Making your own babby food. We raised three daughters this way.

[HopeHoops]

First of all, you know what's in it. No fillers or other disturbing additives.

Secondly, it is a shitload cheaper.

The only thing you need is a blender and a few ice cube trays. Whatever you are cooking, make sure you cook it long enough to be soft enough to eat without teeth. Put it in the blender and add enough water to produce a soupy mixture of the same basic consistency of commercially produced baby food. When it is cool, pour it in ice cube trays and freeze it. Then transfer the cubes into a zipper freezer bag. One or two will nuke back into baby food in a very short blast (start with 20 seconds). If the kid wants more, make another cube. No leftovers. Just make what they're hungry for.

Suggestions: red lentils, brown lentils, carrots, zucchini, peaches, green peas, split peas, butternut squash, sweet potato, spinach, etc. No spices are necessary. Bananas are fine like they are and applesauce without sweeteners is also fine like it is. Between breast milk and pureed veggies, a kid is in pretty good shape nutritionally.

[right on maude...]

1. Why not simply mash avocado and bananas?

That way the baby gets her enzymes and you don't have to cook crap. If you get a Vitamix, you can make raw applesauce! It's the bee's knees!

[HopeHoops]

2. We did avocado and banana also, but there's a lot more to nutrition than that.

We were never big on supplements if the nutrients could be obtained through raw foods. I've made and canned applesauce (ingredients: apples, water). They were all healthy and still are. Besides, it exposes them to a wide variety of flavors at an early age. My eldest's favorite meal is still red lentil dahl - one of her baby foods we made. They'll eat damn near any vegetable now.

[right on maude...]

3. Young children should be eating fruits and veggies.

They don't need beans. Really! Bananas and avocados are complete proteins. Look it up. Beans are hard to digest. I am not suggesting that you need never give them to children but babies can live on mother's milk so why not fresh fruit?

[HopeHoops]

4. Oh, there's so much more than those. Strawberries, peaches, etc.

We usually had at least 20 freezer bags full of cubes of various types at any given time. You do need to be careful with the fruits though - yellow mustard up the back of the onesie isn't fun to deal with at 3 a.m.

[right on maude...]

5. Of course all types. But why not just give them fresh?

I will never understand how parents can buy those tiny little jars of baby food when it's so simple to mash a banana or avocado, not to mention blend a fresh peach or berries.

As for the dal, as I said beans are not easy to digest for any of us and unncessary at that age. Plus, I think it would be better to start kids off with bland foods (no salt or sugar). I am a big spice person myself, but I just feel that you don't want to stimulate a baby's taste buds and get them addicted to salt and/or sugar or spices when they are still so impressionable.

[HopeHoops]

6. That's the point of making your own. Use fresh when it is in season, keep it all winter.

The ingredients in all of our baby food consisted of (whatever fruit/vegetable) and water. No salt. No spice. And DEFINITELY no extra sugar. No anything else at all. And yet they all developed a taste for spices as they grew older. I think that's because breast milk passes on flavors (not sure how that works), but my wife had a few dishes while she was feeding and the girls took a taste and made weird faces like "you expect me to drink that shit?" They drank it anyway. I think that has a lot to do with cultural preferences for various foods.

And those little jars are fucking expensive. An ice cube tray full of home made costs less than a couple of spoons of that processed commercial crap. The ice cube food travels well too. If you put it in a small cooler when you start a road trip it will be about room temperature when you stop to feed the kid. Good shit, Maynard.

[right on maude...]

7. ??? "Good shit, Maynard?"

[HopeHoops]

8. Ah, old Jazz quote - Maynard Ferguson, trumpet player.

I believe it was during a practice session (taped) that one of the other band members commented "Good shit, Maynard". He was known for hitting notes that are almost impossible on a trumpet. He died in 2006, but his legacy lives on.

[meat the beetles.]

9. LOL...

[CottonBear]

10. I steamed fresh, organic veggies & mixed those w/ organic rice &/or beans & tofu.

Last edited Fri Jan 20, 2012, 10:33 PM - Edit history (1)

I put the veggies, rice, tofu & beans through a small food mill (purchased for $5.00 at K-Mart) when my baby was just starting to eat solid foods. Sometimes I mixed up the foods and sometimes I fed them separately. I always gave him his liquid Poly-Vi-Sol vitamins with iron as per his doctor's direction. He only has ever has filtered water and organic cow milk and organic, non-sweetened soy milk after he stopped breastfeeding. He eats fresh organic fruits and some organic dried and canned fruits instead of fruit juice, also as per his pediatrician's directions. (There is way too much sugar in fruit juices, even the all natural, organic kinds.)

Now, at age 3, he still eats fresh organic foods every day. (I can't afford to eat those every day but it is easy to afford that food for one small child.) I wash and cut up the fresh organic veggies. Then, I steam them for 10 minutes ONLY and immediately remove them from the heat. He really likes organic rice pasta and tofu with fresh steamed veggies. He also loves basmati rice. I've intoduced anti-biotic free, organic meats (beef and chicken) and he now gets to have a Bryers ice cream snack or an organic chocolate (70% - 86% dark chocolate) snack at night. He loves organic raisens, apples & bananas, mini pretzels, unsalted peanuts, kiwi fruit, fresh bread, all natural peanut butter (i.e. no added sugar), and raw fruits and veggies. I found organic chips and salsa at Publix that he really loves. There are some really good whole grain tortillas at Publix too. We love to eat lots of cheese and real butter and also all-fruit spreads and local honey. We are lucky to have a local organic farmer's market and a local organic specialty grocery store.

Of course, he has has the every once in a while, fast food, french fry treat! Oh boy! He loves those fries! He also loves goldfish and he would nom, nom, nom down a bag of chips if he had the chance! He also gets to eat homemade cookies and cakes and pies when we have time to make those delights!

I also fed him lots of organic oatmeal and rice cereals. He has never refused a veggie that I've offered him! He really likes baked ziti, beef stew and chicken sausage stew. Local free-range eggs are a favorite. I buy the hormone and anti-biotic free kind at the store when I can't get local eggs. We have a local, organic bread baker so we get to eat fresh bread every day.

It is really easy to make food for your child. we did buy some Earths Best food in jars for when we were on the road and away from home. But, we were (and are) mostly able to take a lot of his food with us when we go places. Basically, he ate (and eats) what we eat. We just put it through the food mill for him when he was really little. Freezing the milled food in ice cube trays is a great idea for saving extra food for the next meal.

It is cheaper and healthier to feed your child fresh, home made food! I know that limiting preservatives, additives and chemicals is a good thing and it is a good way to make sure my child will be healthy and well nourished.

[sumi12]

11. Making your own babby food. We raised three daughters this way.

making own baby food is really very good & interesting part. & u also established ur daughters in these field . i think it is great.

[sumi12]

12. Making your own babby food. We raised three daughters this way.

knowledge of baby food is most important part of a parents, whom have a cute baby.
making own baby food is really very good & interesting part. & u also established ur daughters in these field . i think it is great.