don't give them anything with seasoning, unless it REALLY needs it, like sugar in oatmeal. Try not to introduce anything seasoned for as long as possible. I have a theory that I can avoid them wanting ketchup (or whatever other topping) on EVERYTHING if I just don't give it to them to begin with. Good luck and let us know how it goes!!

By Amecmom on Monday, April 26, 2004 - 06:04 pm:

I didn't do veggies, jarred were more convenient, but I made meats. I would boil chicken breast, turkey cutlets or ground beef (in little balls) and season the water with fresh parsley, carrots and celery.

Then I would freeze meal size chunks in a ziplock. When it was time to make a meal or two, I'd defrost a piece or two in the microwave and then grind it in the food processor. I'd mix it with jarred veggies and reheat the whole thing in the micro for a few seconds. Just stir really well to avoid hot spots.

I couldn't get into the whole ice cube tray thing. It was too messy and took up too much space in the freezer and too big as chunk of time to make.

This way, it takes a small amount of time each day.

You can do veggies the same way. Either cook them in the micro and then food process them, or boil a batch and freeze the batch. Take out what you need for only a meal or two and then do the same as you would for the meat.

One note on the food processor. I have a Cuisinart mini-prep. I ordered an extra bowl and an extra blade and used them exclusively for baby food. This way, my son was not having the residue of the garlic and onion I chopped for my tomato sauce.

I'm not looking forward to this again ...
Ame

By Mommyathome on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 11:48 am:

I never made my kids babyfood, but I wanted to mention that I was looking at blenders the other day, and there was a nice blender ($35) that had a "baby food" setting on it. I thought that was kind of neat. I don't know how well it would work, but it seemed like a good idea!

By Momtooneson on Wednesday, May 5, 2004 - 02:13 pm:

I recommend a book called "Super Baby Food." It's a great guide to making your own baby food, and includes instructions on how to choose, cook, and store every fruit or veggie you could want to feed your baby. I learned to cook from this book! It also has toddler recipes, and tells you what foods to introduce at each month of your baby's life. (By the way, I'm not associated with the author at all - I just love the book.) I got mine at Borders bookstore, but I'm sure you can find it online or at other bookstores. Hope this helps!

Oh, and I used a food processor to make mine, because our blender is not so great. Just make sure you whiz it until the food is nice and pureed - no chunks.