FoodieTots.com

Making homemade baby food is quick and easy. It tastes better, is fresher and healthier and most importantly, you control what’s in it. Here are ten quick tips to get you started:

1. Start fresh. Organic produce is best, or make sure you use a vegetable wash if you can’t or don’t want to buy organic.

2. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment: a pot with steamer basket & lid, something to puree with (hand blender or food processor), ice cube trays, plastic wrap & plastic baggies or freezable containers.

3. Peel (at first, you can leave some peels on when baby is ready for more texture & fiber) and chop foods into large pieces.

3. Steam. The softest foods (avocado, banana and very ripe pears or plums) don’t need to be steamed. Everything else, steam for 7 minutes and check. Foods should be just soft enough to prick easily with a fork – you can add liquid while pureeing to make softer; you don’t want to cook foods into mush or you’ll lose flavor and nutrition. (Sweet potatoes, potatoes and butternut squash will take as much as 30 minutes to steam. You can also roast these in the oven instead of steaming.)

4. Puree. Add the cooking liquid to get the desired consistency. This restores some of the nutrients that leach out while cooking. You’ll want it soup-like at first, and thicker as baby gets more experienced. If you don’t have enough cooking liquid left over, you can add water – or add breastmilk/formula before serving.

5. Spoon into ice cube trays (I like the silicone ones, easiest to remove sticky foods from). Let cool slightly and then cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. (Plastic wrap is preferred over foil because foil can stick to the food.)

6. Pop the frozen cubes out and into ziploc bags or containers. Label with contents & date – most foods will last up to 3 months in the freezer, though meats and grain blends will dry out over time.

7. To defrost, either place cubes into a covered container and leave in fridge for 8-12 hours to defrost, or pop straight from freezer into microwave (in a non-plastic container).

8. Only defrost enough for the next day/meal – once defrosted, food should be eaten within 24 hours. If you put some straight in the fridge after pureeing, it will last 2-3 days. Only dish up what you plan to use at that meal – once the baby has eaten from it it shouldn’t be re-used.

9. Experiment! Mild seasonings like cinnamon, ginger, basil and cumin can be introduced fairly early. (Note: don’t add salt! Babies’ kidneys can’t handle excess sodium until 3 yrs old.) The advantage of homemade baby food is that you can make any flavor combination you want!

10. Advanced. When your baby has mastered the basic purees (and doctor approves), you can puree cooked barley, quinoa, brown rice, etc. to introduce more whole grains instead of the processed instant baby cereals, & add proteins like ground chicken, beef, tofu etc.

For tons more tips, feeding charts & recipes, visit wholesomebabyfood.com.
I also like the book Petit Appetit by Lisa Barnes. Have fun!