Making baby food

The day Landon (my youngest) turned 6 months my husband went out and bought rice cereal because he was "technically" old enough to eat solids. I had every intention of holding off until he was 8 months, but nooooo. Peter (my husband) wanted to feed him "just this once". Right. Well, the wee one ate three bowls of rice cereal that "one" time, so was obviously a natural and was more than ready to begin his journey of solids. So began my quest to make baby food.

FUNNY video of the first time he ate solids. Don't mind the boob comment, it was a jab at my husband for feeding him solids when I didn't want to.



My little Landon has at least one allergy we know of; he is allergic to dairy. Doctor said chances are there will be more allergies so we knew we needed to proceed with caution on introducing foods. So, we started with basics that had least chance of allergic reaction, then moved on from there. We introduced one a week to be cautious.

Foods we've made thus far:

Pear. Apple. Pear/Apple. Banana. Blueberry/Banana. Sweet potato. Butternut squash. Sweet Potato/Butternut squash. Carrott. Carrott/Sweet Potato. Broccoli. Carrot/Brocoli. Cauliflower. Cauliflower/Chicken. Chicken/Sweet Potato. Avacado/Banana. Sweet Potato/Rice. Apple/Rice. Rice/Apple. Rice/Squash.

Actually, we've mixed rice cereal with all of them because he really likes that. Plus, I like doing that for him to ensure he gets all the iron he needs.


What is so amazing about making my own baby food? Well, here's a just a few reasons.

1.) It is SOOOO cost effective! One 5lb bag of carrots at Trader Joes are .79 and that makes about eight small jars of baby food which costs anywhere between .89-1.00 EACH!!!! at the grocery store. Hello! How can that savings be denied! (We'd saved all jars from when we bought baby food for Morgan, knowing we would plan on making baby food for Landon).

2.) I can contribute to my local economy by buying local produce. I buy as many things as possible from local vendors or at the farmers market. There's this guy who sells 10lb bags of apples or pears for $6 out of a truck by my house. He's an old timer from the Wenatchee area where my grandparents made a living with apple orchards. I enjoy shooting the breeze with this guy, and feel in some small way like I'm making a difference for his life and allowing him to continue his farming. He is my regular supplier for applesauce.

3.) Morgan, my older one eats it too! I just mix his up to toddler texture in a separate batch. He also likes the baby food mixed in with greek yogurt. My newest thing is mixing pureed veggies (technically the baby food, but don't want to put it THAT way since we're all eating it) into other foods we're eating. For example, adding pureed cauliflower with pasta before dumping on the marinara sauce. Makes it so creamy and delicious, not to mention added nutrients and sneaking in a veggie serving for everyone.

4.) I know exactly what is going into what they're eating, because I'm making it. Because of Landon's dairy allergy and other unknown allergies, this is very important to me.

Tips for making baby food.

1.) If you steam the produce rather than boil it, more of the nutrients will remain in the produce.

2.) If you steam too long, the nutrients will begin to come out of the produce. When ever you see the water the color of the fruit or veggie, that is bad. That is all your nutrients floating in the water!

3.) When you puree the fruit or veggie, use the water from the pan you steamed them in to thin the texture.

4.) Try mixing lots of different things! Try fruit with veggies, rice cereal with fruit or veggies, meat with rice....the sky is the limit.

5.) When babies are born they have enough iron stored up in their bodies to last up until they are about 6 months of age. From then on, it is important for them to get iron in their diet. For this reason it is important to ensure that they are getting foods that are iron rich. Meat for example, is iron rich and safe for babies to eat after 6 months when pureed VERY well (this works best with lots of water and mixed with other foods like rice cereal or sweet potato). Cereals and formula are also fortified with iron, both which can be mixed in with baby food. It is also important to know that in order for a body to absorb iron, they must also have foods that contain vitamin C. Sounds tricky, but it's not. Some foods for babies that have vitamin C are kiwis, citrus, cantaloupe, broccoli and berries.

You may be thinking, "I don't have time to do that". Really, it doesn't take as much time as you would think. You basically have everything you are going to make together. Anything that needs prepped, (like apples cored and peeled) I do the night before after kids are in bed. The next day I load the oven with everything I can cook, then blend away through out the day as I can. Once things have been cooked, they can sit on the counter a long time until you can get to them.

Anyone have any great ideas for baby food they've tried, or would like to try? Do share!