Making Your Own Baby Food

One thing I loved while Mason was a baby? Making baby food for him! You're going to need to buy something to blend the food with, you'll need to buy the best produce, and minimize nitrate exposure. Nitrates are a chemical found in water and soil. Babies who ingest too much of it can develop an anemia. 

You need to wash, cook vegetables and fruits that need to be softened, peel & pit the produce if necessary. Strain out any extra seeds.

To prepare meat/poultry remove the skin and trim the fat before cooking.

Serving Tips:

• Serve the food no warmer than body temperature
• Only dish out the amount of food you think the baby will eat in that one sitting. Your babys saliva can cause bacteria to grow
• Don't sweeten your baby's food
• Use seasonings
• Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and use them up in a couple of days

I wanted to share a few of Mason's favorite  baby food with you guys. Here a few for you to try:

Sauteed Broccoli Puree with Parmesan Cheese - Broccoli Baby Food Recipes

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen organic broccoli
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove (pressed)
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
Water (for pureeing)

Directions:

Turn stove top to medium high heat. Using a saute pan, coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Add garlic and saute.  Add frozen broccoli and saute on medium-high heat until broccoli is nice and tender. Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Transfer sauteed broccoli and Parmesan cheese to blender. Puree. Add water gradually until desired texture is reached. By 9 months, your baby should beeating somewhat of a chunkier texture so be sure not to puree to thin as your baby is learning to chew.

Bananaberry Power Puree Blend - Super Food Baby Food Recipes

Because blueberries have amazing antioxidant power, try to incorporate them in your purees as much as you can.  If your blueberries are more on the bitter side, make sure your banana is super ripe to balance things out. Combine any leftovers with Lite Whipped topping and enjoy for yourself!

Ingredients:


1/4 cup frozen organic blueberries
1 small, ripe banana (with lots of brown spots)

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Puree until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Organic Blueberry Dream - Blueberry Baby Food Recipes - Super Food Purees

Cup of Blueberries.  Photo by jordanmit09.

Blueberries are a superfood rich with antioxidants.  As soon as your baby can start eatingblueberries, give them a serving of blueberries a day for amazing health benefits.  To ensure your baby loves this puree, make sure the blueberries are sweet.

Ingredients:

1 cup organic blueberries

4 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla

Put blueberries into a saucepan with water and cook until fruit starts to burst open. Puree blueberries in blender until smooth.  Use a sieve to remove any fibrous material.  Add baby cereal (rice, oatmeal or barley) to thicken, if desired.

Pesticide Caution:  Blueberries have a high pesticide load, so always consider purchasing organic blueberries when making purees and recipes containing blueberries

I have some websites I go to too when it comes to finding recipes for baby food. 

• http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/
• http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/
• http://www.simplybabyfoodrecipes.net/
• http://babies411.com/baby-food-recipe/baby-food-recipe/baby-food-recipes-4-6-months.html

If you haven't tried making your own baby food before you should definitely try. It's simple and doesn't take long to accomplish. Enjoy!