If you've followed my blog at all, you know that I love to cook and I love to eat. Naturally, when it was time for Mary Elizabeth to start eating "big people food," I knew I would make all of her food. She's been eating people food now for almost 2 months and making her food has been really fun. As I talk to some friends about it, a lot of people seem to be intimidated by the concept of making your own baby food. My sister suggested I write a blog entry about how easy it is. So anyone out there that considered me a super mom because I make my own baby food, you're about to see why that is not the case!
First of all, why would you want to make your own baby food? Here are a few of my reasons:
1. It is significantly cheaper than buying millions of jars of baby food.
2. It is better for the environment because you're not using and throwing away baby food containers.
3. You know exactly what is going into your baby's tummy.
4. You can go organic if you choose and not spend a fortune on organic baby food.
5. There is a sense of pride and satisfaction knowing you're doing something good for your baby.
6. You're not limited to only the "popular" baby foods. If you want to try acorn squash, go for it!
7. You have much better control over the consistency of the food, which can help baby transition better and possibly quicker.
8. It is easier than most people think.
So how do you do it? A friend of mine who has a baby a few months behind Mary Elizabeth was asking me about those fancy "baby food makers" they sell at the baby stores. They steam, puree and have cute little containers with smiley faces on them to save the food. From what I've seen, they can run anywhere from $50-$150!! Everything I use to make baby food, I already had on hand. Who has extra cabinet space anyways for new kitchen gadgets? I've already rearranged my kitchen countless times to make room for bottles, sippy cups, etc.
First things first. Follow your pediatrician's guidelines for which foods to try when. Mine told me to start with orange and green veggies, then try fruit, always waiting about 4 days in between trying new foods so you can pinpoint any allergic reactions.
The first food I tried was pumpkin. I know, it sounds a little weird. But it is autumn and I'm a big proponent of using veggies that are in season, for baby and for you. By choosing what is in season, you're getting the best tasting, freshest food for the best price. I bought a small, green heirloom pumpkin because the woman at the farmer's market told me they had more meat than the pretty orange ones. I brought it home, cut the top off, scooped the seeds out and roasted it at 425 until it was cooked through (a fork goes in and out easily). Then I let it cool, scooped out the flesh and pureed it. Half of the pumpkin went to baby food, the other half went towards a delicious pumpkin risotto and pumpkin bread I made later. I like using foods that I'm already cooking or can use for me and Parker as well. For instance, if I'm making sweet potatoes for dinner, I'll pop an extra one in the oven and make baby food with it.
The first step to making baby food is obviously cooking the fruit or vegetable. I prefer to either roast in the oven or steam on the stove. I do not recommend boiling anything in water, as a lot of nutrients can be lost in the water. My preferred method is roasting (i.e. baking at a high temperature) because it brings out a lot of the natural sugars, thus making whatever it is taste better. Whether steaming or roasting, don't use any butter, oil or seasoning for the first few months. You want to cook it so that it is a little softer than what you would probably cook for yourself. As I mentioned before, if a fork slides in and out very easily, its probably done.
After the food is cooked through, allow it to cool before pureeing. Once it is cooled, I use an immersion blender to puree it up. A regular blender will work too, probably better than a food processor. I like the immersion blender because it is easier to clean, less mess. (You can buy one of these for about $30 and they have lots of other uses. Better than the baby food maker that only has one use.) Most foods have enough liquid to blend on their own but if it is not blending well, add a little water. This is not the point to add breast milk! Once you add breast milk, you can't microwave the food. When pureeing the food, it doesn't necessarily have to be as thin as you would serve it to baby. You mainly want to rid it of any lumps.
After it is pureed, I will then fill clean ice cube trays with the baby food. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and freeze the baby food. Once it is frozen, I pop them out of the tray and put the cubes into a large freezer bag labeled with what the food is and the date I made it. Make sure you write what it is! All orange pureed food looks the same. You'd be surprised how little room it takes up in your freezer when you do it this way. Also, the ice cubes end up being perfect little portions. For example, my 7 month old typically eats about 1 cube of fruit for breakfast and 3 cubes of veggies for dinner.
Try to use the frozen food within a month or two, though it will keep a little longer. When it is time to eat, microwave to food for about 15-30 seconds, THEN add breast milk (or formula or water) to thin out if desired. Make sure you stir and test the temperature before serving it to baby! I try to keep a few different options in the freezer so that she's always getting different tastes. Once she has tried a food for a few days and I know she's not having a bad reaction to it, I'll mix foods together for different flavors as well.
Tips and Tricks:
*If at first baby doesn't seem to like something, don't be discouraged! I made an entire pumpkin for her and she hated it at first. However, I learned quickly that it was a texture thing. I mixed it with my milk (very familiar flavor for her) and some cereal (familiar texture) and she ate it just fine.
*I don't recommend always mixing foods together. Serving them individually helps baby learn lots of different flavors, hopefully distinguishing her palate.
*Try avocado early. It doesn't have to be cooked and you can mix it into any other food for lots of added nutrients.
*Try veggies first. If you go to fruit too early, baby might develop a sweet tooth and turn her nose up at veggies.
*Taste what you make! I always taste the veggies after they are pureed so that I can learn what flavors she prefers in deciding what to try next.
*Be creative and look for what's in season. Expand your horizons by trying rutabagas, parsnips, kohlrabi and other veggies you might not have otherwise tried.
*Cook for baby a version of what you're cooking for yourself. This will serve you well as baby gets older so you're not making 2 dinners every night.
*Make a bunch at a time on a day where you have a little more margin than normal. That way, on crazy busy days, you don't have to worry about it.
*Consider going organic. The price difference is not as steep when making your own baby food versus buying organic canned baby food. If you can't go organic for everything, at least try to go organic on the "dirty dozen." (See note below)
*Even if buying organic, always wash food in a fruit/veggie wash. Even if baby won't be eating the skin, cutting into it could get harmful pesticides, bacteria, etc into the food.
*Not all foods have to be cooked. Peaches can just be blanched in boiling water. Avocado doesn't need to be cooked, neither do bananas.
*Bananas and avocado don't freeze well. Just keep them on hand and mash them up with a fork as needed.
*Trust your instincts but always supervise baby closely. We have already started giving Mary Elizabeth very tiny "bites" of banana to try to eat by herself. We've also introduced organic puffs (after trying each ingredient separately to make sure there wouldn't be a reaction).
Sample recipes:
Acorn Squash (One of Mary Elizabeth's favorites!)
Wash vegetable and cut in half. Scoop out seeds and discard. Bake in a 425 preheated oven for about an hour, or until soft throughout. Scoop flesh out and discard skin. Same for butternut squash, pumpkin, etc.
Carrots/Green Beans/Peas
Wash veggies. Peel carrots and cut off ends. Snap/cut ends off green beans. Place in a steamer basket (I use a big stock pot with the pasta sieve it came with) and steam on medium-high until veggies are soft, about 20 minutes.
Apples
Wash, peel, core, slice and steam.
Pears
Wash, cut in half long ways. Using a spoon, cut out core (seeds). Roast at 425 until soft, about 20-30 minutes. Puree with or without skin.
Sweet potato
Bake as you would normally. Scoop out flesh and discard skin.
*The Dirty Dozen: The top 12 foods that have the most harmful pesticides (If nothing else, go organic here for baby)
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines
7. Grapes
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens
I hope you found this helpful! If you have questions, post a comment or email me. Once we get to stage 2, I'll write another post about that. Not too excited about the thought of pureeing meat?? Me neither! I'm going to figure out how to avoid that grossness. :-)
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