Here's why I prefer homemade baby food:
- I know exactly what my son is eating.
- It’s more economical than buying pre-packaged foods.
- I can choose my own fruits, vegetables, and other foods for purees, instead of relying on the flavors chosen by manufacturers. I would never be able to find avocados or barley in the baby food section of the supermarket.
- It gets my son used to eating the same food as the rest of the family -- just in puree form.
- I can customize my purees to the exact consistency my baby needs and instead of thinning the purees with water, I can use formula for added nutrition.
- Oh, and it tastes better too!
The 2 disadvantages to making your own baby food:
- Prepackaged baby foods come in measured amounts and ready to serve.
- It takes time to make and prepare lots of little servings of homemade baby food. It’s much faster to pick up prepackaged servings.
PS: You don't need expensive equipment either. Most purees are made by either steaming or baking fruits and vegetables, then pureeing them. So basically, you need a pot, steamer basket, and something to do the pureeing—a food processor, or blender.
Tricks & Tips:
When you're first starting out, you’ll want to feed your baby single-food purees, but after you’ve introduced several fruits and veggies, you can start mixing and matching them. Personally, I make batches of single-food purees and then combine them before serving.
I try to stick to in-season local produce, but I also use frozen produce too if needed. I steam it until it’s heated through and soft, then puree it like any other produce.
I freeze all of the purees I make because they don’t last more than 2-3 days in the fridge. You can use a regular ice cube tray, or get a silicone one. Once the purees are frozen solid, I pop them out and put them in a freezer bag labeled with the puree name and the date it was made. Frozen purees will last in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Frozen purees can be heated on the stove or in the microwave, but my favorite method is not heating them at all, but thawing instead. I transfer the cubes to a small glass baby food container and pop it in the fridge until the puree has thawed. If the puree is something best served warm, like sweet potatoes, I put hot water in a bigger bowl, then place the smaller bowl with the puree inside the big bowl and gently warm it up.
~ J. Lynn
